The Fog Begins to lift……..
Wow! ……Wow!
What a day………Did not know that Tuesdays could be so fab!
Today something happened, things began to fall into place. Though very slowly, there was no avalanche but there was a definite lift in the fog, that has been surrounding me these past weeks.
The week started well we had a talk by Jamie Shovlin, a conceptual artist. Who’s profile can be viewed here.
“Shovlin is a difficult artist to pin down. He is interested in the balance between truth and fiction and our perception of the world around us. His interventions often challenge us to re-think or question our understanding of reality. “ Ingleby Gallery-Edinburgh
The resulting work was very interesting, but what particularly drew my attention was the project ‘Hiker Meat’. An Exploitation film that never actually existed, shooting a trailer, and re-creating key sequences from the beginning and end sections of the film.
The resulting exhibition showed the birth of this process, the collaboration between writer, composer & director. They used large black boards to sketch out ideas. For me they were very visual in there own right. The different layers of artists, the overlapping of ideas, and connections clearly visible. The creative process being documented, being laid bare for all to see. It was both a great creative tool and visually very exciting.
& then it was Tutorial time…..
I was a wee bit nervous, it has been such a long time that I have been in a situation where I look at my own creative work with such a critical eye.
I think that my confidence left me a little, managing to display just how overwhelmed I am, with regards the research, my practice and all the ideas and general creativeness. And actually it was not until I was talking about so many ideas & how I planned to investigate 10 things at once, that the scope of the work was really revealed.
So with the help of Helen & Sharon we began to pick through my thoughts. The question was, not to lose one’s self and drown in such a wide breadth of ideas but how to pin point one place to begin. To bring some cohesion to the thought process, also to maybe let go of some of the ideas, to question and understand my own intentions………..small steps!
I have been taking some photographs of places with an idea ( idea number 51) of some kind of installation and as we were going through these, it was pointed out how similar the places felt even though they were of very different things.
The Quarry at Helsby, where I now call home, and Grimsby School of Art, my birth place & where I lived until leaving for university some 26 year ago. Why these two places? What attracted me? What drew me to them, was there a connection? This will be the first step to begin to look at & analyse both places.
Helsby Quarry
Grimsby Art School.
We also talked about beginning to make. So next step is to begin to look at material and understand glaze, oh yes and that means some basic chemistry…yummy! I am going to start testing the raw materials we have & discover what they do and what they will do when I mix them. I also plan on adding some materials from the Quarry.
And step three…….where will my practice fit into the ceramic world of today? I have favorite Potters but again to begin to ask myself more critically what is it about the work, process, material that I am drawn to. Why I do or do not like something? It was a great great day…….Beginning to put some perspective on my work helped so much. I can feel a plan coming together….
Some of my pieces at home……
Health & Wellbeing.
Having had the report for a couple of weeks now we began by going around the room to listen to peoples reaction to it.
It became clear that some folks are a little lost. For some it was the report itself. It is heavy going and I myself am looking forward for the author to come and go through it with us.
I felt that the group began to gel though at the same time there was a feeling of hesitation. I think that the subject matter is very emotive & for some of us it is also very personal. Maybe folks will open up as we begin to explore the subject in more depth.
There were topics that did keep recurring throughout the conversations. Accessibility bringing people and the Arts together,connecting them in some way. Through a single item or through an activity of some description. The group are divided into those thinking about there own practice participation and those considering the whole event. I think that this will be the next step how we bring these two sides together.
For me a really great week, it feels like I am beginning to find my feet. Six weeks in, I am a slow burner…….
This time I decide to excavate a larger quantity of material from the Strata surface as that garage will be built at some point and all this beautiful surface will be hidden. I decide to take some more close up piccys of the surface, every time you look at it you see something different.
Looking at different methods of recording I have bought some test tubes and different sized chemical containers so that I can keep a visual record.
My plan is to combine these materials with some of the clays that I use and experiment with some glazes. The idea being that I introduce elements and traces of my own history into my work. The Quarry being my Present. I have returned to the Art School since the tutorial discussions and though I will not take materials from here fundamentally this is where my creative journey started. The Art School is a major chapter in my history. I am unsure about the buildings future but it would be a great location to use as a photographic backdrop for the work, if it remains standing? I do have a thought to perhaps use some transfer images on some of my forms and incorporate these with the material from the Quarry, Past and Present.Though initially my focus will be using the materials from the Quarry.
Bev Sommerville Ceramics 