Unit 11 Personal Statement and Evaluation

Personal Statement

(I am not applying to university so this personal statement will act as a CV for future job prospects. I’ve based this personal statement on applying to a job as a prosthetic makeup artist but I’m not completely sure what I want to do as a job in the future)

I am applying for this job because prosthetic makeup artistry has always captured my imagination, the process in transforming a person to become entirely unrecognisable amazes and inspires me. I have attended Plymouth College of Art for almost 2 years and in that time I’ve been improving my skills and learning drawing, painting and moulding techniques which can be reworked and adapted into prosthetic makeup techniques.

This job interests me because there are many chances to be creative and inventive with products and designs. I do although understand that a lot of patience and great time management with long hours is required in order to succeed and I believe I’m ready for that. Another skill that will help me thrive in this job is my ability to pay close attention to detail; in a lot of my work I strive for perfection which is great for when I draw portraits or when I take photographs.

I believe I am suitable for this job because I never tire of it, I really do love exploring the ranges of products and specialist techniques; so choosing something that I love as my career path is really important to me. This job will present me with the ability to adapt and improve my current skills as well as teaching me new ones. During my time at College I have learnt new techniques useful in all art and I’ve also studied a lot about the human form, everything from life drawing, to portraying emotions to portraiture all of which have benefitted my skills as an amateur prosthetic makeup artist.

When I realised I wanted to be a prosthetic makeup artist I began experimenting with various homemade methods to achieve looks, I used a lot of PVA glue, tissue paper and foundation and as I developed my skills and styles I also began creating looks on friends and family, one Halloween I made my older brother into The Joker – that has probably been the highlight of being an amateur prosthetic makeup artist, it was fun and authentic and it really allowed me to grow from being someone experimenting for fun to someone doing a somewhat important job for somebody else.

In secondary school I achieved eight GCSE’s ranging from A*to C, this was a great achievement for me and although secondary school wasn’t necessarily a place I wanted to be or enjoyed I still managed to succeed and get everything I needed. I persevere in many aspects of my life and when I get knocked down I struggled but I do always try my very best not only to get back up but to keep going, I will use this perseverance in this job and I will always try my very best in all areas.

I believe that I’m a responsible person, as I’ve grown up I’ve has to be more mature in order to be a good role model to my two younger brothers, they are thirteen and fourteen years younger than me  and I as their big sister have to be fun but yet still responsible. I know I can translate this quality into my work.

A big influence on my work is pop culture, more specifically, TV programmes. Two programmes in particular are Doctor Who and The Walking Dead, these two have been extremely innovative in the ways they use prosthetic makeup, I believe they’ve set new standards in the prosthetic makeup world and my goal is to reach those standards to achieve the skills and absolute brilliance they have.

Overall prosthetic makeup is truly a dream of mine and I believe that given the opportunity, I can achieve it and be the best I can by giving my all in a career close to my heart.

Megan Chilcott





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Evaluation

Unit 11 is all about helping people to get into further education, this however does not apply to me as i'm not participating in any further education after Plymouth College of Art. Instead i'm preparing to get a job, Unit 11 has helped me with this as I've written a CV and researched jobs that I would potentially be interested in. I'm not looking for anything major that experience is needed for, just something to earn some money and gather some experience in a different environment. After I've saved enough money I plan to go travelling and after that I'm hoping to become an apprentice in make up artistry, Unit 11 has helped me with this as I now know whats needed for me in an interview and what information I would need to include in a CV.

My next step in finding a job is getting my CV in order. In my CV I would include my Unit 11 Personal Statement, contact information, experience, education and qualification as well as references. To make a good first impression I will make sure that my CV is clear and concise as well as my spelling and grammar checked over. It's important to come across well in a CV as its the employers first experience of you and if they aren't impressed there wont be an interview so it's imperative to have a structured and well written CV.

During an interview I will compose myself with being confident and not cocky. Clear communication with the interviewer is really important and I would like to come off as knowledgeable and passionate about the job so that the interviewer can see i'm ready for the job yet willing to learn.

Previously I've only ever been to one interview so I don't have much experience when it comes to what I can expect, but I do know that I want to improve on my last interview as I was very nervous and shaky, it wasn't great but I know that if I work hard to be confident and clear I can get some self improvement in being an interviewee. This could be shown in my body language and being more structured in what I say.

Overall Unit 11 has taught me how to handle myself in an interview with confidence and composure, I now know that body language is really important as it shows the level of enthusiasm you have about the job. Also, writing a great CV can really help your chances in getting a job, its important to be structured and clear about yourself as well as having perfect punctuation and grammar as first impressions are very much the key thing in getting an interview. 

Megan Chilcott

Evaluation - Design to Sell

Evaluation - Design to Sell

Henry the Chimp

As stated in my project proposal my initial idea was based around a canvas I created over the summer, this canvas was a black and white chimp painted in acrylics. I wanted to make a black and white pop art slash art deco inspired image but due to the way I painted and the colours I used (which gave me a lot of highlights and low lights) the chimp became more realistic than when I first pictured it. Overall this change in style worked well as my other paintings followed suit and they all fit together as an ensemble. I chose to work in black and white as I have done before in previous projects because i'm almost magnetised towards towards it, I understand things better when they're in black and white, as if the lie has gone and you're seeing something raw and exposed. In my opinion colours project feeling and emotions on to you (eg. red = anger, yellow = happiness) which isn't a bad things in some situations but once they're gone it's as if you can perceive it how you wish to.

Black and White Animal Canvases

Overall I achieved what I wanted to achieve, I created canvases with animals on painted in black and white acrylic paints. There was never really a message behind the animal element and why I chose for animals to be my subject matter but I felt drawn towards expressing these animals in my own way and I believe I have achieved that. As I talked about previously I initially wanted my first canvas to have a very different look (pop art/art deco) but this didn't happen because as I was painting with the black and white I was mixing to make shades which created shadows and highlights which brought the image out to be more realistic. So I learnt that to create different styles you have to think about shades ad colours as well as their placement. I also learnt that texture was important in my art work, I used heavy body acrylics which are thick and although my canvases don't have a lumpy and abrasive feel they layered in both shape and colour.

Vincent Van Gogh - Two Crabs

The artist that inspired me most in this project is Vincent Van Gogh. His brushwork is so beautiful and he knows perfectly how to use it to create something impeccable. I tried to emulate this somewhat as I thought it'd work well for what I wanted to create. Similarly I used short and layered brushstrokes to transform into a realistic image. In contrast to Van Gogh I used a very limited colour palette, I focused on taking the colour out and creating a bold and impactful yet emotion free image.

A problem I faced during this project was the pressure from myself and the work load. I felt as though I needed a huge quantity of work, lots of canvases and lots of evidence and research and as a result of this I panicked. To overcome all of this I decided to focus more on quality rather than quantity, I painted a few canvases that I was proud of whereas previously when I was panicking I painted canvases that weren't to the best of my ability. I learnt from this to keep calm and focus of the things that are important and doable in the time limit and that is what i'll try to improve for better success of the next project.


Megan Chilcott