Abstractions

After spending time on my line and texture photos / videos, I wanted to further explore aspects of line, texture and also colour. This is my final painting after some experimenting:

Texture tour

I have created this 'texture' tour around my local area using a range of photos that I had taken. The focus is on actually looking and being aware of the immediate environment with no other particular purpose - like an exploration - rather than simply passing by on the way to a specific destination. A wandering line rather than a connecting one, and a form of Situationist 'derive' or drift.

I also wanted to create a 'textured' soundtrack that reflected the range of visual textures I had seen and mimicked the way these might linger in the memory after the visual image had passed away. I let the sounds overlap and intermingle in order to give an layered audio texture.

Critical literature reviews

I have spent some time over the last few days reading about the nature, function and structure of successful literature reviews. This has been both interesting and enlightening as it is not something I have really focussed on before, especially at the higher level of the MEd course.

Here are my thoughts and what I feel I have learned:

I found the reading very interesting and informative. I thought there was a clear message and indeed many similarities between the texts, in particular the second section of Poulson and Wallace (2004, p. 25 -36) and the chapter from Wallace and Wray (2011). They present a clear definition as to the function, nature and structure of a successful critical literature review and the pitfalls to avoid.

A key overarching theme that was presented was the importance of the critical nature of literature reviews. We must not be “merely the passive receiver of others’ wisdom, or the over-active promoter of unjustified opinions that leave others unconvinced” (Poulson and Wallace, 2004, p. 6). Being critical will allow us to evaluate others’ views, see the wider picture of research that is out there and our place within it, and present our views from a stance of informed knowledge and understanding rather than unjustified opinion. All of which leads to a greater chance of success.

Another key idea presented was that it is valuable and acceptable to question and critique published works and theories for, as Poulson and Wallace (2004, p. 5) state, “There is a widely held belief among academics working in this tradition that no one can have a monopoly on what is to count as knowledge or on what will work in practice”. It is important to read literature with a questioning mind, looking to the unstated assumptions, values, purposes, ideologies and perspectives that underpin the work and evaluating how these affect the research, the methodology and the conclusions drawn.

In order to structure my own literature reviews in the future, I will endeavour to define a clear focus and specific question around which to work as well as to identify and be aware of the audience to which I will be presenting. At the outset I will outline the scope and limitations of the review and offer stipulative definitions of terms and concepts as appropriate to ensure clarity of consensus.

Texts reviewed will be carefully selected and relevant and I will take care to discern which texts require more in depth analysis and which only a cursory overview. When reviewing I will ensure that I have engaged critically with the texts and interpreted them, offering a synthesis of knowledge from a range of sources, rather than simply offering a regurgitation of knowledge or descriptive account. I will also ensure that the review is balanced and that both the extent and limits of what is known in the field are presented. Any criticism offered will be constructive.

The literature review will be clearly expressed and structured in such a way as to build convincing arguments and draw conclusions relevant to my focus. I will include interim conclusions throughout, which are clearly evidenced from the text, and provide signposting for remaining sections before offering an overall conclusion to the review.

Poulson, L. and Wallace, M., 2004. Critical reading for self-critical writing. In L. Poulson and M. Wallace, eds. 2004. Learning to Read Critically in Teaching and Learning. London: Sage.

Wallace, M. and Wray, A. (2011) Critical Reading and Writing for Postgraduates (2nd ed). London: Sage.

Texture

I have been out and about with my camera again and have started to look at texture in and around the area in the same way as I looked at line. Here are some interesting textures I found on my 'texture journey':

Here are all the texture photos I have taken, organised in my sketchbook:

More line abstraction experiments!

I love the random, 'unplanned' aspect to these images. They are a snapshot of an images as it evolves from one photo into another.

View from a Bongo...

Here is a painting inspired by my travels over the summer months in my 'Bongo' camper van. This is the view from one of the places I stopped:

This is my development work for the piece from my sketchbook. It was painted using ArtRage:

Line Abstractions

Here are a few final pieces that have resulted from my investigations into line in and around the area. I have really enjoyed experimenting with video and photography.

Line video tour

I have been working on my line photos to create this photo slideshow / video tour of the lines in the local area... It look best full screen. I wanted a soundtrack so I have added music but I don't think it is the most appropriate piece. I think I will investigate other options for the soundtrack and see what I can create. However, it is a first go! I love the way the transitions separate the layers of the image and deconstruct it before transforming it into another image.

iPad Creative Blog

My artwork was recently featured by an organisation called iPad Creative on their blog. Follow this link to have a look!

Music video

I worked collaboratively with a musician colleague to produce this video for his song. An interesting use of artwork!

Daichendt Street Art presentation

I really enjoyed this presentation and found the distinctions between graffiti writing (writing names on walls etc), artistic writing (rather than just letters, colour and shape are important in the letters and the letters take on form), artistic graffiti (where the image is important and combines with artistic writing) and street art (with an emphasis on the image and its context) very helpful. I also found the 5 stages of of aesthetic development described at the end of the presentation very interesting and, as Daichendt (2011) states “age, growth, and development have nothing to do with these progressive ways of seeing and thinking. Only time spent engaging art. Another reason for strong arts programs” (taken from 'Street Art' voicethread comment).

Some applications for my own practice that I have taken out of this are as follows:

Questioning assumptions is something we should embrace - there is no one correct way to view / interpret something or to do things. As Abigail Housen (2011) states: “We have come to believe that discussions of art may be one of the most fertile grounds for teaching critical thinking skills precisely because there is no one right answer.”

We don’t have to exactly follow the curriculum. We should seek alternative methodologies, be creative and tailor the delivery to the students we teach. This will engage pupils, foster creativity and enthusiasm and thus improve output.

Put in support structures for creativity and create an environment that fosters creativity, where ideas are generated, and there is opportunity for the cross fertilisation of ideas - I liked the idea of an open sketchbook where both pupils and teacher could contribute or an open gallery space. This reminded me somewhat of the philosophy behind the Room 13 project. It also gives value to work that is created and legitimises it.

Take risks - don’t be afraid to make a mistake. It is not forever! I think it is important to focus on the process with students rather than the end result - there is often more to learn from failure that success. An interesting point made in the presentation was that the temporary nature of street art is often what draws people back again and again - there is no guarantee it will be there for long and they do not want to miss it. It surprises you.

In summary, street art starts with the object, and is all about the communicatability of objects and an individual’s engagement with them. The Artist teacher starts with the artist - this is a central and integral part of our work as teachers.

Daichendt, 2011. Visual presentation [online] Available at <https://voicethread.com/?#u1262451.b2336464.i12379758> [Accessed Oct - Nov 2011].

Housen, A., 2011. Visual Thinking Strategies. [online] Available at: [Accessed Oct - Nov 2011].

Journeying again

Still on the theme of journeying and letting the journey lead rather than the destination - there is always something new around the corner, another possibility...

Here is my latest painting on this theme, my sketchbook page and a video of the painting being painted:

Developing line further...

I have been continuing to focus on line and have taken a wide range of photos (mostly of the Greenock locality) and have edited them in different ways. I have been trying to create different types of lines with different values, thicknesses, textures, etc. Here are some of the photos experiments from my sketchbook - the original, unedited photo is the top one in each column and the 3 beneath it are edited versions:

I also looked at the work of Pollock, Kandinsky and Klee - very interesting use of line by all 3 artists. I particularly liked the contrast in line between Pollock and Kandinsky. Here are 6 of my favourites:

On the Road

Again on the theme of travelling and wayfaring, I created this digital painting on my iPad using 'Brushes'. Here is the sketchbook / investigation work for it and below that a video of it's stroke by stroke creation.