Student Profile

Write a bit about yourself to tell your tutor a little about any past experience you have and how confident you feel about some of the skills of printmaking. This is your first link with your tutor and gives you the chance to introduce yourself. Give your tutor as much information as you can about your previous experience, your reasons for exploring printmaking and what you expect to achieve from taking the course:

Transcript of the email to my tutor:

Dear Michelle,

My name is Aylish Giamei and I am a mature student. This will be my third course with the Open College of the Arts. 

Before I first enrolled with the  OCA I had always had the intention of doing something creative in my free time. However, just having vague intentions meant that 'free time' was an elusive commodity. In reality I did very little in the way of creative activity between finishing my art A level in the 1980s and enrolling on the OCA course 'Drawing 1' in 2012. 

I have a somewhat unusual lifestyle. I have been a veterinary surgeon for 24 years. In 2008 I moved from the East Midlands to rural southern Italy to be near my husband's family and to provide a different quality of life for my son. Owing to a series of events and alterations in circumstances when we first arrived in Italy, I have ended up commuting to the UK for work on a regular basis. I currently spend two weeks of each month working for Leeds Emergency Vets in Morley, West Yorkshire and the rest of my time at home in Italy. My odd lifestyle means that I cannot attend regular leisure classes but it works out well for distance learning as I have the opportunity to study and create during my two weeks off. I have set up a studio in our spare room so they I have my own space for messy activities. 

The OCA drawing 1 course was a great introduction for me. I started off with very little confidence after such a long period of being out of practice with pencils. I gained a great deal from the course and thoroughly enjoyed the learning process. Assessment went better than I had expected (or dared to hope for) and I was pleased that some of my work was selected to feature in OCA promotional material and in the current version of the level 1 drawing course as an example. 

My original intention had been to follow the painting degree pathway. However, after completing two assignments of 'Painting 1: The Practice of Painting', I realised that this pathway wasn't for me. I found the course rather prescriptive and repetitive - like doing drawing 1 all over again but with paint. More importantly, however, I just wasn't enjoying the process of painting. 

I decided to withdraw from the degree and continue as a leisure student. My reasoning was that without the additional pressure of preparing for assessment, I would be more relaxed and more creative. In reality, the psychological change from degree to leisure student meant that my studies just seemed less important and other chores and duties of daily life encroached more and more on my study time. Ultimately I couldn't find the motivation to complete POP 1 and I withdrew altogether. 

So why am I back again? Well, I hadn't completely given up on being creative. I still needed my 'fix'. In the last few months I have attended several one day courses at Leeds College of Art. These have included taster sessions in lino printing and mono printing. I got very excited after those courses, and the enthusiasm I felt during drawing 1 has returned. I'm hoping I've got my learning mojo back after the disaster of POP 1. I intend to continue to attend courses and workshops while studying printmaking 1 because I think it's a good (albeit expensive) way to alleviate the sense of isolation that can come with distance learning. 

I have re-enrolled as a degree student on the newly available drawing pathway. I have chosen printmaking 1 as my optional level 1 course, partly because printmaking and drawing have so much in common and partly because I relish the technical challenges involved in finding ways to print at home without investing in very expensive equipment. I also realise that the only original works of art that I have ever actually bought are prints. I have a number of etchings and  a woodblock print hanging in my house. This is partly because prints can be less expensive to own than paintings. However, in my case it is mainly because I am drawn to the quality of the image and lines and the density of the ink on these images. 

I like the position of limited edition prints somewhere between the exclusive, individual one-off and the mass produced image. It somehow seems less elitist than for example painting or installation art notwithstanding the high level of technical knowledge and expertise required to produce the image.  I also like the fact that there is an intermediate stage between the idea and production of the image with the production of the plate or matrix. This allows for lots of creative possibilities for manipulating the image at various stages. It's all very exciting and I hope to gain numerous new ways of making a mark on paper from my studies. I can't wait to get started!

On a practical note, I have recently found out that the West Yorkshire Print Workshop in Mirfield is easily accessible by train from where I work in Morley. Given that I work afternoons and evenings (2-10 or 4-midnight), I am hoping that I will be able to join and to use their facilities mornings and or Saturdays when I'm away from home. I have booked to attend a two day course in reduction linocut technique in September so I will enquire about membership at that time. My only regret is that I did not research this earlier as I would have loved to attend the summer school that you you recently taught there. Your work is inspiring and I look forward to drawing on your wealth of knowledge and experience over the next 15 months or so. 

I look forward to hearing from you
Best Regards