Hopes, Fears and Opportunities

This September we were asked to write about our hopes, fears and opportunities, in a blog post. At first I found it a difficult and overwhelming process, but is something that I have to face up to if I want to get through my third year, and have a career in design.

Hopes

My hopes all throughout college, foundation and the first two years of university have always been to find a style, a style of woking that when you look at it, it says that's Katie's work. I am starting to feel myself steering towards a specific style but I'm not one hundred percent there yet. Thankfully the tutors have helped me to pick up on the good points of my work, methods of working/creating that I should really explore more and focus all my attention on. To become more focused and not wonder around hopelessly drawing and doing unnecessary things.
I also want to become more confident in ''selling'' my work to others, to be able to talk about it more confidently and freely and not doubt myself or my abilities.
I also want my work to have stronger sense of theme or narrative, instead of just looking 'nice' or 'pretty', to have more meaning and substance behind it.  

Fears

My fears have always been running out of time, with art and design you never truly feel as you have finish, 'maybe I could do one more sketch, or write a bit more, or I wish I would have made another mood board.' And with every fished brief I'm sat on the train on the way home thinking and wishing I had done a list of other things.
Another fear is not being about to go out into the tough world of art and design and be able to do it myself, ever since school I have always had a tutor guiding you through, helping you, and inspiring and helping your ideas grow. What if when I finish I can't keep up or be able to work without help and guidance. What if I cant come up with imaginative enough ideas by myself, if they don't have enough substance.
Another fear is the portfolio visits, I think that for the initial few I will be nervous, but when I feel as my portfolio is more professional and stronger I will be more confident. I always feel nervous about showing tutors and my peers my work, I have always found criticism difficult and to be told by a tutor who I know is bad enough, but being told by someone who you admire and who is a professional designer/artist is even worse. However I have faced that criticism is good is good thing, life would be boring if everything piece of work was perfect.

Opportunities

As I love to make things, I would love the opportunity to sell my work, in a stall or at a market,  the feeling that someone has liked my work so much they have decided to buy something that I have spent time making, I think that this would be a great confidence booster.
I would also love to actually put my work onto products, I had started to experiment with this at the end of last year by making pencil cases, note books and cards, however I would love to have the opportunity to explore this more in the final project. I think that the work looks completely different when it has been put on products, it seems to have more character and charm, rather than just flat on a piece of paper.