PA2 Exploration to refine technical skills and use media, materials, and technologies.
This criterion is all about the prac. it is really important to do as much practical work as possible to explore your ideas. A lot can be said through your practical tests! Try to make the practicals creative, explorative and use them to build your technical skill as well as develop your own style and aesthetic.
Breaking down the key words:
Exploration:
To try new things, to challenge yourself, to play with materials and in the process, learn how to use them.
Technical skills:
How to use the media effectively. This can be techniques such as:
How can you show that you are exploring, trying new things, challenging yourself, learning new techniques?
Breaking down the key words:
Exploration:
To try new things, to challenge yourself, to play with materials and in the process, learn how to use them.
Technical skills:
How to use the media effectively. This can be techniques such as:
- blending
- dry and wet brush
- camera obscura
- double exposure photography
- action painting
- etc.
How can you show that you are exploring, trying new things, challenging yourself, learning new techniques?
Media, materials and technology you could try using:
- Paint - acrylic, oil, watercolour
- Ink
- Pencil
- Pastels - oil and chalk
- Markers
- Collage
- Digital such as Photoshop and Illustrator
- Photography
- Printmaking
- Clay
- Paper mache
- Found items/materials
- Video art
- Performance art
- 3D printing
- Laser cutter
- Wood
- Metal
- Etc.
Student Examples:
Explore some examples made by students at KHS. Remember to be respectful when discussing other people's work. I believe these students have done well and their work serves as a good discussion point to help you push your work further.
- What do you think they are doing well to meet the criteria of PA2?
- What could be improved?
Example 1
- PA2 marks purely on the practical work shown here, but I wanted to show you the connection between the written and practical.
- This example shows four different attempts to use Photoshop techniques. It is followed by an evaluation which shows the visual thinking and problem solving behind the tests.
- The student has taken their own photos of the birds and background, making this a stronger practical experiment.
- These tests are not perfect, but they show the student's development of technical skill and it documents the problem solving process.
- Can you think of any ways this student could improve in showing their technical development? Do you find their work clear in showing you their thought processes?
Example 2
This is the only page this student included in their folio for this particular idea. Do you find it clear what the idea is they are exploring?
I think their idea was creative and exciting, but I wonder if this page could have been laid out differently to really show off this creative idea. What do you think?
Suggestions would be:
I think their idea was creative and exciting, but I wonder if this page could have been laid out differently to really show off this creative idea. What do you think?
Suggestions would be:
- Clearer title and labelling of practical experiments
- An example of how they envisioned the portrait being displayed with the ink background. Two possibilities for this could be a simple sketch on one of the ink test photographs or it could be a portrait they had already drawn superimposed on the ink background using Photoshop.