Although I have neither negative or positive feelings toward this quote from today’s workshop I still found it particularly interesting. A lot of my reasoning for taking on the course is trying to locate my role within my (illustration) team. On joining it, particularly on MA, I was initially surprised at how, to be brutally honest, little experience there was of illustration. So this quote triggered some thinking around my navigation as a teacher and learner and how valueble is my experience as an illustrator?

On one hand student’s projects range so heavily within illustration its hard to facilitate the research knowledge students require to progress. On the other hand having experience relating to actual, professional, image making, I believe, can be really helpful.

However according to the conversations at the in person session combined with the course’s promotion of reflective, self referential study its seemingly all up for debate and I couldn’t be happier! What I’m most enjoying about this socratic approach is the freedom its giving me. If your goal is always to question and experiment you can remove the anxiety of perfection.

Through conversation and introspection, in the end this quote’s legacy to my teaching practice has been to strive to always enjoy not knowing. I’ve always enjoyed rough, spontaneous and unfinished art so maybe now it’s time to apply that to my teaching?

“A work of art has an author and yet, when it is perfect, it has something which is anonymous about it.” Simone Weil.