End of Week 9
Reflect on your experiences and influences, both prior to and during the course. Evaluate how these ideas about different possible futures have altered; how has your knowledge of them changed? You might describe how the following have affected your ideas of possible futures:
parents
school
influential peers
other artists or designers
the Foundation experience to date.
Before starting the foundation, I already had a very strong idea of what I want to go into after this year, which is a degree in theatre and costume design, and then to become a costume and set designer for theatre productions. I have been incredibly lucky to go to a school with teachers who supported this, and who have helped me in so many ways, and the confidence that they have instilled in me is what has allowed me to pursue this as a career. I did not choose to do the foundation to help me decide which career to follow as I already knew this, but I wanted to do the foundation so that I could progress and help myself in ways that I couldn't while I was at school, to give me the best possible chance of getting on to the degree course that I choose. I have already found that I have learned a huge amount since starting the foundation, and after only 9 weeks I already feel better prepared for the real world, and my whole outlook on art and design in general has started to change, and I feel like AUB has helped me to think more like a designer and an artist. I think that I know a lot more now about what is needed to pursue the career that I want, and I have a better idea of how to get there.
If you are going on to HE, using the UCAS course finder identify a number of potential courses by subject area, (at this stage it is less important to identify a university)
Consider the breadth or focus of your personal ambitions, (i.e. can you see yourself as a designer, fashion designer, menswear designer, etc.).
Are there other subjects that interested you before you came to art college? For example, philosophy, psychology, English, ICT.
How might these shape your future options? For example, art history, art therapy, primary or secondary teaching, web or games design, pattern cutting?
Possible HE courses:
Theatre Design at Wimbledon
Design for Stage at Central School of Speech and Drama
I definitely think that I work best as a designer, but with influence from Art, which is what I feel costume and theatre design encompasses, as you are working to a brief yet you create a piece of art in the form of a theatre production.
Before starting art college, my two favourite subjects were Product design and Art, but I also have a huge interest in drama and theatre, and I have been part of a dance school since I was little, right up to 18, and I am still teaching kids musical theatre classes occasionally now. I love going to the theatre and being part of it. The other A level I did was english language, because in general I like talking to other people and communication. The combination of art and design, my love of theatre and performing, teaching and communication, I think makes theatre design a good choice for me, and I am so excited to try and pursue this career path.
If you are looking at employment consider the sectors you might initially work in, for example: retail, catering, admin, marketing. Reflect on the skills you are building on the course and how they might be used in your own personal development:
presentation and communication skills
research
design (marketing & merchandising)
project management
event production
team working.
Presentation and communication are a huge part of the job that I want to go into because as a costume designer, you will be required to communicate well and work as part of a team with the director and producers and other designers, and communication is a key part of this. Presenting is also something that has to be done at the start and throughout every project or job, to present ideas and designs to the other members of the production company. I have really enjoyed the presentation element of the foundation, and it feels very mature and a step up from A-level, and I feel like it is helping me get ready to be in a real working environment.
Research obviously is an essential part of costume and set designing, as every script or text has to be dissected and then each element will be thoroughly researched to make sure that the costumes are exactly right and accurate for the time period/context/any thing else. I have really loved the research part of every project that we have done, especially in the design project, where I could use the research both to gain information and inspiration. I have found that I am genuinely interested in everything that I have researched which I think is one of the reasons why the foundation is so good, because we can tailor each project to our own preferences and interests.
In terms of marketing and merchandising, I think one of the things I have found useful is the exploration of different ways to present ourselves as artists and designer, including the blog, which I have enjoyed working on.
Project management is something which is very important as a costume designer, as they have to be very organised and in charge of a possibly quite large body of people, so they need to know how to have control of the situation, whilst also being open to ideas from the group. This requires strong leadership skills, which I think the foundation is helping me to develop because of all of the group projects that we have done, and I am learning to find the balance between being open to others and being confident in my own ideas as well.
Possible pathway options:
As I already knew what I wanted to do before starting the foundation, for me it was kind of working in the opposite direction; instead of choosing a pathway first, then a degree, then a career, I have chosen my career, and am trying to find the best degree course, and before that the best pathway to help me get there. I think the pathway that ticks the most boxes for me is the Fashion and Costume pathway, specialising in Costume when it divides further.
