Working with a Mentor

As a young and emerging artist I feel it is pretty important to establish a mentor relationship with someone who can support you through the duration of an art project. For the next six months I will be mentored by Wilma Van Boxtel, who operates her own industrial design business Desos Designs.

 Basically Wilma is my sounding board for ideas and she acts as my sustainability consciousness. Wilma has a strong ability to pear the wild art and design ideas back to the original design brief ensuring that the products fulfill the criteria of good eco design principles.

 Choosing the right mentor is really important. I have attempted this mentoring on many occasions, without a great deal of success. Finding someone that is genuinely keen to help out is always a bonus. Someone that you feel comfortable calling up for advice is a step in the right direction.

 Wilma and I work in different ways, Wilma is very much into working in 3D modeling programs from the conceptual stage right through to the final design. Whereas I loathe working in this manner, I like to work in hands on manner, working the material itself. Despite our differences in design practice, I feel its is important to expose myself to as many different design professionals to work out a suitable practice for myself which suits my skills, interest and abilities.

Wilma has a good knowledge of marketing I think this will be of great assistants for this specific design project. One of the personal aims I have for this project is to start to get some exposure to my work. For too long now my pieces have been lovely objects, which adorn my household, it is time for me to break out and show people my talents. As well as this there is always a sense of mystery to a designers work, and a general lack of understanding of what a day in the life of designer comprises of. Hopefully with a bit of assistants from Wilma I will be able to break into the Western Australian Design scene. Having a mentor is one step in the right direction, associating yourself and seeking out professional advice which can set your work and practice on its way.