Eleven students attended from various disciplines and study levels making it a very all round informative afternoon. (3 x new textiles students, 1 x foundation drawing, 3 x POP1 (including myself), 2 x creative arts level 2, 1 x completing photography level 3, 1 x painting level 2)

Zotero – Harvard referencing software supported by OCA. Recommended by a couple of students who said it is easy to use (several helpful videos) and does all the referencing for you in the correct way. Definitely something for me to investigate as I’ve been wondering if my referencing is up to scratch especially as I progress further.

Sending work for Formal Assessment – refer back to confirmation email when registered for requirements. Remember to guide assessors through parts you want them to see showing progression and learning. Use colour coding. GDrive will arrive end August – complete thoroughly.

I showed my progress so far in POP1 and the tonal studies on White and Dark Grounds. Questions I asked:

• What mediums should I be looking into? eg gloss medium for bottle glass to make shiney and contrast with pepper? A= There are 100s to choose from and it’s personal choice. Try: Zest-it, Galkyd by Gamsol (makes drying quicker), Open mediums will help Acrylics to blend, Flow medium, Liquin Gel (for oils) to help flow…. the list is endless. Sue volunteered herself and another experienced student to spend an afternoon showing me their own stocks and what each does – fabulous!
• Would they advise using Oil paints as well as Acrylics (I don’t have any currently)? Would I need expensive ones or will cheap do? Yes, try out both but remember they have different qualities. Oils are easier to blend but can take ages to dry. Cheap oils are fine to use – try Georgian Oils which a couple of students use. Also Artizan Oils by Windsor and Newton, which are water based oils (can wash brushes with water rather than turps and doesn’t have strong chemical smells).
• Canvas v Paper? Diane used canvas for the important pieces but general consensus was that quality thick paper was more appropriate – look into ‘Canvas Papers’ and special Acrylic or Oil papers
• What about watercolour? Sue said the reason watercolour isn’t mentioned is that there used to be a separate unit just for watercolour but that has been withdrawn now – fine to also include it when appropriate but remember it has different qualities/workings.