Paul J N Ritchie
UAL Foundation Diploma Art & Design 2024/25
02 FAD Workbook - Contextual Studies v4.pdf
Stage 2 Project 2:
The Art of Storytelling
"We're not just losing the wild world. We're forgetting it. We're no longer noticing it. We've lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing. We're beginning to act as if nature is not there anymore - and we're losing some of the best things in life." by Simon Barnes, 2018
I am a storyteller... and I have had numerous roles in my previous employment telling a narrative or sharing a written or verbal account of connected events. In the past that narrative has been about policing, community engagement, ecology, conservation, biodiversity, therapeutic gardening and autism. I have managed nature reserves, led volunteers delivering community-based nature conservation projects and teaching methods about gardening for biodiversity. I am a teacher and an accomplished public speaker used to telling verbal stories. I came on the FAD course to explore my ideas and gain new skills for sharing my narrative about connecting people to nature to benefit their wellbeing and wildlife.
Week One (09/12/2024): My narrative, audience & methods
In my first week of Stage 2: The Art of Storytelling project I've been researching guidance and information about how to reconnect people with nature. I've reread Simon Barnes book "Rewild Yourself" for inspiration and the above guidance from the Nature Connection Handbook by Derby University. My narrative will be about encouraging people to reconnect with nature and help them celebrate nature and share their experiences through art and storytelling. I will be focusing on two of the five pathways to nature connection; exploring and experiencing nature through all the senses (senses) and celebrating and sharing nature's events and stories (meaning) through art. I am considering how to achieve this through my creative practice, using printing and mask-making, prior to visiting the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
Week Two (16/12/2024): Birds, folklore & storytelling
In my second week researching The Art of Storytelling project I've been exploring stories about birds, their role in folklore of various nations, including our own and how certain birds are used for storytelling. I've revisited information about the Origin Story of the Haida People from the Northwest Coast of Canada, which I first experienced on my honeymoon. My narrative about encouraging people to reconnect with nature is reflected in many stories from indigenous cultures that often celebrate nature, sharing experiences through art and storytelling. Whilst I'm currently considering a variety of birds and wildlife I will probably focus on the Raven, or trickster, that is central character in the Haida story. I'm thinking that I will help people explore and experience nature through all the senses by celebrating and sharing the role of ravens in mythology and folklore through art. I to explore these ideas further during my visit to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.
Week Three (30/12/2024): My masks for storytelling
In the third week over the Christmas break I made two masks so that I could explore some ideas in creating 3D props for storytelling. I then focused on the Raven (Corvus corax), which is the world's largest crow and features in a wide variety of folklore from around the world. This includes our own historic cultural Celtic and Viking origins where the raven appears regularly in images, masks and storytelling. I've revisited my sketchbook and artwork based on the raven from a period prior to starting on the foundation course but now has a revised relevance to my creative practice and this Stage 2 project. This research is timely prior to our course visit to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford tomorrow. I will be able to explore ideas about encouraging people to reconnect with nature through storytelling and creative practice. I want to discover how various cultures have celebrated nature and shared the role of animals in their mythology and folklore through art. In particular I am excited about experiencing their extensive collection of masks.
Week Four (06/01/2025): Visit to Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
During the first week of our second term we visited the Pitt Rivers & Natural History Museums in Oxford today to seek inspiration and ideas for our Stage 2 project: The Art of Storytelling. I focused on the Raven (Corvus corax), which is the world's largest crow featured in a variety of folklore, images, masks and storytelling in ancient British culture. I explored ways to encourage people to reconnect with nature through storytelling and creative practice with a particular focus on masks, costumes & dancing props. I wanted to discover how various cultures have celebrated nature and shared the role of animals in their mythology and folklore through art. The visit was very successful for me as I found lots of ideas, took 80+ photographic images and sketched out some ideas for a raven mask and a costume.
Week Five (13/01/2025): Raven "the trickster" character
The fifth week of my Stage 2 project: The Art of Storytelling saw me take the ideas and inspirations from previous weeks research and museum visit. I continued my focus on the Raven (Corvus corax), which I wanted to reflect on as this large bird appears in a variety of folklore, images, masks and storytelling in ancient British culture. I want to encourage people to reconnect with nature through storytelling and creative practice by applying the principle of the 3Es (entertain, engage & educate) with a particular focus on masks, costumes & dancing props. I feel this is a good way to celebrate nature & share the role of this unique bird through its mythology & folklore. I applied my learning from making masks for my earlier Stage 1 & 2 projects to create this striking mask that I hope to compliment with a simple costume.
Week Six (20/01/2025): Raven mask & costume design
The sixth week of this Art of Storytelling project sees me reviewing the progress of my ideas and outcomes through peer group critique sessions and discussions with my tutors. So far I've created eight (8) masks at various stages of this FAD course, which all have a potential role to play in future storytelling (see above) roles. However, with the groups I focused my discussions around two key strands of creative practice about the Raven (Corvus corax), which I chose as a folklore messenger and trickster in various mythologies. Firstly, I've made a unique mask based on research of Haida mythology (North West Canada) and folk (Morris) dancing in the UK, which I designed to entertain and engage people in my narrative about conserving biodiversity by using masks, costumes & dancing props. I'm now making a simple costume to compliment this raven mask too. Secondly, I'm creating images suitable for screen, lino-cut and gel block printing again based on the Raven character but using a more conceptual imagery rather than my usual realistic illustration methods.
I feel both approaches are good ways to celebrate nature & share the role of this unique bird through its mythology & folklore and meet the aims of my original narrative for this stage 2 project.
Week Seven (27/02/2025): Raven logo design & prints
I'm now in the seventh week of this storytelling project with me progressing suggestions from peer group critique sessions and creating a relief printing plate using layered card. Firstly, my focus on the Raven (Corvus corax) continues with me exploring a Viking-inspired concept of creating a heraldic device, which includes a conceptual raven image and making myself a logo using my initials micking an ancient rune. Secondly, I'm creating images suitable for screen, lino-cut and gel block printing again based on the Raven character but using more conceptual imagery rather than my usual realistic illustration methods. I'm still making a simple costume to compliment my papier mache & feather raven mask too. I feel my creative practice does celebrate nature & share the role of this unique bird through its mythology & folklore.
Week Eight (03/02/2025): Heraldic raven & screen printing
This is my eight and final week of this storytelling project with me progressing all my ideas & creative practice so far so that firstly my Viking-inspired concept for a personal logo has been developed into a heraldic device. Secondly, I'm creating images suitable for making the UV photosensitive stencils for screen printing again based on a more natural but still conceptual image of a raven inspired by a poem I wrote for this project. This reflects my original narrative about using my creative practice to celebrate nature & share the role of this unique bird through its mythology & folklore. The screen print uses three stencils - a raven in flight image, a blood splatter and two lines from my poem so that I can create dynamic prints that share a narrative about not shooting corvids (ravens, rooks and crows) in the countryside.
