Well, 2nd year of university is over, it doesn’t feel right. I didn’t get closure, didn’t get a final goodbye with all my friends and most importantly I didn’t get my end of year, in person, assessment. In the past, assessments for me, have always been something that I would dread. I hated the feeling of being tested and judged, it used to cause me masses of anxiety, but since studying at Aber, that is all a thing of the past. I have come to realise that the assessment procedure enables me to evaluate my work critically as well as look at it all together; I truly believe that without the end of term assessments I would not have grown and developed as much as I have.
I remember my assessment at the end of semester one (year 2); I walked into the room and all my paintings had been spread around the room as though it was a gallery space. It was so encouraging and refreshing to walk in and see my work shown like that, I also was able to listen to the feedback from my tutors as well as critically assess my work with them. I often leave the assessments with a new outlook on my work, my process and where to go next.
Due to Covid 19, the end of term assessment is going to be a lot different. I’ve spent the past week collating digital images of my work and putting them into a PowerPoint presentation. One for each module. It has proved to be much more effort than just putting all my working into an A1 portfolio as I have had to include measurements, mediums, any comments as well as making sure the images are of a high enough quality. My tutors have been beyond helpful during the last few weeks of term. I’ve been having video tutorials, online painting workshops and virtual lectures; I am so incredibly grateful for all their hard work and effort. They have gone out of their way to ensure that we don’t miss out on any key learning.
Going forward. Only one year left of university and then I’m going to be entering a new chapter of my life. Whilst this is both exciting and nerve wracking, I am confident that good things will follow. Rewind to younger me back in high school and the start of college, I had no idea where I wanted to be in a few years’ time, but I am so proud of myself for where I am now. I now confidently call myself an artist, I am a painter. Being in lockdown, despite all the anxiety and fear has enabled me to focus my mind on me, myself and my art. Good things will come from this. Roll on third year of university, I’m ready.
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