From Potholes to Landfill 27th April 2013

Reblogged from scottishsculptureworkshop:

From Potholes to Landfill: where does clay come from? what is clay? where is it going?

Saturday 27th of April

Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Lumsden

pothole (plural potholes)

1.  (archaeology) A pit resulting from unauthorized excavation by treasure hunters or vandals.

In celebration of the new ceramics workshop emerging and taking shape here at the Scottish Sculpture Workshop, we are holding a one day event: Potholes to Land Fill. 

Read more… 396 more words

I'm involved in organising this event at the end of the month at SSW, get in touch with Emily if you're interested in coming along, should be an interesting day. We've got a geologist, archaeologist, anthropologist, ceramicists and environmentalists so far!

step by step

Slowly and steadily I’m making progress with tests and developing forms. Pottery always seems to take much longer than I account for. Today has involved, making simple test forms for printing on next week

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emptying and filling kilns

Preparing more clay

Making a commission for the Freens o Reid Harlaw

And getting back on the wheel

But significantly it has involved getting space and time to think. Having (all be it very short) time to only concern myself with eating, sleeping and working is fantastic. Everyone should be allowed to do it once in a while, whether they are artists or not, it certainly fuels the sole and gets the creative juices flowing again. Without the responsibilities of our everyday life the opportunity to think helps speed up the process or let’s you start something you’d otherwise never get around to.

I’m reminded of a blog my friend recently made while she was on a unique residency, have a read of it here. Oh, how I’d like to do something like this as well!

The next challenge will be to maintain the momentum after leaving SSW and getting space to think, make and be when I’m back home.

Discussions and deliberations

Some interesting discussions took place in the workshop today….

Issues of collaboration and ownership, the value of creativity and the difference between creativity and commodification, the relationship between artist and technician and an anthropological view of the making process…..the list goes on.

I don’t have any of the answers, but it made me stop and think about making, which is always a good exercise especially as I have been collaborating with various artists over the past three years. What roles do ideas, inspiration, creativity, research, observation, collaboration, challenge, advice and discussion have in the making and creative process and particularly how can ownership be defined if collaboration has been a key part of the final work? Answers on a postcard?

On a material note, my printing and body tests are progressing slowly as I have to wait for another bisque firing before I can glaze fire my test tiles. In the meantime, here is an image of the workshop facilities at SSW, they are pretty good, being only a year old they are developing all the time as each ceramic residency takes place.

From 2d to 3d

While i’m waiting for the kiln to cool, I’ve been thinking about how to transfer my interpretation of the poems into three dimensions. I have so many choices…..the narrative, the characters, the objects, emotions and relationships.

Through the wood block prints i aim to distill the emotions, characters and the context of the poems into visual haiku, capturing my interpretation of Catriona’s poetry into a two dimensional world which is 15cm x 15cm square.

I inhale your breath, visual haiku of Catriona Yule’s poem The Unborn Child.

My next challenge is to transfer the poetry into three dimensions. What do I focus on? How do I get the message across? So many choices.

I’m interested in the way that poetry takes on a new life when the poet finishes the work. That when people read or listen to it being performed a new relationship develops between the poem and the reader. I like to maintain this in my wood cuts and ceramics. Catriona’s poetry is full of movement, it is about a stormy night, with the wind, weather and waves being additional characters in the scenes. There is a theatrical element to the event where you’re both the viewer and the viewed.

Tension, movement and relationships are words that keep coming to mind when I read the poems. Great starting points for new work.

Space to create

Sorry for such a long silence! I seem to be able to either blog or make, and I’ve been making!

I’m currently at Scottish Sculpture Workshop , Lumsden working on the Weather Project from the wood cuts at Deveron Arts and the residency at the Salmon Bothy at Portsoy.

A space to create it is indeed, I’ll be mainly spending time here

And sometimes here

I’ll be exploring printing techniques onto clay, making a few commissions as well as planning and starting work for the RSA exhibition.

Wish me luck!