WYTHNOS WYTH - week eight

The first week back after reading week and the being in Stockholm to deal with my apartment. Everything feels much lighter and clearer after I wrote that huge reflective journal post last week and had my lectures at the beginning of this week.

We spoke about the most important texts that we will use to form our critical review in our project proposal. I had only wrote down what those texts were and never got back around to writing more about them so I truly blagged it. That being said, it went really well and my peers seemed very interested in what I had to say. I spoke about Assemble Architects and The Fabric Floor, how I was inspired by this concept and how it could be that there is an open space like this as well as workshops etc. The second text was the website I mentioned last week about the revival of Welsh crafts and how to modernise them and finally, the third was a government report about 'The role of arts in improving health and wellbeing' which primarily focuses on children even though it isn't based on that, but there are some interesting points focused on adults which I can pick up on. I think I mentioned this last week, or I mentioned it to my mum one evening but I am shocked at how the project proposal has done from me wanting to have a little side hustle and do a version of 'sip and paint' nights (minus the alcohol) with a group of likeminded gals to me wanting to revive traditional Welsh crafts, run a creative space within my local community that is open for whoever to use and the thing that most surprised me, is that I am so interested in the role of arts within wellbeing! This is something that I won't have the time (or words) to focus on now but, maybe it is what I do my dissertation in, or even a PHD? The world truly is my oyster and I am so excited for what the future holds! And to top it off, I no longer see this module as the 'boring one' because I am really enjoying the research side and getting to write in the first person in a much more relaxed way - not as relaxed as I am here but definitely not the formal style in which I did my BA dissertation.

Side note to this hefty paragraph - on Tuesday I was having lunch in the MA room and I was chatting to a girl who is on the Art & Science MA about my project and she sent me a insta called 'Does Liverpool' which is in the fabric district (didn't even know there was a fabric district?!) and they have their own version of The Fabric Floor!! It is a fiver to rent out and use the pattern cutting tables and sewing machines etc which is exactly what I was thinking would be the price I would like to charge. So, I am going to pop over there in the next couple of week and have a mooch, maybe speak to the lady who runs it and try and get some info for my project proposal or if I can collaborate with her for my Transdisciplinary Practice module. Networking really is so very important!

Speaking of Tuesday, it was such a fun day and I felt like it kickstarted me into the next three weeks of organised chaos. We had a quick review with Kayla in the morning where I spoke about my plan, she thinks that I should maybe focus on one part instead of all of it but I feel like I have to do them together as they relate so much! I'm gonna see how it goes but my goal really is to do as I said in my 'to do list' last week. We also get an extra few weeks extension which is great and will help massively, although I want to be done by the 19th so I can enjoy a week or so at Christmas with my friends and family.

We spent the rest of the morning in the FabLab learning how to laser cut. I really wanted to do my Welsh Love Spoon that I'd prepared but it takes a lot more effort than just having an image on illustrator. So I will go back on Friday and make that happen. I also got the idea to make a Welsh Not adaption using the laser cutter, Lol showed us some Tatty Devine jewellery and it inspired me to make something funky rather than carving a block of wood - although that would be a very traditional Welsh handicraft haha, but maybe not so much 'fashion'. Who knows, I can do both!

The afternoon we spent in the print room, probably one of my favourite studios in the building. We did cyanotype which I have never done before and really liked the outcome! I did it by hand writing the lyrics to 'Yma O Hyd' and I am going to book into screen-print to continue with that on fabric so I can maybe even make a shirt this semester as something to hand in! But lets not get ahead of ourselves haha

Which is what I ended up doing on Friday, I prepared my screens myself which is something we didn't have to do when I was doing my BA and now I know why, it took nearly all morning! Then it took nearly all afternoon to print onto my already made shirt, making sure it was all lined up properly for the repeat. It definitely made me miss the digital printer! I also cut out a shirt block from Anne and Cathy, it was really fun to be in the pattern room again although I probably don't remember how to make a shirt from scratch, I would really like to try before this semester ends.

The rest of the weekend was mainly spent doing my critical review for Johns module. I am struggling with the 'critical' side of it and I feel like my writing doesn't flow as well as it does in my head so, I've booked onto a critical writing course on Monday evening to help a bit with that. I also had a look on canvas because they have some really good tools there to support you as well, so I am hopeful that by the end of next weekend I will have my 1500/2000 words done, my introduction nearly there and after Monday's class, my timetable will also be complete! This is something I am focusing on at the moment because I would like it handed it before I go back to Stockholm for the Northern Lights.

On Saturday I did do some weaving with paper which was fun whilst I watched the first Harry Potter. I can't wait to get some fabrics and make a proper weave and go to the mills to see how it's done on the big machines. Oh, and I emailed Shima and they are willing to give me a 3 month trial as long as my lecturer applies for it, so I will speak to Kayla about that on Tuesday in my 1-2-1 as well as the progress of my project. I am thinking that in Semester 2 I could focus on 3D whilst doing my dissertation and transdisciplinary practice to keep my focus on what my major project could turn into and so it isn't all just writing and theory.

To Do List:

• Laser cut Welsh Love Spoon & Welsh Not adaption inspired by Tatty Devine

• Use graffiti style to write out more text & screen print onto shirt

• Book into photo studio to take photos of screen printed shirt

• Write at least 1000 words of critical review & look over introduction

• Book onto academic achievement course for critical writing

• Prepare for 1-2-1 with Kayla