For this exercise, it was suggested to build a glossary that will help me build up a reference for things like academic terms, unpack unfamiliar terms and references, and recognise the terminology used in the industry.
Honestly, I am unconvinced that this will be a useful tool for me - there are a lot of existing glossaries and references in other resources like books and websites of organisations like the Association of Illustrators. I have already built up a good deal of contextual knowledge about both academia and illustration terminology without having to create or use a glossary, and I know where to research if I don't understand something.
The exercise says that this glossary should also describe my practice. This confuses me - is this document meant to be a place to explore what my practice is, or a reference document to help me understand terminology. I really get frustrated by ambiguous exercises like this with no specificity as to what the learning objective is.
Simply-put, I do not think that a glossary is a good way for me to learn and explore, and I do not need a reference document which I will inevitably forget or ignore. So, taking responsibility for my own learning let's look at the exercise again and try and extrapolate the learning objectives.
Exercise 0.2 wanted me to think about how I define my practise, create a way to explore those facets, and use the tool to identify new facets and avenues for exploration. It is also essential that this tool is useful enough for me to want to come back and use it.
In Exercise 0.1, the course text had some suggested questions to answer. In the context of that learning log entry they didn't quite fit, however if you put them in the context of a tool that can be a living document to explore and understand one's own practise, they become a set of criteria: If the tool I use can help me answer these questions, then it is useful. The questions:
How do you describe and locate your practice?
What are the characteristics of your personal creative voice?
What kinds of projects are you interested in?
Describe your creative strategies or working process.
When is a piece of work successful?
What kinds of learning or creative challenges do you respond to?
How do audiences or feedback shape your approach?
What are your motivations and ambitions?
Looking at these topics, a more visual and organic way to explore the facets seems more logical and also creates the opportunity to see connections that a glossary would lack (cross-references notwithstanding). Something like a living mind map seems more useful and apt for the learning objectives of this exercise. I decided to use an electronic mind-mapping tool as it would allow it to be a living document more successfully. I spent time creating the mind map, trying to extend where I had knowledge, context or understanding. There are some areas which are underdeveloped, which in itself is a good indicator of where I can spend time.
I am pleased that the mind map has been successful. It's allowed me to take connections that have only existed in my head and make them more real by visualising them. It has also allowed me to notice relationships and patterns that were not previously obvious to me.
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