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Welcome!

March 3rd, 2017 by

It’s been a long time coming, but coding geek Jon Munson and I have finally put our heads together to create my new portfolio and blog page! I’m not just here to promote myself as a working Artist. I’m also here to inspire and motivate, as a person who (after many many years of setbacks) is finally hitting goals, fulfilling dreams and sustaining happiness. You can do it too. As Dale Carnegie said, “if you want to conquer fear, don’t sit at home and think about it. Go out and get busy” in this book.

If this is your first time here, let me introduce myself..

My name is Emma and I am an Artist, a Designer and a Photographer from the UK. You’ve reached my portfolio website, where I will be documenting past, present and future creative projects in:

  • Drawing
  • Painting
  • Photography
  • Graphic Design

I will also be providing you with regular blog content that splits into 3 categories:

#Art

#Design

#Lifestyle

Cue the cliché: I’m a true believer in a balanced life (aren’t we all nowadays), therefore, I find it important that you don’t just see my work life; I want to let you in on the other parts that make me.. you know, a real person. So, in addition to arty things, I will be writing about various aspects of my lifestyle that generally relate to food, fitness, mental health, travel and other ‘normal’ life things.

I’ll be telling you how it is; there will be no fakery here, nuh-uh. I’m a person, like you. I eat, sleep, cry, laugh and burn toast regularly. I pick my spots when I know I shouldn’t, I still have teddies on my bed, I hate it when plans change and I’ve watched all of The Big Bang Theory three times over.

Know me a little better now?

Here’s more: I don’t particularly care about what I wear, I hate wearing make-up and I ironically spend an obscene amount of money dying my hair, despite it being a frizzy mess most of the time- but that’s me, so it won’t be changing anytime soon.

More: My lovely Dad passed away last year from metastatic cancer; he was a quiet man but an incredible musician (the best in fact) and he will always be an inspiration to me. His passing was actually one of the reasons why I’ve restarted a blog, redesigned my portfolio and found my creativity again.

On a lighter note, I have a top class Mum, everyone tells me; she’s the life and soul of a party and will sing you Dancing Queen whenever, wherever. I have an older brother; he has a foul mouth and an Oreo tattooed on his a*se, but he’s alright. His wife (my new Sister-in-law!) is a forever-smiling, smoothie-making and powerlifting champ, who we all call Saint Hannah. Lastly, let’s all take our hats off to the geek behind this awesomely built website, the guitar-noodling, head-banging and adventure KING, Jon Munson, my boyfriend. (If you find any glitches, let me know, he’ll sort it out.)

Now, some of you may be wondering about the previous blog posts listed on my site.. They’re all mine and they’re all honest, but they are not current. They were written as part of my University course and I’ve left them here to remind me of how far I’ve come. By all means, have a read.

Anyway, welcome to my new portfolio, my new blog and my new attitude. Thank you for being awesome and checking me out, I really appreciate it.

 

Speak soon.

 

-Emma  

 

Pauline Ascroft: Designing CVs

January 7th, 2014 by

Pauline Ascroft, a career consultant at the University of Gloucestershire gave a talk on the importance of a CV and how to write it correctly according to your field of work.

So… those who are interested in getting a job in the creative industry need to understand that different types of CVs are needed as a minimum requirement-  a standard CV, a portfolio and an artist’s statement (long and short) are all necessary.

Pauline talked about how somebody can get the job that they love. She went on to say that CVs are basically an in depth and more thorough way of saying ‘Hire me- I’m brilliant’. You need to say ‘how good you are at things’, ‘encourage employers to think they want you’, ‘show enthusiasm’ etc..

What are you good at? What are you really good at? Grab the employers attention!

What is your USP (Unique Selling Point)? You need to find out yours… (I definitely still need to..)

Give employers evidence of your creative ability, show artwork/graphics/photographs.. PROVE you are what they need  in their business.

SKILLS are also a very important thing to mention on a CV- communication, leadership, creativity etc..? Employers want to know (and make it to the point).. WHAT you can do!

Pauline said ‘make every word count’ and show your personality. Briefly touch base on your hobbies and interests.. enable the employer to get to know who you are within a couple of sentences… Why not add a link onto your CV showing your portfolio/ showreel/ webpage/ blog/ competitions/ awards/ exhibitions/ Twitter/ LinkedIn etc..!

I found Pauline’s talk very useful as it really emphasised the importance of your CV and what it really takes to stand out from the crowd and be hired by the perfect employer.

I better get writing..!

 

Some relevant links:

https://www.totaljobs.com/careers-advice/cvs-and-applications/successful-cv

How to Write an Artist’s CV in 10 Steps

http://jobs.theguardian.com/article/4301598/how-graduates-can-stand-out-from-the-crowd/

Grant Scott: Social Being

January 7th, 2014 by

Grant Scott, a previous Art Director and current editorial and advertising photography lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire gave all Art & Design students a lecture on how to be a ‘Social Being’ earlier on this term.

He began by discussing what ‘Social Media’ actually is. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, Flickr etc… It’s  a software package, a digital code, a series of platforms… Also used as a reference library, a notice board, a means of communication,  a publishing platform, a marketing tool, a community.. the list goes on. So basically, social media is extremely useful.. and somewhat an ‘essential’ part of life in this day in age… Especially in ones professional life. Grant went on to say that ‘the Creative Arts use social media to their own benefits.’

It enables us Art students to create our own ‘online personality’ by publishing our work online in the form of a ‘digital sketchbook’ or ‘digital portfolio’ .. as a promotion technique… therefore ‘selling ourselves’ to potential employers.. Much easier than going through huge, tangible portfolios and a thousand pieces of paper.. right? Environmentally and economically friendly!.. But that’s beside the point.. Social Media, like Twitter, enables us to show the rest of the world (i.e, potential employers) what you DO and WHY you’re great at it… So Grant emphasised the point that your own social media platform should be professional and to the point. Show these employers that you have a PASSION for the relevant area of work..  talk about it, retweet relevant information, post relevant videos/photos/posts etc… ‘build up an online personality’.

Grant finished his talk by stressing that ‘SOCIAL MEDIA + SOCIAL BEING = SOCIAL SUCCESS’

I do agree with Grant.. to an extent. I believe that it’s very important to have a relatable, professional, appropriate and positive ‘online personality’ because that’s what’s important in our current society- that’s how things are, that’s what employers look at, that’s how the world is working at this moment in time.. However, it saddens me that this is the case… I would love to be in a world without technology. Do people even speak (in person) any more?! Interviews are done over Skype, CVs are now submitted over the internet, people become obsessed with their online personalties- distorting their idea of reality.. There are many negative and dangerous aspects in regards to the use of social media but I won’t ramble on..

I’ve learned from this that in my generation, Social Media is (in most cases) very important when it comes to business and work. I accept and welcome the ideas/opportunities that are available to me at this moment in time and now aim to be a great ‘social being’.