I have had a lovely week of going to artists talks. I first went to see the Men of Cloth exhibition at the Waterside Arts Centre in Trafford and heard Michael Brennand Wood talk about his work. I particularly liked his thoughts around the history of the textile technique used in work and the importance this can have to you as a contemporary maker, but also he stated that fabric can be an important aid to memory and this seems particularly pertinent to the type of work I am exploring for my MA. He went on to talk about the cellular structure of humans working in a simliar way to the cellular structure of fabric, the idea of cellular degeneration. He also spoke about pattern within textile art work, saying that pattern doesn't just equate pretty, but that pattern can be a powerful tool containing symbols and metaphors that are evidence of culture. This struck a chord with me as often I feel that the fact that my work is patterned and pretty that it can seem less serious or important.
He touched a little on something I discussed with Rozanne Hawksley last week and this made me feel slightly better about getting lost on my journey through the MA. He said that sometimes you know that something means something to you but that you don't know what it is yet - it hasn't revealed itself to you, but the devil is in the detail. Rozanne made a comment that she felt that I had a lot things locked up inside and that I needed to take a peek through the keyhole. Closer observation and some focus perhaps.
The work in Men of Cloth is defintely worth a visist.
Then yesterday evening Dionne Swift invited me up to a talk in Leyburn she was giving on Artists Promotion. This was very informative and useful in preparing me for all the knit and stitch shows I will be at this year. The group hada good discussion about the ups and downs of exhibiting and we all left with a comprehensive list from Dionne to refer to.
So tomorrow I will be talking at at the Harrogate Embroiderers Guild all about my work and have been busy getting ready, packing up work and sorting out a power point presentation which I couldn't have done without the loan of a very nice new LCD projector - thank you Dionne :) x
He touched a little on something I discussed with Rozanne Hawksley last week and this made me feel slightly better about getting lost on my journey through the MA. He said that sometimes you know that something means something to you but that you don't know what it is yet - it hasn't revealed itself to you, but the devil is in the detail. Rozanne made a comment that she felt that I had a lot things locked up inside and that I needed to take a peek through the keyhole. Closer observation and some focus perhaps.
The work in Men of Cloth is defintely worth a visist.
Then yesterday evening Dionne Swift invited me up to a talk in Leyburn she was giving on Artists Promotion. This was very informative and useful in preparing me for all the knit and stitch shows I will be at this year. The group hada good discussion about the ups and downs of exhibiting and we all left with a comprehensive list from Dionne to refer to.
So tomorrow I will be talking at at the Harrogate Embroiderers Guild all about my work and have been busy getting ready, packing up work and sorting out a power point presentation which I couldn't have done without the loan of a very nice new LCD projector - thank you Dionne :) x
I am sooooo jealous I love Michale B-W's work, how did you find out about it, he is so inspiring and bizarrely i nearly bought a piece about 8 yrs ago, I didn't have the 1k available!!!I will have to pick your brain all about it.
ReplyDelete