ESSCA - A Graduate Portfolio

Graduate portfolio - review and reflection

Creating my portfolio as my degree comes to a close has been a real highlight for me. It is rare that I see all of the work that I have produced together in the same place and through completing this task I can finally see some synergy within my practice and my approach to creativity.

Although diverse, each piece of work or project showcased has a strong consideration of colour, composition, format and quality - a result made possible through various methods of research both practical and conceptual which underpins my practice. My portfolio best reflects my diverse skillset and is appropriate for a graduate degree show - showcasing what I can do and what I feel are my strengths.

Curating my portfolio was difficult however, I have realised throughout my modules this year that my exploration and experimentation often leads me to to create multiple pieces for a project - spanning many potential avenues and I feel being critical of my work at this penultimate stage has given me insight into where my practice could potentially fit within industry.

I hope my decision to include a breadth of work and display my varied skillset will be well received. For Hanbury and D&AD however I would like to include information at the bottom of each page with regards to what the piece is, its size and the media - to highlight what may not be apparent from a single image of my work.

PP3 Presentation and Script Notes

PP3 Creative Presence

Degree Show Specs

As things have been a little manic towards the close of this year and to help with the preparation and hang of the show - I drafted up some little spec sheets to be considered whilst the show is being curated.

I found this beneficial as I could carefully consider what work I want in the show and explore potential hang ideas visually, so that the tutors curating the show can see what I have in mind.

ESSCA Website - Reflection

Ok so its nearly there but not quite. Becoming recently bogged down in COp3 and then EP3 - i haven't been able to spend the time uploading smaller images to my site and updating the information site wide.

This is a little upsetting after all of the work my dad and i have gone too to have my site ready for this module submission and also the degree show. I don't want to rush this though as I am still getting used to the wordpress admin platform and all the widgets and plug in and could potentially make mistakes causing set backs in the long run. 

I WILL have my site complete and live ready for Hanbury and D&AD in July. I wont feel ready to attend and network without it and i am so excited to launch and showcase my work and skills to the masses. 

Editions: COLOUR - Reflection

A pivotal moment for me across the whole of this year and potentially the whole course was the realisation of my Editions: COLOUR project.

Up until this point I had rarely seen all my work together in one place, lacking confidence and tending to make work, hide it then quickly move on with the hope of creating something "better".

My passion project for EP3 however allowed for me to create work with no set final piece or collection in mind. This reduced the pressures I put on myself and gave me the opportunity to make mistakes and develop my understanding of COLOUR as a subject in its entirety.

The reason this has been so crucial to me is the sheer enjoyment of creating for my own self worth and relief from other stresses. I have used this project as a means of escape and quickly it became a personal project I couldn't wait to return too.

Towards the end of EP3 I decided to gather all of my hidden work and have a mini exhibition on my home studio walls - to review and reflect upon the journey of the project as a whole. To my surprise seeing all my "passion" work together like this stirred something in me which I can only describe as sheer joy. It is often I like what I see when reviewing my work - but this project screamed happiness and a care for a subject I have a lot of interest in. 

My use of shape, layers, composition, media as well as a consideration for the COLOUR theory I have been experimenting with and getting to know - ultimately produced a really interest vibrant personal body of work which i FINALLY feel connected to.

This work is mine, it reflects me and the area of my personal practice I am continuing to develop.

I have never been so happy about my work. YAY!

PP3 Presentation & Practice Planning

To help me visualise my presentation and think cohesively about its content and delivery, I created a storyboard and notes print out / template which I have been populating with slide ideas and script scribblings as I go along.
I have found this process really helpful due to the closeness of both PP3 and EP3 module hand-in's and my tendency to lose stuff, be frantic and experience sheer panic towards the closing stage. 

Confessions about my practice and approach to new briefs / creative projects 
(that could do with some improvement):

• I often get confused with "my journey" across this course. Work gets completed, notes get made - then somehow lost in the ether of either my mac or studio drawers never to be seen again. When I do come to finding the key work for submission, I am then unsure of where it should fit / appear relevant and the task of organising the project as one big whole becomes bigger (and more daunting) than ever.
• I am also a sucker for losing and forgetting things, therefore this approach to note taking and "project management" - which began throughout EP3 - makes sure I include all that I need too, stops me spending hours for "that one photo I really need" and hopes to better this area of my practice which I have had difficulty with in the past.

Therefore, the Aims of this task are:

• Create a multipurpose print out / template to be used for collating all notes, scripts and visual content ideas for PP3 presentation
• To organise notes and potential ideas for presentation content and script as I go along
• To keep all relevant notes and work in one dedicated place
• Visual layout of notes and storyboarding helps me to brain dump - but keeping everything important in one place
• Implement new approach to project, time management and organising myself throughout a stressful time in degree
• Do things differently - target and improve on an area which weakens my practice and approach to working
• Yay for ideas organisation and project management! (finally and just in time as my degree comes to a close *rolls eyes*)

My Templates:

  

Online Presence

A review of my current online presence

Linked In 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jess-dawson-creative/

Having set up my LinkedIn account in Level 5, I have been engaging on the platform a lot more than I initially thought I would. Building a list of professional contacts and keeping up to date with their projects has given me valuable insight into the illustration and creative industries allowing me to understand the nature of the world I want to be a part of.

Having spent 4 years in the corporate world not actively pursuing my passion and career dreams of becoming an illustrator has had its benefits in building a diverse set of contacts via this platform. Being able to showcase my skills professionally not only in illustration, but in publishing, administration and customer service - allows for others to see my potential as a whole based on my experience and I am firm believer that all skills are transferable in some sense.

Future engagement:
I aim to keep engaging with my contacts on LinkedIn as it is a great confidence boost to not only leave feedback for others and show interest in their work and professional insights, but also post my own content for professional feedback. This platform and the content posted is not based on likes which is not only valuable to me mentally (having struggled with social media platforms in the past) but gives a great sense of community in that the responses to me and my professional profile are considered by those with a direct link to the industry.

Next LinkedIn post: Essca - My Graduate portfolio and a link to my live website
Purpose: The "emerging" stage of me as a new practitioner, to capitalise on the completion of my degree and current position of my practice which i feel proud of. To let the LinkedIn professional community know that I am here, what I have accomplished so far and to announce I am ready and eager to begin new and exciting projects.


Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/essca.art/

Instagram has been a bit of a difficult platform for me. After setting up my professional creative page and engaging well to begin with towards the end of 2016, I quickly became immersed in what everyone else was doing instead of publicising me and my work. I find the platform really inspiring, however experiencing some low points in my self-esteem - the whole "seeing what everyone else is up too" thing really set me back mentally. Going on a bit of a hiatus has been really rewarding for me as i have allowed for myself to engage with my creative development without being hindered by the comparisons I make with others and their creative practice. 

Through my experience with Instagram, I have learnt that I am easily led by trends, that my low confidence causes me to compare myself in an unhealthy and demotivating way with others and that i often associate what others are doing with what I should be doing. 

Now that I have allowed myself some much needed breathing space (ignoring the social niggles that everyone is using instagram so I must too), I feel I am a-lot more confident in myself and my approaches to creativity. My time on this course over the past year since suspending my studies has helped with this and I now feel in a place to engage with instagram once more and use it as a valuable tool for promoting my practice as and when I see fit. I have tons of new content and feel excited to to be a part of this valuable community in a healthy way.

Key moment for me with regards to social media as a whole was a talk from visiting professional Laura Carlin. Hearing how she also finds it difficult to remain head healthy when using social media helped me to see how I am not the only one who struggles with this aspect of self promotion and professional practice. Realising what is detrimental to my creativity is key to taking the right steps forward and making the changes that will help to shape my practice in line with my personal development. Small steps.

The Dots

I have recently joined The Dots and I already see the potential in this platform for bringing me closer to like minded people and projects within industry. It has a much more "creative" feel than LinkedIn whilst still maintaining the professional profile aspect of networking (which i feel is lacking on platforms such as instagram). So far what I like most is the user interface, making it easy to search for jobs, projects, companies, people and more using filters and key words which is helpful at this early stage when i am just starting out and wanting to know the breadth of possibilities out there.

I also find it really interesting to see how companies are engaging with The Dots. Following the profiles of hubs such as Its Nice That and The Folio Society as well as galleries such as The Tate Modern and V&A is really a really insightful way to engage with what is new and currently happening on the creative scene.

Who Am I? - Thoughts on my position as an creative practitioner

I consider myself a "brief led" creative practitioner and I take comfort in admitting this. This way of working and approaching briefs means I can make decisions regarding method, media and content, based around the context, specifications of what is being asked and research I undertake in the initial stages - instead of being limited to a particular skillset. I think this means I would like to be a freelance illustrator - or at least try my hand in this, to get some client work under my belt before making any further decisions or set focus of my practice. I don't want this to come across as a cop-out however. I have been extremely critical of myself throughout my time on this course which has not been enjoyable. Therefore, to free myself up mentally for work in industry as a freelance illustrator, I am trying to go with my flow instead of against it and am yet to see variety as a negative. So far when i have been approached for commissions - being the "yes i can do that" person hasn't failed me and keeps me open to expanding my practice into new territories. 

I know this wont always be plain sailing. I am in no way an expert with a perfect skillset in every area and therefore wont be skilled enough for all things that come my way. But I have had some form of experience both through education and in industry in many areas which should hopefully appeal to enough clients to get me started.

When asking my peers for feedback on the content of my portfolio, no one considered the diversity a negative thing which was really motivational. It has also allowed me to free up the pressure of having a set style, allowing myself the reassurance that no decision lasts forever and whilst I may take on commissions for a certain type of work - this does not have to be the defining factor of my practice.

Im not sure where I heard it or who told me but someone once described their creative practice in 2 halves. Their personal practice is like an artists practice, forever exploring and evolving - broadening the skillset and personally driven. Their professional practice is an illustrators practice - it has a job to do. This has stuck with me as it seems to simple but hearing it from someone else has confirmed that this division of ones practice works for them without stifling creativity and still making a career out of what they love.

The work I get paid for doesn't have to define who I am as an illustrator just because it has my name on it, therefore the growth and movement within my practice could lie solely within my personal play. It would be great if both my personal and professional practice overlap - with people wanting to pay for the work I create through passion and exploration, but not everyone "gets" the vision all the time and I am fully prepared to do a ton of client work that doesn't convey my interests per se.

AOI Talk

Unfortunately I couldn't make the much anticipated talk for the Association of Illustrators visit this year due to ill health which was pretty gutting considering I look forward to their visits and consider the advice given as something crucial to establishing myself as a creative practitioner starting out in the industry.

To ensure my non attendance didn't mean I missed out on all the good stuff, I made sure to catch up with one of my peers and asked to borrow their notes. Feeling a part of a community on this course is really helping me through a difficult time personally. Knowing I can contact any of my lovely peers and have them happy to help has been so rewarding and I just want to buy everyone lots of chocolate to say thank you for their support. It means so much!

Mini Folio pack idea

Everyone needs a little MOTIVATION INSPIRATION

I admit I am a sucker for inspirational quotes and have recently began collecting inspiration regarding how to view my creative practice. My lack in confidence is not something that sits well with me (obviously) and I am therefore always on the look out for quotes and other practitioners insight to help me feel better about where I stand both professionally and personally when it comes to my creative practice.

These make me feel good and I hope they make you feel good too!

sources @adamjk

Website in Progress

Having just been on the phone having a chat with my Dad, he has given me the go ahead to have the reigns of my website and have a little play. So far so good.

Things to consider:

The file sizes of the images to be displayed on my portfolio lading page are a little big and i am aware the first time loading the page can take a little while. Remembering my PP3 sessions and what Patrick and John have made clear - when someone land on my website page they wont hang around for it to load. Therefore I want to reduce the file size and quality of all of my portfolio content to be displayed here - in the hope of speeding this up.

Looks awesome though and really pleased with how it is all coming along.
A list of what Dad needs from me moving forward:

LinkedIn - Help from the professionals

I recently came across a discussion on my linked in with regards to how to deal with a "no payment" scenario following providing a client with work.

This is something which terrifies me, and as with this practitioner - upon being invoiced and contacted numerous times - the client disappeared off the face of the planet leaving the creative professional with no money for months of hard work following negotiations and bending to fit the clients needs.

Obviously such a crap thing to happen - but what I really liked about this discussion was how many professionals - across all areas (lawyers, creatives and clientele) felt able to give their professional and considered advice in a "what i would do in this scenario" fashion.

To me this advice is like gold dust - becoming aware of the issues creatives often face in industry when working with clients - but also how best to resolve or prevent the issue from happening the first place. It is so important to cover all of your bases going into a contract with someone - however there are always bound to be gaps and unpredicted issues along the way.
This - along with AOI talks have helped me to gain better understanding of how to deal with these not-so-nice parts of the career I aim to have and have even provided me with a potential mutual contact for a lawyer specialising in this area...should ever I need one! LinkedIn Rocks!

Nice Little Find: 'Kew's Forgotten Queen'

BBC Wildlife & Nature Documentary: Kews Forgotten Queen

link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07xjghp/kews-forgotten-queen

COP3 Reflection and Followup Post

A lovely documentary exploring the life and works of amazing victorian botanist and famed botanical illustrator Marian North during the time of female/male inequality.

• Stumbling across this documentary has been lovely as it reflects on exactly what I have been writing about for COP3. Its a great feeling how all of the work I did for that module has given me the knowledge and insight into everything botanical - especially the history and journey of botanical illustration which still influences my practice today. 
• As I wrote about in my extended essay - botanical illustration is experiencing a contemporary renaissance and gaining in popularity. The old forgotten greats of this art-form finally making an appearance and gaining the appeal and accolade in museums, exhibitions but also in contemporary illustration circles as well. 
• For my COP3 essay, a potential direction of inquiry was to research into botanical illustration and how this has influenced women and female status throughout history. Unfortunately this was not the direction I took, however I hope to explore this avenue in more depth for my own interest as what I had gathered as prep is so amazing 
• The ladies emerging during this period in the infancy of illustration, were trying to make their passion their practice. 
• Marianne North for instance isn't only influential to my practice because of her beautiful illustrations, but because of her tenacity dedication and stubbornness to succeed at doing what she loved. She defied social convention, rejected marriage and pioneered a life of adventure and creativity - bringing both together to aid in some of the worlds first and largest conservational efforts. Employed by Kew Gardens, London, Marianne's illustrations were not only to educate on what is out there in terms of plant or animal species, but to inspire people to protect the natural world. 
• Still super inspired by this subject and like the idea of becoming a woman like North, as I feel her determination is key to her success and I admire that a lot!

Examples of Marianne's Work:

About Marianne North:

• A female botanical illustrator in Victorian times - uncommon
• highly respected for her artwork and her science
• For many women during this period art was a way into the sciences, often studying under their fathers and providing the visual material for scientific publications.
• Employed by Kew Gardens, London where you can still see many her of her original paintings and travel sketches
• North pioneered research for conservation purposes
• Didn't shy away from a challenge:
• - challenging her male peers when confronted about the accuracy of her knowledge and career due to being a 'woman' 
• - said sod you all and gathered her own research and reference material for her paintings first hand by travelling across the world, alone, into remote parts of jungle just to paint her floral subject. 
• - Not only did North produce many painting and drawings on her long and arduous excursions to the "New World" - South Americas and Asia - she also bought back never-before-seen dried specimens, to be housed in Kew's private herbarium collection.
• Her paintings therefore often provided the most modern record of newly discovered species of plants, helping to contribute to the new science of the time
• A visionary, adventurer, scientist, botanists
• Travelled across 5 continents
• created over 1000 painting
• Thrived as a watercolour artists
• Main subject matter: Huge passion for flowers, landscapes, insects and reptiles
• Her tone of voice // illustrative style emulated her own personality. Did not stick to scientific conventions in terms of what was deemed 'botanically accurate' however were so colourful and accurate that her work was still used as scientific record.

Notes / quotes from the documentary

• Vision impressed the most revolutionary scientists of all time
• For Charles Darwin - Marianne North was able to bring his visionary to life
• to run away into the wild with plants... thats what makes Marianne north an extraordinary painter
• Scientific powerhouse of the British empire
• Kew Gardens - one of the most biodiverse areas on earth.

My COP3 Botanical Illustration Inspired artwork:

Creative Presence // Degree Show Update

Ive been recently thinking about the work I would like to show at the degree show and how this work (the physical pieces i create) can also work as promotional content and creative presence pieces for my practice in the exhibitions coming up // to mail out to agencies, creative directors etc.

Below are a few mock ups and lists of the pieces I am currently wanting in the show (all of which will be created / produced in an extension to the work I am submitting for the EP3 module)

From these final project and show ideas I can see the potential for further use of this work as part of promo packs for example and my creative presence going forward after this degree.

Potential promo pieces (linking to this work)

post card collections (crystals and mini worlds)
sticker sheets for mailouts ( crystals and build you own mini world)
mini foldout posters / prints?

Other promo pieces:

essca business cards
additional sticker collections (essca for sticking on packaging, pic n mix zine
concertina mini portfolio & essca band / work collection

Notes:

• Aware that this update is a little ambitious in terms of the work to physically produce - but I am hoping that with cleaver print proofs, mock ups and layouts of my recent work (and work in my portfolio / on my website) - I will be able to make the most of the artwork I have produced and create a range of promo material that I am happy to send out into the industry (in a "mix & match" fashion). 
• Super excited about the work I am producing for EP3 - need to focus on completing this to then move forward with it and add to my creative presence and presentation.

ESSCA Website Build: Session 2 & Review

It has been a month since first meeting with my Dad to discuss the initial stages of building my website.



Since meeting I have provided him with all files containing my work and the projects I want to showcase on this portfolio site.

For this review - my dad travelled up to Leeds and again we spent a day fiddling and sorting any issues that have arisen. From this meeting I was able to see the progress of the site and help make further decisions as to how I want the pages to look as you navigate. In particular the "project pages" which the visitor to the site will be directed too upon clicking one of the tiles of my work on the home landing page. These pages are key as they provide the visitor with information about that specific piece of work / works from a project and show case the pieces as a collection on a show reel.





Visualising my website ideas for the session:

Reflection and Moving forward:

These sessions have been really beneficial not only in collaborating and seeing my website take shape, but also learning how Wordpress works from an administrator standpoint with access to plugins both predesigned and publicly accessible - but also plugins my dad has design specifically to help realise certain areas of the site.

From this session it was paramount that we left knowing I had some knowledge of how to edit and build my site alone. My dad has a million other design and UX projects on right now so cannot be working solely on my site alone. I also want to take the reigns, adjusting file sizes and uploading key information and just building the relationship with my site from a personal point of view. 

With this in mind I made the following notes:

Next steps:

• Finalise the bottom footer information on the landing page. This is vital as it should hold copyright information
• Smaller file sizes to increase speed of page loads
• Write my about page
• Consider a quick "montage" - esque video for the landing page showing a variety of my practical approaches
• Header is currently a placeholder for this video / image of me
• He likes ESSCA (finally) and has warmed to the scribble / signature logo idea which no appears as a floating banner always visible as the screen is navigated.
• Continue to gather more "project" content
• Begin to populate the project pages with information about what the project is, what I hoped to achieve and the decisions I made regarding media, size and distribution etc

What my website looks like at this stage of the build:

PP3 Presentation session and key notes / considerations

Creative Presence and Promotional Research

I really playing with format in my work and feel this can really add something extra when promoting the work of a practitioner. 
My aims for my creative presence its to emulate my mantra of - "creative thinking outside of the box" therefore had a little trip to the library to research and gather some inspiration of how best to promote myself and my work to clients, existing practitioners and potential agencies.

Here is what I found:

Next steps:
Consider the pieces I want to showcase in my portfolio.
Be concise - don't overload with similar or outdated content
For a mini promo pack I would like to create a small 6 piece fold out portfolio which people can take away with then along with a business card at networking events such as my degree show, D&AD and Hanbury Hall.
Consider stock. I feel stock is important when printing work as if not considered - the lack in paper quality and make of the material can let down the content and overall deliver of who I am as a practitioner. 
No one wants to take away anything naf and I don't want to end up in the bin!

ESSCA Website Build: Session 1

When considering the best way to get myself and my practice out into the world - my website is key. Aside from the obvious benefits and for it to be silly in todays digital climate not too - having a website for me is important as it does a lot of the hard sell and talking for me.
As my practice is varied, I often find it difficult to explain or show people what it is that I exactly mean by this therefore I want my website to communicate my varied skillset and diverse approach to visual communication successfully and in a clear and concise manner.

Lucky for me my dad is a successful software designer and developer, directing his own international business back home in Cambridge. Having taken on a new focus to better hs own skills in industry, he has offered to design and build my website in collaboration with me, to better his UX skills as well as finally get his daughters work on the web (its been a long time coming.)

In preparation for our first website "meeting" get-together I wanted to make sure I had as much information as possible to give my dad, knowing how he works and likes to get things doe and making the most of having already made a few key decisions regarding my name, branding elements and pieces in my portfolio I want to include already.

As my dad is based in my hometown in Cambridge and Im up here in Leeds - meeting to go over the initial website stuff so as to leave him with enough information to go away and have a play wasn't easy. It was recently my birthday therefore found myself back home for some small celebrations. I made sure to utilise this time and meet with my dad for a day of website sorting stuff and this was super success - IM SO EXCITED ITS FINALLY HAPPENING!

Here are some notes I made from our talks regarding the layout and what I want to happen where. 

Website Specs

• As my content is so varied I would like the aesthetic of the website to remain as clean and easy to navigate as possible.
• Having researched into other practitioners websites such as:

http://www.owendavey.com/

http://chasematt.com/

http://www.peepshow.org.uk/illustration/

http://loish.net/

http://markconlan.com/

https://www.mrgauky.com/

https://www.carsonellis.com/

• along with creative hubs who showcase a lot of practitioners work as tiles on one page:

https://www.dutchuncle.co.uk/

https://centralillustration.com/

https://heartagency.com/artists/

https://handsomefrank.com/

• I feel that a tiled landing page is key. I want who ever types my web address in to land straight into my portfolio - so there should be no qualms about who I am or how to navigate the site to reach my work.
• 
  
• Ideally I would really like some of the tiles to be animated. Aside from actual animations - I feel tiles which are animated as an almost "showreel" is a great way to showcase larger projects with multiple pieces of work.
• 
  
• Once a piece of work or tile is clicked, I would like this to direct to another page specifically for that "project" where arrows can move between individual images of my work - alongside a continuously visible description of what the project is about.

To also help visualise how I want the site to look, I drew up some scamps in discussions with my dad so as to give him an even clearer idea:

Reflection

Overall a really great session and i cannot wait for a review next month.

Dad has access too and purchased wordpress admin therefore will be building my site through their generator and writing his own plugins alongside the an amazing editor suit called Elementor - designed for creating all the best websites.

I was sure just sending him everything i wanted and leaving my Dad to it would have been ok, however I am now so glad we met and had a day dedicated to such a big task. Both being in the same place to work through ideas and small do's and don'ts of the website building world meant we were both working from the same page and minimised the potential for further confusion down the round.

www.essca.co.uk is ON ITS WAY - watch this space!