End of year project: Final evaluation:

For this final project I decided to merge the collections project and our end of year final project together due to the way in which my collections project was evolving and the time that I had left. The focus was mainly on bicycles, cogs and the way that they interacted with each other and their surroundings, and originally I wanted to create a series of photographs of people on bike rides and interacting with their bikes. I was very focused on the machinery and industrial aspect of the bikes and cogs and was inspired by artists such as Johnny White, who often incorporates metal and movement into his works, and Mike Brodies 'Train Hopper' photography series which was gritty and industrial. I felt connected and inspired by these artists and moving forward I wanted to develop my piece into something that explored connection and interaction a bit more. 

Having one on one sessions with the course tutors helped me a lot and I was able to look at my ideas and the project objectively. I decided to move away from photography and began creating physical replicas of the original metal cogs from my dad's bike. I experimented with different materials, and at first I tried to prioritise the strength of the material that I was using and made a batch of cogs with jesmonite. However, I quickly found that this wouldn't be cost effective and viable for me in the long run of the project as jesmonite is an expensive material. I found that situations like these where I have to make decisions quickly due to the time that I have pushed me to think practically, professionally and allowed me to properly utilise my time management skills. Additionally, even though I ended up not using the jesmonite I was still able to learn how to make and mix it properly, widening my skillset. 

I made a practical decision to reinforce plaster with metal hoops as this would be a lot cheaper for me and I would still get the desired result. One aspect of the project that I struggled with was figuring out how to display the cogs now that I had them, I had a complete block in my creativity and spent a few days researching and talking to my tutors and course mates. Speaking to others and accepting criticism is something that has allowed me to push myself through those creative blocks and figure out solutions to my problems. I had a couple of one on one sessions with different tutors and came across land artists such as Andy Goldsworthy, these artists paired with my own hiking experience inspired me and allowed me to take this project in a different direction than before. I began to look at rock piling and the way in which people interact with the landscape and want to leave their mark, and I finally came up with a solution for displaying my cogs. I created four abstract sculptures reminiscent of rock piling, I tried out different types of glue and adhesives such as gorilla glue before settling on basic super glue.

I was proud of the final results, however, I acknowledged that the sculptures were very fragile due to the plaster and therefore I needed to be extremely careful when handling and moving them. One of the pieces broke off twice but I was able to quickly and efficiently fix it with some more superglue. 

Over the course of this project I have experimented with techniques and materials as well as made good use of the recourses and knowledge available to me through the college, staff and technicians. I have had to make quick and critical decisions regarding materials and process and have overcome creativity blocks. I believe that I have acted professionally and have continued to improve and widen my skillset and time management skills throughout this project. I am proud of how far I have come and will continue to improve.