So Now You Need More Documentation…
Do you love your art but research and writing are not your favorite part of the process? Come and let's talk about where and how to start and organize your facts that helps you form a brief write up for a blog, small/local event or just to have on hand.
Barriers to Research
When asking others what barriers they feel they have to research there are some common answers-
Think about your own barriers. I have them too even though I LOVE to write and research. If it helps write the top three down ( or share in this class if comfortable) and see if they are related to the items above. If so we will cover those today.
Why Research?
For me, research is a form of time travel. Not only am I seeking information on the object in question, but I want to understand the people who made it, the setting it was made in and the story behind it. Research also can help you improve your techniques, projects and historical accuracy. Knowing your piece’s history is like learning more about a friend. I prefer to “get to know” as much as I can about what I am going to do BEFORE I start rather than trying to find items to match what I already have done. This actually makes creation easier and limits future frustration.
Competition and Display
Many events small, ethereal and large request documentation on the piece you are submitting for consideration and or feedback. One of the first steps in understanding what your research should look like really begins in understanding what the competition is asking for. If this is a high stakes and or kingdom level event I recommend reviewing the Kingdom Rubrics, Rubric training and more at https://moas.eastkingdom.org/. The Ministry of Art and Science has some very helpful information and excellent outreach to guide you.
Today, however, we are going to focus on research for a small event, display or gathering that only requires a short write up.
Getting Started
One of the first and hardest things is figuring out what you DO already know and what you need to know. Usually, I start with two things, one is a thinking map and the other is the beginning of a bibliography. They can even be part of the same document and can contain even the most simple facts. Seeing that you already know a lot helps not only with the research but in mentally framing the documentation.
Thinking Map( SAMPLE)
What I know
1
2.
3.
Where I found it and how I know it
1
2.
3
Sources-
Google and Wikipedia and Social Media OH MY!
By now you have probably heard where NOT to go. One word of advice on some of these places. It is OK to use them as a diving board to solid research. Think of Google like a Card Catalog… it can suggest WHERE to look but not really give you answers in of itself. ( Example, you google search an image of a brooch and it looks like what you made. Do not cite just the search or the image. Click on it and explore the site it is on.
The same is true for news articles, images and more that you might see on social media. Go back to the original source of the information, then look up the museum it is at. Your friend’s picture was taken at the MET and you know they saw the item? Great, find the link for it at the MET and cite that.
What about Wikipedia? Does it even have a place in my research? Wikipedia does have a use … at the end of every entry they list the sources used to write the entry. Sometimes this list can be useful in finding a better source for what you are looking for.
What is a “good source”? A brief list.
What about blogs?
Blogs and personal webpages can have great information. That said in general I use them like I would google or wikipedia. I would look for the source information that they used.
Research templates-
There are many templates on the internet to help writers organise their thoughts. Here is one that I like to use for starting the documentation process. After you write an answer in each blank IMMEDIATELY put the weblink, book or other source that the information came from on your bibliography.
Name of item:___________________________________________
Country of origin:________________________________________
Part of Country of origin:__________________________________
Time of origin:___________________________________________
Use in period:_________________________________________________
Who in period would have owned it:________________________________
List three existing examples in museums or collections of the object or similar objects( state item, owner in past, museum present)
1
2
3
Materials used in period:__________________________________________
Manufacturing process used in period:_______________________________
Materials used by you to make this item ( if different than period state why)
Process used by you to make this item ( if different than period state why)
What worked well?____________________________________________
What would you do differently?___________________________________
Bibliography
Academic papers and higher level competitions may have rules about how they would like sites and resources documented. There are several ways to do this and for that level of display or competition it is best to reach out and clarify.
For a basic start, I often use the site Easy Bib https://www.easybib.com/ . It has a feature where you can just drop the web link and it will help you cite it correctly.
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Do you love your art but research and writing are not your favorite part of the process? Come and let's talk about where and how to start and organize your facts that helps you form a brief write up for a blog, small/local event or just to have on hand.
Barriers to Research
When asking others what barriers they feel they have to research there are some common answers-
- Where to start
- Google and Wikipedia ….good, bad or something else
- How to organize what you find
- Writing about documentation is difficult, stressful or just not pleasant
- What is really “required”
- Time, focus, imposter syndrome, energy and more
Think about your own barriers. I have them too even though I LOVE to write and research. If it helps write the top three down ( or share in this class if comfortable) and see if they are related to the items above. If so we will cover those today.
Why Research?
For me, research is a form of time travel. Not only am I seeking information on the object in question, but I want to understand the people who made it, the setting it was made in and the story behind it. Research also can help you improve your techniques, projects and historical accuracy. Knowing your piece’s history is like learning more about a friend. I prefer to “get to know” as much as I can about what I am going to do BEFORE I start rather than trying to find items to match what I already have done. This actually makes creation easier and limits future frustration.
Competition and Display
Many events small, ethereal and large request documentation on the piece you are submitting for consideration and or feedback. One of the first steps in understanding what your research should look like really begins in understanding what the competition is asking for. If this is a high stakes and or kingdom level event I recommend reviewing the Kingdom Rubrics, Rubric training and more at https://moas.eastkingdom.org/. The Ministry of Art and Science has some very helpful information and excellent outreach to guide you.
Today, however, we are going to focus on research for a small event, display or gathering that only requires a short write up.
Getting Started
One of the first and hardest things is figuring out what you DO already know and what you need to know. Usually, I start with two things, one is a thinking map and the other is the beginning of a bibliography. They can even be part of the same document and can contain even the most simple facts. Seeing that you already know a lot helps not only with the research but in mentally framing the documentation.
Thinking Map( SAMPLE)
What I know
1
2.
3.
Where I found it and how I know it
1
2.
3
Sources-
Google and Wikipedia and Social Media OH MY!
By now you have probably heard where NOT to go. One word of advice on some of these places. It is OK to use them as a diving board to solid research. Think of Google like a Card Catalog… it can suggest WHERE to look but not really give you answers in of itself. ( Example, you google search an image of a brooch and it looks like what you made. Do not cite just the search or the image. Click on it and explore the site it is on.
The same is true for news articles, images and more that you might see on social media. Go back to the original source of the information, then look up the museum it is at. Your friend’s picture was taken at the MET and you know they saw the item? Great, find the link for it at the MET and cite that.
What about Wikipedia? Does it even have a place in my research? Wikipedia does have a use … at the end of every entry they list the sources used to write the entry. Sometimes this list can be useful in finding a better source for what you are looking for.
What is a “good source”? A brief list.
- Scholarly books (Google books https://books.google.com/ has many historical texts available for free so does Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/ )
- Journal articles- These are written by researchers for students and other researchers. The bibliographies of papers like this can have MANY MANY links to other sources. JSTOR ( a website where you can get journal articles) has free access to 100 articles a month https://www.jstor.org/
- Museums
- Sites that end in .edu
What about blogs?
Blogs and personal webpages can have great information. That said in general I use them like I would google or wikipedia. I would look for the source information that they used.
Research templates-
There are many templates on the internet to help writers organise their thoughts. Here is one that I like to use for starting the documentation process. After you write an answer in each blank IMMEDIATELY put the weblink, book or other source that the information came from on your bibliography.
Name of item:___________________________________________
Country of origin:________________________________________
Part of Country of origin:__________________________________
Time of origin:___________________________________________
Use in period:_________________________________________________
Who in period would have owned it:________________________________
List three existing examples in museums or collections of the object or similar objects( state item, owner in past, museum present)
1
2
3
Materials used in period:__________________________________________
Manufacturing process used in period:_______________________________
Materials used by you to make this item ( if different than period state why)
Process used by you to make this item ( if different than period state why)
What worked well?____________________________________________
What would you do differently?___________________________________
Bibliography
Academic papers and higher level competitions may have rules about how they would like sites and resources documented. There are several ways to do this and for that level of display or competition it is best to reach out and clarify.
For a basic start, I often use the site Easy Bib https://www.easybib.com/ . It has a feature where you can just drop the web link and it will help you cite it correctly.
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