This page supports Unit 1 Assessment and is linked from my blog.
Learning Outcome 1:
Formulate, describe and implement a challenging and self directed programme of study, relating to your Study Statement.
Throughout Unit 1, I have developed a sustained and self-directed enquiry into embodied mark making and the relationship between inner reflection and material process. My practice investigates how inner states of thought and emotion can be transmitted through tactile decisions such as pressure, layering, etching, erasure, and concealment across both digital and analogue media.
This enquiry has developed through iterative drawing, scanner-based self-portraiture, the scanning of found objects, photographic studies, experimentation with encaustic surfaces, ink formulation, and technical research into photogravure printmaking methods. Rigorous material testing, reflective writing and ongoing iteration have functioned as methods of investigation. This investigation has required the critical evaluation of both analogue and digital processes, informing the direction and refinement of the work throughout unit 1.
This enquiry sits within broader contemporary practices that examine material process and impermanence such as the photogravure work of Tacita Dean. Her handwriting on the photogravure plate becomes a physical mark of bodily presence, indexing the act of making into the print.
Learning Outcome 2:
Implement appropriate working methods for building an independent and effective self-organisation that enables the critical engagement with practice-based research.
During Unit 1, reflective writing has operated as a primary analytical tool within my practice. Blog posts document the progression from exploratory testing to a more distilled conceptual and technical framework. Engagement with contemporary photogravure methodologies alongside theoretical references such as those of McGilchrists writing on attention have enabled me to see my work within a wider context.
Throughout Unit 1 I have developed and applied an expanding body of practical, conceptual and technical knowledge across digital and analogue processes. My research has moved between embodied drawing, scanography, encaustic, cyanotype and photopolymer photogravure, with particular focus on how surfaces receive, translate and hold an imprint.
Conceptually, my enquiry draws on ideas of tacit knowledge and embodied intelligence. Michael Polanyi’s proposition that “we know more than we can tell” has been central to how I understand mark making as a form of thinking through the hands. I have also engaged with Iain McGilchrist’s writing on attention as a moral act, considering how the quality of attention brought to materials shapes what emerges. These ideas are not illustrated in my work but tested through practice, particularly in moments where technological control breaks down and I must rely on embodied judgement.
Technically, I have undertaken detailed research into digital negative production and photopolymer photogravure methods. Drawing on Clay Harmon and David Kachels’ direct-to-plate frameworks,this has meant sourcing and refurbishing an Epson P600 printer, installing and troubleshooting QuadTone RIP software, experimenting with curve calibration, preparing Hosho paper with gelatine sizing, and testing integration with encaustic surfaces. Although not all intended workflows were successful, the process of technical testing significantly deepened my understanding of tonal translation, surface interaction and material unpredictability.
Alongside digital investigation, I have developed knowledge of encaustic preparation, constructing and sanding my own boards, formulating encaustic gesso, and experimenting with embedding photographic and paper-based elements within wax. Through emulsion lift processes using expired Polaroid film, I explored the relationship between chemical instability, chance, and material authenticity.
This developing knowledge base supports my wider enquiry into perception, surface ambiguity and embodied mark making. Rather than separating digital and analogue processes, my research integrates them as interdependent systems of translation that coexist with equal importance.
Throughout Unit 1 I have developed and applied an expanding body of practical, conceptual and technical knowledge across digital and analogue processes. My research has moved between embodied drawing, scanography, encaustic, and photopolymer photogravure, with particular focus on how surfaces receive, translate and hold an imprint.
Conceptually, my enquiry draws on ideas of tacit knowledge and embodied intelligence. Michael Polanyi’s proposition that ‘we know more than we can tell’ has been central to how I understand mark making. To me, drawing is a way of thinking with my hands. I have also engaged with Iain McGilchrist’s writing on attention as a moral act, considering how the quality of attention brought to materials shapes what emerges from them. These ideas manifest in how I approach my practice- patience, contemplation & reflection. Especially in moments where technology fails, I have to rely on embodied judgement. Making decisions through my own tacit knowledge.
I have undertaken detailed research into digital negative production and photopolymer photogravure methods, drawing on Clay Harmon and David Kachel’s frameworks. This has included sourcing and refurbishing an Epson P600 printer, installing and troubleshooting QuadTone RIP software, experimenting with curve calibration, preparing Hosho paper with gelatine sizing, and testing integration with encaustic surfaces. Although not all intended workflows were successful, the process of technical testing significantly deepened my understanding of tonal translation, surface interaction and material unpredictability.
Alongside digital investigation, I have developed knowledge of encaustic preparation, constructing and sanding my own boards, formulating encaustic gesso, and experimenting with embedding photographic and paper-based elements within wax. Through emulsion lift processes using expired Polaroid film, I explored the relationship between chemical instability, chance, and material authenticity.
This developing knowledge base supports my wider enquiry into perception, surface ambiguity and embodied mark making. Rather than separating digital and analogue processes, my research integrates them as interdependent systems of translation, pressure, light and touch.
Learning outcome 3:
Communicate a critical understanding of your developing practice.
My practice has grown through experimentation, revision and critical reflection throughout unit 1. Ideas rarely arrive in a linear way for me and I’ve had to fully embrace cycles of success and failure. Thorough exploration, testing & iteration followed by a consolidation process. Writing initially functioned as a way of clarifying internal enquiry. However, increasingly, drawing and material processes became the primary site of thinking. The blog has operated as a reflective framework, documenting technical research, material testing and conceptual shifts as they occurred and retrospectively as a consolidation process.
My working process integrates digital and analogue systems. I move between IPad -based image making, digital negative preparation, photopolymer research, drawing, encaustic surface preparation and emulsion transfer. When planned technical workflows failed, particularly in the development of the Rain Piece, I adapted the process rather than abandoning it. The shift from calibrated inkjet negatives to manually exposed Polaroid emulsion lifts demonstrates an ability to respond critically and resourcefully to material constraints. These adjustments were not compromises but generative, pivotal moments that reshaped the work.
Communication within my practice operates visually, materially and textually. In image making, I consider tonal variation, surface tension, light, and the movement of the viewer’s eye across the composition. Through blog posts I articulate technical learning, theoretical research and reflective insight.
I position my practice within broader contexts around perception, tacit knowledge and embodied making. This dual engagement has strengthened my ability to present work clearly while maintaining conceptual depth.
Professional development during this unit includes exhibiting work in group contexts, preparing work for external submission, building technical infrastructure for digital printmaking, and refining encaustic construction methods. Working within financial and geographical constraints has required self-direction and resilience, contributing to a more disciplined and coherent practice.
Overall, my process demonstrates increasing independence, technical competence and clarity in how research, making and communication interact in my practice.