Setting up the show

The last few weeks have been stupid busy with degree show set up and realising that this is the....end of the degree :(

Mike has been helping with the bases to our display stands

(shhhh, he's been a bit like our secret technician ;)

We've been prepping the boards ready for display

and erecting them in place ready for hanging up the show!

I tried out various arrangements for my space...

...after getting moved a couple of times...

I'm glad I was convinced to include my drawings however

They really helped tie the whole thing together!

The studio was laid out with all our back up work

It's just a real shame that it couldn't be out with the public show.

Brochure Preview

It's been a busy few weeks with our lead up to degree show...the brochure is getting ready at the printers, but because I can't wait to share it - here's a preview!

Our dates for the show:

Developing a dialogue

It has been an age since I've updated on here and as we're entering mid term review, are nearly through with January and I haven't even said * Happy New Year * yet, it's about the right time to reflect on what's been going on...

Last term was very busy. I co-curated an exhibition at uni which was fun, although a little stressful at points. The outcome was great though and it was well received across the board. We created an online archive of the exhibition, which you can see here. 

In terms of my work, I was a little distracted with organising the show so development has been slow, however, there have been some interesting things happening so...let's reacquaint ourselves and get back up to date!

Right, you remember that cloth that absorbed all the slip? Well, here it is after it got fired:

 It's an interesting texture but I'm not that keen on the overall look. 

I feel like this technique has been done to death a bit so I'd like to develop something new...

I tried out some different cloths and sponges to varying successes

And although this leaked to begin with, the outcome of the sponge was quite fantastic 

- like giving birth to some coral!

The natural movement in the pieces gives the work some real energy and personality

And when placed side by side there's an interesting dialogue going on between them all

I wanted to consider the re-usability of the moulds and wondered about adding a zip?

It was very successful indeed! 

More forms took shape 

(and even alluded to functionality - could this be a jug?)

Development drawings

And a thinking through how to reuse those redundant moulds....could they become sculptures themselves?

More zips and twisted forms

And inspiration from the strangest of sources!

Continuing the dialogue with some plaster forms

And developing some shapes out of the finer more flexible cloths

There's a real question about the value of material and object beginning to appear....

Arranging the objects to consider how they might work together in a collection:

And a happy accident from the kiln where the glaze caused a crack in one of the vessels and split it in half. 

The splitting created a problem and the solution lay in the newly developed cloth samples and so the beginnings of a hybrid ceramic collection have been born!

It's now time for mid term review and some time away from the studio to write up my dissertation. Then hopefully after that I can be a bit more regular with my updates. 

That said however, it's really not that long now til it's all finished!? 

Where did those 3 years go...?

New year, New term = time for making new friends!

So, it's the start of Year 3 - eeeek! It's the big one, the one where we're meant to know what the hell we want to do (?!) and the one that counts.

To start the year off and make it feel that little bit less daunting, I thought it would be nice to arrange an event for all the year groups. To help instigate a dialogue between us all and make us feel more part of a 'whole course' rather than three separate studios I thought what better way to do that than through a whole day of drawing and socialising...I’m going to hold a Sketchcrawl! 

It will coinside with the Worldwide Sketchcrawl event on 19th October and will consist of an all day drawing event around different venues and events in Nottingham. 

The idea being that there is this rough guide for people to drop in and out of as they feel suits during the day, (so that those working/other commitments etc can still make things) create a nice social atmosphere for whole of the course to get along and ultimately produce a nice range of drawings! 

All drawings from 3rd years will be curated for a show, that will run 18th November - 2nd December alongside the NTU exhibition drawology, and another event I'm involved with at the Uni - a student led exhibition called Drawing Is... 

There's been some really keen interest for the day so I'm excited for what it might produce. 

Our rough plan for the day so far:

Meet in Market Square to draw 10 - 11.30/12 (weather dependent)

Move on to Castle 12 - 1.30/2 to take in Nottingham Open exhibition (and draw grounds/cityscape from above)

Head for buffet lunch at Red Hot Buffet (it's got an amazing interior of global mishmash all themed around travel!) 2 - 3.30/4

Head to Canalhouse bar for drawing and sharing of work done so far/social 4 - 6pm

Then, for those still up for it, carry on to Beeston for some live music at Oxjam

Sounds good huh? Fingers Crossed for some good weather, it will be nice to get out and about. 

Well, here's to the start of a challenging year ahead then, still can't believe this is the final year!

The necessity of paper in a digital age

I read an excerpt from the book Paper: An Elegy earlier and was really struck by its content. It's definitely on my radar for a purchase (alongside Illuminate: Contemporary Craft Lighting, which I managed a sneaky peak of yesterday!) I found myself pointed in the direction of Lucio Fontana during the read and realised that I'd forgotten all about him, having looked at his work during my foundation. Revisiting his work again now is magical - the sense and destruction of space is just great!

From Canvas and Thread

from Sea of Space

I'm reminded also of Rauschenberg, lovely lovely Rauschenberg! And the exhibition Paper: Pressed, Stained, Slashed, Folded which showed at MOMA in 2009. Look here for work like:

John Cage, Dramatic Fire, 1989

Howardena Pindell, Untitled (no.7), 1973

Reading the excerpt has inspired me to dig out all my old boxes of paper and start having a play again. I wonder where it might take me....?

Lovely Lustre (2012)

It's that time of year again, the annual Lustre event at Lakeside. I went with a keener and more inquisitive eye this year, looking at the display and quality of finish to the products on show. I was quite taken by the affordability of the wares and made a few purchases too!

I enjoyed talking with Christine Gray about her process of making these beautiful porcelain bowls:

The cast glass sculptures of Louisa Finch:

More glass sculptures by Samantha Donaldson:

Katie Gilliland's taxidermy inspired jewellery:

The attention to detail in Malin Winberg's work:

The simple yet effective designs of Jane Blease:

The technicalities and consideration applied to the work of Anna Wales:

The scaffold inspired brilliance in the jewellery of Helen Sutherland:

The illustrative delights in the textiles of Teresa Cole:

And the exciting ceramic drawings-cum-sculptures of Nicola Laidstone!

Nicola has an open studio event at the Shed 2 studios on 30th November -
I'm definitley going along to have a peek!

My purchases of the day were: 

these three bear embroideries by Natalia Kukiel...I wonder where they will go?

and a mug by Carly Dodsley - which I'm enjoying as I blog!

So all in all, it was another lovely Lustre and a pleasant addition to the work that I saw there last year. I'm keen to make it a annual visit and continue to support the new, local and inspiring makers that it attracts. Maybe I will be there one day? who knows....