Practise in progress:  Jessica Ashman 

What was the talk about?

Jessica Ashman's talk focused a lot on her identity and relationship with personal aspects of her artwork. She explained why she had created certain pieces of work and it was clear to understand each she made had a social, political or personal message she wanted to explore and project. For example, 'Hold tight' created in 2018 expressed Jessica's connection to carnivals and what they mean to her. She aimed to 'draw light' to a hidden side of the carnival as well as eradicate or challenge misconceptions about carnivals. 

Performer, Animator and Art educator, Jessica Ashman is well known for her multidimensional work that focuses on gender, identity and sexuality. She spent time working as an artist of residence in the Tate Britain, working with children specifically from a working class background. 

During the talk Jessica presented her work through films and images. She showed photographs of her process and research in making, and also images of her working on projects like stop animation. Jessica  uses a range of media in her work, from photography to print, to stop motion and collage, she plays around with material that best portrays the context behind each piece of work. Jessica used to work as a model-making assistant on sets for commercials. She speaks of herself having been an 'Animator for hire' in which she found frustrating and limiting. She worked in industry based studios but she goes on to mention that 'something didn't feel right.'

A sketch I drew of Jessica Ashman

If I were to ask Jessica a question it would be to do with her involvement in stop animation as it is something i want to practise in the future. I would ask her how easy was it to articulate the movements of the puppets, or weather she had much practise in stop animation before making her own films, or why she chose to work with particular materials over others. 

One aspect of the talk that sticks in my mind was the way she spoke honestly and openly about meaning behind her work. Jessica mentions in her talk that she is 'only interested in her own truth.' This might be stories that draw attention to identity, home and communities. She aims to convert what is happening in the real world to metaphors including performative elements. She emphasizes having black radical imagination and using that tool to carry her linear thoughts into positive change and transformation. 

Practise in Progress: Carmen Jose

Carmen's talk involved her journey and experience through each project she conducted. She talked through projects in detail including obstacles she came across, successes in her career and communal work. Carmen's profession mainly involves the reproduction of visual stereotypes and communication. I would describe Carmon's work as minimalistic, playful and optimistic. Rather than focusing on extreme detail, Carmen emphasises the importance of educational imagery and trying to get a message across to the viewer. 

She presented her work through routines of making and executing work. She displayed photographs of how she orchestrated projects, involving communal spaces and workshops. For example, Carmen created pop up cafes and creative spaces for people to learn about processes. Students were able to come socialize and learn creative methods like book binding and self publishing. She also engaged in a lot of work with children, one project working in refugee camps and illustrating signs for children. She mentions the importance of using visual language in times of urgency. she also  developed designs for children's clothing in Portugal. She was able to understand and learn the processes of product design in an ethical way. 

During the talk people asked Carmen about her struggle in creating communal spaces. She described how she organised and prepared for them to be successful including time management and help from volunteers and colleagues. If I were to ask Carmen a question, I would ask where her interest for symbolism and visual stereotypes came from. Did graphic design studies contribute to this? And how do you create work that is representing visual stereotypes original to your style?

Aspects of Carmen's work I was already familiar with was the design of symbolism. I had studied this at GCSE and A level in graphic design. 

During years of university, Carmen worked in freelance. one job she had was working for a newspaper that needed illustrations. Carmen got into freelances by first receiving commissions. She mentions that she likes being in a collective and a union as payment should be fair. 

work

• workshops: self publication lectures. 
• involvement in refugee camps and illustrating signs for children. using visual language in times of urgency. 
• side job: working in a paper and material shop for art students. at first she just helped with the show but over time Carmen would contribute in advertisement and projects.
• collaborative project of illustration and history: constructing stories from overwhelming historical information
• working for museums: creating mind-maps projecting what history and tea means to certain cultures. The mind-map was the animated
• in Germany Carmen was involved in feminist protests, she was able to see how she could apply her work into banners, social, political purposes. One protest was against prosecution of abortion, another was about equal rights. Her posters were then used in window display
• She contributed in research trips where workshops were run like 'drawing with the body' in India. 
• Project 'future field' with children and looking at the position of creative people and what we can do in climate change issues. 

Practise in progress: Stuart Hilton

Six weeks in June  - animated film

Six weeks in June is a sentimental montage of fast moving illustrations and audio. It was created from a trip in a van traveling 11000 miles across the USA. Stuart, along with his band drew a 'road movie diary' with a pen and a stack of A6 paper. The animation, with its scatter-brain charm includes typography, symbolism, quotes and geometric shapes to create a sensory- overloading journey for the viewer.

There is something incredibly engaging and arresting about the video. The auditory aspects were fast paced and constantly changing, just like the flickering illustrations in the film. This painted a perfect picture of what it feels like to be in a moving vehicle. It was as though the animation lacked patience for the viewer to fully digest the images thrown. 

   

Serena Katt : 

Serena Katt published Sundays child in 2019. She is a Illustrator and writer interested in print making and narrative. She uses traditional illustration and initial sketches to create her work. In her Wednesday talk she mentions she is "fascinated with collecting memory."

Illustraited childrens book: Sunday's child

What's the story about?

 A reflective insight to what life was like in Nazi Germany for children using research on her grandfathers recollections and memories. Her father being Sunday's child. The story is not a children's book but falls somewhere between a graphic novel and  historical fiction. The book consists of a chronologically ordered recollection of memory of Serena's grandfather that captivates a journey of contradiction, asking questions and filling in gaps in time.

How did the artist find research?

Serena discovered sourced information from her grandfather like interview recordings, photographs, research on the internet, and research trips to significant places i.e a former Hitler youth initiation site. On these trips serena took photographs in which would be used and adapted in her drawings.

What did I personally think of the book/artists work?

Serena's illustrations to me felt almost familiar. They reminded me of old sepia photographs found on relatives mantlepieces or in stored boxes. There is something cold and dystopian in the images and tells the viewer exactly how things were in nazi Germany without censorship or deodorizing sensitive topics.   

What questions were asked in the talk?

-Was it difficult finding research for Sunday's child?

Serena explains that it wasn't too difficult to find research and it is surprising how much you can discover on the internet. she says she has an awareness that what she's researching is an edited archive and is only the 'tip of the iceberg' in history of the time. She says; "archives are not neutral spaces, they have the power and privilege to marginalize"