June 2021 Points of reflection……..
June was 6 months into the collaboration, one third of the allotted timescale, and a good point for reflection:
The cushion pieces were fully finished and 5 were on show as part of the ‘Somerset Reacquainted Exhibition - Materiality’ at the Acearts Gallery, Somerton ( 26th June-31st July 2021). It was interesting for Gill and Joy to experience how it felt to take ownership of all the pieces and not just the ones that each artist had finished off. Both artists realised that the cushions would be viewed as resolved/finished pieces, which is not quite what they wanted at this stage in the collaboration, but it was a great opportunity to gain some feedback. They are determined to show a developmental journey of explorative working in a future exhibition.
Evaluating ways of working : The ‘call and response’ method was used in several ways:
Giving each other different objects to use as inspiration for new work ie. each artist working on seperate things ( this was the first call). A way of getting to know each other, but tends to end up with separate items of craftwork.
Giving the same object to both - each artist initially making in their own material and sending this to the other to add to. (This was the cushions) Ends up with items or experiments closely connected by a theme that have been worked on by both makers. A certain amount of experimenting can be done at each stage of making, but both artists found a fixed object limiting.
Giving different objects, not just for inspiration but to actually work onto/add to. ( this was with the samplers from each). Ends up with items that are quite diverse but worked on by both makers. This seems to allow more freedom for experimentation and individual expression.
In addition a word list and images were used to help explorations focus on chosen themes.
Questions that have arisen :
When making experimental items that will pass from one artist to another how much should the design be pre-planned for, and how much just left to happen? For example, Gill has found it difficult to envisage where and how to put holes or points of attachment so that Joy can add textiles.
How much should the work be directed towards themes and how much should the flow of tacit working with materials take over? A resonance of materials is an important factor to work towards.
Both of these issues are being resolved simply through keeping an experimental approach going and because Joy and Gill are getting to know each other’s work better. It would be invaluable for play and discovery to happen in a joint workshop and this will certainly be set up as soon as possible.
It has been important that each partner is able to progress in their own way and to their own timing - sometimes one is moving forward and sometimes the other. Progress is not always linear, and regular and honest communication has been a key element. Recognising the different abilities and interests of each artist outside their craft skills is also of value to the collaboration. For example, Gill enjoys the challenge of working digitally and is willing to tackle setting up the online communications; Joy is a good organiser and able to keep things on track with ways of planning for effective use of time.
Joy: ‘I am forever picking up new ideas and moving forward without properly exploring my initial ideas. This collaboration and questioning each move is helping me to stop and think about how I am able to contribute. Am I just steaming ahead and producing samples with no direction? When I look back at my working sketch book I realise I have covered a lot of ground and touched on processes and now is the time to reflect and think.
How is this working? How do these pieces relate to ceramics? Distance is a restricting factor. We have talked about sharing our work spaces and this I believe will be pivotal in our processes unifying. In the meantime, dialogue and peer review is guiding me forward. I am now in the process of revisiting my samples and seeing how they can be developed, integrated and adapted.’
Gill : ‘ I had a bad kiln firing - I tried pushing the local clay beyond its limit and fired too high. The impurities in the clay burned and bloated. I cannot expect the same consistency as with clay from the manufacturer - but still there is something about working with this clay that seems close to me. I showed Joy the disaster of broken pieces and her immediate reaction was to wonder what could be done with them. Here are the different languages of ceramics and textiles, then - to me a broken shard is something to throw out, whereas patches and fragments of textiles are often mended or reworked into new pieces. This gave me encouragement to see what I could do - possibly recycling broken pieces as mosaic. The result: some crackpot characters which may have potential for a series of adventures. And a good learning point for me to understand that I should not allow my usual methods of working to narrow my thinking, but see the potential through all stages of making as ‘materials in a state of becoming’. (Jenny Bergström, Brendon Clark, Alberto Frigo, Ramia Mazé, Johan Redström & Anna Vallgårda (2010)Becoming materials: material forms and forms of practice, Digital Creativity, 21:3, 155-172, DOI: 10.1080/14626268.2010.502235)
Joy: I was delighted to see these crackpots. There is humour in them and an unpredictability. I was keen to take elements of them and see how I could reconnect them in different ways. I had previously researched water carriers as a potential shared object, being made both in clay, skins and gourds and this was my starting point in response. I collected the pieces and laid them out to see if they could be patchworked together. At this point I was unsure how this would work so I started with mocking them up and using the opening as ‘shoulders’ for attachments. I kept to materials within reach - tea bags, washed and stitched together in strips, felt from my scrap box and found fleece for padding. This process drew to the surface my long association with garment construction and I was comparing the vessels to the human form and dressing them. I had found a way in but more experimentation is needed.
Mock up with stitched tea bags Soft hand embroidered (eyelet wheels and French knots, ceramic section attached to shoulders with ‘braces’