Certificate Module 4: Evaluation

EVALUATION OF ASSESSMENT PIECE

The completed embroidered assessment piece for Module Four is a concertina book based on the design topic of the North East of Scotland herring industry.

How do you feel about the resultant conclusion?

This has not been the easiest of projects for me, with an abortive false start and difficulties in motivating myself as well as a crisis of self-confidence.  It has raised, and shone a light on, the shortcomings in my approach to design.  I have, in almost every creative project I have undertaken, had difficulty in progressing from the initial, exciting ideas stage, through a gradual process of simplifying and selecting, to reach the final conclusion.  

My tutor's kindly and tactful, if firm, advice made me realise the mistake that I had been making - that I had been so anxious about whether the assessed conclusion would be good enough, that I was rushing from the initial ideas stage to the conclusion without giving enough time and energy to the development and selection stage - my work was end-led and I just wanted to finish it quickly.  

When I realised that I was missing out the most important part of the design process, and managed to change my thinking to consider it a chance to play with my initial ideas, honing them gradually until the conclusion happened naturally, in an unrushed way, I felt an immediate feeling of relaxation - a letting go of the stress that my rushing to the conclusion had produced in me.  When I adopted this new approach, I found that I was really happy with my finished book.  I found that it said what I wanted to say in a way that expressed my personality.  

I am extremely happy with the resultant conclusion to this piece, both because I like how it looks and because it has enabled me to solve a problem which has dogged me for years.  Although I have never had children, the experience: emotional, sometimes difficult and often painful, makes me think of a pregnancy, with the resulting birth of my own artistic voice.  My task now is to nurture and care for it.

Is it fit for purpose?  Give reasons.

The purpose of this book was to illustrate, in an attractive way, some features of a now-vanished way of life and to pay tribute to all the people, including my husband's late grandfather, who were involved in the herring industry.  I am satisfied that it does this and so is thus fit for purpose.

If you were asked to make  it again, what changes would you make to the way you designed it and the way you made it?

I would not make any changes in how I designed and made it, since during both processes I felt a feeling of utter certainty - almost as though the resulting conclusion already existed and I was merely uncovering it.

Where I would make changes, in the light of my experience during this module, is in my working method, taking time for the crucial development and selection process.  I would also try to worry less!!