Summative Position Statement

This year has taught me a lot about my own practice and how I'm able to work as a professional illustrator. Completing over 12 live briefs since October, and with 6 events/briefs already lined up between now and the start of August, I feel fairly confident that my self-promotion ability is one I've really honed in on this year. This has come through a mixture of face-to-face networking, and full utalisation of my social media and website as a professional.

While the live briefs have taught me so much in regards to dealing with clients, communication, business conduct, finance etc, what they have given me most is a grounding in where my work can sit outside of the education system. I still have an avid interest in music illustration, however live briefs have shown that my reportage work can also be used in a commercial setting.

Leaving this course I'd love to really take the time to get back to making some work for myself. I'd also like to write some of my own briefs so my work can be shown in contexts other than those I've already ventured into (e.g. some packaging work for food is something I've never done). This could aid in showing my work in a way that looks immediately commercial, in turn attracting more clients, so I am able to continue to do the work that really drives my practice.

Overall this year has been primarily about growth and maturing as a professional through simply cracking on and doing the job. I'm eternally grateful for all the live work I've undertaken this year, and for the clients belief in my ability. Moving forward though, I'm excited to carry on this profession as an individual free of academia, and allow myself the time to enjoy drawing for myself again.

Module Evaluation

Final Presentation

Creative Presence

Portfolio

Sending Emails and Contacting People

List of sent emails

Today I sent off some emails to inquire about work, advice and general feedback. I was really nervous about doing this for a long time, and in a way I felt a little worried that it may be a little late in my PPP module to complete this task. However after taking a step back last night I knew this was something more important than my PPP grade. This was something I should be doing for the progression of my career, and with that in mind I plucked up the courage to send out some emails.

As I said previously, I felt a lot more confident sending out these emails now that I've collated a PDF portfolio. I felt I had something I could attach other than my website that laid out effectively who I am as an illustrator. 

I contacted the following people via email

-SoYoung Magazine

- DIY mag 

- The Skinny

- Under the Radar

- Big Active

- Vice

- i-D

And the following people via their 'contact me' section on their website (didn't provide email contacts);

- The Wire

I got an automated response from The Skinny about how they were unable to give back individual feedback during this time, but if you had a direct interest to contact the emails on their site. I found two relevant email addresses and sent them both the email I had originally addressed to their job email; I am determined to get through to them!!

When composing each email I tried to give an interesting subject title if I was addressing a person and not a job@whatever email. I wanted to give them a sense of personality so it didn't just read as another illustration student taking up their time. I also edited the text of each email to specifically address whoever I was emailing; to again give it more of a personal touch.

I'm unsure who I'll hear back from, but just sending out this first batch of emails has given me a huge boost in confidence to send out some more. I'm also thinking of organising some physical mailers to send out to places like Rough Trade (hard to reach via email) and SoYoung, to grab their attention a little more than just a plain old email.

Who to Contact

I've decided to spend this morning sending out emails to contact people. I understand it feels a little late within the module to do this (which is probbaly why I've felt so bad about sending them off) but after taking a step back I realise that I'm not really doing this for PPP. This is something that is going to benefit me, and something I'll kind of be doing my whole life. I also feel a lot more confident emailing now I have my portfolio sorted out. It makes me feel like my work does actually have a kinda strong tone of voice, and it's heading in the direction that I want it to. So today I'm taking the big ol' leap into the real world!!!

What work am I interested in?

Passion
- Music Illustration
- Editorial
- Reportage
- Independent Publishing

Make me some Moolah
- Packaging
- Advertising

Why do these areas suit my practice?

- Have an active interest in music, DIY and subcultures
- Interest in telling stories, human element of things, reportage
- Tone of voice conveys a lot of attitude (helps when relating to human emotion)
- Have made publications and zines in the past, enjoy it as a medium for communication; would love to do more self-researched publications such as Fem.
- Enjoy seeing my work applied to things. Tangible things especially excite me and allow me to see my work in different ways (packaging). Nice to be able to hold something that you've made rather than just look at it on screen
- Also advertising isn't something I think of as particularly exciting, my 'style' is transferable to a lot of commercial jobs ("You could make pasta look great" - Ben Cox) Don't feel I have very many examples of commercial advertising or packaging products on my website. This is something I'd like to expand over Summer so I could attract more 'commercial' jobs (hello bigger bucks) that would allow me to carry on with my passion projects

My existing contacts

- Alan Clough; Illustrator for Welly Club, Fruit, Polar Bear and Hull Box Office. Founder of Something Entirely Different and Hub-A
- Stewart Baxter; Manager of Warren Records
- Lewis Young; Founder of Adult Teeth Recording Company
- Mark Page; Founder of The Sesh and Humber Street Sesh
- David Laycock; Co-Founder at Independent Leeds
- Joe Cox; Co-Founder of Form print shop
- Kate West; Gallery Manager at Artlink Gallery
- Andy and Becky; Owners of CMV

Who to contact?

- So Young
- DIY mag
- Rough Trade
- The Wire
- The Skinny
- Under the Radar
- Big Active
- Vice
- i-D
- The Guardian (?) Maybe when I have more examples of editorial work on my website and in my portfolio

Final Portfolio

Invoice

Invoice

Death of Invoice

I just finished my invoice on photoshop and I clicked save and it stop responding so I have to make it all again technology is a horrible thing

Creative CV

Creative CV

Web Presence

Website presence

jazzharbord.com

Mobile Social Media Presence

Mobile social media presence 

Shown Here (all linked below)

- Facebook

- Website

- Instagram

- Twitter

Business Cards Mock-Up

Up to date business cards

Live Briefs To-Date

I feel like this is a good time to reflect on how many LIVE briefs I've done this academic year. These are including ONLY briefs in which I have worked directly with a client outside of uni

1. FISHEYE - Hull Box Office Flyer (April 2017)
2. TEDx Hull - Live Drawing (March 2017)
3. Independent Leeds - Female Zine Scene Feature (February 2017)
4. Hull 52 - Playing Card (February 2017)
5. La Bete Blooms - Tshirt Design (February 2017)
6. La Bete Blooms 'Low Hummer' Single Cover (January 2017)
7. Adelphi Gig Poster - Warren Records (January 2017)
8. Virgin Media Communications Box - Live Painting (November 2016 - January 2017)
9. La Bete Blooms 'Low Hummer' Storyboard (December 2017)
10. Pop Up Print Shop - Artlink Exhibition (November - December 2016)
11. La Bete Blooms 'Breaking In' Video Visuals (November 2016)
12. La Bete Blooms 'I know It's Nothing' EP (November 2016)

Leaving uni I also have these following briefs already lined up, I've had to leave a few details out due to non-disclosure reasons

1. Boss Kitty & Pizza Eaters Creator Fair (May 8th 2017 - Hull)
2. Live Painting Event - National Television Commissioner (May 2017)
3. A5 Risograph Illustration for Theatre Production (May 2017 - Hull Based)
4. Music EP - Print and Digital (2017 - Hull Based)
5. Music LP - Print and Digital (2017 - America Based)
6. Live Painting - Humber Street Sesh

It makes me feel a little better about my practice knowing that I've actually completed a lot of work this year. These are briefs outside of uni obligations such as COP, PPP, Colours May Vary Show, and our Final Major Project. No wonder I want some time for my own practice again haha!

Teagan White; Profesh Ambitions !!!

http://www.teaganwhite.com/

http://teaganwhite.tumblr.com/

Teagan White

I've been a fan of Teagan White's work for a while now, however I only recently re-visited her website and blog, and what struck me about this was how cohesive her entire online presence is!!

Throughout her website, blogs and stores, there is a strong tone of voice that is not only consistent but reflective of her work and practice as a whole. I really like how active she is on her blogs too, using them almost in an instagram style way (short and punchy). I think leaving this course I'd like to start a tumblr to ensure I keep my visual practice work going consistently. My instagram is definitely more refined now and I don't like throwing up any unedited work there willy nilly. A tumblr blog may give me the space to just get sketches and ideas up somewhere I can instantly access them. 

I'd love to eventually have a visual identity as refined and appropriate as Teagan's. I feel like I need the time to make work reflective of where I want to be now, I am DEFINITELY going to leaving this course as an opportunity to get back to my own artistic practice.

New Business Cards

New business card designs

This week I wanted to design some more up to date business cards from the ones I used at CMV. My website is now fully up and running so I wanted to add that to the cards. I also wanted some full colour illustrations on there too - my last batch were black ink on coloured paper to save with time and money. If I'm to get some professionally printed however I'd like them to be a little more eye-catching. 

I picked out a few of my favorite pieces this year that I feel best describe my work and where it's heading. I haven't been able to share the middle image in full yet (release date is May) so I'm excited to finally get it out there as it's one I'm really proud of. I also feel the piece as a whole describes where I want my practice to go (nice linework with bold colours / mixture of traditional and digital). 

I've already found somewhere I'd like to have the cards printed for end of year show (once I've got the funds haha). Luckily my boyfriend works in marketing so he has been able to recommend somewhere industry standard and get me a discount too, whoopie! 

Professional Update; Where am I going?

As I near the end of PPP I find I'm asking myself a lot a questions I perhaps should have been addressing throughout the year. A lot of questions about where my work is going, or more importantly, where I want it to go. I feel as though I've spent so much time this year working on live briefs, I've had little time to practice the things that I wanted to practice, or do the sort of work that I wanted to do. This is in ways frustrating, as I wish I'd had more time for personal and self initiated briefs, but what I've learnt from working on live briefs with clients has been invaluable. A lot of where I want my work to go from here wouldn't have happened without the live work I've been completing. 

I still feel really interested in the music industry and illustration. It combines a love of my two fave things, but I'm unsure how much this alone would sustain me. I'm aware a lot of the music briefs I enjoy are for smaller, independent records or artists, that don't typically have thousands of pounds to throw around. What Ben Cox said about doing the perhaps more mundane jobs to fuel my passion projects really stuck with me. With this in mind I think I maybe need to push some of my work into a more commercial context. This includes doing briefs I perhaps wouldn't usually do, or tackling subject matter (architecture, food, etc) that doesn't usually occur in my work at the moment.

Leaving this course, I think I'd also like to really get my online store up and running. It was something I initially wanted to focus a lot of time on this year, but it's fallen to the way-side with my live briefs taking up most of my time. I actually quite like the idea of taking the time after this course to really sort my professional practice out. Though I have refined it a lot this year compared with my second year, I still feel there's a way to go with it. At the moment it feels very 'just leaving university'. I'd like to have a stronger sense of who I am as a practitioner come across through the design elements of my website and blog which still feel a little 'clinical'(?). 

Re; Ben Cox

Email to Ben Cox

I sent a follow up email today to Ben Cox about the talk and one-on-one work reviews he gave us at LCA. This is my first time contacting someone industry standard via email which is a little daunting. I really liked speaking to Ben in person and the feedback he gave was incredibly useful. I think I feel a little nervous about sending this because I'm not sure if I've sent it to the right email address? There was only one on the C.I.A. site, and though Ben was written down as one of the people attached to this email, I have got an automated response back from a woman unnamed on the contact page of the site.

I think if I don't hear back in a few weeks I might try linking with him on LinkedIn and send him a message that way. I will not give in!!

Pizza Eaters & Boss Kitty Creator Fair

A few weeks ago I was contacted via my artist facebook page about whether I'd be interested in taking part in a 'creators fair' at Fruit in Hull. At first glance I wasn't so sure given how my last comic fair event went at Park Plaza Hotel, however this event seems so much more suited to my practice. As well as other art-y stall holders at the event, there will be live music from a couple of local punk bands. The vibe of this event seems much more suited to my work than the comic fair so I've agreed to go down. The stall is also free, and it gives me an opportunity to do some networking too which can only be a positive thing!

I'd like to have some art 'holders' this time for some of my work. Plastic stands etc to put my zines in rather than laying them flat on the table. I'd love to have a stall similar to Kristyna's one day that's full to the brim with work that fits well together! At the minute I think my stall looks a little boring; that's something I'd like to work on post-uni too!

Kristyna's Stall set up at Northern Craft at Northern Monk Brewery

I don't feel like I have enough work to justify this yet, but moving forward I've also thought about investing in a Paypal Here Chip and Pin. They're very similar to regular chip and pin devices (also contactless) that allow people to pay with their card at events such as these, with the money going straight into your paypal account. Paypal take a cut (around 3%) per transaction, but I think this more than fair seeing as the machine itself is only around £50 and then you just pay the cut per transaction. Most commercial card readers have a monthly fee, so I think this offers a great alternative and makes your work a lot easier to buy!!

Details of the event

Hub-A

What is it?

Over the past couple of months I've been helping a friend of mine from Hull in promoting this crowdfunder 'Hub-A'. It's been a dream of his for a while now, and after finding the perfect location he chose to launch a kickstarter to try and raise enough funds to secure the location for a year and get started on the manual work needed to do the place up. 

Hub-A was a proposed rentable creative studio space for artists (similar to the likes of Duke Studios). As well as an open studio with desk space to rent, there would also be individual offices for local businesses, a screen-printing facility, access to printers, scanners etc as well as a permanent work experience desk (in collaboration with local schools, colleges etc).

What have I done?

I've acted as a confidant in this whole process, as well as linking him up with other potential funding opportunities and contacts. I put him in touch with a few other places to apply for funding as well as the crowdfunder and The Arts Council, and also passed his email onto Patrick's business partner who writes art council bids as part of his day to day job. I've also helped in promoting the idea on social media, all the way from the beginning to end. Though I haven't been directly involved in any of the business side of things (and I don't think I'd want to either, haha) I'd like to think I've been a little helpful throughout the process of this venture.

How has this / will this benefit my practice?

In exchange for my help I was told once the building was secured and decked out I'd be given studio desk space for free, rather than having to pay rent (yay!). This is great for me as I've been looking for studio space in Hull and there's not really anything available. I've never had a real problem working from home, but I think it's nice to have a separation between your work life and home life. My plan from this point is to move home after uni and initially work from a home studio (my brother is also moving out this year which will give me a spare room to use as a 'studio' away from my bedroom). And once Hub-A is ready (aiming for autumn-time this year? I think it'll definitely be more towards the end of this year if this year at all with the work that needs doing haha) I'll move into my studio space there. Whoopie!

TedxHull Live Drawing Event

Cover and insert from TEDxHull event

Before the Event

A couple of months ago, local graphic artist and co-owner of Form print shop, Joe Cox, got in touch with me about doing some live art during the TEDxHull event at the end of March at Hull Truck Theatre. We exchanged emails to discuss the formalities and I agreed to do the event, it's nice to be asked to do local gigs such as this as I love my home city to pieces. 

TEDtalks of course are also well established events, so I felt secure in the level of professionalism of the event. I was also just mega excited in general to get back to doing some live art. It's something I've kind of gotten into by accident, but something I really enjoy doing. I think it also forces me to keep my practice accessible, and makes sure I still have those good old fashioned drawing abilities to hand!!

Before the event Joe also asked me to send over a very brief (about 50 words) summary of my practice. I've been playing around with words for a while to describe my practice short and sweetly and still don't feel as though I'm quite there yet. I sent in;

"Jazz Harbord is a Hull-born artist currently studying in her final year of illustration at Leeds College of Art. She hopes that her work evokes a sense of authenticity, mixed with a DIY approach to image making." 

TEDxHull

The event itself was fantastic! I love live art events as they gives you the chance to interact with the public. Given that I based my work on my teenage years growing up in Hull, it was also nice to see people recognizing the places as I developed the piece.

Whilst there I also met Joe Cox and James Fenwick (other live artist at the event; LINK TO HIS WORK HERE). It was great to speak to James as he's done a few pieces of illustrative work in the music industry. He was really open in discussing how he got the work that he got and where from. He gave me some really great advice on sourcing this kind of work and linked me to a website that could really help with that kind of stuff. Mega props to James!!!

Meeting Joe was also great, being the co-owner of Form (LINK HERE) if I ever thought about selling printed works through another store, Form is one I could consider.

After Thoughts

Really great meeting James, Joe and all the lovely folk at Hull Truck. Would definitely draw at a TEDxHull again (they've done they for quite a few years now I never knew about it??)

This experience also reaffirmed that I really do enjoy meeting people face to face and having a discussion. My networking through Hull got me this job in the first place, and I actually quite enjoy meeting new people outside of my own creative space

Always and forever love Hull xo 

Starting sketch and final image after 6 hours