punching needle and tufting

ceramics: hand build, coloured with pigments and glazed

screenprinting

1. comments from CA2: I am not working enough on developing my design process. i mentioned my creative block and finding it hard to go out of my comfort zone. tip was to confront these things, to see what happens outside of the spaces i know, to show initiative and curiosity.

2. actions/experiences/insights:
Despite almost having no classes at school, I spend quite some time there. For the first time, I seriously tried out working in the ceramic station, where I did a lot of hand build pieces, that I painted and glazed. I also started with making small carpets with a punching needle and learned to tuft to create carpet pieces in a quicker and easier way. And last I made several prints with screen print, which till now I also never had done. And as mentioned in the introduction I had to be more creative with presenting my work, so I have made multiple hotglue pages which were an easy and flexible way to experiment with digital platforms. And for the visual form of this competency assessment, I tried out making some small animations, which is something I want to use for the main page of my website that I’m still developing. I think with a moving image I will be able to show part of my illustration skills, give a sense of my style, and this way there is something interesting to look at when coming to my page.

Most of these new techniques I discovered were not part of a project for school. Especially doing ceramics allowed me to focus more on making and being busy and less on thinking and needing a good concept. I felt more freedom, there was more room for mistakes as there was no pressure. So, I really enjoyed my time in these stations that I could use to balance my assignments from WdKA and Uni. This also taught me that it takes patience to learn and make good new things, especially with the techniques I mentioned. But the results are rewarding, and thus show to not rush things, try out things, experiment, and then decide on the final form.

I also went out of my comfort zone by reaching out to some graduate students from illustration, I for example talked to Isa Gaastra in her studio and had an online meeting with Laura Liza (see more at context awareness).

I want to start selling some of my own work, and that way get some more experience in the professional work field and interacting with potential buyers. I will start by selling some of the ceramics I made on my Instagram page. Then for my carpet project, I got a lot of positive responses from classmates and teachers showing that it has a lot of potential. Therefore, I want to further develop it. I will reach out to Lizan Freijsen to ask for some advice on how to continue this project, and some practical tips on tufting. I will also contact some smaller interior design studios/shops and see if they can help me out, or even want to collaborate with me to further realize this carpet and sell it. Depending on the responses and if I do or do not find another internship, this might be part of my internship.