Year 11 - Updated Checklist

Developmental GCSE sketchbook page

This list is a guide to the MINIMUM you should have complete when we return from half term:

• Your book should open with a title page - nothing fancy (there are no marks for title page decoration - invest your time where it counts), but a clear indication of what your project is all about - so “A sense of place” or “Self-image” or whichever mock exam title you have chosen to pursue.
• Next should be your summer photos - but please don't see this as the end of the image gathering process for this project, adding to your imagery is encouraged at any time and can often re-energise your visual work. Include contact sheet thumbnails of all your shots and a decent selection (5+) printed at a larger scale (A5/A4).
• A rich Mind map should follow your summer photos. Think literally, think laterally and really expand your ideas on your chosen theme, indicate in bold text the ideas that you are most excited by.
• Pinterest boards are a quick way of grouping together lots of bits of inspiration - use this brilliant tool to explore your theme further, it is important that you remember to make note of those who have created the images you like so that you can return to it later. Compile two A3 pages of inspirational imagery which is accompanied by brief written annotation explaining why you have been inspired by these things.
• A sustained piece of tonal pencil drawing (based on your photos) - this should feature a full range of tone and represent at least 3 hours worth of work.
• The set of expressive timed drawings we completed in class (3 x 8 minute sketches), simply mounted into your book and briefly annotated.
• Gold card plate and the prints taken from it effectively mounted in your sketchbook.
• Analysis of the Gold Card printing process (see blog for details).
• Carbon print.
• Analytical research into 2 Artists appropriate to the direction of your project (refer to the additional guidance when doing this). Talk to staff to identify appropriate sources.
• Developments from your gold card and carbon prints - working into with coloured inks, plus potentially digital or mixed media collage images.

Over Half Term:

• Finish anything required in the list above including the second set of research.
• Take any additional photographs that you require to inspire the independent phase and outcome of your mock exam project.
• Make some decisions about the direction you intend to take with this set of work - when we get back from half term you should know what imagery is going to inspire your final piece and what media/scale you are heading towards.

You will then have 3 weeks to develop your plan by producing studies from your selected imagery in appropriate media. Last 2 weeks before Christmas are set aside for your Mock Exam (producing your outcome).

A Few Good Year 10 Collages

Year 10 - Collage Artist Research

To prepare for work we are undertaking in class you need to research and analyse a range of works by an Artist or Illustrator who works in mixed media or collage. 
Use the guidance carefully, it is important to start producing the kind of analytical research that secures good grades at GCSE.
Your research should be thoughtfully presented over a minimum of 2 sketchbook pages. 
Suggested Artists to research are:

Martin O'Neill (Illustrator), Eduardo Recife (Illustrator), Robert Rauschenberg (Artist), Kurt Schwitters (Artist), Joseph Cornell (Artist), Mark Powell (Illustrator), Tim Marrs (Illustrator), Nazario Graziano (Illustrator).

Joseph Cornell

Kurt Schwitters

Mark Powell

Martin O'Neill

Robert Rauschenberg

Eduardo Recife

Tim Marrs

RESEARCH

• Identify each Artist.
• Find examples of artworks –get good copies, list dates, dimensions and media used.
• If you can find them, include quotations from the Artist. Try www.artquotes.net

ANALYSIS

• Give a detailed description of the artwork. This includes analysing the formal qualities (see below) but also covers a straightforward description of what you see and should also refer to mood, atmosphere or message.
• Analyse formal qualities – comment on use of tone, line, composition, colour, technique, scale, mark-making, media etc.

YOUR RESPONSE

• Give an opinion on the Artworks, but ensure you justify what you say. Avoid simple value judgements (‘I really like/dislike…’) or vague, meaningless statements (’This piece is really effective’). Comment upon how successful or unsuccessful you find the artwork, and give specific reasons why you hold this opinion.
• What is the relationship between this work and your own? Identify and explain connections between this artist’s work and your own.

VISUAL RESPONSE

• It is important to also include a visual response to the artists’ work. This can either be a copy of an artwork (or a detail of a work) with the purpose of analysing technique; a diagram or study that investigates certain formal elements of the artwork (composition, brushwork); or (even better) a piece of work based on your own imagery that clearly uses some of the techniques, methods or aspects of this artist’s work. In your response use the same materials as employed by the original Artist wherever possible.

OVERALL PRESENTATION

• Take pride in the overall presentation of your research, it should not be rushed. Consider each element carefully:  type/text, layout, titles, backgrounds, visual responses etc.

We will be looking at this work in your first lesson back after half term. 

Year 10 and 11 Gold Card Printing Process Evaluation

Write up your process in full sentences, addressing each bullet point. Ensure that your write up would effectively form a set of instructions for someone who had not done the process. If you can take some photos of the tools you used and the final plate you produced to illustrate your account then award yourself extra marks!

• List the materials you used for producing YOUR gold card plate - clue - they were not entirely the same as those illustrated in the photo above.
• Describe how you transferred your image onto the gold card, in this photographic example a tracing has been used, but we did a variant on this process, explain.

• Once the image was transferred onto the gold card how did you go about cutting the plate? Talk about tools you used and different mark-making techniques you employed (peeling, linear cutting, scratching etc.)
• What health and safety issues are there with using craft knives - what are the likely consequences of misuse? How can you ensure you use them safely? (tidy work space? direction and force of cutting? position of fingers in relation to blade?

• Describe the inking up process. How is ink applied? What steps do you need to take to keep yourself and the studio clean?

• Once the plate is covered in ink, what did you have to do next before the plate was ready for printing? Clue is in the photos.

• Once you are ready to print what did you (or your teacher) have to do to get the image from your plate onto paper? Describe the process illustrated in the series of photos below:

(Not the press you used, but you get the idea...)

• Finally comment on how successful you feel your print was and what you might do differently next time you do the process to get even better results.

Year 10 - Identity Photos part 2 PREP TASK

OK, so earlier this term we all took some photos to get our "identity" project started, these have successfully sustained us to this point and have resulted in some decent drawing and printmaking. This is a major project and you need to maintain your interest and inspiration as we explore more processes and then go on to create independent work. For this to happen effectively you all need more high quality source imagery.
This might be inspired by further exploration of themes addressed in your first photos, or you might choose to focus on a different aspect of identity. What is important is getting some really striking images, consider lighting, camera angle and composition carefully and remember these photos need to excite you and express your identity in some way.

Here are some images that might spark an idea:

You could tell a story through your photos, or address an issue such as isolation.

Getting some friends to model and using a clean, neutral background gives you the chance to explore posture and expression - "I am confident" "I am thoughtful" etc.

Or potentially focusing on emotion through facial expression.

Using make up or text to add meaning to your shoot.

Exploring hobbies and interests, but trying to get some striking close ups, sporting equipment, clothing, or the body (see above) can work well for this.

Capture your personal space photographically - here an individual and their possessions are depicted, but the shot is successful due to the unusual high angle shot and use of a fish eye lens.

Capture a space that is important to you, perhaps somewhere special or beautiful.

They say "you are what you eat" so our food preferences are a part of our identity - food lends itself well to striking photography.

Hopefully that has given you all some "food for thought" and you can take a fresh batch of photos that enriches your project moving forwards. Don't just settle for easy options, if you have a good idea for a shoot that requires effort, then take steps to make it happen.
You should be taking at least 30 new shots - choose a theme and explore it by taking a range of related photos. You do not want one shot of a football, one of a facial expression and one of your lunch.

This prep task should be completed by our lesson on Friday 12th October at the very latest, but earlier is better.