Sewing workshops to expand and strengthen my creative and teaching practice

Sewing workshops to expand and strengthen my creative and teaching practice

Grant:
Lecturers' Professional Development Fund (LPDF)
Academic Year:
2022 - 2023 (June 1, 2022 through May 31, 2023)
Funding Requested:
$1,829.00
Project Dates:
-
Applicant(s):
emaurine
Overview of the Project:
I am requesting funding from the Lecturer’s Professional Development Fund to participate in four virtual courses through the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins, along with the Pattern Workshop. These courses will push me to experiment with sewing in new ways; strengthening my techniques while also providing me with new perspectives on how this craft fits into my larger creative practice. The skills I develop will fuel my increased focus on costume and wearable art, thus also pushing my work as a performance artist and storyteller in a new direction.

As a Lecturer at UM Stamps, I regularly teach courses in time-based media and performance. Teaching within a program that combines visual art with video/performance, I can see clearly where my interdisciplinary skills can merge. In the Interarts Performance program, for example, my students are often straddling more than one medium and finding new ways to bring their ideas to life. By continuing to pursue new skills in my own work, I can speak to my students on why pushing further is necessary. I hope in the future to have more opportunities to integrate costume design and storytelling through fiber arts into my teaching practice.
Final Report Fields
Project Objectives:

I am requesting funding through the Lecturer’s Professional Development Fund to participate in four virtual courses through the London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins, along with the Pattern Workshop. These courses will push me to experiment with sewing in new ways; strengthening my techniques while also providing me with new perspectives on how this craft fits into my larger creative practice.

As a Lecturer at UM Stamps, I regularly teach courses in time-based media and performance. Teaching within a program that combines visual art with video/performance, I can see clearly where my interdisciplinary skills can merge. In the Interarts Performance program, for example, my students are often straddling more than one medium and finding new ways to bring their ideas to life. By continuing to pursue new skills in my own work, I can speak to my students on why pushing further is necessary. I hope in the future to have more opportunities to integrate costume design and storytelling through fiber arts into my teaching practice.

Project Achievements:

I completed four courses: three through the University of the Arts London, and one through the Pattern Workshop. These courses helped me to develop additional skills in experimental fashion design, textile design, and pattern drafting. As a performer and visual artist who often works with handmade costumes and textiles, these workshops challenged me to further develop my skills and think more intentionally about how I apply them to my projects. Since then, I have applied the techniques directly to my own creative work and also shared them with my students. In particular, I am able to offer additional support to students who are working in similar ways with costume, fashion, and textile design.

Continuation:
Yes- I continue to apply the skills that I've learned and seek out new ones in relation to my projects. I feel much more confident in costume design and this has impacted my work in a positive way.
Dissemination:
I have applied the skills I learned directly to the development of new recent projects. I am sharing the documentation of those projects with both students and colleagues.
Advice to your Colleagues:
My project had to be postponed from its original completion date due to the illness of a close family member. I stayed committed to completing it and appreciated the flexibility of the Lecturer's Professional Development Fund to allow me to complete it at a later date (in the summer 2023 as opposed to spring 2023). Having flexibility and an open mind to the circumstance was necessary, and I'm glad that I was still able to complete it.
PRINTER VERSION
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