Adam McDade, University of Sunderland

During February 2019 I was generously granted funding for a research trip to the USA, in order to disseminate research findings, gather content for my contextual review, and expand upon my professional and creative network.  The trip was of great value to my academic, professional, and ‘spiritual’ development as a creative practitioner. A host of contacts from varied backgrounds where made, all of which have the potential to lead to exciting future endeavours in both a professional and personal context.

As a result of my trip, my research has now been made known to active academics in Los Angeles and wider California, and contacts from disciplines where made that could not have been anticipated prior to the trip. These include visual artists and designers such as Lawrence Levy, and authors seeking illustrators such as Dr. Mona Toubian, who I met when presenting my research at the Saybrook University Salon.

My time spent with professor Stanley Krippner of Saybrook University, who arranged my presentation, was deemed precious due to his limited number of remaining years. The generosity of both time and spirit offered to me by Stanley gave me a sincere sense of appreciation for the divinity present in human nature, and for the numerous factors that have allowed such a seemingly unlikely connection to be made.

Additionally, I now have had an opportunity to network with other tattoo practitioners from beyond the UK, and should a positive relationship remain, may lead to further professional development and opportunities to be invited to work overseas. This may be as part of placement within the time frame of the research, or as a professional practitioner post-graduation. The opportunity to interview tattooist Henbo Henning has resulted in a valuable contribution to my contextual review, and provides insight from internal voices from within the tattoo industry (that are thus far lacking) to be made visible in an academic context.

My visit to CoSM and conversations with visionary artists Alex and Allyson Grey has led me to produce numerous designs that take inspiration from the subject matter and approaches apparent within the art church that they have created. The opportunity to view original renderings of some of my favourite artworks produced served as a reminder of my innate passion for creation, absent of factors such as commercial viability or criteria adherence, that (though necessary) often hinder the accessibility of joy in creative inquiry. This reminder has given me momentum to produce for the sake of enjoyment, which on past reflection, generally leads to more commercially viable and successful outputs organically.

In addition to the creative fuel that my visit provided, I also have made numerous contacts that allow me to have a ‘foot in the door’ into potentially collaborative works in the future, such as talks about my research, facilitation of arts-based workshops, or illustration work to be produced for the CoSM website and promotional materials.

With absolute sincerity, I express gratitude, appreciation and thanks to AHRC,

Northern Bridge and the directors, Sunderland University, and my supervisory team, for playing their roles in financing, supporting, and assisting in what has proved to be an incredibly useful and insightful experience.

Last modified: Wed, 03 Apr 2019 14:08:43 BST