Significant Objects

Thanks to the inspirational Deirdre Nelson for introducing me to the Significant Object project via twitter.

Reordering and Redefining

Wrapping, encasing, piercing.

Power Objects and Walking in Circles

Before Christmas I took a rainy day trip to Scarborough to meet Ian Read from Scarborough Museums Trust to discuss a two day workshop and a exhibition accompanying their Fears, Foes and Faeries exhibition later this year. I visited the Trust's collection of charms and witchcraft objects accessioned by former curator William James Clarke, an associate of Edward Lovett whose collection, in part, held at Pitt Rivers Museum inspired so much of my MA work in 2008.

I have been trying to revisit power objects within a project ever since but I was worried I would be walking on already well trodden ground, but my visit to the museums store made me realise there was many facets yet to discover and new agendas to explore.

A small fraction of the William James Clarke collection I photographed at Scarborough Museums Trust below..

My work for Scarborough will be exhibited at Scarborough Art Gallery March 23 - September 30 and the workshop, which runs over 2 days, will be held on Saturday 12 and 26 May. I'm developing a series of charm making exercises with precious metal and found objects for the workshops and I've already found some really interesting (read: bonkers) materials to include.

Part of Edward Lovett's collection is being exhibited as part of Charmed Life at the Wellcome Collection where photography is strictly prohibited, hence the scrappy drawings and rabid notes. It turns out I've been on Lovett's tale for a while, another part of his collection is held at the small but beautifully formed Cumming Museum.
To add to all this I am taking part in an exhibition called Donning Oxford this summer, which will take inspiration from Pitt Rivers and their Sympathetic Magic collection. It's reassuring to know that as I bandy between inspirational collections I find common ground, unfinished threads and new avenues to make new work.

Charlie and friends

Charlie's Pipe Dream, silver and found ceramics.

Charlie, Divination Pins and jewellery pieces are off for a short break at The Platform Gallery in Clitheroe from 21 January - 17 March. More information here, I will be running a found object workshop at the gallery on Saturday 26th February of which further detail will be available soon.

[Update] New newsletter with showcases for 2o12 here or click Exhibition 2012 on my blog header.

Workshops

A couple of images here from two A-Level workshops I ran before the Christmas break working with porcelain and enamel, and the second with metal and mixed media. The arrangement above comes from a series of small scale dioramas I made with the students, dipping found organic forms in porcelain slip and framing them in slab built shadow boxes.

In December I worked with Jenny Walker on a jewellery workshop at Ruthin Craft Centre with 15 A-Level students taking part in the Raising the Bar programme in partnership with the Manchester School of Art. The programme offers selected students access to advanced techniques in applied art and design and engages them with contemporary practitioners. During the day we worked with wire, sheet and mixed media in response to selected objects by interrogating their aesthetic, sensory and thematic qualities and exaggerating and exploiting these in order to create new designs. The finished work by the students will go on exhibition at Ruthin Craft Centre later this year.
My teaching at Lincoln University on BA (Hons) Jewellery and Object has almost come to an end for the academic year, something that seems to have gone awfully quickly. The first year group have fearlessly accepted my brief to explore the idea of "chain" and I'm looking forward to seeing what they come back with when I see them next week.

In the forthcoming year I am running jewellery workshops for adults alongside showcases at Platform Gallery, Clitheroe, on Saturday 25th February, and at Scarborough Museums Trust on Saturday 12th and 26th May in response to their Fears, Foes and Faeries exhibition (but more about that later.)

The last year has certainly given me opportunity to develop my teaching experience and I'm looking forward to taking this further this year alongside a couple of the usual interesting (mad cap) projects. Thanks for following my blog in 2011, here's to the next 365 days.

My dad's camping kettle..

..I can't believe I didn't post this up here but there are four things you should know about my father's camping kettle:

1. it was originally bright red
2. my parents forgot they'd put it on
3. my father replaced the melted plastic handle with this rather chic wood n' bolt addition
4. they retail at around £6.00

Past Imperfect

stapled plate from the "make do" collection of Andrew Baseman

http://andrewbaseman.com/blog

Budapest

Budapest Museum of Ethnography