It's fairly obvious how my final outcome(s) link back the the theme of weather, as it's literally clouds. I guess that I responded to the theme in a personal way since my outcome is something which I personally wanted to make??

While there isn't much about ethics and sustainability in the artwork, they were definitely researched and considered while I was planning the woodcut. In general, I feel like I was able to the create an artwork which effectively conveys my original goals to any audience - a print showing the sky and clouds in a simplified fashion. Well, any extra weather research never did or would've assisted me or my outcome since it's based on very "generic" ("mainstream" instead?)  weather, although, there was a plan for a potential print where I inked the clouds grey and added specks of ink to try and imitate rain, but I realised that that idea wouldn't've worked with how I cut the cloud shapes.

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I felt as though I did a lot of research which actually did help me progress my project, for example, using my artist/specialist research really helped me get a better understanding of the whole printing process; not just woodcutting specifically. In terms of things I would've done differently, I'd focus a lot more on planning and actually thinking and figuring out what process I want to use instead of just making a bunch of stuff just to see what sticks that, mostly, barely helps out with my final outcome. 

Again, I think that I had adequate primary research through actually hundreds of photographs and a lot of observational drawings of mainly clouds which, obviously, related to, and informed the work I was doing.

 

I feel like I did pretty well in researching woodcuts and other printing techniques, as well as doing a lot of experimenting through the use of lino a lot later in the project than it should've been. If I could do it differently, I would have started by making lino cuts to "get into" the whole printing process instead of jumping straight into the deep end (one would say) and starting my final piece after about 30 minutes of my first time ever working with wood like that, where I was just making marks on a small slab of wood.

I'm going to assume that "other research" means artists, so it was kind of effective but I didn't really learn much from it as it was pretty much just "these are some artists, they make prints/sketches which are visually simple, I can be inspired by how they're able to convey objects by their use of basic shapes and colours". I feel like while I was still in the initial experimentation phase, I could've, like, copied (pretty much) one of their artworks and then alter and twist it into something original because then I would've actually been inspired by them and you'd be able to literally and physically see that in early mock ups.

 

Honestly, the most effective method I found for generating ideas was when I opened some of my own photographs with photoshop and simplified them down to basic shapes and colours, as doing this planted the idea and opened the door to more graphical/print related outcomes. 

In general I'm not all that pleased with the outcomes I currently have; while yes the woodcut itself is fine, most of the prints I did were pretty bad in my opinion, and the best looking print is my least favourite of them all so that's not really fun. To improve them I really just need to get a grip on the inking process as a whole as that's where it's going wrong, and I need to spend a lot more time afterwards when I'm trying to get the ink to actually stick to the paper as that's also an issue.

The most successful parts of the project was probably when I was making the simplified versions of my photos on photoshop as that's when I actually had a clear vision which I knew I could make a reality. If I could do it again, I would change a lot. first of all, I would actually think about the general process of what I want to make at the start instead of flailing around, hoping to find something. I'd also research artists who actually contribute to my ideas instead of a couple that help me at only one off points in the project only to remove them as they were useless. Just to name a few things.

 

I mean it's probably easier to write about what didn't go wrong as most of my ideas at the start of the unit got completely chucked out the window due to my lack of, A: concrete planning, and B: the fact that it felt like every other day was a new idea I wanted to make. So, for a short while, I was pretty much making it up as I went along until I, eventually, found my footing on the woodcut/graphics idea. Early on in the project, I did research into global warming and climate change which didn't help that much. I looked into extreme weather photos and abstract sketches of landscapes and clouds, this also didn't help a lot. And on the London trip, I found only one thing that somewhat helped me with the project - and it was a slab of a stone or an ore, which I described as "bolts of lightning or a river". So, as I said, I kind of just made stuff and waited to see what clicked for me which isn't one of my smartest decisions to be fair

In terms of visual language, the main things I've been focusing on are colour, shape, and texture, and what makes my artwork dynamic is its use of bold shapes and colours which grab your eyes, as well as the interesting mark making I used in it.

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For the most part, my ongoing reflective practice went pretty well, I mean, it did what it was supposed to (give me a chance to take in and reflect on what I'd done as well as what I would be doing in the future), and, being honest, while it did aid me and (I think anyway) worked pretty well, I don't feel like it was that effective. But that's probably just because I wasn't using it to its full effectiveness like I should've been, so in future I just need to do it more and, in turn, it'll be more effective.

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While I have thoroughly considered sustainability in regards to my chosen materials, I don't think that I could've used more sustainable materials as that'd entail me asking for some specific type of wood which isn't very cheap, or as accessible as its less eco friendly counterpart. Also I'd have to swap out the oil-based inks for water, or soy/plant, based if I want to achieve maximum sustainability from my inks.

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At the start, maybe not so much, but I definitely gathered myself in terms of organisation later into the project; and as for planning, again, not much happened. While I have met the deadline and completed all the tasks, I still want to make a few more prints just to get some actually good ones instead of the ones which I currently have, which aren't that very good.

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I have learned a lot about just how important planning and organisation is to a project of this magnitude (literally has "major" in the name) as unlike in the past projects where I had a fairly clear vision from basically the start, I was actually stumped at the start of this one, planning only the things I thought I wanted to pursue, for example, I have a page with some early, in writing, plans for final outcomes which would've been a series of Sci-Fi themed photographs, or a mix of B/W and colour photos of literal trash and I would've made a collage out of them, depicting... trash. So as a result of this complete lapse in cognitive function, I really need to solely plan for things that I can realistically achieve, and if I do go planning some relatively "outlandish" stuff, make multiple fallback plans if I don't decide to pursue it.

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I would hope that my audience will get a calming feeling when looking at my outcomes, since clouds are a very relaxing to look at.

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My main goal for this has been to keep everything clean which, I hope, has been achieved with my website's layout as well as my proposed presentation for my outcomes. My sketchbook, on the contrary, is rather empty (most actually useful designs/"plans" were made on loose sheets of paper), and, to be fair, it isn't as tidy as I'd hoped it to be, due to my sporadically changing ideas, as well as the fact that one or two pages were accidentally covered in charcoal.

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I feel as though I've got a pretty basic understanding of my audience, being people who are interested in printmaking - woodcutting​ specifically.

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I would assume that in terms of the operation, I did fairly well, being it my first woodcut - although I probably could've cooled it with the "mark making" on the clouds since I overdid it, thinking that I was underdoing it. As for alternate presentation, I could have it on a stand, on a plinth, as opposed to being framed. If I could change anything, I would’ve made a second, or more, maybe, woodcuts with different designs as I did get bored of staring at the same design for what felt like hours. Having multiple would also just spice it up a little (for me anyway).

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I don’t really feel like I've developed as a creative practitioner that much, although I do believe that I have definitely improved since the last project, and definitely since the first, in terms of experimenting with new materials and processes. My goals as a creative practitioner are still something photography related as that’s something which I have an actual genuine passion towards as well as being something which I also don't get bored of or frustrated at when it doesn't pan out the way I hoped. The project didn’t really help since I didn’t do much photography in it outside of primary research. If I stuck to my original idea then it would've been the sole focus, but a multitude of things caused me to stray away from that plan. The plan to move forward is as simple as it can be; try to incorporate photography more into my next project instead of bailing on a photography outcome and permanently shuffling it into the research department.