Collaboration is Crucial

Charlotte Greenwood, Illustration and Visual Media

"Something that has surprised you about design".

Although I have collaborated on projects before, I have never worked as intensely alongside someone creatively as I am doing in Los Angeles at The School of Light. When me and Andrew Hall, my cameraless photography teacher, are working together in the darkroom, I often find that a comment he makes about something lingers in my head and develops into an idea or concept suddenly one day when my brain connects it to something else. So for me, the thing that has surprised me about design is how much of an impact collaboration has on your practice. My professional practice is teaching me that some of the best work a creative can produce comes from two or more people bouncing ideas off each other and inspiring one another. In the past, I think that I have not appreciated that as an artist, it can be extremely beneficial to share and discuss my ideas and concepts with other creatives as their knowledge and feedback can develop and enhance them and can lead me to produce more refined work. I have come to realise that I find it difficult to talk about my work with other people and so I have set myself the goal of improving on this during my DPS year. I think that I struggle with this because of the abstract nature of my artwork as when I have shown people my work in the past I have found that the response I often receive is "What is it?" or "It looks like...". But, I have come to realise that this is actually the response that I want from people - I want people to have a reaction to my art, I want them to explore it and question it, and I want them to interpret my artwork in their own way.

In my opinion, the work that I am currently creating on my placement is some of the most professional work that I have produced which I think is down to the fact that I am learning techniques from someone who has over 30 years of photography experience. I also think that the quality of my artwork is better because I am so interested and excited by what I am being taught and what I am making in the darkroom. I am so happy that I am enjoying my professional practice in LA as I worked hard over summer to save up a lot of money for it/to be out here and came a long way from home for this opportunity. The School of Light is unique and what I am doing there is very specific and isn't being taught anywhere else in the world which is why the offer from Hall to do a placement at the school was one that I couldn't refuse.
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I think that Los Angeles is quite often at the top of people's list of places they want to visit but for me, it's never been up there. However, now that I am here, I don't want to leave and I am currently searching for a paid internship here that I can do after I have completed my placement at The School of Light or that I can come back and do in 2020.