I am still in shock that my first year at university is now coming to an end. I feel as though I have developed both as a person, and in terms of working. Studying Textiles in Practice has provided me with the teaching and equiptment to expand my textile knowledge, and to also try new skills/ techniques that I have never had chance to pursue in my earlier studies. Coming straight from a-level grades felt a tad daunting at first- especially as a majority of the other textiles members had taken a year to study at foundation level. It did make me feel as though I didn't have some of the key skills that I needed to have when coming into a degree course- such as setting up my own exhibitions and having limited tutorial/ contact times, however I feel that this challenge has been a huge learning curve showing I am extremely passionate about textiles to carry on, even at times that I felt completely out of my depth.
This year I have specialised in embroidery and construct. I have always had a passion for machine stitch, and am very much interested in textures and patterns created through embellishments/ hand stitching. I feel that I really didn't achieve as much as I could have done. I think this is down to the over-whelming change from moving to the big city, and literally being thrown in at the deep end, managing work, social time and looking after myself. For my second textile world, I was persuaded into construct- as both Nigel and Kate felt that my embroidery work would incorporate well into construct. I had never tried knit/ weave- and both were very much enjoyed- my goal for the year was to learn how to knit by hand, a skill that I had failed so many times down to be an awkward lefty- however Lesley managed to break this curse and I am now using this method as ofter as possible.
I am disappointed that I was not able to learn some of the skills in other worlds- print especially, as this was the option that I desperately wanted to learn. I am always inspired by the likes of William Morris so be able to replicate work alike to his, I will need to learn new skills. I am really hoping that next year I will be allowed to learn how to work in the print rooms and also the use of photoshop, be it even for a quick induction to learn the absolute basics, as the processes fascinate me, and I would then be able to experiment with different combinations of worlds. As well as our two textile worlds, I have had an interesting experience for our third term, collaboration of Unit X. I feel as though this term I stepped away from my usual style, which left me feeling a little lost, however by the middle of the term I regained my style and felt much happier.
In terms of specialising, from the beginning I felt as though the only option for me was embroidery, as it really has been my main passion. With this said, I now feel as though I have learnt a lot of exciting skills, and don't want to specialise too soon with learning more about them. I am definitely interested in continuing the techniques of embellishments and textures into my work, and I'm sure that this will lead me to a specific pathway in time.