Summing Up

I’m uncertain about how to sum up this course; we have covered many topics, some that I expected to be boring, that weren’t; and some that I expected to get a lot from, but haven’t.

This is the first course that I have done externally in ten years. I miss the classroom. I don’t think I have given the right amount of time to the right areas of emphasis. In a classroom teachers are able to guide their students, give verbal prompts that remind them of what’s important and where their focus should be. As I was re-reading the concepts of the course, I found myself at a bit of a loss, and I shouldn’t be – I’ve done the hours (albeit in spurts, but that’s largely out of my control).

So, as I look over the objectives of each topic, what have I learned?

I was able to realise the different forms that books may take, though I don’t believe I have come anywhere near a definitive definition of book. I hope that I can look at an object and identify ‘bookness’; or rather what ‘bookness’ is for me. I’m confident about my knowledge of manuscripts, illuminated or not. I found the subjects of that topic quite spectacular – it’s one of those topics where I learned more than I bargained for. One day, when my chicks have flown the coop, I’d like to see some, especially those whose colours and intensity I found mind-boggling when viewed via a monitor.

I have a fairly clear idea about what block books are; how they were made and why they were made that way. A couple of exceptions though: how are craftsmen able to use multiple blocks in a way that produces a cohesive whole image? And how were/are illustrations transferred to the blocks prior to carving? I asked those questions on my blog, and sincerely tried to find answers (within the confines of the WWW), but I only got inklings of possibilities. I regret that I didn’t look further into William Morris and the Kelmscott Press; as a graphic designer (in the making), it is an oversight I must definitely rectify.

I chose illustrated children's for the optional topic and Assessment One. In most of the books I came across it was obvious which were picture books and which were illustrated books. The history was extensive and I found identifying the important contributors to the genre difficult as there were so many. I spent a lot of time trying to find two appropriate examples of the same children’s illustrated books for the assessment. I scoured the local library's bookshelves and those of friends. I had several books sent from Wagga (expensive business, that), including Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense, and delighted at the myriad styles of illustration from the web links provided for us and those I found myself. Illustration is a true Art form. I looked at many books but Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are astonished me the most because of the changes in the panels and the way they tied with the story. I read that book to my children and children I cared for, many times – and never noticed. Examining the relationship between author and illustrator difficult; there just didn't seem to be much information available.

Artist's books turned out to have a resonance with me, particularly work such as that produced by Ed Hutchins and Emily Martin. The work I have done with scrapbooks and other paper crafts over the years made the genre feel familiar. I would like to look into William Blake’s work and that done by other book artist’s more. Using the form of a book as a way to affect how content is read is something I don’t understand, except for blatant examples of form; like Linda Newbown’s Tennis Ball and I haven’t had the oppostunity to read that yet. I haven’t been able to fully determine quite what an artist’s book is or is not as yet; but I’d like to hope I’ll know one when I see one.

I understand hypertext and hypermedia and can see how they might be used by authors, book artist’s and artists, though I suspect that there are yet many ways they can be used that I have not yet encountered. Digital artist’s books are elusive. Except for one I was able to borrow from the University of Queensland’s library, and then could not use because my technology had surpassed that of the CD-ROM and wouldn’t work (my screen resolution couldn’t be set low enough!); I haven’t been able to find many that were free to view (Patternbook being a noteworthy and wonderful exception). Artist’s need to earn a living too, but as a student, I thinks I’ll have to wait awhile before much digital hypermedia is available to borrow form libraries.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course and got a lot from it. I would have gotten more if I had been better able to focus my learning. As I’m continuing distance education, I hope that’s not too long.