Reflection and Moving Forward

As 2015 ends and 2016 has just started, the new year is a time when everybody reflects and embraces change. Over this 4 week christmas break back home, I have been doing alot of reflecting. All aspects of my life have crossed my mind, and ultimately I have been questioning what my aims are in life.

Of course, I am studying BA Art and Design at the University Of Leeds, but so far I am really not clicking with their teaching style. I don't feel confident in what I am doing, and I love the subject too much to create bad connections with it due to a course that simply does not work for me.

As a result of this I have organised to have a few meetings with the student support centre and hopefully I will gain clarity over the issues I have highlighted within my academic life.

As far as personal goals go, I really want to find part-time work in Leeds whilst I study, being back earning money at home refreshed the idea of earning my own money and supporting myself, and I feel this may be part of the reason I have been feeling so bogged down lately. I also would love to pass my driving test in the near future, and I desperately need to kick the habit of biting my nails.

The reflecting that I have been doing alot of recently has also got me thinking about this space, which I normally use for tips on art related topics, and I feel like being consistent with my posting would really help me gain some form of stability in my life (Whilst studying for only a few hours a week, and not having any other commitments it's really easy to lose your sense of routine.) I also feel my academic problems have been affecting my posts as I am simply not motivated by what I am studying, and I guess it comes down to this one very problem... I love art, but hate learning about it.

I would like to think of myself as somebody who doesn't dwell on what has happened, and learning about what others have done creatively hundreds of years ago seems slightly irrelevant. Which my sound arrogant to some, yet sensible to myself.

I guess I am just going through a complicated stage in my life, and I am only still finding my feet after a few big changes last year.

(Dear, future Callam, if you are reading this, I hope you did what felt right in your heart.)

Facebook: How Artist's Should Use It

A few months ago I wrote a post about how artists can use Pinterest to supplement their work, this post can be found here.

In today's post i'm going to talk about how Facebook, the largest social networking site in the world, can be used to showcase your work.

1. Keep it concise: make sure your page is clearly for your art work and nothing else, this shouldn't be a personal page.
2. Be professional: Although you may still be in education, it is important to take your art seriously- being professional when sharing your work makes everything look alot more polished, so no smiley faces!
3. Post regularly: Don't spam one day and then leave your page inactive for weeks- post regularly to keep interest generating, although gaining likes shouldn't be your top priority, it's nice to gain some feedback on your work,
4. Biography: Similarly to before, be professional, think of this page like a visual CV because after-all bloggers or even potential employers may find their way to your page and you never know what opportunities may present themselves,
5. Show personality: There is professional and there is robotic, make sure you are still showing some passion when talking about your work, believe me this helps when you come to the point where you need to create a portfolio and you can't quite remember why you created a certain piece over 3 months ago.

WATER, video focusing on braille.
Posted by Callam Mcloughlin Art on Friday, 6 November 2015

Don't forget to take a look at, and like, my Facebook page: Callam Mcloughlin Art.

Starting My Art & Design Degree - Initial Research

Just under a month ago now I started university, and moved to a new city. This is partly the reason for my absence from this blog as I have been busy just getting to know people and having a great time.

Now i'm into the third week of teaching things have become alot more settled and I have finally started deeper research into my theme which this semester is 'Identity'. When the project was first delivered to us I was having alot of ideas based around portraiture, but I feel that portraiture is something very easily linked to identity and therefore may be slightly predictable? 

I've spent the last couple of weeks just experimenting with drawing, making loose connections to the theme in terms of meaning. I feel that today I had a breakthrough and I definitely have a better sense of direction after a couple of meetings. I know that photography works really well for me when I'm exploring a subject matter, so I don't really know why it's taken me so long to get snapping.

So I'm currently going to explore the idea of familiarity and how that effects identity and identification, here are a few examples of what I've been up to.