Interim evaluation - so far.

This project is much more challenging than I initially anticipated. I am forcing myself to work in a different way. Having to rewire how I work normally to be able to write and observe the individuals I meet, is probably the hardest. Working straight onto the page with ink and sketching with a memory in mind differs from an exercise like roughing. With the memory, I feel extra pressure to get the observation just right. I think this may because of the subject I am dealing with and that I want to portray the truth as much as possible. Being too careful in the approach to how I’m recording is a hindrance. Having more fluidity by focusing on the memory whilst drawing rather than the image itself would help. In order to record effectively and communicate key information, I feel this needs to happen. For the key parts, however, I will consider the drawing more, but for features like the room we were in for example can just quick sketches. This project is also particularly challenging because of the individuals I have chosen to work with. They are unfortunately a vulnerable group, and young children are involved. Due to this getting all the relevant documents signed and making sure my research is following the universities ethics guidelines is necessary but has hindered the process slightly. I had to get signed permission from all participants in order to take images of their work and write about them. This I feel was hard to do, as I decided it was best to build trust with them first then bring the letter out for them to sign. The signed permission I felt did make some participants uneasy and bit worried, which is something that I did not want to evoke at all. However, being there to explain the document did help to take some of these anxieties away and rebuild a bit more trust.

In the bigger picture of the project, my collaboration with the council works well. I had an unexpected development where they asked me to paint a quick mural on a wall in their new office which I then ran workshops so people could make and decorate the tree with features such as leaves and bugs. 

The written side of the module is lacking. I am going to have to change my question slightly due to the responses so far in the practical research. I also need to do more academic research as I know already that a deeper level of exploration will help me narrow down the main area of focus. I am also going to put in a deadline of when I need to stop researching and develop the making. This will be soon.