Gudlaug Gunnarsdottir
You did your formal art training in Demark, can you explain how this came about?
I was always certain about my future belonging to the practice of making art. I moved to Copenhagen a couple of weeks after I turned 18. I thought of Denmark as a stepping stone on my way to studying art in Europe; which it became. In Iceland it takes you 4 years to finish the equivalence of A levels or university prep. By that time most people are 20 years old. I did not feel I had that time to wait to get to studying arts in a serious way. In Denmark I studied couture and finished my A levels in 2 years, while doing preparation studies in Fine Arts.
Flæði, oil on canvas, 130x340 cm, 2014
How has your time in France added to your style?
My art education happened in France. I spent 5 years at Villa Arson, École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Nice. I did a Bachelors and a Masters degree there and finished in 2007. I did many workshops and masterclasses there with wonderful artists. I had good teachers and my fellow students also played part in my evolution as well as I in theirs. It was a very communicative and challenging training. The French like to dissect everything. And I mean everything. There was a huge demand to be very precise and efficient in one’s art making and concept. It was a big challenge for me to learn this as I come from a culture where personal space and tolerance for the unsaid is much greater – believing in elves and magic is not really considered weird in Iceland. But it taught me patience and discipline as well as distancing myself from my practice from time to time, to see the greater image of things and where I fit into all of it – or not.
While I was in Iceland I was fortunate to be able to see your birds on acrylic, discuss?
Thank you.
Acryl on plexiglass, 50x50 cm, 2014
Inspiration
My inspiration comes from my work in painting. I use the light a lot. My large landscapes are most of the time composed of contrasts of light and darkness and most of my other works also talk about light in some way or another.
Material used
Plexiglass I have custom cut and shaped so the painted surface is about 4 cm from the wall. Acrylic paint.
Technique
I draw birds with white acrylic paint on the plexiglass.
The effect of light on the works
When light of a natural or artificial source is cast on the transparent plexiglass, with the white drawing, its shadow is projected onto the wall. The white drawing gets “activated” on the wall by the light.
The use of shadows
In a way the white drawing comes to life when projected to the wall as a shadow. All the small nuances in the drawing that are difficult to perceive when seeing the drawing on a white wall, pop out and make everything vibrate when they are cast on the wall.
Size of the work
The sizes of my plexi-birds vary depending on the birds and the movement they are making. Usually they are between 20 cm and 50 cm in width and length.
On a much larger scale you had a work ‘Rangifer’ explain your use of lighting in this work?
It is a painting, oil on canvas, I made in spring 2015. The size is 120 cm x 220 cm. It portrays a young reindeer calf. The reindeer is stepping out of the dark towards you while looking you straight in the eye. There is no judgement nor demands in its gaze - only contact and observation. I often paint the light and the dark and I appreciate their contrast and how well they work together. I usually work on the darkness first, leaving the light as a reserve. I often use quite vivid and strong colours underneath and then gradually “darken” them up. Several layers of colours superposed on each other work together to bring life and vibration to the subject, light or darkness. A good friend and teacher of mine once told me a simple truth that has made a red line in my work: Colour is light.
Rangifer, oil on canvas, 120x220, 2015
Animals and birds take a huge part of your portfolio discuss this aspect of your work?
Having been born and raised on a farm in Iceland I have always been connected to nature and animals. Their innocence and purity of spirit give promise of an essence that cannot be erased from the world, despite of atrocities happening as a cause of human cultures and religions. Animals don’t care about money, god or ego. They just are. Like children.
You have also use beads in your work, discuss?
I use beads in paintings as a medium to reflect light and give movement in a different way than paint does. Sometimes it’s like a surprise chocolate chip in a fancy sponge cake. I apply the beads directly into the wet paint. Depending on the painting and the desired movement I either throw them with quite some force or drop them in the paint. My mixing of mediums can be purely with different kinds of paint that have different nature like oil/acrylic/varnish etc. It can also be with found objects, like beads or wool threads and such.
You also use dots…. Discuss the installation ‘Reds’?
“Reds” was an installation I did the year I finished my studies in France. It consists of human silhouettes made of red stickers or dots, the same kind used for markings of sold art objects in galleries and exhibitions.
Detail from Reds, stickers on walls, installation, 2007
The figures were all having their brains blown out by unidentified weapons. I guess it was among other things a reaction to the milieu I was in, hence the art milieu. This pressure of making something meaningful and intellectual and on the other hand making money out of it without losing integrity. To me it was a strange pressure and limiting to one’s personal evolution. I probably did this piece as a sort of finger to this side of the art scene which I find endlessly arrogant and boring.
Detail from Reds, stickers on walls, installation, 2007
The amazing light in Iceland can be seen in your landscapes. Discuss this in relationship to ‘Sletta’?
After spending 10 years abroad, away from Iceland and it’s singular light, I managed to see the light a bit with the eyes of an outsider while still feeling my origins. This combination allows me to take in the scenery and still analyse what’s happening.
“Slétta”, meaning prairie, is a painting of the light in Hellisheiði which is a mountainous road leading east of Reykjavik. The light there can often be so amazing. Like all my other landscapes, Slétta is not a painting of an exact place. It’s a combination of places I’ve drawn or photographed. They then come together in my head and then on the canvas. I sketch the composition directly on the canvas with a big brush and ink and start my painting from there. The deep carmine red is a reoccurring colour in my landscapes as it talks so well with the black I also favour in my landscapes.
Expand in the importance of light and sky in your work?
For a long time I needed to make these big paintings of light, the sky and human free nature. I want the spectator to see what I see and feel this essence of beauty that can be felt simply by taking in the light. I’ve felt the world needs more beauty, by that I don’t mean superficial beauty that is defined by an elite, I mean beauty in its simplest way. Beauty that anyone can understand and relate to. Beauty that is not judgmental nor defining. Just an essence of beauty. Lately I have been working more with the contrast between light and the darkness, like in my painting “Rangifer”. Animal portraits are my thing at the moment and they are in direct continuation with my intentions in my landscapes.
Shelter from the storm, oil on canvas,190x220 cm, 2014
Discuss the importance of exhibiting overseas both for you as an artist and promoting your country.
For me it’s important to exhibit overseas to meet other artists and practices. It’s very interesting to get feedback on my work from people who are not familiar with my environment and opening up new horizons, both for them and myself.
Contact details.
www.gulla.is
https://www.facebook.com/gullagunnarsdottir
gulla@gulla.is
Gudlaug Gunnarsdóttir, Reykjavik, Iceland
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, July, 2015
Ryder Richards
Texas provides a contradictory set of values, which promotes a flexible mind. I guess, what I mean is that duelling dichotomies are abundant: Texas believes in religion and guns, proudly valuing rugged, violent individualism equally with Jesus and good manners. ~ In a more practical sense Texas affirms a “go-getter” attitude, in which you are praised for boot-strap endeavours. So when a couple friends and I started the RJP Nomadic Gallery driving and exhibiting across the state we were welcomed and applauded. There is a tendency to make your own scene here, to become what you want to see. And, it is relatively cheap to live and have a studio here.
270 Winchester, 2011, 30’’x22’’ Graphite on paper
How were you able to add your artistic interpretations, through your time at Richland College in Dallas?
While at Richland I ran the art galleries, which allowed me to curate thought provoking work into an institutional space, treating it more as an alternative, experimental venue. The benefit of working with so many artists is that I made many friends, I had a way to help artists, and I expanded my own ideas of what art can be and how it can function. If you can put yourself in a position to help others you find that you are inadvertently helping yourself and you stay tuned-in to the scene.
Expand on your thoughts on the importance of collaboration with other artists?
If you hole up in your studio you might make some great work, but I had to ask myself: what would be the end result? I have thought, on-and-off, that an art life would be an exciting life exploring new ideas. But, I often find myself stuck, thinking it is about making objects. To break this tendency to fetishize the object or get stuck in one set of ideas, one way of making I challenge myself to work with others, which is often much more fun. I find myself engaging, flexing, and constructing more exciting ideas. Part of this is the power of dynamic conversations with peers, cajoling my process into alignment or to buttress other, foreign practices.
Discuss how you constantly use new and unusual materials in your art work?
Ha! Well, I think it started when I was making drawings about guns and decided to use a material more meaningful than graphite, so I started using gunpowder and lighting it on fire. During this time I joined Culture Laboratory Collective and I made a rule for myself that I would explore new ideas and materials with every exhibit, and not use gunpowder. By implementing these rules it forced me to be more creatively open until it has eventually become a facet of my practice to explore different methods of making.
‘Pinned’ 2015, 82’’x52’’x52’’ Lights, battery, blaster, baseballs, balloons,acrylic shields,plastic, acrylic paint.
You use a very unusual material, Gunpowder expand how this came about and the way you use it?
I am often asked if I got the idea from Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang, who also uses gunpowder, but I first came across the idea through Ed Ruscha drawings where he was rubbing gunpowder, not igniting it. ~ At the time I was interested in Southern symbols of masculine culture, both through cinema and my own experiences. I decided that, conceptually, I wanted the work to be richer, more complex and powerful.
Pleasure Principle 11, 2011, 30’’ x 22’’ Gunpowder, graphite on paper
I essentially make a black and white drawing, spreading gunpowder over certain areas, compress it, and ignite it. The resultant mini-explosion singes the paper with heat and chemicals. By igniting the gunpowder on paper there is a moment of extreme risk where the act of creation is also an act of destruction that can easily destroy drawing. The process is about precise control of powerful elements, similar in concept to how gunpowder in guns is used.
Do you feel that it is a controversial material to use?
Not really. I can see that other people may find it controversial, but in my culture it is simply innovative. More subversive is my imagery of double rifles with a negative space phallus, and the use of rifle etchings to echo interior design floral patterns, as if all of this violence is so subliminally ingrained that we cease to see it and are instead seduced by it. Another piece looks like a mandala, but shows a shell casing surrounded by sperm. The fact that it is made with gunpowder adds a level of technical, conceptual innovation, but really I am questioning the conflated acceptance of beauty and embedded replication of violence in our culture. That is the controversy that I want considered.
‘Disruption 11:Void’ 2011, 30’’ x 22’’ gunpowder and graphite on paper
How do you describe your art – Installations, sculptures expand on this?
Well… I make installations, paintings, drawings, and sculpture with the occasional video/sound piece or computer programming thrown in. I would say I am a bit of a conceptual artist, where the idea drives the creation of the object, and thus the materials.
“The Idyll’ 2015, Lawndale Art Centre, Houston
In my last solo show, The Idyll, I built out the walls of the gallery to echo the shape of the Rothko chapel, and built an interactive pulpit/sound machine surrounded by small, cast platonic solids. There were several drawings on the walls, several painted panels either on the wall or acting as free-standing sculpture to mimic the monumentality of high-modernism. I tend to build out a space, which I consider sculpture and installation, allowing it to alter the viewers experience and provide its own context within the space. During the Dallas Biennial 2014 I created a temporary gallery inside a warehouse called I Could Love You Less.
‘I Could Love You Less’ 2014, 30’’ x 22’’ Pigment, gunpowder on paper
I only put one minimal drawing in it and cut a hole in the wall that was glowing blue, sort of a poor-man’s James Turrell. Behind the temporary gallery I had several works wrapped up in plastic on palettes. The wrapped art served as sculptural props referencing my history and the invisible labour of high-modernist gallery aesthetics.
I also made a piece, Obligation, from a mirror-ball circling a paint can on astro-turf. This type of piece is kinetic and sculptural, but takes on an installation quality when the light is reflected across the space. It is a rather simple, but dynamic piece, that hovers between ready-made, sculpture, and installation.
‘Obligation’ 2014
What are your thoughts on the need to have a label for the type of art, artists do?
It kind of cracks me up. Seriously. I have two degrees in painting, so I should be a painter, but I only occasionally make paintings. My recent “painting,” Pinned, features cast plaster stairs, plastic, lights, and baseballs.
When my wife is asked what kind of art she makes or what kind of material she uses she says “Yes.” We simply don’t think about labels anymore and all materials are fair game. Recently I have even done performance art that is actually drawing at Blue Star Museum in San Antonio, Texas: Stance of Contemplation.
You have had a residency every year since 2008 what has come from two of these that has given you particular improvements in your work?
My residency in Germany was great. It reaffirmed my love for drawing, which was originally rekindled with my 2008 Vermont Studio Center residency. Occasionally, we become accustomed to tools and specific work environments, and I love that a residency can strip away that complacency, leaving us with a shortage of comfort which causes us to reconsider our practice, or in this case, my identity linked to a gun-culture state.
‘Impossibility of defeat; Buckshot’ 2009 30’’x 40’’, Graphite and acrylic on paper
The second residency that really changed my practice was Roswell Artist-in-Residence Program in 2012-13.
‘The Cube:Wood, 2013, 10’x10’x10’ Acrylic, wood, pedestal
I had a full year with a house and studio. During that time I started by referencing classical Italian sculpture, making flattened wood sculptures with scroll-work and gunpowder: sort of reconsidering America’s billboard signage versus the beautiful, violent three-dimensional propaganda art of the renaissance. By the time I was leaving the residency I was making minimal installations, drawings, and art actions. It was a time to grow and stretch as an artist, and I tried to make the most of it.
How do you decide which residencies to apply for?
It is often word-of-mouth. If I have a friend who enjoyed it, or if it is highly regarded and at least partially funded, I consider it. I think a lot of it has to do with scheduling. Not everyone can leave a job for a year, or even a month. I wish I had some really sage advice for you, but in the end every residency is what you make of it. Some may have better resources or reputation, but if you make great work and meet cool people during any residency then it did its job.
‘Antiquated Modernity:Besmirched. 2012, 30’’ x 40’’Gold leaf, graphite, gunpowder on cut paper.
As you have been so successful in acceptancy for residency can you give some advice for other artists who would like to be accepted?
I usually target my projects to the location. For instance, in Roswell I made work about the South West and I opened and ran an art gallery inside the studio to bolster social interaction with the residency. In Germany I made work about Texas stereotypes, which was exotic for them. In Kentucky I made work about the relationship between the river and city. ~ Why go to a distant location if you are not willing to let it influence you and your work? A residency, for me, is about engaging the place I am going, generating new thoughts related to the area and people.
Expand on your 2015 Solo exhibition ‘a thing of this world’
The development
I have studied gun culture in the South, Utopias, and how governmental redaction related to UFOs helps spawn conspiracy theory. Most of my work seems to be about revealing or playing with hidden, subliminal, or institutional bias. Recently I have been looking at police, riots, and other forms of civil disobedience. Initially shocked by the news I began to read and study, going from theories on “power” to a manual for “How to deal with Intractable Conflict.” Then, I think I read some sci-fi, a book on the Freikorps, and texts on object-oriented-ontology, occasionally talking to former police officers and military people.
Shield:Intractable Conflict 111, 22’’ x 30’’ 2015, Graphite, pigment on paper
I am attempting to come to grips with the dynamic of citizens who ‘police’ other citizens and the increasing mistrust between the two groups. Looking at the tools and visual symbols police embody the “predatory silhouette” aesthetics, dehumanizing their appearance and often aggressively over-reacting. The populace will no longer comply willingly to an institution they do not trust or respect, people they do not believe honestly wish to ‘serve and protect’, causing an escalation as situations are more often handled with force as police demand compliance.
‘Shield: Utility’ 2015, 22’’ x 30’’ Graphite, pigment on paper
For the exhibit I have pieces dealing with various methods for coping with this reality: the tools used (police utility belts and home-made riot shields), academic knowledge (texts), to the aftermath of a riot (burning tires).
Shield: Burn, 2015, 40"x60" graphite and lamp black on paper
I am currently making a Kevlar hoodie for the exhibit and a tower of car batteries and lights.
The size of the exhibition and the amount of work needed
The exhibit will be relatively small as PA Gallery is a fairly small, alternative space, roughly 12’x16’. They are interested in experimental research-based work and really encouraged me to think about an installation, so I will probably build a few sculptural elements on site, such as cast plaster stairs, make a mural, and install 4 or 5 wall pieces. At least that is the plan now, but I may need to edit pieces out of the show down once I am on site.
The importance of it being in Brooklyn rather that in Texas
I would love to say that the work will be better received in Brooklyn, leading me to great success and fame. But primarily I developed the work considering some issues related to New York, such as the ‘stop-and-frisk’ policy, Eric Garner and the revenge shootings. However, I think the work is universal in many ways, considering such large social dynamics.
Tell us about The Art Foundation that was established in 2012 and the role you take and what the Foundation has given back to you?
The Art Foundation is a group of Dallas-based artists who got together to curate a show, wanting Dallas to host exhibitions that could be considered internationally compelling rather than merely regionally relevant. The interesting thing is that we received a lot of regional attention with the Nasher Sculpture Center accepting one of our projects into their permanent collection, and the Dallas Museum of Art asked us to curate an exhibition of local artists. We also held a discussion on public art, worked with an artist from San Diego on a Dallas project, and created an exhibit at The Reading Room based on Jonathan Lethem’s “Chronic City.”
I think my role in the group alters according to the project. Sometimes it is idea generation, sometimes I take on tasks of building and doing, and often I end up talking too much. The benefit of the collaboration is the collaborators, who are much more sophisticated, tasteful, and smarter than I.
Contact details.
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, July, 2015
Miles Allen
Apart from the occasional landscape or portrait my art has always been geometric and abstract. It is hard to imagine doing anything else. I love creating order and rearranging shapes to get some uniformity.
I have two drawings from when I was about 10 years old. One is of coloured squares in the shape of a pyramid the other is a face with coloured squares all over it. It seems as though my passion for neatness, structure, logic and straight lines goes back a long time!
My work doesn’t often use curved lines. It may sound strange but I find them difficult to do. I like the certainty, the crispness of a straight line, a hard edge, a right angle and the repetition of shapes.
Have you always used recycled materials?
No, but I had always been conscious of just how much we throw away and had tried to minimise waste. I painted for the first ten years mostly acrylic on canvas.
In 2008 I found some old keyboards and worked with those for a while. I found some disused road signs and experimented with those and other signage items, then rulers and other measuring devices. More recently weathered and worn tin and metal.
About seven years ago whilst visiting France, I saw fruit and vegetable boxes at the market and was instantly drawn to them. They were decorated with simple stylised shapes and a variety of fonts, logos and descriptors and I had to get some! They have been my main source of art since then. Painting allows me the freedom to put anything on the canvas but with these boxes I only use what the material provides, with its printed logos and descriptors, its textures and evidence of prior usage. I have to incorporate what is already present.
Does your technique allow you to work on large scale 2D pieces or does it become too heavy?
I love creating large works, I find them challenging and I feel I can sometimes say a lot more in large works. There is something beautiful about one rusty tin or one cut-out apple, but put 100 of them together and you have something far more beautiful and completely different with the possibility of recurring patterns and motifs. With large works there seems to be greater need to balance the work, to step back from it and gauge its overall harmony.
Transporting large works is harder and yes, they are heavier so I normally construct them in two or three pieces.
Why (2013) Plywood, ink, acrylic and wax. 90 x 120 cms
Discuss the importance of aboriginal art and Rosalie Gascoigne in the way your own art has developed?
In 2008, I saw an exhibition of Emily Kame Kngwarreye’s work at the Queensland Art Gallery and for me it was a seminal event, something that changed my creative life for ever. Her work was so varied, so colourful, so majestic and it all worked together – to my naïve view it looked so simple and I thought ‘I could create something like that’.
I wanted to do something that impacted on me, that I could look at and enjoy, knowing it had come from me. So I explored Australian indigenous art, finding out as much as I could about the different styles and the people who made it. And I played around with paint on canvas initially using the colours I saw in many indigenous works and just experimenting with lines, patterns, shapes and structures. There is a narrative within these works with an inherent structure and logic and an organic quality – there is something in a lot of indigenous art that touches my sense of symmetry and structure in an inexplicable sort of a way.
My first view of Rosalie Gascoigne’s work was of her deconstructed road signs I remember thinking what a brilliant idea it was to cut up things that were everywhere, yellow road signs with black paint and other items with letters and figures on them. I read more about her and discovered the variety of works she did and how she linked them to the landscape around her and it all resonated within. When I discovered the fruit and vegetable boxes I made an immediate association with Gascoigne’s work which deepened and activated the inspirational aspect of her work.
In 2010 you gained the commission to design a huge mural. Can you expand on this and discuss the planning and process?
I was approached by a construction company in Bella Vista, a suburb of Sydney and they were building a large office block. They wanted me to quote for the design of a mural covering a wall measuring 110 x 8.5 metres. I thought about this for long time – I had done commissions before but on a much smaller scale with clients who were happy for me to create what I wanted within loose parameters. How much say would I have in that, how would I actually do that, was I capable of meeting their needs, how could I envisage a wall of that gigantic scale and reduce it to a workable size? The wall, the project and the task were all huge so breaking it down into small steps with approval by the client along the way was for me very important. Here’s that need for structure again!!!
The quote was accepted and so the task began of meeting the brief of a mural with ’Mondrian-like qualities in blues and greens’. I collaborated on this commission with my son Tom Allen, an industrial designer who was living in Barcelona. We worked through many mock-ups before submitting seven options to the client. He chose one and then our task was to refine and develop this design. We eventually submitted the exact measurements so it could be transferred to the wall.
After two years, 400 emails and numerous Skype conversations the client was happy and after eight weeks a team of painters had completed the task of painting the wall.
I went to Sydney for the opening of the building and my first face-to-face sighting of the building, the client and the mural. It was a fantastic experience to see the work – I was amazed at the imposing height of the wall. The work towered eight metres above me and I had to stand back a long way to see it all in one go. There was a huge adjustment in the mental picture I had constructed for myself and the actual physical experience of being in the presence of this wall.
The building is on a major road and 70 000 vehicles pass this mural every day and so it gets plenty of exposure.
Miles Allen-Mural 2, Bella Vista NSW (2012-4) 8.5 x 110 Metres
What are your thoughts on art in such public places?
I think art in such public places compensates for the coldness and rigidity of materials existing in our urban environments such as concrete, steel, metal rods, asphalt, pavements. All of which can have very uninteresting colours, forms and shapes being built from practical and cost-effective perspectives often at the detriment of aesthetics.
I think generally we are witnessing a welcome shift which is more integrative of visual beauty and which attempts to balance practicality with a visually pleasant and attractive urban environment. There is a well-documented link between lived-in environments and our mental well-being.
Posts of recycled timber inlaid with plywood (2014) Various sizes maximum 185 cms High
What comes first, the finding of materials or the idea/inspiration that then leads you on the search?
It is a bit of an interplay between the two though more often than not it is the materials that tend to lead the way to an art work. I think it is important to be attentive to the inner dialogue I have with these found objects and let them guide my creative process. Yet at times I have an idea at the back of my mind which drives my search through markets, garage sales, rubbish tips and recycling depots. It’s really about being openly curious and receptive to both materials and ideas and flow with the possibility of being surprised by unconventional ways of utilising objects and exploring ideas.
Can you expand on your use of rulers and other measuring devices?
My art practice has consistently relied on accurate measurement to create clean lines, close fitting shapes and patterns, so the act of measuring is a central part of facilitating accuracy in my creative process. I have always been drawn to rulers and other measuring devices and one day I bought an old wooden carpenter’s ruler. And then I bought another one and so on. I kept buying different types of rulers for a few years knowing that one day I would modify them for my art.
Cutting up these rulers to create something new challenged me and my attachment to these objects. They hold much beauty, marks of usage, wear and tear, and history. I aim to preserve and enhance their aesthetic aspect whilst changing them forever and giving them a new life.
Pioneer (2012) Rulers on board. 53x44cm
The work Pioneer was created from a box of new unused rulers I found at a flea market in France. I instantly saw beauty in their colours, newness and regularity. I traded their functionality for a use which gave them a new purpose. Throughout the process of creating art using found objects I aim at preserving and enhancing the beauty I see in them whilst inviting viewers to explore their notions of art.
Discuss the similarity between your work and patchwork and quilts?
I constantly look for patterns in nature and in our built environment and am particularly drawn to the patterns found in some Amish quilts. Much of my work with recurring patterns allows people to make a connection with patchwork and quilting. I have rarely purposely made work to be similar to patchwork though The Spanish Quilt series of works was deliberately created to provide a resemblance to quilts.
I collected the materials used to create these works in Barcelona where my son was living and from markets around my partner’s home town in southern France and I brought them back to Australia. My mother used to do a lot of sewing and work with fabrics thus making these works re-created and enlivened the relationships and connections with those closest to me and memories were rekindled and enhanced. In these works each piece of timber connects to another in a rhythmic visual interaction. Thus a metaphor exists linked to my mother, son and partner – their connection with one another and with me is greatly enhanced.
The Spanish quilt (2014) Plywood, ink and wax. 112x112 cms
Colour is a major aspect of your work. Expand on this and also the techniques you use to colour your materials.
I think of colour as the energy of my work. Colour is what binds it together and brings it to life. It is what defines a work in terms of its warmth/coolness, softness or sharpness. I sometimes work with extreme contrast and other times with semi-tones that subtly blend together.
I use a range of inks and diluted acrylics to tint the wood in my fruit and vegetable box compositions. I need to adapt the colouring pigments to the absorbent capacity of the woodgrain. I also need to take into account the existing colours present in logos and images printed on the wooden panels and the variation they bring. Again, it is about being open to various explorations in colour combination and the various density of tones how they either attenuate or bring out the underlying composition.
Four days in Marrakech. Plywood, ink and wax. 67 x 67 cms
Is your work related to the areas where you live?
I have lived in a variety of places since I left school and I have travelled widely. Like many people my environment and the people around me affects who I am. The studios I have worked in have always had views of trees and rural landscapes.
I am uncertain if my work with fruit and vegetable boxes would change greatly if I was living elsewhere. However, when I undertook residencies at Broken Hill and Hill End (both small, rural places founded on their rich, natural resources) I went with the specific intention of creating work directly related to those places; the materials I used were sourced from those places and gathering and working with them was an integral part of getting to know these places and creating work directly related to my surroundings.
Fruit plays a large part in your 2D work. Discuss.
Using fruit in my own compositions is an expansion of the little fruit printed on the boxes’ panels. I felt like bringing them out in larger scales and in isolation and I wanted to explore the diversity of their colours and the flowing lines of their shapes. Yet, because of my deep affinity with straight lines I have sometimes pixelated my representation of fruits so that the overall curves become apparent from a distance. It is also a way of celebrating the wide diversity of fruits that we have in Australia throughout all seasons as opposed to the scarcity of freshly picked fruit in the colder European climates.
La Pomme (2012) Plywood, ink and wax. 90 x 60 cms
While you were working in Broken Hill (outback Australia) your work took on a very different look, discuss?
Broken Hill is a town on the edge of the outback with a hot desert climate. It was settled by Europeans because of its immense mineral wealth and since then it has remained a mining town. Much of the surrounding landscape has been ravaged and is devoid of trees and the town itself is dominated by the vestiges of mining though it has some beautiful heritage buildings.
I went there with the idea of recreating the landscape using plywood in a style similar to marquetry but shortly after getting there I soon realised that there was a whole world of other posibilities! When I go to a place I like to find out as much as I can by driving around it, walking, researching and reading about it, observing the inhabitants and looking at it through other people’s eyes. And by walking around randomly I get a closer connection to the land, I explore what seems like empty, sometimes deserted places and I observe nature.
On my walks I kept coming across abandoned bits and pieces, rusty metal, detritus from everyday living, remnants of mining and other thrown-away items. I kept picking up the bits which particularly interested me until before I knew it, a ‘pattern’ was emerging. My walks then became more purposeful, seeking items similar to what I had already collected and looking for materials and ways in which these items could be shown in an exhibition at the end of my residency.
Poles apart (2104) Metal caps. 160 x 150 cms
The materials I used in the exhibition were discarded a long time ago as they had served their purpose, thrown on the scrap heap (literally) and forgotten. I had rediscovered and adapted them for another context and another purpose. Working in Broken Hill gave me the opportunity to expand my capacity for inventive variation and extend my visual vocabulary. For many years my art has been about seeing beauty in ordinary things, creating order, crossing cultures, joy, humour and repurposing. The exhibition, like my other ones, stuck to those principles.
United we stand, divide we fall (2014) Railway pegs. 15 x 100 cms
Contact details:
miles@milescallen
www.milesallen.com
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, July, 2015
Shannon Weber
Discuss how your work, had to be self-taught?
When I first started making objects while living in a remote area along the Rogue River in Oregon, I had a back ground in floral design with a knowledge of a variety plants in the trades. Working with hot house stem material is much different than working with wild tree barks and hand dug roots, so with that, the trials and errors began on what I could and couldn’t do with certain types of plants. Floral skills came in handy as I made use of the different wraps used in binding materials in my construction methods of making objects, however crude at first. I also found myself watching a fair amount of birds building nests and what materials they seemed to favour, which was very inspiring and allowed me to think on improvising and being even freer with my thoughts on how things should go together. I also started sewing or tying in rusted metals from a forgotten vintage mill site and all kind of fishing line debris caught up in the trees along the riverbanks. The advantage for me was that I had time and no fear of the results or materials and I taught myself skills every day. I found that random weaving anything I could get my hands on was an excellent method to start, I could focus on other techniques such as coiling and very crude twining.
‘Roll Your Own’ 1920 x 1920 inches
Explain how you interpret ‘organic textile art’?
Organic textile art has a large range. It can be organic in shape and form, an item such as a wearable, or pertain to the subject of how the material was used and from where. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be from the earth, a natural fibre, an object or primitive technique. For me most of my work is in fact “organic” hand collected material and objects from nature with a small percentage of it being manmade debris of other kinds, mostly reclaimed construction wires and beach plastics. They could still be seen as organic in the raw materials they once started out as when made. I really have no judgments on organic thoughts since most things will return to earth at one time or another, some sooner than later. While 80% of my materials are plant based I just use what’s around me since most of the areas where I live are wooded or Pacific Ocean locations and there is an abundant supply. Today I live in a small town where I do have other options if I wanted them, but I love the thrill of the hunt somehow buying things to make things is just not me. It is always material collected from nature or odd places forgotten that inspires my drive in design, it is that limited option of only using what I have that pushes the element during the creative process
Discuss the way you collect to create.
Every day is a collection day. I can simply be inspired by how the watering hose coiled outside my front door looks and that can lead to noticing how many other things are coiled that same day, I can even narrow the scope of focus to the complexity of textures and colours of things coiled in my paths and travels. This can go on for weeks and sometimes into the months ahead, it can be both inspiring and maddening at the same time, but that is how it works for me. Something will just start screaming look at me, look at me and then my world will fill with that thought. I will then begin looking for materials to make that coil form. The same thing will happen with different materials, some will just start calling out, “You should pick me up and take me with you”, and before I know it I have 50 of that kind of object to design with. Whenever I think I have all the things I need to work with, then the process of what method of techniques I am going to approach those materials with first takes over. Setting materials on fire, to pounding with stones to transfer marks, ripping or cutting to assemble pieces by stitching or weaving, there are always so many options to explore.
‘Dolly Dock’ 3172 x 4772 inches
3D is your preferred medium explain this in relationship to your current work.
I’ve never dabbled in 2D work as all of the materials I gather lend themselves to the 3D weather it is free standing or on the wall.
‘Carry Your Weight’ 2960 x 4074 inches
Can you explain the techniques of weaving you use in your work?
I mix various repetitive techniques in weaving, stitching and cold connections in multiple layers one over another anywhere from 3 to 9+ deep. In weaving I focus on random, twining, coiling and checker board designs. In stitching I can do some of the same techniques or just keep it to a very simple whip stitch by changing colour to move patterns one way or another. With cold connections it allows for opening the door to interesting surface embellishment by using wrapping techniques with plastics, wire, or rubber to name a few.
‘Circle Crop’ 1146 x 979 inches
Expand on the importance of layering and the minimum and maximum of layers you use?
I like a lot of levels of movement in my work and I can change in the play of the pattern or layers by switching direction, mixing the methods in techniques, or materials to reach my desired effects. There is always a minimum of 3 layers in each work and it’s been known to be as many as 12, however, 6-9 layers seem to be the norm in my designs with a range in size from something that can sit in the palm of your hand to work that can be 62”or more, free standing or hung on a wall. I love to pull viewers in, the more they look, the more that can be discovered in all the patterns or materials that others might not use or never thought of.
‘Whirlpool’ 4336 x 3882 inches
Take two pieces and discuss…
Crop Circle was my inspired view for the exhibit at Fiber National at The Lancaster Museum of Art in Lancaster, PA USA in which it won an award of excellence. It is still one of my all time favourite works. Crop Circle was my take on global occurrences of land hieroglyphs of unknown origin found in various fields around the planet and I still currently visit this line of thought in my work because I find it very interesting and wonderful. Woven in random layers of various reeds and willows with each layer being handed painted with acrylic paint and embellished with vintage vinyl disk beads and wax linen thread.
‘Crop Circle Series #2 1128 x 757 inches
Drift is in a long line of boat and water stories of where I am from on the South Coast of Oregon, it is currently held in the Permanent Collection of the Encaustic Art Institute in Santa Fe, NM USA. It is a woven boat frame, coved in handmade papers, waxed linen thread, and wax filled with stitched beach stones, random kelp and found beach metal, standing on a drift wood block.
‘Drift’ 2290 x 1865 inches
Discuss the class you do using Pacific Ocean Sea Kelps?
I offer one to five day options on either using kelp I collected for the class, or living with me and going out harvesting coastal kelps of your own, along with other finds in coastal materials, then returning to the work space to focus on exploring how to mix the various combinations of techniques to create forms and vessels. We learn the correct methods of how to clean and store kelp along with addressing what should be kept and what should be returned to nature. Sometimes on multiple day options, finding kelp at one location, or at all, is not always guaranteed since we are working with nature. However, I always have a stash of enough kelp on hand to carry on with the many design options for those days if Kelp is carried away with the tide or limited amounts are found on the beaches.
‘Sailing by Star Charts’ 2535 x 3725 inches
A one day class is focused on cutting and laying out a basic design for a wall or free standing form using stitching, coiling and applique techniques while finishing off with different kinds of coastal grass, roots and a variety of embellishment options from tide pool collections and other kinds of smaller variety kelps.
Your work is in many museums and institutions. Can you take one piece and explain how this purchase propelled your art career?
Solo Exhibit at the Mulvane Museum of Art Topeka , KS USA. I was offered this exhibit by Cindi Morrison director at the time of the Mulvane and the former director of the Lancaster Art Museum who took a liking to my work at Fiber National, and when she moved to take the director job at the Mulvane Art Museum she called me up and offered me the exhibit.
Mulvane Art Museum did in fact buy a work for their permanent collection but it was Cindi Morrison who thought of my work and put me in her loop. My thought and experience on this question is that purchases by museums and institutions is really wonderful, but what propels any working artist, no matter what the medium, is the work. If you’re a working studio artist you keep pushing to make the best “original” art you can come up with. You never consider ripping off others designs. It’s very easy to see the masters of their craft and who is a knock off. Well executed original work is always being sought out. You want to share the happiness of your creations and apply to every noted exhibit in your field of.
Comment on your work and the importance it can give to the understanding of local ecology?
While my work is viewed as contemporary in its current frame in time, I have been able to explore and express my designs by using the very basic of primitive skills in stitching and weaving that have been passed from one human to another for thousands of years. The same basic skills that are still current in value to many cultures even today without any known advantages of comforts or convenience.
‘Burnt Offerings Series’ 2659 x 3164 inches
With that in mind I work with what is around me by going out and collecting in nature, helping myself to my neighbourhood compost piles of garden debris, salvaging castoff materials from construction sites and all kinds of coastal debris I have a close connection of the environment in which I live and the stories I am translating with the materials I choose to use.
Discuss your work in relationship to the word ‘eclectic’
I seem to own the world on this one since I work mostly outside in all kinds of weather, that’s how I first started working, just me sitting on a stool under a tree somewhere along the river or out sitting in the grass and blackberry vines up on the bank above the beach with the boats in view and the wind blowing all around. I am known to have my car full of odd and interesting collections of rocks, bones and maybe a pile of fresh chewed beaver sticks I just hauled out of the river, or kelp wrapped around my neck and dragging it behind me like some kind of wild circus act. I have, in fact, had people wait by my car in parking lots asking me about “that stuff you have in your car”, and having luckily gotten out of a speeding ticket because the officer was taken aback by the vessels loaded into the back of the car that were off to be set up for an exhibit. He did leave me with a very welcome warning and asked if he and his wife could come up and visit me on the river sometime!
‘Trapped’ 4716 x 2554 inches
Contact details.
http://www.shannonweber.com
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, July 2015
Hannah Longmuir
Expand on the technique you use to bring both delicacy and calm to your images?
At the moment I work almost exclusively in pencil. I find it a very satisfying medium to work in – it is accessible and flexible, and allows you to make both precise and expressive marks. When I work on a drawing, I try to make marks which reflect the feeling I want the drawing to have. I’m drawn to work and places and images that are quiet and calm and subtle, and I try to create a sense of that in my drawings.
Drawing in pencil is a slow practice, and I love to watch the work emerge gradually from the page. Each mark I chose to make builds up the drawing and tells a piece of the story.
From the tiniest field mouse you add character, expand on this aspect of your work?
I would say that I look for and record character, rather than add it. I usually find that my subject – mouse or fence post or sky – is quite beautiful and interesting enough without me adding a lot to it. What I try to do is to draw attention to a thing, especially if it is something that isn’t often paused to be looked at.
‘Field Mouse’
Discuss your butterflies both 2D and 3D and when and why you chose the dimension?
My little 3D pop up butterflies are my newest project and I am really enjoying working on them. I had been looking for a reason to draw butterflies for a while – because inside I am still a 5 year old girl – but had been reluctant to take the subject on because they have been very well recorded in art! I returned to the idea, though, because I wanted to make little 3D butterflies in the style of collector’s samples in box frames.
‘European Peacock’
Drawing something is the best way to learn about it. I drew the wing spans of the butterflies the size they would be in reality, so my pencil had to make tiny marks to represent the wonders of the butterfly’s wing.
Discuss your own card collection and how it helps you with your art work?
I’ve always loved stationery and letter writing – everything paper: cards, notebooks, envelopes, stickers… - and I really enjoying developing my drawings into paper goods which I then sell online, through shops, and at markets. It’s a two-way street, sometimes I draw specifically for a product, other times a drawing just works well when it is transferred onto a card or a sheet of writing paper. Printing the products, packaging them and marketing them satisfies a different part of my brain. I like the variety it brings my working week.
‘Texture in the Water’
Less is so important in your work expand on this?
Less is so important! I like to keep things simple – I only use three basic materials – paper, pencil and watercolours. I like simple, honest images. A few marks can describe a lot: light and darkness, planes of form, texture. By varying the qualities of the lines that I make – the length of the lines, their closeness to each other, the quantity, the spacing, whether they cross over each other and if so at which angle, the direction of the lines, whether the lines are rigid or flowing – I can describe something in detail.
‘Tadpoles in a Jar’
In 2015 you produced a calendar with this be an annual project?
Yes. I’m currently designing my 2016 model, and this will be the third year I’ve made a calendar. They have been really popular.
Each month reflects the wildlife which is active in that month – the arrival of the swallows in April, the prolific goldfinch in May, vivid autumnal colours on the sycamore leaf in November. I use hand-stencilled lettering for the month titles, and handwritten dates, to give the calendars quite a personal feel.
‘Bluetit’
In you wildlife work you make a point of ‘capturing the moment’ discuss?
I try to use marks which will tell of the vitality of the animal or bird, its quickness or gentleness. For example, my Roe Deer. She is gentle, but alert, muscles tense and ready to move at any moment, listening and watching. Her eyes are bright. This tells a little of the feeling you get when you disturb a deer when you are out walking. Before you’ve even spotted her she is bounding across the field, agile over fences, white rump bobbing away. It’s that moment; that encounter, which I try to describe just a little.
‘Roe Deer’
On the flipside, your work with trees you have ‘captured the elements’ discuss?
It’s the ancientness and the stillness of woodland and of trees that fascinate me. One of my most recent pieces is ‘Ancient Wood III’ which depicts a beech tree under a dense canopy, with dappled light breaking through. The tree is still, almost timeless, but under its leaves and on the forest floor are thriving, vital ecosystems.
‘Ancient Wood III’
Your work from a very unusual place a small log cabin. Can you tell us about it?
I love my cabin! It’s in the garden of my cottage, and it was built for me by my very clever boyfriend. It is just little, but it allows me a separate space to work in, which has been transformative! The starlings sound as heavy as elephants when they run across the ceiling. My dog, Buddy Bear, sleeps on the rug while I work.
How important is place to you as an artist?
Place is incredibly important to me. I find most of my inspiration while on dog walks around the lanes, hedgerows, fields and woodlands near the village.
‘The Hownam Road’
I’ve been exploring this countryside since I was a little girl, bringing feathers and toads and pebbles home to draw.
Do you always carry a sketch book?
Yes I do, and I take a lot of photographs as well. I’m always adding to my library of images and sketches so that they are there when I need reference material.
Sketchbook – Peregine Falcon
One of my New Year’s Resolutions for this year was to draw in my sketchbook more regularly as I do believe it is a good discipline to have. It is going quite well but there is room for improvement!
Contact details.
hannah_longmuir@hotmail.com
www.hannahlongmuir-artist.co.uk
Hannah Longmuir, Scottish Borders
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, June 2015
Christine Atkins
You work in three mediums, textiles, sculpture and jewellery can you discuss the integration you have between them?
Early in my career there was very little integration between the mediums, but with the techniques between one form with be adapted to use with a different mediums. For example stitch and cold jewellery connections are used in my found objects work to join components.
Discuss the techniques you use in your textile work?
My textile works are predominately made by thread on a dissolvable fabric which is stitch on using a domestic sewing machine then removed leaving only the thread. In some pieces I add dried grasses in to the “thread fabric” which can be seen on my ‘Shelf Life’ works.
Discuss the importance of found objects in your work?
I have always been a gatherer and collector since childhood, so working with found objects fills this part of myself. However besides the thrill of the hunt there is a deeper intention for the use of these objects. Found objects while treasures to some of us to the majority they are throw away rubbish. We take so much for granted in our everyday lives that we don’t take or even have the time to stop and notice the things that we use each day. They can be considered boring, common thus have no beauty rather, only a practical application. I use a lot of natural objects in my work to also draw attention to the natural environment, to encourage people to slow down or stop and take a moment to explore a single leaf, with wonder rather than just seeing the whole tree. In many instances is also “unseen” as we walk past that tree everyday on the way to work. Found objects always bring with them a history, a story, where it has already been, who used it, what did it see.
Can you expand on your Series, ‘Stories on Wheels’?
The inspiration
New experience, internal or external are important to me which is seen in my series, “Convoy”. Inspiration for this work came from both my internal processes and observations of my external world. I am drawn to bird’s nest and houses so the continually appear in my work, as do trees and boats. These works represent, movement, adventure and the search for new experiences.
Materials you have used
A variety of materials and techniques are used in these works. The brush and the hollow under the tree is half an old wooden bowl, with more found objects tucked away inside each house. The odd brush reminded me of wheat field paddocks, most of the time the objects hint to me how they do or don’t want to be used.
Use of techniques and Use of found objects…
The bird is hand carved and I have used a wood burning tool to add the details. The bases on the series come from a scrap pile in an old heritage sawmill. If not collected for fire wood the pile of Western Australian hardwoods is burnt, due to being a fire hazards in summer. The textile components are constructed on soluble fabric which is rinsed away leaving only stitching. This fabric is then stitched around wire armatures to create 3D pieces. The two houses have grass sewn into the thread fabric as well.
Your jewellery is based in white and gold bronze why do you use this material?
I use bronze in my jewellery pieces. Many of my pieces are heavy, making them in either silver or gold would place them out of reach of many people. There is more freedom to experiment in bronze rather that precious metals. The second reason is more personal; I like the connection of my jewellery to history. I am drawn to both antique and bronze jewellery and objects. The detail and perfection always leaves me with a sence of awe. These pieces were created without the tools or machinery we have today. They are so beautiful and well made. By using the same materials I feel a connections, and honouring of these past artisans.
You have taught at New Norcia, in Western Australia your class called ‘Requilaries and Shrines’ explain how suitable this venue was to the content this work?
New Norcia was an interesting venue with a rich and varied history. It went through several uses and is now preserved sharing its history. The contents was found objects, they had either a known or unknown history. Working in such a historic venue may have helped the participants to have a connections to their objects, and appreciation of their history or prior use. The space already drew people into a place of contemplation opening up a sence of inquiry or intrigue.
Discuss your collection of vintage components.
Where you have collected them from?
My object collection is very eclectic ranging from leaves to found rusty metal. My natural objects are mainly small rusty pieces of metal found during my morning walks or in car parks. Other pieces such as brushes and wooden spoons are found in Op Shops, Sunday markets or gifts from friends.
How you store them?
I have not found an ideal storage solution for them all yet and they tend to spread throughout each room and across the garden to the shed, stored in plastic boxes vaguely grouped into similar items.
How do you record what you have?
I do not keep a record of what I have as it would take too much time to be worthwhile. Many of the pieces are small, such as 3dd golf tees, 2dd thimbles, and a fork!
Can you discuss your work ‘Assemblage’?
My “Assemblage” wall pieces are a way for me to highlight small components by weaving a story or narrative through each piece. Attention is given to each component rather than the whole. The pieces, constructed or found can be thought of as talismans, symbolic images to half hid the meaning behind the work, thus no completely exposing the inner world of the creator.
How did you acquire the necessary woodwork skills?
I am self-taught in many of the processes I use including wood carving.
Trial and error is how I developed my skills and google. Google has opened up so many possibilities for different techniques. That I have needed. I am sure there is most likely easier and other ways to achieve what I do, however I am yet to find a local to teach me these skills.
Can you explain the Waterhouse Natural History Prize and how it has effected your current work?
The Waterhouse Natural History Prize is an annual event run by the South Australian Museum. Works submitted are on a natural history theme. The prize includes categories, painting, works on paper, sculpture and a youth section. I was honoured to be awarded 1st place in the sculpture category in 2009 this provided my with a sence of it all being worthwhile. Validation that my work was ok, it had reached a professional standard. I began to feel more confident in my works and myself as an artist. I felt encouraged to expand on the techniques used in the winning piece as this way of working was still very new to me.
Your former education was in Psychology and Art Therapy discuss your thoughts of the importance of Art to the wellbeing of and healing process?
Arts and creativity have long been associated with the power of healing. Traditional societies have used art to heal people and influence the world around them. Music and dance were central to daily rituals and used to influence hunting, fertility and cropping. Art and music were also used by healers to connect to inner healing spirits and an important souce for traditional medicine.
Modern medicine calls for treatments that are scientifically proven, while art and healing found it place in the field of psychology and psychiatry. Art Theory is a form of psychotherapy that uses images to explore and express emotions, thoughts, memories and ideas. It is a well-established treatment to address and heal psychological problems and promote wellbeing.
Contact details.
Christine Atkins, WA, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, June 2015
Jonathan Whitfill
Media
Expand on the inspiration of the work?
Almost all of the work that I make comes from language based concepts of individual units combining to make larger groupings that give some overall meaning. The completed visual piece then echoes either a formal element or a conceptual meaning with regards to its individual components.
Can you discuss the size of this work?
The pieces that are from this body of work are typically intimate in scale. This is mostly due to the media limitations, however I have made some of these pieces with as many as 1150 individual pieces welded together.
When I sit down to make this type of work I am usually drawn to constructing smaller groupings. This is in some part due to the conceptual framework that supports my studio practice. Individual units brought together into sets of 5-8, then those rows are brought together in groups of 4-5, etc. It’s like speaking a language.
Am I meant to be able to read a message within the groupings?
When I first started making these pieces, the text was random on purpose. Many years before, I preformed a work where I numbered around 3000 words as they came randomly out of a satchel. I then went back and complied a list showing what order the words were removed - essentially, reading what had been said by the random draw. I was astonished to find segments of words that still gave meaning to a reader. I have later come to realize that this is what human beings have a tendency to do without provocation. We want to make sense of randomness, or maybe even this is an innate need leftover from some involuntary survival trait within our evolutionary development - either way, we try to make sense of random words.
Since the conception of these pieces I have changed my process regarding readability. This is in large part due to my brother, Patrick Whitfill, a poet. I had the opportunity to have a residency in which he was able to stay with me for a couple of weeks, and during that time we collaborated on a few of these pieces. Now I try to emulate some of the tricks of working with a limited resource of prose, and still exact meaning - things my brother taught me.
Will you reveal where the type comes from?
It is a common misconception that these pieces originate from old type, or typewriter keys. They are actually nails. I set up and weld individual nails into small rows, then weld the rows together to make the form I desire. After I have welded the nails together I take many different pages from discarded books and using a hole punch, I remove small words that fit inside the punch diameter. After I have removed enough words for a piece, they are arranged and glued upon each of the nail heads. The last step in the process is giving the entire piece a few coats of clear plastic resin to seal the piece from oxidation. So, yes - I get the media to make these pieces from the local hardware store.
Within each group are there the same number of nails?
No, the number of nails varies with the piece, and the formal decisions that I make while I’m welding.
Is the pattern mathematical?
Ideas of efficiency and Geometry always are present in the process, and are revealed through the final object. Sometimes the pattern I’m using as a model is very mathematical, but most times I let the forms that are being produced influence my formal decisions. On occasion, I like to make rules for my production that I think I should follow, it makes my process feel controlled and usually that methodical action becomes a kind-of studio meditation.
Shredder
Discuss the inspiration behind this series?
I have destroyed the original purpose of more books than anyone I have ever met. I have not read every book that I have brought to this altered state. Many of the items I have destroyed were well made, beautifully crafted functional objects of knowledge and potential enjoyment. Constructed from discarded encyclopedias, dictionaries, and paper-back novels these formal found object sculptures pay homage to a rapidly diminishing delivery item of knowledge while stimulating concepts of longevity and beauty albeit in an altered state. Yet doing what I do comes with some guilt.
I use rationalization to continue working and lighten the weight I have placed on my shoulders. A series of small rational thoughts about preservation, homage, and ensuring the aesthetic value of the book for future generations usually births the force needed to rip through another page. The thought that publishers, printers, and authors are using digital media avenues with increasing fervor concerns me, but assuaging my conscience is the knowledge that the plastic based resin seeping into these old tomes is a fitting tomb, a glass casket if you will. Seeing boxes of books left on my front porch by un-named donors gives the feeling that when books are to die, they can go to a different place with a new more permanent form. Knowing that Libraries are gifting me their old treasures, saving them from a warehouse waiting to be burned, helps guide me through the process of taking away the most important aspect of these books, readability. Only leaving the glistened husks and the surface appearance is regrettable, but even a facade is sometimes better than nothing…
Discuss the importance of the circle in your work?
The book wheel series are an investigation of the circular nature of a typically rectilinear form. Recently I have found that my process can become refined to a point that I waste very little, if any, of the remnants from the media that is produced when I construct these pieces. All the extra detritus is utilized to make more pieces from the initial book form. Making a wedge form in order to make more circular objects can be done many different ways. I typically employ tearing or cutting out pages in sequential decreasing thickness until I reach the middle of the book, and then flip the book over and repeat. Another method to make a wedge shape is the repeated folding of each page until the desired shape is acquired. The most important development of process in the last two years in my estimation, is using the angles removed from one project to come back together into a new circular form. This increased efficiency of materials and some applied geometry has made my valuable studio time more productive - increasing quality along with quantity.
The simple and perfect form of a circle, what an elemental delight.
I find that I collect all manner of lids, pipe, and anything else that can be cut to a circle or possibly be manipulated into a circle. My most recent sculptural forms are spheres that are constructed from circles. I have made a few with bottle caps and cut pipe. The importance of the circle in my work is increasingly paramount - however, I can only say that I’m innately drawn to the form, I don’t really know why.
Edges play a large part in this series expand on this?
Some of the best pieces in this series have a tessellated edge, either random or rigidly planned as in the work - USA Yesterday. During the process of making a book-wheel, I enjoy the clean edge, and it even gives me an opportunity to write a small word with the letters identified on the spine. It all really depends on the books being used, and ultimately how they behave - and in doing so, call into being their own design.
Participation
Can you explain in relation to ‘A Turtle Live a Long Time’
The meaning of the title - The idea behind this piece comes from the title. This is one of the rare occasions that I saw this wonderful title while working, and a feeling of the pace of time slipping forward coinciding with the removal of these pages became this title. The topography of text, image, and color being created from the steady habitual erosion of the book is the opposite of continuous growth, tree rings, tortoise shells - it just works.
The technique - Obvious, upon inspection.
Materials used - This is one set of discarded Encyclopedias.
Size - The dimensions are variable. This piece has been hung to fit many different spaces, both vertically and horizontal.
The small portraits can you expand on…
Who they are? - These are almost all of the small portraits from the 1963 World Book Encyclopedia. This was a piece for a Culture Laboratory exhibition named Land Portrait. I took the theme quite literally and made a horizon line from portraits.
Why you have chosen them? - I just couldn’t keep from cutting them out. All of these portraits were in the pages that were removed from my first book-wheel sculpture, SLICE. I wanted to use any media, and waste nothing. The buffalo hunter of the modern book - no waste, use everything, praise the gods for the offer.
What is written on the bottom of each image? - The text at the bottom of each image is the photo-credit.
Discuss your involvement in the ‘Button Project’
The Button Project was an offshoot of having good friends and available media together in the studio during the evening, and my mostly random decision to purchase a button maker. Chad Plunket, Matt Weaver, and I begun by gathering two types of media, encyclopedias and magazines. Being seemingly opposites, the abrupt combination in a brief, yet repeated gesture of these materials has been constantly amusing to us as they come together. Whole pictures are chopped, spliced, and mounted into new compositions forcing the viewer to consider the imagery and iconography in different ways. These new images were then turned into buttons that can be advertised by anyone. By limiting the presentation to three inch buttons, the combinations come into greater focus and can be spread to a large audience, although not quite as large as in their initial debut.
Over the years we have created around 800 original and unique 3” collages mounted to wearable pin-backed button. We have also made a few larger and more ambitious collages as a collaborative team. Honestly, we need to get together more often this summer to finish a work we have been discussing for a while now.
http://thebuttonprojectblog.blogspot.com
Can you explain the importance of mixed media in both your work and your teaching?
I have an affinity towards using re-purposed, or found objects in my work. It seems that since the very infancy of my creative manifestations, I have leaned towards using objects of mass consumption. My first pieces, the ones that lead me to questioning attendance at an Art school, were made from twisty ties at the Grocery store behind my Lab. Since those objects, and my decision to learn techniques and theory supporting Fine Art creation, I have utilized various media including: nails, steel pipe, bottle caps, brass lamps, trophies, automobile wheels, PVC, casted type, and obviously books. The best studio days are ones in which small pieces collected over the years, some manipulated, some just the way they were found, speak to each other as I look for connections, then BAM - they go together. Solving the problem of how they fit is my greatest joy.
Image by Brett Herron
There is less crossover of using found objects in my teaching, but there is some. When I am organizing laboratory experiments in Physics I at times bring in many seemingly disparate items to challenge my students to solve problems concerning simple machines, or in creating Rube Goldberg devices - a fantastic lab for Physics students studying mechanics.
Expand on the importance of connecting science and art?
I am a very process-oriented artist. My artwork comes from a particular practice that I have refined in the studio over the years, and my ideas have been developing even longer from my personal observations. So in that regard, my artistic practice is much like the scientific method. Each experiment has specific variables that are changed while others are controlled. As the world changes, so do the observations and the experimental process. This leads to a new type of work or product.
I have been observant of the world around me, made educated guesses as to what type of work I want to create, and then I experiment.
On the other side, Eureka moments usually don’t come from rote analysis or repetition. Nor, does it come from lackadaisical or random leaps of logic. What spurs on intuitive advances in Science is a creative spirit of exploration in variations and flux - which is one of the tenants of artistic practice. Science and Art are not disparate, the shared qualities between disciplines greatly outweigh the differences.
Why do you feel so often that students in science faculties have been screened away from the arts and how should educators be connecting rather than dividing?
I think that if students are being ushered from an arts education to being prepared for a scientific career, the reason is probably purely economic. Our society is being constantly inundated with new technology, chemistry, and biological manipulation - which means there is demand for a trained work force to accommodate that trend, and that work force needs to be educated in the sciences. The financial gain of someone in the field of the Arts is much less probable: other than within the administration of the arts. At least that is true in the Unites States. If you are getting a degree in the arts for education, you will never be well-off. Maybe paying educators considerably less than professionals in the field is some ass-backwards way of getting teachers truly committed to students, yet I digress…
There should be more interdisciplinary bridges in all forms of education from grade school to college. These bridges should be built with the ability for a student to express themselves through any manner of artistic expression. Younger students do this more often in schools, but as we specialize in our studies as older academics the concept of well-roundedness gives way to being an expert in your field. Sadly, the Renaissance Man is seeing a continually diminishing salary.
What lead you to branch out from your science background to a MFA in the Arts?
I teach AP Physics, Regular Physics, Astronomy, and Chess. My undergraduate degree was in the sciences, specifically Biology and Chemistry, but as I was in college I started taking an Art class every semester to blow off some academic steam, so to speak. Directly after college I worked in a Laboratory with Gas Chromatograph machines – how to troubleshoot, repair, and operate these machines in order to run BTEX air, water, and soil samples. The job was incredibly taxing in many regards with an immense learning curve and long hours without additional pay. While there I started making small art creations in my limited spare time in order to blow off some work steam, so to speak. Finally I decided that going back to school for Art was a good idea, and my wife foolishly agreed. The next 5 years were dedicated to my Art education which cumulated into a Masters of Fine Arts from Texas Tech University.
What really lead me to art making was a desire to put things together. What has been a bit of surprise to me in recent years, is that I’m still so enthralled by learning new things in the Sciences that I have found a position that allows me to learn and teach Science during the day - and then evenings, weekends, and of the course the summers are times when I can quench the need to make.
Contact details.
Jonathan Whitfill, Texas, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, June 2015
Deborah Smith
Can you discuss the importance of movement in your work?
When I collect a piece driftwood that I’ll use for my work, I find myself imagining the journey that brought that piece to that shoreline or riverbank. I see it cascading down falls and through rushing currents, crashing against the shoreline if brought in by a storm, or bobbing gently along in quiet waters and settling into the sand as it came to rest on a calm day. I also look for the bends and turns in the piece that developed as the tree grew, twisting and reaching for the sun.
These reflections inspire me to attempt to translate the journey, define and illustrate the movement I see.
Please explain two techniques you use?
Round Reed
Round reed is the material I most often use in my sculptural pieces. It is the inner core of rattan, a fast growing vine, harvested in Indonesia and South East Asia, then sized and sold by the pound. I work with the smallest sizes appropriate for a piece, often size 0 or 00 mm, because of the flexibility it allows.
Ribbed Weaving
Ribbed weaving is a technique that is used to make the ‘egg’ or ‘buttocks’ baskets. In earlier days, these baskets were placed on a horse’s withers, in front of a rider, and used to transport eggs and other items.
Consisting of two hoops that form the handle and rim, ribs are added to construct a frame. A basic over/under weave is used to fill out the body of the basket.
I first started weaving plaited baskets, but soon became fascinated with these ribbed baskets, admiring their lines and the many variations that could be created when making the frame. Although I work with round reed for weavers, rather than the traditional flat material, it is this basic technique that I use in my sculptural work today.
When do you go beyond natural fibres and into dyed (Coloured) fibres?
For many years, I mixed colours and dyed reed to use in my sculptural baskets. To keep the reed as flexible as possible, I found it best to dye the material in small batches and use it while still wet, rather than dying large lots and re-soaking. Even in airtight containers, the reed could not be stored for long before moulding or drying. It was also difficult to achieve the same color with each dye lot, no matter how precisely I measured.
Last year, I began experimenting with acrylic paints and have been very pleased with the results. Although it is time consuming to ‘paint’ a piece because of the texture and position of the weaving against the wood, it allows me to work without rushing, offers a greater range of colour, and produces a more even tone.
‘Waiting’
Discuss this in relation to Reproduction Grain Harvesting Basket
The original use
I modelled the Reproduction Grain Harvesting Basket after an old field basket owned by an antiques dealer friend. Her understanding was that these large, four-handled baskets were used in New England for winnowing grain. Since the basket was large but light in weight, and the grain would not have been very heavy, I believe that these were probably handled by two people, one on each corner of the basket.
Their use today
I haven’t seen any other antique baskets of this type since, but whenever I am commissioned to make a reproduction, it is to be hung on a wall as a decorative item.
Discuss the importance of looking back at traditional basket making and how this has allowed you to move forward into contemporary basket making?
By looking back at traditional basket making, I was able to learn about technique and function. This helped me form a foundation that I was able to work from and enabled me to experiment with new ideas. I would not be able to make my sculptural baskets today if I hadn’t studied the traditional methods and forms of ribbed basketry.
Expand on how you gravitate to the disorder of nature for your inspiration?
Disorder in nature can appear as order, in the form of patterns, and it is this impression of order that inspires me. I am often out walking the shoreline of Lake Ontario in good weather, and sometimes in bad. There, the lapping waves against the beach, the pebble mosaics left in the sand by retreating waves, a fossil imprint of plant material in a stone, and the curve in a piece of driftwood are all evidence of order arising from disorder. These examples of pattern and rhythm, two elements fundamental to weaving, intrigue and motivate me.
How has your location of the Hudson River, the Niagara River, and Lake Ontario become so influential in your work?
Growing up in the Hudson Valley, the River was a focal point. I was always aware of my orientation to it, always unconsciously searching for a glimpse of it as I travelled locally.
Its tides are dramatic and I could watch long sections of shoreline reappear in an afternoon, after having been covered by high tide that morning. I’d watch the nun cans slowly shift their directions, pointing from north to south, then back again.
I remember standing at the back end of the ferry that carried my family from Newburgh to Beacon, when I was very young, mesmerised by the churning waters in its wake.
I also remember being sorely disappointed at my first siting of another river thinking, that perhaps it had been mislabelled, as it couldn’t possibly be a ‘river’. I’d believed all rivers were as wide and majestic as the Hudson.
This beautiful and vibrant waterway was alive for me, imprinting images, sights, sounds and sensations that are fundamental to my work.
Today, I am very fortunate to have the great Lake Ontario in my back yard. The driftwood I find here has likely travelled down the Niagara River and tumbled through the falls. Walking the ‘beach’ is always interesting, as often huge, ocean-like waves change the shoreline from one day to the next. For me, this means new treasures arriving often.
The brighter colours and increasing curves of my recent pieces are a result of the influence of this impressive body of water with its vast size, frequent changes and deep aqua hue.
Discuss the materials use in ‘Lunar Lift’?
Lunar Lift was made using driftwood found along the Hudson River, and dyed round reed. This piece is a little different from most of my pieces as the driftwood was used as a component in a more geometric composition, rather than an attempt to portray a sense of movement.
Can you explain the best way to care for baskets?
My traditional baskets have a linseed oil finish and can be taken outside, or put in the tub, and gently sprayed with lukewarm water once a year or so. A light dusting with a cloth or feather duster can be done whenever necessary. My sculptural baskets can also be dusted using a feather duster.
‘Grey Woven Sculpture’
Your baskets are beautifully photographs can you expand on this?
Thank you. I always try to find experienced product photographers in the areas I live in to photograph my work. While I determine the position of each piece, the photographer is responsible for the difficult job of lighting them.
How did your Driftwood jewellery evolve?
The driftwood jewelry is something that I started making just this past year. I’ve always collected driftwood and, having moved to this location along Lake Ontario, I find many breathtaking pieces of wood, rusted metal and beach stone that are not large enough to use for woven sculpture.
I began making tiny compositions using these finds and realized they could be worn as jewelry. I have a lot of fun creating these small sculptures and I enjoy bringing part of the natural world indoors with me when I wear one.
‘Driftwood necklace with Beach Stone #25’ discuss the Eco Art aspect of this piece.
For me, the Eco Art aspect of this piece, and most of my work, is my attempt to describe the natural world and our engagement with it. This piece represents the essence of a walk along the shoreline, as it would not be unusual to find these small pieces of driftwood and beach stone nestled together in the sand, just as I have arranged them in this pendant, the combined force of wind and water having been the artist.
How and when did you find your own style?
I found my style of combining driftwood and free form sculptural weaving years ago, when I first applied the ribbed weaving technique to a small piece of driftwood I had sitting on a shelf in my home. I’d been making Appalachian Egg baskets for about a year and had seen some ribbed baskets using antlers as handles. I thought it would be interesting to see what I could do with the driftwood that I loved. At that time, I used small pieces and designed them to hang on a wall. The larger, free standing pieces developed as I continued to experiment.
‘Beach Music’
Discuss your sculptured basket ‘In Flight’ and how you have developed the stands for many of your sculptured baskets?
‘In Flight’ is one of my favorite pieces. Its orientation and the simple, straightforward lines of both the weaving and the driftwood piece suggest, to me, a feeling of free-spirited soaring.
The stand for it was made by a talented welder. While I can describe how I’d like a piece positioned, it is a difficult job to properly balance it and manufacture a metal stand. I’m not always able to find welders to do this and I’ve recently started constructing stands myself, using found metal pieces, stone and driftwood. These new stands have become extensions of the sculptures themselves. I’m truly enjoying the challenge of creating not only a balanced support for a piece, but also one that will showcase it in a way that is reminiscent of the shoreline and my original vision for the sculpture.
How important is it for you to focus on a single body of work?
As the weaving material I use in my sculptures is small, each piece is very time consuming, most taking months to complete. Because of this constraint, I believe it is important to concentrate on and continue to develop this body of work.
‘Tidal Arabesque’
Contact details.
Deborah Smith
Smithcraft Baskets
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, June 2015
Pamela MacGregor
Explain how you were introduced to felt and the possibilities it presents to you artistically?
I was an art teacher for 28 years in a public school. I took classes or workshops to keep my teaching certificate current. My first felting workshop was in 2004 and I was immediately in love with it. Felt is the only medium I have found that allows me to make clothing, shoes, jewelry, sculpture and much more. The possibilities with felt are endless with lots of challenges.
Much of your current work is 3D discuss this aspect of felting?
I majored in jewelry design and ceramics at university so it was natural for me to lean towards the 3D in felting. I find the engineering possibiities while working with a flat pattern and developing that flat pattern into a 3-D sculptural form very exciting. Each new work is another challenge to explore and figure out. I find it energizes my creative spirit.
Can you share your studio with us and discuss?
I converted a part of my horse barn into a very workable studio. It is small but full of all my collections such as bird nests, bones, dried pods, feathers and other wonderful found objects. My interest in nature is obvious as soon as you enter.
The studio has a washer, dryer, 2 microwaves, one for dying and one for food and a 3/4 size refrigerator. It has all the amenities of a small studio apartment with a full bathroom. Quite often I have students stay in the studio while taking a private workshop with me.
The sliding glass door opens out to a covered porch and over looks our pond and wooded area.
Behind the Studio in Summer
Lighting
I have large windows with inset ceiling lights as well as hanging fluorescent lights.
Storage
Storage is always a problem in a small space. I try to keep everything at my fingertips using floor to ceiling free hanging shelves. The materials I use the most are at eye level. I keep my wool in clear plastic tubs. I find that if I can see it I will use it. If the wool is out of site it is often out of mind. For added storage I use old chest type freezers with their plugs clipped off. These freezers are in the aisle of barn not in the studio. They are a great way for me to store the extra, seldom used wool and raw fleeces and they totally protect the wool from bugs, moisture while giving me added counter space if needed. This system works like a dream.
Two essentials that make you studio so great
My studio is loaded with all my special “things” that just make me happy.”
It is a bright, quiet place and has a great view of our pond, the barn swallows, the woods and lovely sunsets. I often look out and see my old horse and pot bellied pig grazing contentedly as a dear walks delicately along the edge of the woods. It encourages me to breath, relax and create.
Sunset on the farm photo by Nathan
Retirement from full time work often opens up many artistic doors explain how this has influenced your life?
I honestly don’t think of myself as retired. I went to university and received an art degree and proceeded to teach children art for 28 years. Now, in instead of going to teach children, I go into my studio daily and go to work on my own projects. I now have more personal studio time for exhibitions work as well as teaching adults.
Discuss how important form is in your work?
I believe that my earlier studies in ceramics have had a great influence on my felt forms. I like my work to be precise, well crafted and almost give you the feeling of a ceramic form. I take a great deal of time thinking about the final form and how I will get to that form using a flat pattern. I spend hours shaping, correcting balance and cleanliness of line and form.
Why teapots; especially in felt?
Oddly enough, I have had my own teapot collection for years but it never even entered my mind to make one in felt. I was making felt vessels with well-fitted stoppers for several years and Amy Morgan, owner of The Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery sent me an invitation to join her annual teapot show. Since that showing I have been totally enamoured with felt teapots. Who would have guessed teapots made out of wool would be loved worldwide. Each one is different and each one is a new challenge to me.
Can you take 2 teapots and discuss.
The inspiration, form and design
The first teapot is called Carnival. It is made out of natural colored Finnish wool. I used red merino accents and hand dyed monofilament for an explosion coming out of the stopper. I cannot remember the inspiration and I am not sure I even made a sketch for this one. It just flew out of my head and my hands went to work.
I take pride in getting my stoppers to fit tightly like wine corks. When the body of the teapot is finished I design the stopper. Each stopper is like a mini vessel and must fit the character of the teapot.
The second teapot is one of the newest teapots and on display at The Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery 9th annual Teapot Show in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, USA. It is titled On the Reef. I was inspired by the beautiful fish and reefs in Hawaii.
This teapot was made using multiple resists taped onto the main resist. The wool is Finnish wool with merino. I use merino and silk for the fish and added interesting texture with yarns, embroidery, glass beads, larger glass pebbles, antique button eyes and a shell in the stopper. The base is quite narrow and I had quite a time balancing the rest of the teapot. It was very top heavy but the handle and spout designs pulled it together. It stands very nicely now.
Discuss an aspect that was initially a new learning part within the work.
In each teapot or sculpture I begin, I always try to make it unique and add new techniques. This is the fun part for me. I never really know it will come out but I go with the flow and let the wool and work take me on its special journey. I firmly think there are no rights or wrong and no rules to be followed. You have to give up at some time during the making and be content with where the wool takes you.
Balearica Tea Pot
Can you discuss how you keep the form solid?
I use a flat resist to begin my felt teapot. When the wool has felted enough to remove the resist it is carefully removed and I begin to shape the hollow form into a 3 dimensional teapot. If my teapots were ceramic, they would be totally functional. Occasionally I will stiffen the inside with an acrylic liquid. I will do this only in the areas that might get damaged in shipment.
When did you decide to specialize in sculptural felt?
My first felt making workshop was actually in hat making. It seemed to me that a hat is simply a vessel turned upside down. I got more excited thinking about the challenges in making stoppers, handles, and spouts then in hat making.
How important is it to be able to work with natural materials?
I will repeat what I tell my students. There are no rules. It is all-good. Whatever works for you, do it! I like to mix it up and use found objects; man made materials, whatever seems right at the time for a specific work. My goal is not to be a felt purest, but to be an artist that happens to use felt in her work along with whatever else fits in.
Devil’s Claw
Monochrome colour is very important in your work, discuss?
In my newer work I am finding I am most comfortable with the natural colours of the wool using just a pop of colour. On the Reef was a jump out of my comfort zone with its use of colour and busy texture. Most of my work has been very monochromatic using gentle gradation.
You also do 2D work, discuss one in particular, “Self Portrait”?
My self-portrait with chicken inspiration came from my fiber group, Fiber Forum. It is a group of 12 amazing fibre artists. We all decided to make a self-portrait in our medium of choice. I am a felter and a farm gal. I loved my flock of chickens and it seemed natural to combine the two subjects into a self portrait. It is both needle felt and wet felted along with beads and stitching on denium. My interest in 2-D is on the rise and I see more wet felted wall art coming.
Your felt workshops have taken you around the world expand on both the workshops and the travel they have given you?
I love teaching and travel but would not be able to do any of this without the help from my husband. He graciously takes over my farm chores while I am gone.
In 2014 I had the privilege to teach 18 workshops with in a 9-month period in the USA, Australia, Ireland, and England. I feel traveling by myself has empowered me as a woman and given me experiences that are far beyond what I had ever imagined I’d experience at age 65. I have lost the fear of “What if I get lost?” This same fear of getting lost has also merged into my artwork and I have learned to just go with the flow and enjoy the ride.
Discuss your thoughts on the current contemporary Felt Associations and how they are working to promote the art of Felting?
How and where do you see Felting is going in the future?
I love the new contemporary work being created all over the world. Felters are a relatively small group of makers but so global and willing to share. The interest in workshops and the growth in felt making is enormous. I think the newest trend is towards wall hangings and more and more mixed media. I see wonderful growth for felt artist and makers.
pammacg@roadrunner.com
www.tarveycottagestudio.com
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, June, 2015
Ed Miliano
Can you explain about your time at the Pratt Institute in NY and why when it is mentioned in the art world we all sit up?
I suppose it might be because Pratt Institute has been around for a long time and many famous and talented people have been associated with it. Many important artists and designers have taught at Pratt. When you are at Pratt your world is opened up to many different disciplines associated with the arts — architecture, sculpture, painting and dance, for example, are all under the same roof. The most important thing I learned at Pratt was to think conceptually.
After the Pratt you worked as a designer and illustrator in the USA and Ireland can you discuss how this aspect of your work has allowed you to develop your current style?
Working as a designer and illustrator taught me to be disciplined about my work. At Pratt, I studied painting, drawing and printmaking which are all skills I still use. When I paint, I think a lot about the design of the picture.
Ed Miliano with his art
Your work ‘Fartha Wood Mural’: How did this project come about?
Joseph Walsh, the furniture designer, lovingly restored a traditional Irish cottage that his grandfather lived in using traditional techniques. Joseph wanted to put his own stamp on the cottage. That included inviting me to paint a mural that wraps around the entire interior of the parlour room.
Fartha Wood Mural - Detail
The materials, mud, lime, timber, and thatch how have they influenced the work?
The building is made from lime plaster over mud and straw. I therefore had to use paint that was breathable. The surface of the lime plaster over mud is very uneven which affected the way I drew on the walls.
How and where does the mural relate to the building and its use?
The mural wraps around four walls and the walls are undulating. It is a little like the cave paintings at Lascaux in that the texture and indentations really add to the work. The location of the cottage is in the countryside, surrounded by woods. The material they use at the studio is mostly wood. The mural fits into both the surrounding environment and has references to what is produced at the studio.
Discuss the technical process the work took?
I made sample panels using lime plaster and did trials with a few different types of paint. The best were lime pigments from a paint supplier in Carlow that I could either mix with water or a bonding agent. I preferred the latter because it dried a little faster and it was easier to achieve certain effects. It is very similar to dry fresco.
What aspect of this project was to give you the greatest pleasure?
Joseph Walsh Studios is in rural Ireland and I really enjoyed working there because I was surrounded by nature. It’s also nice to work with people when you work alone most of the time. Joseph Walsh is a very inspirational designer and there is really good energy in his workshop. I loved the reactions I got from local people and those who visited the studio as the mural developed.
‘The Nature of Time’…
How do you describe this work, as an installation or a collection?
‘The Nature of Time’ was an exhibition at the Oliver Sears Gallery in Dublin, Ireland. Part of that exhibition was ‘Diary’, a very large piece I made in 2011-12. I painted the garden outside my studio every day for over a year. ‘Diary’ is both an installation and a collection. It is an installation because I change it to fit within the space it is being shown in. ‘Diary’ was first shown in the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) which is a modern museum-type space. There it was installed in one long wall, while at the Oliver Sears Gallery it was shown on six separate walls. The way it is installed changes the way it is viewed and makes the viewer notice different things. ‘Diary’ is also a collection of paintings. The individual paintings are part of a whole. This is a concept I am very interested in and am continuing to explore.
How did the inspiration come about?
I have studied Horticulture and am a very keen gardener. I have been developing the garden at our home in South County Dublin for over twenty years. In ‘Diary’, I wanted to create something that would collectively describe the garden in a way that one painting could not.
How important was the scale to this work?
The scale of the work was very important. When I started ‘Diary’ I made larger paintings but quickly realised I would have to reduce the size. Multiplying one painting by 366 yields very large results.
Before commencing did you have the Galleries space?
I did not have a gallery space secured before I started working on ‘Diary’. I wrote to institutions that I thought were suitable. The Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) was one institution and Patrick Murphy, the director, made several studio visits to view the progression of the work.
Diary at RHA
How important was it for you to look and re-look at the same space?
Looking over and over at the same space is a big part of what ‘Diary’ is about so that became very important to me. The same view would seem different from day to day depending on the light, the time of day, my mood, the weather and so on.
May Landscape
Expand on your feeling of connection between nature and man in this work?
Gardens are totally man-made and nature is wild. I love the idea of man trying to wrestle with nature in order to tame it. Nature doesn’t want to be controlled, but we persist. Birds fly into our garden — wild creatures that enter the garden freely. Even though we may want birds in our gardens, we don’t really have any control over them. They come and go as they please. For me, birds are a reminder of the wildness of nature. This thinking led me to make some bronze sculptures of blackbirds that I included in my exhibition.
Ground Floor Bird
What aspect of colour and light did you need to work through?
In terms of colour and light, I basically reacted to and painted what I saw when I saw it. I liked to start a painting in the early morning but there were some days when I had to start later. A late start meant that the light was very different. I never worried too much about that though because I was creating a diary and if I had a late start it was for a reason. This all became part of the story.
Did you always paint the squares or did you have to rely on photographs at times due to other personal commitments?
I painted in my studio every day for 14 months in total. There was one time when I left after I finished a painting but returned before dark the next day so that I had time to complete the next one. At one point I was sick with a chest infection for a couple of weeks but I still went into the studio to make my picture and then crawled back into bed afterwards.
Spring Landscape 11
How did the amount of time needed for this project impact on your year?
Making ‘Diary’ became my whole life for the year. I loved making it and I loved the discipline. I like to set out rules for myself as a kind of matrix to work within.
Spring Landscape 1
Would you suggest that others follow a similar project and what would they gain from the experience?
I don’t like suggesting ideas to other artists. The ideas and inspiration have to come from within.
What and where is the work now?
The work is with me in Tokyo. I am hoping to show it in Japan while I am here. I am convinced that it will really appeal to the Japanese aesthetic. I would also love for a museum or public institution to buy it and show it permanently. It has great impact and I want to keep it intact as one piece of work.
Did your work ‘Diary’ influence ‘Nature of Time’ project?
Yes of course, ‘Diary’ influenced my ‘Nature of Time’ exhibition. The new pictures expanded on some of the themes of ‘Diary’. I was also able to develop some of the ideas on a much larger scale.
Is it currently influencing you work today?
‘Diary’ still continues to influence me. It was an important stage in my development as an artist and, I see it as significant in my development as an artist.
What lead to Four Days to becoming prints?
Four Days
Since I planned to keep ‘Diary’ intact I thought a series of prints based on four of the paintings would be interesting as a smaller work. I also did some monoprints as part of ‘Diary’ so it wasn’t a huge stretch to make prints.
You have traveled extensively discuss the way you have to rethink colour in different environments and light?
Colour and light are different in different places and no matter where I am my environment affects me.
You are currently in Japan how is this country influencing your work?
I am looking at a lot of Japanese art and culture from all periods. Japan has a deep history and there is a lot to learn. I am reading about Japan and reading Japanese literature so naturally, it all has an influence on me. I want to take my time so I can understand the culture better but there are already some things I know I want to use in my work — for example, I love Japanese screens and the way Japanese artists use gold in paintings.
As an artist who has amazing travel locations discuss what you take and what you give to each country you live in?
I try to remain open-minded and receptive to new ideas and different ways of doing things. For example, in Japan I am studying Mokuhanga printmaking. This is a traditional technique using water-based inks that can be adapted to contemporary work.
Can you discuss your technique of using oil on paper?
I like painting on unprimed rag paper because it absorbs the paint quickly and dries fast. When the painting is finished, I apply three coats of gesso to the back of the paper to preserve it. I realise this is unorthodox but I have some work that is over ten years old and it is still in good condition.
Discuss the importance of exhibiting your art work and perhaps one or two aspects you have gain from an exhibition?
I love showing my work and I love ‘making’ a show. It is what I work towards. Exhibitions force me to look at my work and, in some way, they are like completing a chapter of my life.
Expand in the importance of composition in your art and art in general?
Composition is important but I don’t really think about it anymore. I think it is totally intuitive now.
Contact details.
Represented in Ireland by Oliver Sears Gallery
Email info@oliversearsgallery.com
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, May, 2015
Jennifer Collier
Do the materials you source speak to you?
The papers themselves serve as both the inspiration and the media for my work, with the narrative of the books and papers suggesting the forms, for example a sewing machine made from dress making patterns, or a camera out of vintage photographs. I tend to find papers, by scouring charity shops and flea markets, then investigate a way in which they can be reused and transformed; giving new life to things that would otherwise go unloved or be thrown away.
How important are the actual words on the print to your work?
Whenever I am really stuck for an idea I seek inspiration from literature or poetry. The original concept for the dresses and shoes came from the novel 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' by Jeanette Winterson, which I used as the basis for my degree show at university.
Explain how your University degrees have influence your work?
I did a BA (hons) Textiles, at Manchester Metropolitan University, which was a traditional textiles course specialising in print, knit and weave. Toward the end of the course I started experimenting with different materials, weaving with orange peel, melting fruit bags etc. Most of the techniques I use in my work now are things I have taught myself since graduating by experimenting with different media and techniques.
Can you explain the technique you use?
By bonding, waxing, trapping and stitching I produce unusual paper ‘fabrics’, which are used to explore the ‘remaking’ of household objects. The papers are treated as if cloth, with the main technique employed being stitch; a contemporary twist on traditional textiles.
I use both hand and machine stich in my work, and where possible try to use traditional embroidery techniques. I use resin to embed objects to make my coat hangers. the papers are rarely ‘treated’ in any way, as most people think, it is just the paper itself that I use, but through years of practice you get a feel for how far you can push it, and when it is going to tear, and which papers work best for what job. Some of the shoes are formed over a mould, using a moulding medium, but the Stilettos and Brogues are made from a flat template I have designed, then constructed into a three-dimensional shoe shape and the Ballet Slippers are hand stitched to form the shape.
We often wonder where commissions end up, discuss this aspect of your work?
A piece ‘Typewriter’ was commissiond in 2013 by the Library of Birmingham.
It is made using vintage typewriter manuals and encyclopaedias, the finished piece is housed in the Reference section of the new library.
Discuss the progress you take for a commission?
Commissioning a piece of work is really exciting – it is a chance to have something make especially for you. Below is a resent commission I have make.
You can see the detail of both the use of appropieate maps and text in the making of this SLR camera.
Workshops play a huge part in your calender discuss?
I have been running workshops in both schools and tertiary levels as well as with community groups. I am not currently running outside workshops due to my commitment to a very young family, people who are interested can come to my gallery Unit Twelve to participate in art workshops there rather than me going out. There are also five other artists who work from the studio who are available.
Explain about your studio?
I work from a studio in Stafford that allows me to be self employed through three avenues, sales, exhibitions and commissions running my own gallery Unit Twelve.
You have run workshops in some of Britains most influential Galleries, explain?
Yes, I have run works at many galleries including The V&A, Tate Liverpool, and Manchester Art Gallery.
How long have you been practicing recycling or eco art?
I have been investigating the re-used and recycled since 1999. Giving new life to things that would otherwise go unloved or be thrown away.
Contact details.
jcolliertextiles@yahoo.co.uk
Jennifer Collier, Stafford, UK
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, May, 2015
Gavin Mitchell
Can you explain why you work within a series or theme?
The foundation to all of my work is based on vintage found material. The kind of material I am usually drawn to is print, magazine, postcard, film, negative or slides. A feature of print and film is that it is often produced as part of a genre or trend with a distinctive visual identity and provides a rich seam of material from which to work from. Sometimes I will find an album or box containing dozens of photographs or 35mm transparencies that will be sufficient to generate an entire series of work. Sometimes I find a single magazine cover or postcard that will inspire me to start looking for similar material and begin a new series of work.
‘Shared Pleasures’
Where does the next theme come from?
Serendipity!
I have collected a lot of obscure material; I call my studio a repository for abandoned ‘stuff.’ Sometimes in an idle moment I will rifle through my drawers and re-acquaint myself with everything I have amassed and perhaps initiate a new project.
Alternatively I will hit the antiques markets, car boot sales and check out the sellers on eBay that I know deal in the type of material I am looking for. Anything I find and buy either ends up waiting patiently in the repository for abandoned stuff or jumps right to the front of the queue and becomes a new body of work.
The themes I use involve different layers and mediums usually exploring cultural personalities and relationships. I am drawn to personal and material lives and cultures that have gone before and the way they have been recorded and documented through film & print. I guess I am a voyeur, vicariously living the lives of others and re-interpreting though juxtapositions and abstract notions
How many themes do you have in your to do box and what allows them out?
Creatively I am a pretty restless person. I sometimes wish I was able to concentrate on one idea at a time but in all honesty I have four or five serious propositions in mind at any one moment.
My East Meets West series is an ongoing project that has been well received both here in Europe and recently in Hong Kong through The Cat Street Gallery. This is exciting for me as I was unsure how people would react in the East to my perception of their culture. The success of East Meets West has also allowed me a bit of financial security to research & develop more conceptual and experimental projects.
‘Twister’
Projects I manage simultaneously tend to involve different themes and utilise different mediums. I find it very useful to have back-burner projects that I can revert to if I am struggling with an ongoing project. It can clear the mind and allow you to return with a fresh perspective.
I am working on a new project that is an extension of my interest in historical and contemporary Japan, exploring the contradictions of the culture, outwardly inscrutable and deferential and yet inwardly enigmatic and hedonistic. For this series I will be combining photography, projection, vintage negatives, liquid emulsion, collage and paint.
Another project I am currently working on is an audio visual collaboration with an established electronic music duo. We are planning a one-off charity event in London that will combine a unique sound set from them and me producing a multiple slide projection installation using analogue Kodak carousels and montage slides that I have created by cutting up 35mm film found in the projector room of an abandoned cinema.
The title of my dissertation for my Fine Art degree was ‘ The attitudes and concepts in American Underground film from the late 1950’s onwards’ I remember looking back years later and thinking how pretentious I must have been as a student! Now the work of the conceptual film-makers, Andy Warhol and Stan Brakhage, featured in the dissertation, have returned to influence my ideas behind this new project. I want to continue explore and develop other audio-visual installations.
‘Picture’
You work in limited Editions can you discuss the numbers you print and why?
I like to produce large artwork. I prefer images that are big and bold. Pop-artists that have had an impact on me such as Richard Hamilton, Robert Rauschenberg and Sigmar Polke rarely produced small work.
I work in limited editions when the artwork I produce is created as digital collage and then produced as giclée prints on fine art paper. The original East Meets West images, Hear No See No Speak No and The Gods Must be Crazy remain as one-offs but I’m pleased to say the response has been really good so in consultation with my London gallery, The Northcote Gallery, the next images in the series were produced as very limited editions. I release three large prints at 1300mm x 835 and five smaller prints at 960mm x 600mm. I also hold two Artists Proofs of each size.
However since I have been represented by and selling through established galleries I have been advised about sizes and editions based on the demands of their clients. Believe it or not one key consideration is based on size of peoples properties especially in a city like London where customers live in either modern developments or older Victorian and Georgian properties. New means bigger, Old often means smaller. I still get to produce large prints but have produced limited editions in a smaller size to respond to demand. Interestingly this has not affected the value of the edition
What do you do with the original?
The final drafts of digital prints are backed up on several hard drives and somewhere up in the cloud! The original material, postcards, magazines, photographs from which the image is created are carefully repatriated in my repository for abandoned stuff. I only ever work from original vintage material, which I own, and my personal photography. I never source and use anything from reproduced images or files
You use the term ‘Mixed Up’ can you expand on your meaning of this term?
Very simply this refers to the multiple types of source material I use and the mixed media I work with.
I originally concentrated on Photography and Printmaking for my Fine Art BA many years ago I always felt that I wanted to break through the two dimensionality of traditional print and create new layers. I am still passionate about print and photographic medium and with the advent of digital technology have been able to really embrace both analogue and digital procedures. It is exciting to have so many different methods and processes to experiment with.
Mixed Up may also in some part refer occasionally to my creative mood!
Discuss the combination of your own photographs and ‘found’ photographs and how you layer the two?
I assume you are referring particularly to the East Meets West series? This work is the first time I have combined my own photography, found ephemera and postcards
The whole series began from the original Japanese Geisha hand-tinted postcards that were produced in the early part of the 20 century. I wanted to ‘gatecrash’ the idyllic scenes of Geisha life by juxtaposing the ethereality with the brash and self-confident iconic images from the West.
I imagine myself in the studio of the photographer who originally shot the Geisha postcard scene. I then arrange the found items that I want to infiltrate the original image with i.e. Vintage Playboys, Coca Cola Bottle in my own studio and photograph them as if in the original scene
The original postcard is digitally scanned at hi resolution and then edited to size. The photograph is then dropped onto the image and then digitally edited into the scene.
‘Madam Butterfly’
How many layers will be within one image?
When you work with thematic and material layers you choose and assemble an image using relevant or contradictory themes. There are no hard and fast rules.
I think you instinctively know when the concept, imagery and materials will work together. I was once commissioned to do photographic landscape of the London skyline. I ended up using over 70 different images.
What techniques do you use to achieve the layering (Photoshop).
I am really not a very technically minded person but much to my amazement I seem to have mastered a few key elements in Photoshop. I prefer to live under the illusion that I have some kind of magic wand and a conjuror should never reveal his secrets!
You want the viewer to go on an adventure when looking at your work, discuss.
I like my work to have a narrative, to create compelling and original imagery that makes you pause a while. It’s as simple as that.
You have done to series of East Meets West in both 2014 and 2015 explain why this was to extend over two years?
After the success of my first solo East Meets West show in London in 2014 I continued to look for find original hand-tinted Geisha postcards.
Once I had gathered enough new material from both East and West I put together an entirely new show this year along the same theme.
I love working with this particular theme and the techniques involved and therefore imagine that once I have enough material a new show will evolve.
Can you take ‘Between You and Me Montage on Panel’ and discuss.
Like all of the vintage postcards of this period and probably since the scenes are intended to depict the daily routine of the Geisha and their role as highly accomplished hostesses serving the hierarchy of the male dominated Japanese society. What I wanted to do was disrupt this innate air of respectability by juxtaposing Western iconic imagery and try to expose the underlying seductiveness behind these cultural portrayals.
‘Between You and Me’
When you say on Panel can you explain this?
I mount my prints and images onto MDF panels that are fixed to a 50mm deep Tulip Wood frame.
Discuss the colour and when it was added if this is correct?
I do not usually play with colour too much on the East Meets West images. When you scan in the hand-tinted post cards at hi-resolution it picks out the ink colouring beautifully and when you enlarge a postcard to the size I do you can see how basic and inexact the touching up was. The hand tinting inadvertently adds another layer to the image and feel like the person doing it was my accomplice around 100 years ago?!
Why “Playboy” magazine?
The Playboy Magazine is key to the East Meets West series as it was the catalyst to the creative process
I had come across some vintage Playboy magazines at a car boot sale that were from the 50’s & 60’s. I was struck by the different tone and style to that of the modern day perception of Playboy culture. Whilst women and nudity played a role in the content of the magazine (albeit radically toned down compared to now), the first 10-15 years offered a far more cerebral and analytical approach to censorship, popular culture and the individual in society.
Hugh Hefner's regular editorial was made as a statement ‘The Playboy Philosophy’ in which he ‘spells out for friends and critics alike’ the guiding principles of the magazine. The opening paragraph in one editorial piece began.
“. we have discussed the importance of the individual in free society, the over emphasis on conformity and security and the need for revitalization of both our democracy and the free-enterprise system through greater stress on the uncommon man and uncommon endeavour and accomplishment.. considered Americas own puritanical heritage, the current sexual revolution and our societies search for a new sexual morality.. “
I felt the self-confident approach of Hefner and Playboy and it’s fairly uncensored and liberal attitude to sex and eroticsm was in direct contrast to the disciplined, restrained and serene nature portrayed in the Geisha postcards.
In fact although outwardly bold and liberal, inwardly the American culture is inherently conservative and orthodox, again a direct contrast to Japanese characteristics.
The montages I create in the East Meets West series are there to challenge and highlight these contradictions.
‘See, Hear, Speak’ in progress
Can you discuss your series ‘Bodymap’ and the similarities you have drawn between the human body and maps?
I had already begun collecting old maps printed on linen. I find maps fascinating and can spend hours getting transported into foreign locations that although real remain hypothetical in my imagination. I am a big fan of the artist Richard Long and his use of maps and nature to create a physical and mental response & dialogue.
I came across some 19th century anatomical prints or ‘plates’ that were from medical reference books of the time. They are a really compelling insight into the early days of anatomical research by physicians of the period but also beautifully drafted drawings.
I combined the maps and plates and created a montage that morphs into a ‘geographical anatomy’ showing how we use our physical anatomy as a template for our environmental existence. Arterial Road, River of Life, Heart of a City…
‘Body Map’
What is next from your ‘To Do List’?
I am very excited about the prospect of using Silver Liquid Emulsion and exposing some of the images I shot with a Japanese model onto previously applied layers of gesso, paint and collage. The whole process will take a few months as there are a number of layers all involving different processes. I am also looking forward to taking a break from my computer. It’s good to mix it up!
I also want to look at opportunities to collaborate or work in a new environment for a limited period of time. I am keen to visit Japan as I have yet to go there. I have always loved the work of film-maker Akira Kurosawa and how he influenced Western film-making and more recently the animation of Hayao Miyazaki. The writer Haruki Murakami has been a huge inspiration and the magic realism thread running through his work have directly influenced my ‘Fourth Wall’ and East Meets West series.
‘If Anyone Asks’
I have recently been involved in a project started by a collage artist, Zach Collins from Minneapolis, USA. He started collaborating with fellow collage artists from around the world by sending a ‘starter’ collage that you could choose to complete using either an analogue or digital finish. Two different artists finished the same original image sent by Zach. The result of him collaborating with over 100 hundred artists was the recent publication of a book ‘We Said Hello and Shook Hands’. The book records all the finished collages and compares two artists approach to the same starter collage. I would like to continue collaborating with Zach and other artists from around the world. It is both refreshing and insightful.
‘Gymnastics’
twitter@gavinmitchell16
Gavin Mitchell, London, UK
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, May, 2015
Lanny Bergner
When do you decide which of your work will be large pieces or installation pieces?
This varies depending on the exhibition venue. Sometimes I will do site-specific installations that are made for a particular space. At times I will do a series of small individual works, but given the opportunity I will turn them into an installation. This began long ago when I first started making suspended mesh works. I found that they could have a singular presence and they could also visually interact with one another. The Perelman installation is a good example of that.
‘Perelman’ –Installation
Can you discuss the work and technique you used in your installation of suspended mesh at the Perelman Centre for advanced medicine?
The seven suspended pieces at the Perelman Centre were made as individual sculptures, but installed as an installation. The Perelman is a healthcare facility so the feeling I wanted the installation to invoke was one of healing and peacefulness.
Twisting the frayed edges of long strips of aluminium, stainless steel and bronze mesh together with flat-nose pliers is how the pieces are made. They are all done in a spiral formation. Some of the pieces have loose frayed brass wire inside and/or vine-like stands of wire and tiny balls of glass frit and silicone. I exhibited some of the Perelman pieces before in an installation I did at SOFA Chicago (Sculptural Objects and Functional Art).
SOFA Chicago Installation: ‘Ground Swell’
You have work represented in Art in Embassies Program discuss the work and where it is?
“Primordial Vessel” is the piece being exhibited in the Art in Embassies Program. The painting/drawing on the mesh is created by flame-treating stainless steel mesh with a propane torch. It is being exhibited as part of a basketry exhibition at the US Ambassador’s residence in Tirana, Albania and will remain on view for the three-year term of the Ambassador’s appointment.
‘Primordial’
Can you expand on contemporary basketry and how it is being accepted in the current art world?
It is well accepted in the fibre art and craft world, but to a lesser extent by the “fine art” world. Basketry is pretty much a subgroup in the fibre arts, but it does have its own group of collectors and exhibition venues. There are overlaps of course and many times basketry is shown in broader fibre venues. Basketry has a long ancient tradition behind it and now artists and basket makers are using contemporary materials to create works. I came to the basketry arts by serendipity through sculpture (that is my formal university education) having received a BFA and MFA in sculpture. I believe this has given me a degree of freedom in my approach to basketry and art making. The basketry world has been embracing of artists who push out the boundaries of the medium and explore new approaches. There is much more cross fertilization going on in the art world today with contemporary artist using techniques and materials once confined to the fibre and basketry arts. This intermingling is healthy for all the arts.
Can you discuss the use of one district colour or colour group in your work?
‘Ocean Deep’
Lets take “blue.” This happens to be one of my favourite colours and as it turns out, blue is one of the two main colours I can create while torch treating stainless steel mesh. The other is light to dark amber with the dark end almost a burgundy. So, these colours by default have become the main palette for the “flame painted” imagery on the mesh.
Flame painting
Explain the materials you use and how modern materials continue to fascinate and become part of your current work?
My primary material is metal mesh. I started out using common aluminium insect screening that I could buy at a hardware store. Now, I primarily work with stainless steel mesh. Stainless steel mesh is much more versatile for me because it comes in so many different gage and grid spacing types. This means I can work on a larger scale and create different types of forms depending on the mesh I selected.
‘Celestial Vessel #8
I sort of accidentally come upon a material and then it gradually works its way into my artwork. That is what happened with silicone. I first used it as glue and then I began using it for visual effects. The most recent evolution of my use of silicone is mixing it with powdered pigment and then pressing it through the mesh and letting it dry. This has allowed me to add more colour to my work.
Detail of ‘Celestial Vessel #8
Explain how you work, where one piece is within another?
‘Blue Eliexer’
Several of my suspended “Pods” have interior elements. I first make the bottom half of the exterior casing. Then I make the lower portion of the interior form. When that form is high enough I attach it to the exterior casing. Then I bring the two forms up together and finally attach the two near the top of the piece. This is how “Blue Elixir” was made.
How important is lighting to the display of your work?
In some cases lighting can be very important. For installations I use lighting for dramatic effect and to bring out certain qualities of the mesh. In my “Primordial Muse” installation at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington I worked with the exhibition designer to create a mysterious dimly lit display. We were able to highlight the shimmering blue light reflective quality of the mesh, making them appear almost like sheets of ice.
‘Primordial Muse’ –Whatcom Installation
Discuss your work ‘Life in the Universe’…
Inspiration?
‘Life in the Universe’
The initial inspiration came from a book documenting the monographs of radiolarians by 19th century naturalist, Ernst Haeckel. The book “Art Forms from the Ocean” was a jumping off point for the imagery. The first body of work inspired by the book was the “Primordial Muse” screens. Further development of the imagery resulted in the larger “Life in the Universe” screens. These represent my musings on the infinite variety of life forms that must make up the universe. When I exhibit “Life in the Universe” or “Primordial Muse” I like to present them so the viewer can traverse the screens, as if they are being enveloped in the imagery. Colour? The colours range between grey, amber and blue. This is the range of colour I can achieve with direct torch burning on the mesh. How fast and close I run the flame over the mesh determine the colour and tone.
Technique?
The screens are torch treated using a propane torch. So, the flame is what creates the painting/drawing on the mesh. I did not do any preliminary drawing or use any templates to produce the imagery.
Size?
Each screen is 183 cm in height x 122 cm in width. I exhibited them with about a 50 cm space between the screens parallel to one another and set at a diagonal orientation to the wall. That way the screens partially overlap one another. Location? I exhibited them at the Anchor Art Space in Anacortes, WA and at Snyderman-Works Galleries in Philadelphia, PA. A single companion screen from the series is permanently installed at Emory Healthcare, St. Joseph’s Cardiology Clinic in Atlanta, GA.
How do you organize the hanging?
I let the room and lighting arrangement determine some of the parameters of the hanging. I’m not particularly interested in what particular order the screens are hung in.
Take three pieces of very different sizes and expand on them in relationship to size.
“Terra Un-firma” is a small piece made out of frayed charcoal aluminium mesh, various pins with coloured heads and some recycled ground plastic used for sandblasting. It fits in the palm of your hand and has a miniature asteroid-like appearance. The piece evokes a sense of intimacy, but at the same time gives the impression that you are gazing at a larger world through a distant lens.
“Celestial Vessel #7” is 154 mm tall; I wanted the form and scale of the piece to relate to the figure, with the vessel suggesting a human receptacle.
‘Celestial Vessel #7
“Above Earth Below Sky” is an installation I did for the 2007 Cheongju International Craft Biennale in Cheongju, Korea. The suspended black mesh piece is almost 2 ½ meters tall, so the scale is larger then human size. This too relates to the human form, but on a grander and more elevated scale.
‘Above Earth Below Sky’
In 2016 you will be coming to Australia…
Explain how this invitation came about?
A workshop student of mine, Pamela MacGregor recommended me to Anne Kempton at Timeless Textiles in Newcastle. Pamela had recently come back from Australia giving her own workshop at Timeless Textiles and thought I would make a good fit for the program. Several months later Anne contacted me asking if I would like to have a show and conduct a workshop there.
Where and what will you be doing while ‘Down Under’?
The planning is still in the early stages, but I do know I will be spending time in Newcastle and hope to visit some other places in Australia, perhaps New Zealand as well. I wouldn’t mind finding an additional workshop venue “Down Under’, so something like that could help shape travel plans. There is a possibility my wife/artist, Eve Deisher, will also be exhibiting in Newcastle at the same time. If all goes well we both plan to make the journey and we hope to turn it into a business trip/vacation.
Where will people be able to see your work?
My exhibition at Timeless Textiles is scheduled for July 20 – August 14, 2016 and the workshop “The Art of Metal Mesh Working: Techniques and Process” will be held July 23-24. www.timelesstextiles.com.au
On a broader scale your work is in many public places can you discuss two pieces that are accessible to the public and why being there has given you such pleasure?
“Forest Sky” was a commission I did at the library in my hometown of Anacortes, WA. The library was built on the site where the old hospital used to be, which is where I was born. It’s even possible that “Forest Sky” is right above the location of my birth. I moved back to Anacortes in 1994 and I frequently visit the library and it is always a pleasure to see “Forest Sky” in the library’s entry lobby.
“Pattern Play” was a Washington State Arts Commission project I did at an elementary school in Snohomish, WA. The site is also a library. This is one of my favourite installations because of the enthusiasm of the school’s advisory committee and how they embraced the project. They even scheduled a daylong program where I met with each class to demonstrate how I made the installation and to answer their questions. I was exhausted by the end of the day, but it was a rewarding experience.
‘Pattern Play’
Can you give your thoughts on why Installations are becoming so well received by public galleries?
Installations are an exciting addition to a progressive exhibition program and they can transform a space into something wondrous. I believe this generates more interest in the gallery.
Contact details.
Lanny Bergner http://www.lannybergner.com/
email: lbergner@wavecable.com
Lanny Bergner, Washington, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, April, 2015
Flo Snook
It is not just the sea but the influences made by man to the coastline e.g. piers, fishing cottages that are represented in you work, discuss.
I am fascinated by people's relationship to the sea. I love to observe how we live and work with it, how we try to impose our will on such a powerful force of nature, with the building of piers and sea defences, harbours and fishing ports, but ultimately it is Nature who will outlast us all. I often stay in a cottage by the sea in South Devon which is perched on the headland above the crashing waves, which I can hear as I fall asleep. This gives me a strong sense of the relentless power of water and weather acting on the rocks and headlands around me, and how temporal we are in the face of it.
Can you expand on the ‘textile canvases’ and the technique you have developed?
It was while I was completing my Textile Degree in 1994 that I created my first textile canvas. I was also creating vibrant landscape paintings at the time, and I wanted to create a canvas with hand dyed fabrics that would stand up in it's own right as a piece of art, and not be dismissed as a 'wall panel' with little of the same value as a painted canvas. This piece was exhibited alongside my paintings in my degree show in the Mall Gallery in London. 
As my career progressed, I refined my style to a more restricted colour palette, using natural linens to express the colours I observed in the coastal landscapes. My starting point for each canvas is my sketchbook, where I create pencil sketches using the 'partial peek' method; I love the way it gives the drawings a fluidity of line as my eye travels around the landscape. I also take photos, and from these together with the sketches I create pen drawings to work from. At first I hand stitched and appliquéd all my images from these drawings, but this was far too labour intensive and I developed joint pain. So I began transferring the drawings onto silk screen so that the image can be printed onto white vilene, which I then appliqué onto the background fabrics, adding hand stitched details. This makes each canvas unique despite the printing process. More recently I've been framing my canvases in tray frames. This had added another layer of value to them and I've found that this has meant that they have fully broken into the fine art market. I am now selling in a London gallery on the Kings Road, Kensington.
Explain your embroidered signature, both style and colour?
I've always been inspired by Japanese prints, with their simplicity of line and muted colours, but always with bright accents of colour here and there. They often sign their prints with a red stamp, positioned on the side of the image. It's for this reason that I always hand stitch my signature in red thread on the side of my canvas. Flo Snook is my maiden name which I decided to keep for my artwork, particularly because it is such a feature of my work, and it has to be said that Flo Scott just doesn't have the same ring to it and isn't so memorable! 
Is all your embroidery done by hand?
Yes. I embroider and hand-stitch once the canvas has been stretched on the frame. I've never liked machine embroidery - for me it takes all of the joy out of stitching.
Many of your textile pieces have two or more coloured backgrounds, explain why you use combinations and how you deal with the seam?
When you look out to sea, the colours are always changing. As clouds cross the sky, their shadows create varying shades and tones which I like to capture in my work, by sewing together strips of background fabrics.The more strips of colour I use, the more challenging it is to machine sew them together perfectly parallel and then stretch them on the wooden frame so that they remain parallel. I like this challenge. As I stretch the fabric, I make sure the seams are open and pressed flat against the frame.
Your textile work, how is it mounted?
My canvases are stretched over a wooden frame (44mm deep) and then framed within a deep tray frame, giving each one depth and weight. I also create smaller textiles fixed to board, which are window-mounted and framed behind glass.
‘RNLI Salcombe’ discuss the use of red and gold in this piece?
I often like to pick out colours in the piece I'm working on to either draw the eye to the focal point or to let the eye travel around the composition. The RNLI piece was commissioned by the RNLI and I wanted to pick out some of the colours of the boat to draw the eye there, and make it come alive.
Your work is 'less is more'– discuss
I've realised that I am a very sensitive person and I find loud colours, busy places and clutter overwhelming. I often retreat to my studio when I find the world stressful and overpowering, in order to escape into the landscapes I create. I find it soothing to re-interpret the world I see into it's calm basic components. Perhaps I'm trying to re-educate the world into seeing the way I do? Perhaps I'm attempting to scrape away the layer of bling and overstimulation to reveal a way of honest simplicity underneath? I find our current capitalist society to be a delusional lie we tell ourselves; the belief that economic growth can continue at the expense of the environment indefinitely, is absurd. Nature will always win, and ultimately we'll need to curb our unrealistic consumer lifestyles and learn to live more simply. So I like to tell the story that 'less can be more'.
Your combination of printing and acrylic paint in ‘Brighton Pier’ discuss this aspect of your work and other pieces?
This was an exciting development of my work: I realised that I could paint with acrylic onto canvas to create a background on which I could silk screen my drawings. Although I've only created a small collection of these paintings so far, featuring Brighton and Dungeness coastal views, it's something which I'd like to expand on in future with my Devon and Cornwall work.
When and how did you introduce your accessary range?
It was through creating cushion covers initially that I found my style, so in a sense it was the accessories that came first. Over time however, I found it was important to me to be recognised as an artist, with the focus on my canvases. But occasionally I enjoy creating a useful 'product' that is more affordable than a canvas and makes a good gift for weddings and other events.
Tell us about your coastline linen cushions?
I created a range of cushions which depict the coastline (literally) of the UK in 2012, the year of the Queen's diamond Jubilee. I wanted to express something very British in this cushion design, so each one has a panel of patchwork with suggestions of the red white and blue flag. The coastline itself is silk screen and I hand embroider my name on the side of each one. These cushions have been popular with expats and look at their best with a feather filler.
On your mugs, again you have used your signature to bring a smile, expand on this, especially the placement?
The mugs were a collaboration with interior designer Terri Prior who owns the shop 'One In The House' in Brighton. She wanted to create a couple of mug designs that would be popular with tourists and with people with a strong connection to Brighton. In Brighton we have two piers; Brighton Pier (formerly called 'Palace Pier') and the West Pier, now sadly collapsed and burned down, a mere skeleton of it's former self, but which is still a very strong local landmark. So I created a pair of mug designs from drawings of both piers, with red accents on the flags. Terri decided to put my red stitched name motif on the inside of the mug to add character to the drawings and to catch your eye as you drink your tea!
Sketch books play a huge part in your art practice discuss….
The size of the sketch books you use?
I use a range of sizes. For carrying around with me when I'm out sketching, I have a small hardback book. For a majority of my pen drawings I have a 20x20cm sketchbook that I keep safe in my studio, these can be scaled up for canvases up to 40x40cm. For commissions I often use an A4 sized book or A3 depending on how big the drawings need to be. When I created a textile canvas of the West Pier for Zoe Ball and Norman Cook (aka Fat Boy Slim) I used a large sketchbook for a large more detailed drawing. 
Do you take a new sketch book for each location?
That's probably a good idea! No I usually carry on with the same book.
What materials do you draw with in them?
I'm not fancy. All I need for sketching is a good 2B pencil, a rubber and scalpel for sharpening my pencil. For my pen drawings I have a range of 1-8mm pen nibs.
On the top left hand side you have a numbering system, can you explain this?
Ha ha! You noticed my code system for referring to the photos I took of the same view which I refer to when drawing in pen.
Discuss the importance of the environment in both your work and the materials you use?
I am a big campaigner for protection of the environment and for raising awareness of better ways of stewarding the land and sea. I am also a Permaculture Designer (see my other website www.permaculturedesigner.co.uk) and I like to apply permaculture to all areas of my life. It is a design system that attempts to mimic nature so that we can live in harmony with our biosphere. For this reason I prefer to choose natural fabrics that have less damage to the environment in their production as compared to some cottons and artificial fabrics, and where possible I use up-cycled fabrics too. For a time I found an organic white cotton with a very close weave that I could use as my appliqué fabric, but unfortunately they stopped producing it, so I'm back to using Vilene for the time being. Felt would have been a good replacement with less of a 'footprint' but I found that it didn't give me the crispness of line that I wanted. I use FSC rated wood for my frames and have used water based inks for my prints. In my work the environment is everything. By continually drawing the land and sea, I am falling into a deeper and deeper relationship with my beloved island, and I hope that I can draw the viewer into a deeper relationship with it too. The more we develop a connection to the land and coastal areas, the more we care for them and protect them.
You are very generous with your art work to charities can you expand on one of these?
I am currently holding a silent auction to raise money for Parkinson's UK with three of my paintings. I'm conducting the auction by email and through Twitter and Facebook. Sadly my father passed away last year after 8 years of living with the disease and Parkinson's UK were such a supportive charity to us during that time that I wanted to say thank you and give something back.
Can you explain the importance and recognition of textiles in today’s art market?
I feel it's really important for textile artists to be accepted as artists in their own right and not pigeonholed into the crafts market. It has taken me years to build up recognition as an artist just because textiles has been my main choice of medium. Last year I applied for the Brighton Art Fair, and I was accepted (as an artist) and I exhibited in September. I had applied for this art fair in the past, only to be told to re-apply for the craft fair, much to my dismay! I noticed that there were many other textile artists now exhibiting at the art fair also, so I am hoping that this is part of a trend of welcoming textile artists into the art market. This is great because textiles has so often been undervalued in the past, but now it is holding it's own.
Contact details.
www.flosnook.co.uk
studio@flosnook.co.uk
Flo Snook, Brighton, UK
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, April, 2015
Vicky Forrester
Can you briefly explain the techniques you use to create an original piece from sketch book to completion?
I’m quite playful in my approach to developing new pieces. Sometimes I’m inspired by the behaviour of a particular material, and I look for ways to exploit it. Other times ideas can evolve through extended experimentation with a particular technique.
'Mystery'
In either case, beneath this process-led practice there is always a conceptual undercurrent that informs the outcome. This undercurrent is a distillation of all my experiences - thoughts, desires, feelings, perception – but especially strong for me is a connection with the elements, and my jewellery always alludes to natural form.
Cuffs
The development of the Siren Neckpiece is a good illustration of my working practice.
It’s a project that came about through taking the challenge to experiment with new technology - Computer Aided Design.
I was curious to explore how CAD might deal with my essentially organic aesthetic. I joined a course to get to grips with the technology, and while I had anticipated I would end up producing a model ready for rapid prototyping – thus the fear of putting the maker’s hands into early retirement - actually I was surprised to realise that my resulting design would be far better made in the workshop using traditional means.
The process itself – designing in Matrix - resulted in my creating a piece of fine jewellery that I wouldn’t otherwise have envisaged and I’m impressed to be able to view and show the piece accurately from every angle through 360˚- before it ever gets made.
I was interested to find that when designing jewellery with CAD you must already have a good knowledge of subject-specific materials and making processes to be able to factor in the quirks of materials and processes eg understanding construction techniques, the impact of scale, and all the tolerances required.
The Siren Neckpiece began with a family day out to Margate. The daytrip provided great inspiration for my CAD Project.
I was interested that the Shell Grotto in Margate has no known beginning though many stories abound. Discovered accidentally in the 1800’s, it became a popular Victorian attraction and the lamps they used to light the underground passageways produced soot that has inhibited the carbon dating process. It has been suggested that the Phoenicians built the grotto 3000 years ago, to worship the Goddess Tanit – hence also the locally named ‘Isle of Thanet’. But perhaps it was a Victorian Folly, or a Pirate’s treasure store – or maybe even a Siren’s haunt!
Using these thoughts, experiences and images as source materials I looked to develop some designs that I could explore using CAD….
I’m pleased with the final outcome; the Siren Neckpiece still maintains some fluidity of the organic approaches I would normally use – it can sit comfortably amongst my existing pieces - and I’m interested to find that through the choice of materials it has tipped me towards a fine-jewellery quality that I have not previously explored.
Expand on the importance of ‘one off’ pieces in your work?
When I explore a technique or material I’m particularly interested to understand how the protocols of that medium can be best exploited to make something that cannot be easily made in another way. So for example, with my growing understanding of CAD, now I see that it is less interesting if used to design an object that might be equally well carved in wax; it’s pretty cool as a rendering tool for showing a 3D experience of your intended design, but it gets really exciting when you develop very complex 3D designs to output using the ‘sintering’ process, where a laser passes through gold dust to make solid your dreams!
So, in relation to my preference for making one-off pieces of jewellery (and small batch production runs), my mind is always working in this way, seeking out new and better ways to exploit the chosen medium and technique, to more precisely express my intentions. Thus each piece I work on is an evolution of the last. For me this interaction is important. It runs counter to the tide of popular jewellery/craft/design culture that now encourages ‘production’ with a more/cheaper/faster approach. I think my clients enjoy that the pieces I make for them are unique.
It also requires an element of trust from my clients. If you see a coral ring that you like on my website, I can make one for you. It can be similar, but not the same, because I must sculpt it in your size in wax before casting it in your chosen metal. I will need to interact with you; you can guide me towards a preferred characteristic and I can put love into the making of it because its materialisation is not some hands-off series of standardised processes that get us from A to Z. It will inherently carry with it the accumulated knowledge and experience of every coral ring I have made before it. It will also be an expression of the maker thinking about you. It will be uniquely yours.
‘Totem’
I find an interesting challenge in the use of technology where it’s inherent nature leads to multiple production. I’m not averse to exploiting this character to further explore a theme – as with my Totem collection.
In this instance, the concept evolved from thoughts of the body, our bone structure and movement. Early pieces were an expression of this articulation; a long column of links became an external vision of the spine; conversely pulled straight by gravity the column causes an exaggerated view of the body’s movements. Each of these links was made by hand and so it was a slow process to develop the concept. Laser cutting provided a means to create multiple units that I could then use to explore new assemblages, hence ideas were able to evolve faster, and in new ways.
You gained your BA Hons. In silver smithing in 1990 what stands out now, 14 years later that you wish you had either learnt or appreciated earlier?
My years at college gave me the freedom to lose and find myself; In discovering that there are no rules to the creative process my ideas became free and flowing, but I think perhaps I was prone to taking life a little too seriously. I hadn’t yet understood that I was allowed to play, and I could have spent more time just doing rather than thinking about it. I came across a quote the other day (courtesy of my favourite Yogi tea) that would have served me well at that time: ‘Stop playing serious and seriously play.’
‘Embrace’
You describe your work as Powerful, Precious, Playful can you expand on each in relation to your work?
Jewellery is magic! When worn it becomes a powerful entity that can instantly transform your mood and your energy levels. It’s also a powerful communicator and so much can be expressed through (and read into) in the kind of jewellery you choose to wear.
‘Spirit Ring’
The notion of preciousness goes beyond material; it describes the relationship we have with our jewellery. Jewellery becomes precious only when we choose to engage with it and for me it’s about it’s history intertwined with your own story. It’s such a personal experience.
I love that it has this ability to transform the wearer and in my jewellery designs I like to exploit this element of play. I seek ways to create versatility in my pieces so that my audience will find numerous ways to wear and enjoy them.
Explain about your ‘Mark’ on your jewellery?
Design
Seeded in nature – the world that engaged me through childhood - my curiosity has always found creative expression through physical form. The tactile and physical elements hold equal importance to the visual. My ‘mark’ is an articulation of the ‘now’ – my current perspective formed as consequence of all accumulated thoughts and feelings – in relation to those ‘natural’, “tactile’ and ‘physical’ undercurrents. Because the creative process is a narrative of my experience (thoughts and feelings, fantasies, realities, my joyous moments in life) this affords me freedom to explore simple and complex ideas, to make drama, all-show pieces, and quiet, powerful pieces too. Over 30 years this has lead to the emergence of 6 distinct collections, each one answering to a particular intention, mood or desire. Distinct and yet distinctly related, I continue to develop new work for the collections as I am drawn to explore these same themes from ever evolving perspectives.
Importance and the meaning of the Mark on jewellery?
A walk through any museum will show you the importance of jewellery in deciphering our history, back to the most ancient of times. Materials, techniques, concepts – all record the evolution of our species, since the beginning of our time. Humankind has always held it precious, hence it survives as a record keeper of our stories, our values, our relationships, how we lived, where we died. It’s an unparalleled communicator. This most ancient of art forms continues to fullfil our primitive urge to express, empower, protect.
‘Joy’
With this perspective then, as makers of jewellery we have the capacity to engage with humanity on many profound levels. Through our personal mark we are in a position to add our unique voice to this conversation. Fired with the maker’s intentions, our jewellery becomes invested with palpable energy, meaning and value that can carry information far into the future.
Where do you go for your inspiration?
Actually I think all my daily experiences, even the most mundane, seem to find ways to influence my ideas; I’m not sure it’s possible (or desirable) to turn off the creative or curious mind, once engaged?
But my ultimate battery-charging, spirit-lifting, soul-feeding place to go is the seaside. I have strong family connections with the south west coast of Ireland and west coast of Scotland and most of my formative years were spent in one place or the other. The tides, like a breath, wash the city grit from between my ears. In, out, to the end of time. Scrambling across incredible rock formations to find rock pools teaming with jewel-like life-forms; palm trees and gorse beside golden sandy beaches, crystal clear waters, wind in my face, pockets full of stones…. Up from the shore, the damp-sweet smell of bog myrtle and bracken, raspberry picking along the hedgerows…home to family. Happy days!
My camera is an all-the-time essential tool that I use to capture, record and document the interesting moments in life. Before the camera, experiences were committed to memory, and I visit them frequently when my eyes close. Now they’re all on my phone-camera. I hope it’s not making me lazy.
Tell us one or two special story / stories of a piece you have made on commission?
I love the collaborative challenges of working to commission; It begins with a jumble of fragments, and between us the client and the maker must conjure them into dazzling solid form.
Usually the client brings an ephemeral element - a wish, a passion, a story. Often there is a physical element – a precious stone, an unwearable inheritance, a preference for material. The third element is the maker’s aesthetic. All of these ingredients must be drawn together, mindfully working with the material, it’s behaviours and the processes required to transform it. Metal is an endlessly forgiving material to work with; it yields sonorously to the hammer, can be pushed, scraped, filed and polished into form, or entirely transmuted through fire to a new vision of beauty. I like that the process often begins with recycling. A broken chain, an heirloom ring, all are given a chance to become something new, to live with relevance!
Here is a constant reminder of the transient nature of all things. I hope that my creations will be enjoyed and treasured, that they will be lovingly passed from one person to another with an endlessly expanding story. However I must accept that one day a new owner may give more value to the metal than to the form I have given it. The narrative of its changing form may be carried on through generations, and perhaps also at a molecular level there remains an ionically- bonded memory between the metal and it’s long history!
‘Flowing Ring’
Flowing Ring, recycled from the client’s unwanted 18ct white gold jewellery. The old rose-cut diamonds, also inherited, came from a beautiful and dazzling tiara that had no place to shine in these modern times.
Discuss your Medusa Range?
Inspiration
The first pieces I made in this collection were inspired by ‘material’ – I loved how this fabulous chain coiled and twisted, and I looked for ways to exploit this behaviour.
'Rattlesnake’
Subsequently I came across this woven leather cord and it provided a means to create more structured forms that could defy gravity or wrap the body. By adding sterling silver elements to my structures this gives sharp contrast to the soft appearance of the leather, meanwhile also suggesting latent power, perhaps a little dangerousness to the resulting pieces.
The name ‘Medusa’ derives from ‘metis’, or sovereign female wisdom. I chose this name for the collection because I found these pieces seductive, and hypnotic. As the collection grew I sought to understand this primal connection. Unlike the image portrayed of Medusa, I felt empowered by my snake-like forms, and so I sought out her deeper secrets… The story of Medusa as told in Greek Mythology is a neat exercise in the subjugation of female power, and her story, pertinent as ever, echoes through the centuries and through every culture. A woman is ravished because she is too beautiful to resist; on discovery, she is blamed for her beauty. She is cast out as temptress who must be punished and she is eventually slayed. In naming this body of work ‘Medusa” I look beyond the traditional mythology of the snake-haired, petrifying gorgon to reclaim her roots as Snake Goddess, who’s beauty is her soul. Powerful she, who holds in her hands the timeless cycle of life.
On photography
Photo by Rowan Papier
When I photograph my work I tend to take quite neutral shots that try to show the sculptural element of the pieces. Sometimes, as with this collection, this isn’t enough. These works needed to be seen in context, and I gave the photographer free reign to portray the Medusa collection as he felt inspired. I love this raw, charged imagery that he produced. The model, his muse, has an intense energy that draws parallels with Barbarella and the feminist view of Medusa (female rage) all at once.
Dressing up or Dressing down
Of course, not everyone who wears the Medusa Neck wrap chooses to make this, along with well-drawn smoky eyes, their only item of attire!
The playful element is an important aspect of this collection, and each piece can be worn in as many ways as you want to try them. The medusa ring can be worn as one coil on the thumb, or twisted to coil across 2 fingers for a more dramatic look. Or perhaps you need a little something to hold your scarf in place. I twist these Medusa pieces into my loose-knit jumpers too.
Discuss in more detail ‘Medusa Arm Wrap’
The Medusa Arm wrap has a similar versatility; Stretched out the piece of leather is almost a meter in length, so the multiple coils can be used to give three-dimensional structure, or to coil around any part of the body.
Discuss Helix and the inspiration of this work?
The Athene collection also explores how coils can be used to create structure. In this instance the collection was seeded from exploring ‘process’. Using binding techniques I wanted to create forms in silver that would be light and structured, that would also respond well to the body’s movement. Spirals and tendrils seemed to be a natural outcome to the slow process of binding, (hence Helix) and through experimentation I began to understand how the desired three dimensionality of form could be dictated by working around a shaped, internal framework.
I chose the name for this collection because Athena was known as both warrior and weaver. The pieces evolve through a similar repetitive process, creating structure and dimension from threads, and the final outcomes seem to me fierce and proud.
‘Athena’
Your piece the ‘Venus Rose’ has been designed to be worn in different ways. Discuss the importance of the versatility of piece.
It’s actually quite some challenge we jewellers face to make an item of jewellery that absolutely anyone can wear. Before we even touch on style and preference for a ring, necklace or cuff we must pay attention to the dimensions of wearer. ‘Average’ measurements, as with fashion, are never accurate enough for a well fitting neckpiece, and so in the Venus Rose I wanted to explore ways to make it so that could fit anyone.
‘Venes Rose’ (desire)
The solution I found was to weave the thorny form in one long length, thus creating a wrap that can interlock at any chosen point. In the process the piece becomes ever more versatile so it can be worn high as a choker or loose, more like a collar, depending on the clothes you want to wear with it. And of course being a single length of woven material, it can be used to wrap around any part of the body!
How do you think jewellery should be documented by the owner?
Jewellery should be purchased for wear, should be worn and enjoyed, and passed on with love. I like that jewellery is held most precious for the story it carries; certainly it grows richer, gathering a new kind of energy as it lives through the experiences of the wearer(s).
My Great Aunt left little notes in the boxes of the jewels she felt to be precious; other items held their value in Chinese whispers, though time (and the internet) often revealed another story, certainly in the case of the treasured Lake Como pearls that in years proved flaky and faux. Perhaps she had meant: ‘from the pearl of Lake Como’ and not ‘pearls from Lake Como’ as we had understood it!
What details should be recorded for future generations or owners?
Of course, the hallmark tells a small part of your jewellery’s story – the maker, the date, the place of making, the type and quality of metal it’s made from. The living history – myth and fact interwoven – holds the greatest room for mystery, intrigue, delight. Where does your mind go at the mention of Kohinoor? Passing on the stories behind a piece of jewellery will always have the greatest relevance. Queen Victoria had the Kohinoor’s original rugged beauty cut and polished into her vision of beauty. Only the ‘now’ owner knows the true value of their jewellery regardless of the perceived material or historical value. Ultimately if they don’t like it, if the story feels irrelevant, they may have it melted, just as so many of my clients’ commissions have begun, to be re-fashioned into something with greater personal resonance. This leads me to embrace the ephemeral nature of all things; everything worldly is a constantly shifting arrangement of the same atoms and molecules. As a jeweller, I am pleased if somebody can enjoy my various atomic arrangements. But it’s only ‘now’ matter. Tomorrow it could be transformed into someone else’s dream.
What lead you to opening Flux Studios?
My own journey into becoming (and surviving as) a jeweller gave me insights into the challenges and pitfalls that you must face when first setting out as a maker. It’s not an easy commitment to make, and I applaud anyone who makes that tough decision to follow their creative path.
I’m a big advocate for adult and community education, especially in the creative field; it provided me with a route into finding my passion for jewellery, and I know first hand the many benefits that result, on a personal, social and communitywide basis. For this reason I have always held the teaching element of my working practice as a vitally important link in my creative activities. In 2008 I decided to take a leap, to leave a part time teaching post and to use the redundancy money to set up a studio where I could marry these two major influences together. My aim was to produce my own work, and to provide a fully equipped working environment where other jewellers could develop their practice in a supported, mentored, community environment, and where I could continue to offer classes and courses in jewellery for the local community.
‘Peace’
Flux has proven to be a very successful model, and there’s a real sense of community here that has taken on it’s own inspirational dynamic; although the business is fundamentally mine I describe the activities and achievements here in terms of ‘We’ and ‘Our’ because without the willing participation and generous contributions of the people who use Flux Studios, it could not exist.
How does Flux operate?
Flux Studios is a specialist jewellery studio and jewellery school combined. Our remit is a simple one – to provide a platform where expertise, enthusiasm and the open exchange of ideas combine to inspire creative genius! In practical terms this means:- We provide opportunities for people to explore and expand their creative potential using jewellery as a medium, through jewellery classes, courses and workshops. We provide a dynamic studio base for aspiring jewellers to explore their business potential and achieve success, offering a fully equipped jewellery workshop, extensive library, mentoring and support network, learning and teaching opportunities as well as exhibitions and promotion – all through our membership scheme. We achieve a unique dynamism in the Studios by integrating classes and workshops in jewellery-making alongside professional jewellers who are carrying out their activities to develop their business. In this way students are inspired to develop better skills, and the professionals develop their communication skills and gain feedback on their work as it evolves. Audiences are developed and skills and knowledge shared.
Combining a teaching environment with a professional working studio Flux has a skills pool that makes the whole far greater than the sum of its parts. Because we are small we can focus on the unique individual need, inspiring people to achieve excellence. In providing a home to both aspiring professionals and the interested public we have evolved a holistic creative studio environment where the individual skill sets of all our users are valued and shared to enrich this community as a whole.
Discuss, membership to Flux?
Anyone with a passion for making jewellery, and the skills and training to work autonomously and safely in the workshop, can apply to join. Flux membership acts as a proving ground for future jewellers; in sharing expertise the group has the potential to be greater than the sum of its parts and ultimately this improves the probability for each member to create successful businesses and enriching careers in jewellery.
Flux members have access to our exceptional facilities, mentoring, exhibition opportunities, skills development, teaching opportunities, community interaction and audience building, and our network of Flux Alumni that now spans the globe, all for a nominal monthly fee. When a new member joins at Flux I encourage them to feel a sense of equality and ownership within the studio, right from the start; this gives members autonomy in (and respect for) the space and this instils real confidence to grow, share and learn.
This also makes it a great place to work!
Have you thought of E coursed for those of us who don’t live in London?
Ah, if only there were more hours in the day, more days in the week! But in the meantime I can recommend a great book…
Elemental Jewellery by Vicky Forrester
ISBN 9780956438270
£18.99, from all the best book stores.
Or order your signed copy direct fro the Author
Contact details.
Vicky Forrester, London, UK
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, April, 2015
Jan Hopkins
Can you discuss the way you continue to use organic materials such as, plant pods, flowers, and peel?
I love the challenge of finding new materials that I can use in my work. I continue to find better ways to use and preserve materials that I work with now. When you find your own materials that haven’t been used before, there are no rules that inhibit exploration.
‘Agave Within’
How does symbolism play a large part in the use of special materials in your work?
Symbolism played a larger part in my earlier work. “Young at Heart” that is described in a paragraph below is a good example. “With Child” is piece that I used Egyptian symbolism by using colour and emblems significant to life, regeneration and fertility. I used lotus seeds and lotus pod tops symbolic of rebirth, the frog symbolic of fertility and regeneration. My choice of colours are also symbolic, green to new life, red of life and victory and black of fertility and life.
‘Young at Heart’ Detail
Discuss the difference of being an urban collector is?
I think I understand your question to be; what is the difference between traditional foraging and gathering alternative materials that have been undiscovered. In many ways, they are very similar. The difference is historically, hunter/gatherers searched for the best materials to use to make clothing, utilitarian tools, vessels, etc. The materials were experimented with and processed to make articles that were needed in everyday life. I work with materials that are not ordinarily used, but that I can find in abundance.
I find ways to use them to create artwork. The materials I use do not have to stand up to utilitarian use, but I have to experiment, process and preserve my materials to be strong enough to withstand time.
‘Old – Soul’
How valuable was your reading disability to your artistic career?
With any type of disability or adversity in life, it makes you stronger. It challenges you to overcome and think differently.
What was the initial magic you saw in basket making?
Native American Baskets at the Heard Museum in Arizona caught my eye. I was fascinated by the fact that the baskets were made of grasses, roots and bark that were processed and refined to make beautiful utilitarian vessels. The moment I saw them, I felt that I needed to find out how to make them. It was an immediate passion.
You have visited museums extensively to view baskets – discuss the importance of these visits to your knowledge?
When I go to museums, I look at all types of art, but I am drawn to fibre and three-dimensional objects, not necessarily strictly basketry. Going to museums and galleries are always important source of inspiration.
Do you have a favourite museum that you know will always have a great display awaiting you?
I enjoy all types of museums, but, my favourite museums are fine craft museums that display work that I relate to.
Do you feel that this is an area that is under rated in museums collections?
Not at all, I believe that contemporary basketry has a solid place in permanent museum collections and private collections. I have been fortunate enough to be included in several museums in the U.S.
‘Vibrant’
How important is touch to your work?
As the artists?
My work is very tactile, so I would say that touch is a very important part of my work.
‘Oh Canada’
Can you discuss 4 of your works that will allow others to understand the depth of your work?
All of my work is narrative in one way or the other. In the beginning the narrative was identified by the title of the piece. As discussed previously, I delved in symbology. But my newer work includes words and quotes.
‘Tolerance’ by Jan Hopkins, photo by Ken Rowe
For instance, the pair of shoes titled “Tolerance” has the word “judge her when you’ve walked in her shoes”. The story behind this piece was about a soccer mom of three. After an unexpected divorced she had to find a way to make a living. She became an exotic dancer in the evenings so that she could care for her children during the day.
A piece from the Child torso series “Young at Heart” The piece is about aging and time. I used silver dollar pods and skeleton leaves and the time consuming quilting technique all relating to life, time and aging. The quote inside this piece is by William Butler Yeats, “The innocent and the beautiful have no enemy but time”.
‘Young at Heart’
“Oh Eleanor” is from the “Women Icon Series” and it is a homage to Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the most outspoken women in the White House, known for her intelligence and concerns for women’s issues and human rights achievements. She was an excellent speaker with a quick wit. I chose the quote: “Women are like teabags. We don’t know our true strength until we are put in hot water” to portray her personality and her ability to speak clearly to get her message across. "Oh Eleanor" is more whimsical than my previous pieces that I have created for this series and intentionally a bit sassy.
It is made part human, part teapot. The complex design is made to look like art nouveau flames moving up from the base of the piece (made of grapefruit peels) and steam coming off the flames (made of thinly stripped and stitched cedar bark). Ginkgo leaves were used to symbolize teabags dropping into the teacup. I used these on the top part of the bodice along with lopped lacy waxed linen to also visually create a period style dress form. The spout and handle (arms) design is asymmetrical to visually create the feeling of a teapot rather than arms.
‘Oh Eleanor’, photo by Ken Rowe
I worked on collaboration with my husband on a series called “Reflections”. The piece entitled “Reflections: The Dance” gave a new dimension to how I work which was more illustrative and did not include quotes or words. Chris created the paintings included in the pieces and the concept, design and organic materials was my contribution to the collaboration. The statement that I wrote for this piece is as follows: I hear the phrase “an act of nature” to describe the devastation caused by floods, tornados, hurricanes and other “natural disasters”. But, are the changes in our weather our interaction with nature. We view nature a force apart from us and struggle against it rather than being a part of it. This piece reflects a hope that we learn to become part of nature rather than be in conflict with it.
Much of your work requires hand sewing can you expand on this?
All of my work is hand sewn. My tools are paring knives, scissors, sewing needles and waxed linen thread. I have used a sewing machine on bull kelp, but I ruined my machine. Hand sewing and using the looping technique is a “signature” style that I have used over the years.
You have exhibited at SOFA (Sculptural Object Functional Art and Design Fair) in Chicago and SOFA, NYC, since 1999 expand on the importance of being able to exhibit there?
It is an International Exposition that over 30,000 art lovers and collectors attend within a 4 day period of time. It is highly competitive between the galleries and the artists that are chosen by the gallery to feature.
Tell us how tickets to The Lion King changed your art practice?
A friend gave my husband and me tickets to the Lion King in New York. As a child, I wanted to be a fashion designer. When I saw the costumes, I thought that costume design was my true calling in life. The next day, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and viewed the Papua New Guinea basket masks. It was an epiphany for me to combine both basketmaking and fashion and that is when I decided to make figurative vessels.
How important have you found the need to balance your other life – and your art life?
Both are very important to me. It was more of a struggle when we had a houseful of children. My husband is also an artist so it was about trading off and making equal time for both artist and personal life. It is easier now that we are empty nesters. We schedule time to be together. When you do art, you get wrapped up in it. If we didn’t schedule in personal time, we would probably never see each other.
‘With Child’
Thomas Jefferson has also helped your career; with this paraphrased quote, “the harder I work, the luckier I get” expand on this?
People have often said that I am so lucky to be an artist. I have to agree, but luck really has nothing to do with it. It is many hours and hard work. Nothing glamorous, no luck involved…just passion and hard work.
Contact details.
www.janhopkinsart.blogspot.com
Jan Hopkins, Washington, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, April, 2015
Larry Renzo Lewis
Symbols/Pictographs:
Expand on your use of Symbols/Pictographs/Icons in your work?
I use symbols/pictographs as a secondary means to convey message. Symbols have been around since the beginning. Now after hundreds of years after the introduction of the alphabet, we still depend on symbols for rapid recognition in everyday life – restroom icons, warning signs, on and off function, identification. A form of communication that spans time, culture and language. It seems to fit with the message of my work.
Is there a symbol you use in your work you find more important than others?
Yes, a circle divided into four equal parts or a square separated in the same manner. This was a marking I was using in my work even before I was made aware of its meaning. During the time I was residing in Yelapa, Mexico I was informed by a western person that studied shamanism and by a Huichol shaman. The symbol was used by a group of people in the Amazon in similar fashion as the Ying Yang symbol is used in Asian culture. Instead of being separated in two parts for good/bad or right/wrong, it was separated into four parts referencing good/bad or right/wrong adding time and dimension. I was amazed at this concept. To think a primitive group of folks would consider “dimension and time” in their belief structure.
Closer to our cultural times you have used modern mathematical and physical symbols. Expand on this in relations to your work?
I believe the language of mathematics and physics to be universal. It seems appropriate to include them in my offerings.
Stone:
Closer to our cultural times you have used modern mathematical and physical symbols. Expand on this in relations to your work?
I believe the language of mathematics and physics to be universal. It seems appropriate to include them in my offerings.
Discuss the way you use stones in your art both sculpture and painting?
I chose stones/rocks because I perceived them to be a most basic element – unpretentious, solid, hard, heavy, of the earth, foundational. I use them as metaphors for thought, memory and emotion. In doing so, I can offer a physical presence to that which is intangible.
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Discuss your comment “Everything is connected”
Wrapped around stones, stones bound together, wrapped around the wrists and ankles of my figures, and figures bound together. I do this as a representation of my belief – “Everything is connected.” All things in our known universe share fundamental common bonds. In my work I bring this to light by the representation of physical binding.
‘An Emotional Partially Obscured’
Nudity:
Clothing gives a historical point, therefore why is Nudity so critical to your work?
Clothing / adornment makes a statement of not only historical but social, cultural and even religious status. I wish to make statement void of these elements, poignant only to humankind as one.
‘Balancing Nature’
Masks:
Explain the importance of masks in your work?
In my life experience, I’ve found that everyone I have come into contact with at some point in time has put forth a facade. Whether camouflage or deception, I find this to be a practiced human trait. Just one of the many things that separates us from being mistaken for lawn chairs.
Your late wife studied archaeology and anthropology how has this effected your work?
I perceive the effect slightly. Accompanying her on a few digs. It simply added support to my thoughts, seeing artifacts unearthed which held meaning of a prior time while offering importance of a time in the future.
‘Adrift with my Memories’
There are many similarities in very different cultures. You have lived with indigenous people; discuss how this has influenced your work?
I agree with your previous statement and believe that when one experiences a different culture it enhances their ability to better perceive their own culture. I would hope the influence is apparent when viewing my work.
How do you decide on making a work into a painting or sculpture?
In my youth I was privy to a quote from Ansel Adams – “there is nothing worse than a brilliant image of a fuzzy concept.” I approach all my work in the same manner. Conceive the concept, develop and complete.
Do you use the same subject in both mediums?
If you are referring to subject matter “Yes.” Subject in regard to models “No,” with painting I use models. Regarding sculpting, I rely on sketches and or composites.
‘Neo – vision’
Your own strict religious upbringing, how has it influenced your life and work?
Wow, big question! To this day, I am still attempting to sort that issue out. I have come to view organized religion with ill repute. I live and work in accordance with the content of my character and the faith that there exists something greater than I, and greater than my understanding, that fuels the cosmos.
‘Emotional Temptation’
Contact details.
Renzo aka Larry Lewis
rockbound666@gmail.com
Represented by – Masterpiece Publishing Inc.
www.masterpiecepublishing.com www.winnslavin.com
Larry Renzo Lewis, Nevada, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, March, 2015
Miki Kubo
Miki Kubo, Japanese Artist in Australia photograph by Henry Rust
Zoneone Arts is delighted to bring Miki Kubo to you…
You take great inspiration form nature please discuss this?
When I look at Nature, at Life, I see a purity and connectedness that I long to be part of again. I feel that I am out of it, and I yearn to with my true self, my song. I want to feel the harmony with life that I see there. I want to cut through the noise to have a direct experience of the music of life.
‘Cosmos’ photograph by Henry Rust
Does your Japanese background give you a different connection with nature and animals to the one you have developed since arriving in Australia?
This is a question I am asked all the time as a Japanese artist living in Australia. I feel that my attitude as an artist and the fundamental approach to my subjects were formed and cultivated in my early teenage years in Japan. It might sound strange to Westerners, but we are encourage to be Westernized in so many ways especially after WWII. Many famous Western literatures are translated in Japanese and have been published repeatedly for children and adults, and J.D.Salinger was one of them. His book “Franny and Zooey” - it has guided me to be an artist who practice “see the subject for exactly what it is” and focus on “An artist’s only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else’s.” in my work. After school, I devoted all my time doing pencil drawings on white Canson paper…not much homework was done.
Animals you meet in Sydney tend to be more impudent and brave than the ones you come across in Japan. Australian sunlight is much brighter, which produces plenty of flowers in all seasons and trees seems to be much happier, but short lived. There are much more opportunities for me to study Animals in Australia and people’s passion for nature appears to be much stronger and direct. Being in the unfamiliar, forces me to focus in more strongly and recognise the subject.
Discuss your use of Australian flora and fauna in your work?
‘Sugar Glider’ photograph by Henry Rust
Australian flora and fauna designs were my engraving teacher Anne Dybka’s forte. When she closed her studio business due to her age and eye illness, she had introduced me to her distributers. During my engraving training with Anne, she made sure that I was able to engrave Australian flora and fauna in my interpretation so that I could carry out her legacy.
How important is the engraving (or carving) aspect of your glass art in your current work?
Engraving requires great focus and is extremely important in my artwork. Mistakes can’t be erased. The spinning bit demands deep concentration. Ear-muffs reduce outside distractions. Constantly running water means that I can’t see the surface where marks are being made.I trust in my connection with the subject and in the engraving process and focus goes deeper and deeper, allowing the work to come into existence.
Engraving on glass brings three dimensions, and the play of light and shadow, to the work. This is what makes it so appropriate as a medium for representing life. Each motif is its own self. I can’t own, or possess it, or take it away from what it is meant to be. All I can do is honour and wonder at its perfection. I do this through glass engraving.
‘Kookaburra’ photograph by Henry Rust
How you would like to see the pieces used?
My work is done in homage to the Life Force. In making a piece I touch the core of me – I reveal what I worship, who I am and what I aspire to be. I hope that through my work, others can find some of the peace, truth and joy that I find there.
Pieces that are culturally very different are your Hair Decoration Series can you expand on this series?
‘Small tiara with Phoenixes’ photograph by Henry Rust
This series is inspired by the “Chinese Kingfisher Hair Dress” from the Qing dynasty. I wanted to speak about the ’Power of Object’ through this series. I believe the original Kingfisher Hair Dress crowns were rented to decorate many young Chinese brides who were about to meet their unknown husbands under their arranged marriages. There was a time that tradition and family ties had so much power over people’s lives, so much in fact that there was no space for an individual’s feelings. Although we might have more freedoms now, compare to their past, we can still relate to those people who had to perform their act as what they were expected to. Otherwise we wouldn’t say “the show must go on” and drink from a cup that says, “Keep calm and carry on”.
‘Three teeth comb’ photograph by Henry Rust
On slightly larger piece in this series is ‘Bees and Flowers’ head dress discuss this piece?
‘Bees and Flowers, Head dress photography by Henry Rust
This particular headdress was dedicated to an Australian woman I saw in Queensland, we were at her late partner’s funeral ceremony. She was stood straight during the entire ceremony, wearing a golden eucalyptus flower branch on her hair.
Colour is so important to glass artist work tell us about your passion for colour?
I started my glass practice in a small glass-blowing company in Japan, in which we manufactured our own glass colours. Mixing glass colour from sand involves serious calculation based on chemistry and heat expansion technology. We had to sync the expansion rate and shrinkage in every colour so that the glass was compatible. It was time consuming, temperamental and an expensive process, and usually the recipes were kept in secret by the colour engineer in the same company. Therefore we had a very limited colour palette - red, orange and yellow were extremely rare to us. In Australia, usually the colours (for glass-blowing) come from New Zealand. Their colour ranges are - as many as nail polish, transparent and opaque in both! Now all the subtle colours in glass are accessible to me in Sydney.
‘Siamese Fighting Fish’ photograph by Henry Rust
However, as much as I love coloured glass, I enjoy working with non-colour and plain clear glass. It has its own attraction in that the engraved surface displays a much fine grade in shadow.
‘Frog and Orchards ‘photograph by Henry Rust
Shapes is predominate in your work, discuss shape in relationship to the piece, ‘Goldfish’?
The composition of glass is in its liquid form not solid - in the state of not hot enough to move, or it is moving but too slow to see. In this reason I like watery motives to go with glass and goldfish are on of them. Goldfish are man modified creature from many generations of mutated Crucian Carp which cannot exist in wild. It needs special, human controlled environment to survive. I’d like to keep them in safe bubble shape so that we can study their tranquility.
‘Goldfish’, aqua photograph by Henry Rust
Your piece ‘sea Dragons’ can you explain where you study the shapes and details of the animals you use?
I had a plastic Sea Dragon toy that I was hoping to use as a reference for a particular engraving, however it didn’t do justice to live Sea Dragons. I am very fortunate to be able to visit wild parks or aquariums as part of my job, to observe animals. At the Sydney Aquarium in particular - there were only ‘Weedy Sea Dragons’ exhibited at that time, but now you can meet ‘Weedy Sea Dragons’ and ‘Leafy Sea Dragons’ both at the Aquarium. When I engrave an animal, it is a portrait of that animal. It is not ‘a Sea Dragon’, it is that specific, personal Sea Dragon. Every individual animal is its own spirit. Each piece I make is an individual portrait of that animal, of that spirit.
‘Weedy Sea Dragons’ detail, photograph by Henry Rust
‘Weedy Sea Dragons’ detail, photograph by Henry Rust
Fragility is part of your work explain how important the openings are and how what is missing is such an important part of the whole?
Nature does not like to be disturbed. Pretty much everything we touch, we destroy.We break the perfect balance of nature and call them fragile.
In terms of my Glass bubble openings and why I like to design the edges into the motif’s - it is purely for the form of the Artwork - the carved glass edge adds light to the engraving and pushes the engraving out at the viewer. Also I get toapply two different kinds of engraving technique in one subject - intaglio engraving to carve in the motif and relief engraving to carve out. It is not about what is missing - it is more about emphasizing what is there.
Can you expand on the time you spent with Anne Dybka and how this time to influence your work today?
Between the year 2003 and 2005, every Saturday morning I was at Anne’s studio on Argyle Street in The Rocks. The lesson went usually two hours, it start off with me explaining to Anne what motif I will engrave and how I will approach it. The rest of the class we just talked about animals we both related to. There weren’t many things in common between us, but the strong feeling toward animals that really connected to us, was solid. She was an animal activist, born Greenie. Once she expressed me how she felt about Japanese whaling.
As her field of vision got smaller and darker, she shared many stories of her life to me.The job she had during the War in England, the big farm house she had lived, her passion about horses, her children’s toy stories, the egg fight her children and neighbour’s kids caused, her boarding school time in Switzerland, about the after-life,and about her mother. I was extremely fortunate to be able to spend time in her studio, she had shown me her affection to nature, her joyful and rich world through her work. When I engrave glass, I constantly imagine what Anne would do and what she would say.
Cameo work is very time consuming explain this method and how you use it?
Imagine an apple, a gorgeous red skin apple. When you peel the red skin, you find white fruit under it. To make a cameo piece, you will need a glass just like an apple. One colour on top of another, and sometimes triple layered glass. Usually, the skin- the first layer colour will be the motif you leave out. You carve the background area in order to make the motif lift up. This carving technique for cameo is called relief engraving. My Cameo bowls are interpretation of traditional hand-painted Porcelain in Asia.
‘Crab’ Cameo detail photograph by Greg Piper
You are a member of the Guild of Glass Engravers UK, what has been the value of a worldwide membership to you?
My initial reason for joining the GOGE was to follow the footstep of Anne - she was delighted when she heard the news I have been excepted to be a member. The GOGE offers vast information in engraving to all the public, promote artists and hold annual guild exhibitions. By being a member, it will gives you a great opportunity to connect with glass engravers worldwide. They hold assessment once a year by request and help you with developing your engrave practice. I found them very supportive, encouraging and full of warmth.
You have your work documented and photographed, discuss why and how this is done and why you would recommend this to other artists?
For many practical reasons, documentation of each piece is necessary for the artists who work with galleries under a consignment basis. Not just the detail of your work, the information such as, which gallery is selling it, for how much and how long. If I know who has bought it, I will record that too. Also when I take commission, having the list of previous pieces I worked on helps to come up with a fair quote for the future piece. Personally, engraving is a very intimate process. I spend at least few days extending my awareness towards the subject as best I can, so it feels like my mind is fused into the subject within the glass. Sending a finished work to the photographer is an important ritual, give a proper cleaning to the piece and pack in a box. It is the time that telling myself I am finished with this work, the piece is now ready for everyone’s interpretations and experiences.
Can you tell us about your work studio?
Being a Japanese Artist in Australia and travelling a lot has given me the privilege of working with many fine Sydney Glass Artists and sharing their work Studios. I have also worked in Sunshine Coast, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra Studios often as well. As I travel a lot, I usually take my portable Glass engraving table set up that I constructed, so I am able to do my engraving anywhere.
‘Goldfish’ cameo photograph by Henry Rust
What is your advice to Collectors of glass?
When I was in a glass company in Japan, our retail manager who sold our glass use to say “I don’t need to know the difficulty of glass technique, what I need, is the eyes that can tell what appeals to customers and the experience to know how much people will pay for it”. she was in charge of pricing all our work. I can only half agree to that! I do not wish my work to be defined and evaluated only by its technicality although I admit it is fascinating to know how the work was made. I imagine everyone has their own motivation and passion to collect objects. To collect something you will usually do some investigation in the field. What I do is a hand-made artwork, not machine made mass-production. Handmade art reflects the heart and soul of the artist. This is my best advice to a collector.
Contact details
www.mikikubo.com
Miki Kubo, Japanese Artist in Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, March, 2015
Mariolina Mascarino
Can you discuss your thoughts on the overlapping of design and fashion in your work?
In my mind design and fashion are true art forms which are worth taking into consideration especially when it comes to jewellery and body adornment. Also, I think of my jewellery as something which is always evolving and changing together with the new trends.
When I start working on a piece I always need to have clear in my mind that what I’m going to make is not only art but also, and above all, a jewel. Here is where the need of making something that fits into the fashion trends overlaps the need of expressing myself as an artist. What I want to do is to make something unique but comfortable and wearable as well.
Colour is very important to your work. Can you discuss this?
The use of colour plays an important role in my work. I believe that colour gives personality to a piece or, better yet, it “makes” the piece. I am happy to work with paper because I have so many shades and colours to choose from, also I never run out of newspaper pages with words and pictures on them which help me to achieve even more unique results. Often, when I can’t find the color I have in mind, I paint the pieces myself, using water based paints and mixing colors together. In those cases, I’ll always end up with a special shade, which I will not be able to create again and this also contributes to the uniqueness of the piece.
Compare two pieces of your jewellery showing both glamour and simplicity, and the need for both in your collections?
I’d like to compare a glamorous necklace like the “charcoal and gold chain” with a more simple one called “corolla”. They are two completely different pieces: the first one designed to be worn at night or on special occasions, while the second one, with its minimal, fresh style, is perfect for everyday wear.
'charcoal and gold chain’
charcoal and gold chain: kraft paper, painted newspaper scraps, crocheted cotton yarn, cardstock. Water based paints and glues. Colors: charcoal, gold. Total length: 130 cm – 51.2 in.
corolla: crepe paper, waxed cotton cord, water based protective varnish and glues. Approx dimensions: around neck 46 cm – 18.1 in, total length: 51 cm – 20.1 in.
Corolla
Having both simplicity and glamour in my collections is not only a need but a choice. I like to offer a woman the opportunity to always be herself, following her personal style. I want her to feel, free to wear accessories the way she prefers, choosing simplicity or glamour according to the mood or the occasions. In other words, I want her to be unique in every moment and with every outfit.
Why have you chosen to use paper as your main medium?
Paper is interesting in many ways and it allows me to express myself at my best. Not only is it an environmentally friendly medium, which can be easily recycled, but it is also extremely versatile and shapeable according to my needs. Working with paper of all types (crepe and tissue paper, cardboard, cardstock, kraft paper…)
I have the possibility to continuously explore new textures and combinations, while creating original, one of a kind jewels. Also paper looks very fragile, but it actually hides a great strength and flexibility, two qualities that make it ever-challenging.
‘folds’ Black and White Earrings
Can you expand on how two women can change your jewellery by the way they wear it?
When a woman wears jewellery she wears it in her own peculiar way, adding something unique to it. I’m not talking about the color of her hair and eyes or how she looks, but rather about her inner essence, something special and inexplicable which belongs to her only. It is this “added value”, this “inexplicable something” that, in my opinion, makes all the difference.
Discuss your paper bangle ‘chances’?
‘chances’
Inspiration
I saw a tiny flower growing through the asphalt and I went closer. It looked as if it was happy to be there and totally careless to the surroundings. It was given the chance to bloom on the road and it simply took it. This little flower made me think about the many opportunities we miss every day, just because we don’t want to take risks or we think we don’t have a chance, but in doing so, we sometimes lose the juicy part of life. My asphalt color bangle, with nine flowers “growing” out of it, aims to be a reminder of the endless opportunities afforded us every day. Opportunities that can appear everywhere, like a flower blooming on the road.
Size
Adjustable - Inner diameter 6 cm – 2.4 in.
Weight
50 g – 1.7637 oz.
Colour
Black, dark orange, dark red, teal, yellow, purple.
Many of your bangles are designed to be worn in groups, can you discuss this?
Whenever I start working on a design, I already have the final result in mind. I like to anticipate how the piece, be it a necklace, a bangle or a ring, will look like when finished. The sets of bangles are generally created to be worn in groups simply because together they work better. This may be due to the color mix or the shape, but every time, one way or another, they “cooperate” and complete each other.
‘round brown bangles’
Expand on how you combine your paper jewellery with semi-precious stones and eco friendly supplies?
When I started the “quasi caramelle” project I was looking for an environmentally friendly material. My choice went to paper because it can be easily recycled and reprocessed, offering an excellent result. The decision of using semi precious stones and other eco-friendly supplies, such as natural fibers and post industrial waste, came as a natural consequence. Eco-consciousness is as important to me as a unique style and that’s the reason why I’m always looking for a balance between the two.
‘stones burgundy’ Ring
Discuss the use of paper with text in your work?
Sometimes I can’t help being tempted by paper with text. Using words on my pieces gives me the illusion to communicate better than just with colors or shapes. Newspaper scraps always convey a message, and sometimes even a single word may be enough. It may be something that, if you pay attention to, can make you look at the piece from a different perspective, and through your interpretation, it even enables you to become part of the piece.
'pebbles' ring
Your chain necklaces are solid to look at but have the advantage of lightness due to the material : paper. Please discuss this?
One of the reasons why I like to work with paper so much, it allows me to make statement and solid pieces while being very light and comfortable to wear. A good example is the “blue chain” necklace. I made it using newspaper pages and tissue paper which I painted, glued and coated with a finish to make it solid to the touch. I added a silk cord and a clasp which is made of cardstock and paper as well. The design is simple: there are three chains which count respectively 19, 16 and 18 rings and every ring has a diameter that measures between 3,5 cm - 1.4 in - and 1,5 cm - 0.6 in - for a total length of 67 cm - 26.4 in. Despite that, it only weighs 60 g – 2.1164 oz. This is one of the advantages of working with paper.
'blue chain’ Necklace
The use of geometric shapes in your work is so simple while at the same time being so elegant. Can you discuss?
The American designer John Maeda states: “Simplicity it’s about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful”. I totally agree with him. I think that simplicity always adds something instead of taking something away. Being simple it’s not being easy, but it’s having clear where you want to go, it’s reaching to the heart of things, understanding what’s essential, and then letting it shine in a new light. I like to consider simplicity an “added value” and I like to think that this is what makes my simple geometric shapes look so elegant.
‘square grey and white’ Bangles
Do you design jewellery for men?
All “quasi caramelle” pieces are meant to be worn by women, but sometimes men appreciate them as well. It generally happens with the square/round bangles or with some rings. A good example is “plain”: a brown and light brown ring. It is made of cardstock, kraft paper and crepe paper, with a very simple and solid design.
Your comment “Let your uniqueness be inspired”... can you explain this?
Women are all unique and special in their own way. By creating one of a kind jewellery I’d like to inspire all of them, guiding their true essence and singularity towards fulfillment. I want them to feel free to choose the piece which most harmonizes with their soul, with the guarantee that it will always be as unique as they are.
'Tria’ Bangles
Tell us one story about a piece you have made that has given you and your career a huge boost?
The bangle “chances”, which I have described above, has been much appreciated especially in the artistic field. It is featured in the 2014-2015 edition of the “Contemporary Jewellery Year Book” by Grupo Duplex - Spain - and was exhibited in “Madrid Joya” and “Espaijoia Barcelona” - two events which were part of the Spanish project. However, I cannot say that this particular piece has influenced my career more than others. I’d rather look at my career as a work in progress, a sequence of moments, some good, others bad, but all very important to my growth and creativity.
You work out of Italy – discuss the importance of fashion and statement pieces to Italian Women and how they wear jewellery?
What’s important, though, is that they not only look for something original and unique, but they also want it to be comfortable and easy to wear. That’s why all my designs, whatever the inspiration, are translated into tactile, and durable pieces with subtle textures or more complex and layered finishes.
Contact details.
Web: www.quasicaramelle.weebly.com
Email: quasicaramelle@gmail.com
Mariolina Mascarino, Asti, Italy
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, March 2015
Jenny Bowker
‘Hashim’ - image by Patricia Bolto
Can you discuss your former training in science and the direct advantages this has played in relation to patchwork?
I worked for thirteen years in the field of Electron Microscopy, first in research on bees’ eyes and how they work, then as part of a service unit doing a range of varied and interesting work.
I think the incredibly fine work we did with electron microscopy preparation works well with patchwork. We used to use a cleaned eyelash fixed to a slim glass capillary tube with dental wax to handle the slices of prepared tissue as they floated on a water bath – they were so small. Getting corners to match after this was a piece of cake! Not that I do much traditional work really – and I have relaxed a lot on how perfect work has to be.
Discuss specifically ‘Radiolarian Drift’ in relation to science?
Radiolaria are tiny protozoans that drift in the ocean, and we know them really from their skeletons. I had been working on a project identifying and photographing the skeletons and was fascinated to realise that the tiny line of foam that a wave leaves on the sand is packed with tiny lacy skeletons – constantly redrawing our coastline.
‘Radiolarian Drift’ - image Andrew Sikorski
I wanted the work to reference science but not to be too specific so it is a generic radiolarian that no-one would recognise, drifting up from the deep crevasses of the ocean. The quilting added movement and I quilted in silver. The background was a rough heavy indigo blue silk.
This piece was the first I made that melded my life in science to what I had thought of as a nice hobby.
You have spent over 15 years in Arab and Islamic countries. How has this influenced your art?
I think it has influenced my subject matter more than technique. I have made a series of quilts based on Egyptian men. They were a response to a moment of sheer frustration when a friend – no – not a friend but an acquaintance - commented on the fact that you could not trust Arabs – they were all terrorists.
‘Abu Ali and the Gilded Chairs’
I realised that I could talk my head off. I told people how gentle and kind most Arabs were, how they were generous beyond reason even when they had nothing, how they would drop all walls when they decided that you were a friend, and that friendship would last for life, and how in Egypt particularly, they struggled to make the best of the level of income they had because they truly believed that it was their task to make the best life they could within their means. The talking had little effect.
David Shipler, in Arab and Jew, Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land, wrote “They will not find peace in treaties or in victories. They will find it, if they find it at all, by looking into each other's eyes.”
I decided to work in ways that showed men with their work, and men who were straight and honest and kind, and who were proud of what they did. I have always loved watching people work when they are truly competent. They had to be photo-real so you could see their expressions and look into their eyes.
‘Hashim, Ittayer and the Friday Market’
‘Hassan and the Glass’
You have taught in over 22 countries. Can you discuss some of the similarities?
Usually I am working with women and women’s issues are the same worldwide. Family and children usually come first, then work if they have it, then a hobby like patchwork. In some countries where I work life is a struggle and the patchwork is actually a source of income – sometimes the only source of income. That changes the pattern radically and I have to teach in ways that are fast to make, and target things that are quick and saleable. We do not make any queen size quilts in these countries.
Otherwise classes are similar. I leaven the instruction with humour and stories, and vary instruction techniques as some learn by seeing diagrams, others by seeing it - in Iran women were fast with mathematical ideas, they saw patterns that would occur at block corners before I pointed them out – and they were completely new to patchwork.
Detail of ‘Al Amish’
‘Al Amish’
In Ramallah the women worked incredibly hard – they were all to graduate as patchwork teachers after our one-month course, and it was important to them. They also worked brilliantly in teams with no concerns about who owned the piece that six women were making together. I cannot imagine that happening in the west. We only had two sewing machines in each class of twelve – so it was by far the quickest way to work. The teams were finishing tops in an hour and a half.
A small group with a finished top in Ramallah
How do you cope with language and interpretation when in other countries?
Even when I have a bit of a language I work with an interpreter. It can be challenging and I try to make sure they can also sew. One of these occasions turned into something wonderful. In Australia my husband had been working with the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies. It was made clear that Australian wives were expected to do something for the wives of foreign generals on the course.
I announced a patchwork class and most of the twenty attended on the first week. By week five we were down to four. Three lasted a long time and one – a Thai friend who became one of my ‘sisters’ stayed all year. Vanida Navakul fell into patchwork as if she had been born to do it. Each week we met at her house. I taught patchwork and she showed me a new dish for a Thai lunch. I told her she had to go back to Thailand and teach – she was really gifted and hated the seamstress work she had been doing.
When I needed an interpreter in Thailand I asked for Vanida. I knew she had not started work in any way and was too shy to promote herself in patchwork. After a week of my classes I could see shop owners looking at her in amazement.
She was not just interpreting – she was moving around the classes helping students in Thai while I demonstrated in English. She had bookings for weeks at the end of it and now has a very successful business in Bangkok – with two long arm machines operating from her shops. It is a marvelous feeling knowing that for one of my dearest friends I really did teach her something that changed her life.
Expand on one of your many textile tours ‘Postcards from Cairo; Do you want to come to Syria and Egypt with me?
I LOVED doing these tours. They have stopped at the moment. Syria is out – for my lifetime at least. Egypt is struggling a little still and it is hard to entice people to go there even though it is probably fine. We limited numbers so we could all fit in a small bus and so I did not lose people in long walks through tiny alleys in suqs.
I ran three tours. The final one was two weeks before Egypt had its first revolution and the mobs were in Tahrir calling for Mubarak to resign – and he still had not when I decided to switch it into Jordan.
One of the best highlights was a night in the house of Widad Kawar, who is known as Umm l'ibas al-falastini—the mother of Palestinian dress. She wrote the following wonderful books and I particularly recommend Threads of Identity.
- Kawar, Widad: Threads of Identity: Preserving Palestinian Costume and Heritage ISBN 978-9963-610-41-9 Rimal Publications. 2011
- Kawar, Widad: Pracht Und Geheimnis - Kleidung Und Schmuck Aus Palästina Und Jordanien ISBN 3-923158-15-7 Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum Munich. 1987
- Kawar, Widad and Tania Nasir: Palestinian Embroidery : Traditional "Fallahi" Cross-Stitch ISBN 3-927270-04-0. Munich, State Museum of Ethnography. 1992.
- Widad Kawar and Shelagh Weir: Costumes and Wedding Customs in Bayt Dajan. "biography". Kawar Arab Heritage Collection.
Widad Kawar and tour group
Widad dressed us all up in the costumes of different areas of Palestine. It was a really wonderful night – and she had seen us at incredibly short notice.
On another part of the trip in Syria between Palmyra and Damascus I had rung ahead and asked a tiny desert coffee truckstop to hold milking their sheep until we arrived so my travellers could see it.
Although it had nothing to do with textiles it was mentioned by many as one of the great experiences of the trip.
On earlier trips that were able to go to Egypt visits to Wissa Wassef Tapestry Project and the stitchers employed by the Anat Foundation in Syria who live in the tiny village area of were highlights.
A Large Tapestry at Wissa Wassef
Wissa Wassef treats its weavers as artists. There is no pressure on them, they choose their own designs and subjects, and they are not pushed to work. Their work is spectacular.
Detail of the tapestry
Jebel al Hoss
In Jebel al Hoss the women live with their families in mudbrick beehives. It is bleak country – freezing and windswept in Winter, and scorching and windswept in Summer. It is in the area we used to call a ‘plant and pray’ area. They do exquisite embroideries which are marketed as bags and clothing to the rich and privileged in Damascus – and worldwide.
Can you explain ‘Sandstorm over White Dessert’?
This quilt uses a combination of raw edged applique and simple piecing. Many of the fabrics are hand dyed or painted. Sandstorm over the White Desert is the sixth quilt in the series. Magdy Badrmany became a friend of ours while we lived in Egypt. He is a Bedouin guide in the White Desert and we were impressed by his professionalism, his driving skill, his sense of humour and the way he simply and quickly set up our camps and cooked wonderful food for us.
On one camping trip a sandstorm blew up on the horizon. We watched it approaching in some trepidation. I did not want sand in my SLR camera so I memorised the changes. I was fascinated as we watched the ominous approach, and saw the way the shadow of the storm changed the colours of the white desert. As we watched, creams and warm golds became silver and mauve.
‘Sandstorm over the White Desert’
Magdy was calm and unworried – as always. I added a brief text in my own hand writing at the quilting stage, explaining very simply who Magdy was.
I made the quilt and sent Magdy a text to tell him to check his email. In Bahariya Oasis, where he lives, there was only one possible internet connection for him – the local coffee shop. In Egypt women do not go to coffee shops. I had sent two tiny picture files – one of the quilt with me in front of him so you could see that it was life sized and one of just the quilt.
Magdy took his wife. She wore full Nekeb to go there – a face cover with just slits for her eyes. As the images started to download – very slowly on the dial up modem – Magdy went to get coffee. Next thing she was hitting his shoulder.
When he asked why she pointed to the screen where it looked as if Magdy had his hand on my bottom – real me, quilted Magdy. Luckily the other image cleared things up. I realised why she did not realise it was a quilt – in the tiny file the pieced sky just looked pixelated.
The offending image
Discuss your photographic technique to quilt making. Perhaps you can use ‘Mohamed Sa’ad – Caretaker of the Mosque’ to explain this technique?
Detail, ‘Mohamaed Sa’ad.
I used composites of several photographs for this piece. The face had to be accurate, but I wanted to use him in front of the magnificent silver and bronze medallion on the mosque door.
‘Mohamaed Sa’ad.
I traced different elements separately and put them together. I then make the drawings bigger, scaling some up more than others. I outline every different colour, not just every different value. These become pattern pieces for the raw edged applique. Each piece is matched to a piece of fabric, cut out and ironed down with a fusible webbing. Stitching holds it securely and adds a lot more linework. Then quilting adds another level. I do not want a quilted groove on each change of colours on his face – the quilting is contouring and often ignores the colour changes.
For the mosque door I pinned foiled jersey over the almost-finished quilted quilt. I stitched the lines of the intricate design, then cut it away with a soldering iron and restitched it.
Explain your project 'The Tentmakers of Old Cairo'?
Our move to Egypt was the time I moved me into an orbit I already knew. In 1981 I had visited Egypt during the Gulf War. One of my strongest memories was a visit to the Street of the Tentmakers. The Street of the Tentmakers is colourful and vivid but the work is slowly dying as an art. It had lost its Egyptian audience as wealthy Egyptians wanted French tapestries, and poorer ones were just not interested.
Street of the Tentmakers
The tentmakers are men who used to – and still do - make tents. However they are best known for the exquisite applique they use – and originally it formed the inside of every wall of a tent. They now use printed fake cloth for the tents as people are usually unwilling to pay for the full handmade applique. They make panels for people to hang in their homes, or to use as quilts. The work is made with solid coloured cottons, and it is ornate and beautiful.
Textile by Wael
Subjects range from the purely decorative to calligraphy and storytelling.
Tarek Abouelenin explained to me that he and his company had invested fifteen years of savings to go to a Furniture Expo in Holland. They had completely failed to increase the business and companies who ordered wanted 3,000 piece in two weeks, and they just did not have the stitchers to do that.
As he was talking I was thinking – it is the wrong audience! You need to be seen by quilters or textile workers who understand exactly how wonderful you are and the difficulties of your work.
An invitation from Expertise Events to teach and speak at the AQC in Melbourne was the trigger. Judy Newman selected a talk about the Tentmakers, and Beutron offered to sponsor an exhibition space. I took two men – a translator to help to sell, and a master stitcher, Ahmed Naguib.
Ahmed Naguib at AQC in Melbourne
I knew Australians would be blown away by the work and it would sell like hot cakes. I had not expected the changes it brought back to the street in Cairo. Ahmed Naguib talked about how he was received, how people used video, how he was in the newspapers, how women clapped when he finished a flower – and I watched the street start to realise that what they did really mattered in a larger context.
They have now been to seven countries with exhibitions, and sometimes several times to each country.
Hany Abd el Khader, one of my friends in the Tentmakers’ Street made an applique piece to remember the first Egyptian Revolution. That was sold to the Museum of Oriental Art in Durham when we took it there for an exhibition at the University. It has a double historic importance – both far greater than anything I could make. It is work by an Egyptian about an Egyptian event of huge importance, and using a craft which has never been used by its workers for political commentary.
By Hosam
By Mohamed Dendon : Detail
Discuss colour and how you use hand painted fabrics and other techniques to achieve the colour you need in your quilts?
‘Water Mountail’
I tend to freshen and brighten colours for many pieces – that is just a matter of personal taste. It also has the effect of drawing attention from the softer greyed quilts around mine in a quilt show – so there is an element of deliberation to my colour choices.
I did a lot of the work when living in Egypt dyeing and painting of fabrics became a necessity. I could get large bolts of cheap white cotton, but never colours that I wanted. It was easier to buy whites and work from that, augmenting with other fabrics from my stash. I mix everything. Working in Ramallah and Iran told me that you use what you can get. Patchwork came from making do with what you had and we have almost forgotten this.
You are a member of tACTile, discuss the importance being a member of this group has been to you personally and professionally?
Working with tACTile has been very important to me. The group are good friends. The others are all so incredibly talented that I often wonder if I really belong there. We have had exhibitions every two years for the last twelve years. In each exhibition we have basically made our own work, but within a broad and elastic theme. There are times when I race towards deadlines swearing I will never do it again, but it has opened doors that would have stayed closed for me as a single quilter.
Discuss the importance that a quilt maker can be in capturing time and place?
‘Ammoni’
I think that a Quiltmaker can be considered an artist in the way of other artists – it is only the medium that is different. Our work has significant advantages as I can fold twenty large quilts into a suitcase and carry them on a plane to an exhibition.
I think pictorial work of the kind I make can freeze a moment. However, decisions like choices of colour and patterning are subject to fashion and can lock the work into an era and that might not be such a good thing. I was looking the other day at advertising with men in bell bottoms and crocheted vests. We were laughing because they truly looked funny. It made wonder if my work will date in the same way.
Your husband’s Diplomatic placements; how have these helped you as a quilt maker?
I would not be a quilt maker if it were not for my husband’s career. When I married Bob I knew that I could not keep on working in electron microscopy. I drifted in the first postings – I taught kindergarten at the American School in Damascus, Syria, had two extra children in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then started to study with a Palestinian painter in Amman, Jordan - and loved it.
finished a degree in Visual Arts just as my husband left to work with the UN in Gaza. I had done the degree with the intention of taking discreet groups of diplomatic wives into the landscape to learn to paint. I made a couple of quilts – for fun – and followed him to Jerusalem. Then there was a moment of realisation that quilting was simply a medium, that I could do anything with it that I could do with paint.
Textiles feel extraordinary to work with. People reach out to touch textiles and never do that to paint or photography. From the moment we are born we are wrapped in cloth. We step naked from the shower into cloth, we sleep between sheets, and blankets are used for warmth and comfort. There is an immediacy to textiles never found in paint. Colours are richer too as reflections do not usually affect fabric.
Our postings have also supplied me with incredible – sometimes unbelievable life experiences. Some find their way into my work, some I just hug to myself. The travel has supplied subject matter, though I only use places that mean a lot to me, not places I trip through briefly. I think the best art has to come from feelings – not just the idea that something looks pretty.
How has patchwork and quilting helped you when you have had to move to a new posting?
Yes – though there is always a period before the luggage arrives where I use the time to explore and get to know a new country. Moving to a new place can actually be devastating, regardless of how exciting it sounds.
I think we all have so many facets. We show a different side of ourselves to different people. My parents see me in one way, my children are shown another. I am a professional in the workplace with peers, somewhat subservient to my boss, a partner to my husband, and different again with female friends.
When you move – you are suddenly only a mother and wife. I have even been introduced as “The new Brenda Dodsworth” – naming the wife of the officer Bob had just replaced. It is a frightening loss of identity and I think you have to slowly replace each facet, finding people who see you in different ways. With my work I keep another facet throughout, and it gives me a sense of purpose in a brand new country where I am isolated by language, by the fact that I do not know anyone, and to a certain extent by my husband’s high status. He was the Australian Ambassador in the last few posts and an ambassador’s wife loses freedoms just because she is there with the representative of our country. You are never out of that role, regardless of where you go or who you are with. In our first posting with that title – day one – I turned at the checkout in a Jordanian supermarket and picked up my plastic bags of shopping. “No, said the owner. He said, “I have to talk to you.” He lead me to the restaurant part of the supermarket and ordered two coffees.
“In this country you are the wife of an ambassador. If you carry your groceries you are saying your country is rubbish. You can never, never do that here. When you shop you turn and walk out. You will know that your groceries will follow you.”
That was one of the hardest adjustments for an independent Australian to make – but during the next few years I heard enough gossip from Arab friends to know that I had been given great advice.
Hashim ; Detail - image by Patricia Boulton
Recently you have had issues with copyright, please explain what you have learnt about this aspect of artistic ownership?
Recently you have had issues with copyright, please explain what you have learnt about this aspect of artistic ownership?
I did so little. One of the quilts I had made back in 2002 was a traditional style of quilt. I had been in Singapore and a friend and I had shared a pile of sarongs which we cut up and divided. The front panel – or my half – of each sarong was so lovely that I did not want to cut it smaller. I designed a way to use triangles to make the pieces shimmer – and it helped quite unrelated prints to sit comfortably together.
A few years later I repeated the quilt in another lot of fabrics and it was so popular that I started to teach it as a class. Then I made two more. By this stage people were starting to copy it.
I was a bit miffed, as it looked traditional but it was not a known traditional block. People started to ask for patterns and I started – slowly and through chemo, to put a pattern together. A friend, Cassandra Philpot, spent several days with me taking process photographs to use in the pattern.
I never make patterns. Everything I teach is aimed at moving away from dependence on others’ designs, and making original work, so this was a very different path.
I negotiated with an Australian company to print it and do the distribution. And waited. Five months.
Then someone on a Facebook list posted the quilt they had made in a Shimmering Triangles class! I contacted the teacher and pointed out that she could not teach my design and my class without permission. She was nice – used the excuse that there was no pattern so she ‘had to write her own,’ but happily agreed to have her students buy mine in future.
Within two weeks I had withdrawn the pattern from the slow publisher, given copies to a group going on a quilting retreat who promised to test it, and after a few tweaks that they suggested I slammed it up on an internet selling site for crafts as a downloadable pdf file.
Then the real drama started.
A shop announced its BOM. This is a Block of the Month. Sales of these are almost infinite. Each month everyone who signs up gets a pack of fabric and instructions for that one section. By the end of eight months – or five or how long it takes – they have the whole quilt made. The shop can make a huge amount of money from this. They did not use my pattern – they cited my name and the fact that the first one was made in 2002 but said they had designed their own pattern from a Pinterest board.
I wrote a polite letter pointing out that this was a breach of copyright. No answer. I waited a month. Then the second advertising letter came out and they had removed my name and credit.
At this point I write a letter saying I was organising a Cease and Desist letter form a lawyer. I located a lawyer in the lady’s hometown and wrote to them.
I told two marvelous internet groups what was happening and they pulled in hard behind me. QuiltArt and SAQA are both offshoot chat lists for professional organisations – one from Quilts Inc in America, the other an international organisation centred in America called Studio Art Quilt Associates.
I named and shamed, but somewhat reluctantly as I was afraid of possible repercussions. Because they offered, I asked my friends to write a note or put a comment on the shop’s blog or Facebook page. Interestingly – Australia was blocked from the shop’s Facebook page. I asked people to stay cool, professional and accurate, and not to risk exaggeration or name-calling.
At the end of twenty four hours I stopped them as I was feeling sorry for the shop. I know they had hundreds of emails and comments and the owner had spent most of the day taking them off her blog as they appeared. Within half an hour of my stopping the emails the BOM was withdrawn with an apologetic note saying the maker did not realise that she could not draw her own pattern for an original quilt.
The internet really has incredible power. I was able to stop the lawyer letter before they had taken the top of the pen, and this did not cost me anything.
As a nice bonus – the pattern has been surprisingly successful – but that is another story!
Contact details.
Jenny Bowker
Email jenny.bowker@gmail.com
Website www.jennybowker.com
tACTile website http://www.tactilequilts.net/
Blurb book, Pack and Follow http://au.blurb.com/b/2578726-pack-and-follow
Pattern for Shimmering Triangles:
http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/quilting/home-decor/shimmering-triangles/122321
Jenny Bowker, Canberra, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, March, 2015
Gail Kelly
You studied print making in both Ireland and America. Can you discuss the differences and similarities?
I studied print making in Belfast at what was then the Ulster College of Art and Design. There was less emphasis on the academic side of things then and although we did attend lectures and had to write essays I remember most of our time being spent in the print workshop throughout the three year course. We had tutors who were passionate about their own work and great visiting lecturers. We learnt what I consider to be ‘proper’ traditional print making techniques and focused on developing the content of our own work throughout our time there. I mostly concentrated on etching and screen printing but did get an introduction to stone lithography at another print workshop in my last year.
While I was in America studying for my M.F.A I worked for Louisiana State University teaching undergrad classes and as a technician in the print workshop. I also worked editioning prints for established artists, all of which was good experience and helped me build up my CV. I mostly worked in stone lithography and etching there.
The print making department at L.S.U. had a great litho area and was altogether a much bigger set up than we had in Belfast. As grad students at L.S.U. we all had our own little studios which was a big difference from the shared desk I had in Belfast.
After returning to Ireland from America, did you find the landscape sharper to your eye?
I lived in America for seven years but I came home to visit every year so I never lost touch with the landscape here.
Please expand on ‘Fairy Bridge’ both the content and your use of colour?
The ‘Fairy Bridge’ depicts a little bridge my father often took me to see when I was a child. It was along a path, through a clearing in the woods. We loved going along that way. The whole area seemed secret and undisturbed. I don’t think many people knew the little bridge was there. The colours I used in this lithograph are the colours I remember from those woods – the autumn leaves lying untouched for years on the forest floor, the bright green of the new leaves on the beech trees above our heads and the misty mountains in the distance.
‘Fairy Bridge'
How do you decide whether to use monochrome or colour in your prints?
I chose whichever I feel will suit the image.
Can you discuss ‘The Immigrants Bridge’ and the historical content?
Also known as ‘The Bridge of Sorrows’ or ‘The Bridge of Tears’, it is on a small road in Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore), County Donegal which led to the port in Derry. The population of this Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) area was badly affected by the famine and evictions. Many people left Ireland at this time, heading for America. Their friends and relatives would walk with them as far as this little bridge where they would say their goodbyes. The folk staying walked back to their homes and those leaving walked on to get the ship, all knowing that they would probably never see each other again.
'The Immigrants Bridge’
Can you expand on your work in relation to trees and the seasons?
I live in the country now, in County Down and I am always very aware of the weather and the changing seasons. I have a big garden and I keep ducks and hens so I’m in and out all day long between one thing and another. The Tree series developed out of my interest in nature and the landscape where I live. Folk lore and traditions have always been an influence in my work. I like the idea of remembering and respecting the old ways of doing things, whether daily activities or annual events.
You made a calendar for 2013. Could you expand on this?
A few years ago I had a commission to do a calendar for one of the banks here in Ireland and I had been meaning to do one of my own ever since. I tend to work in series’, often in 12’s, so made sense to use some of these images for calendars. It has become an annual project now and I’ve produced my own calendar for the last three years. I used my Tree series for the first one, then my Gardens for 2014. For the 2015 I used a mixture of images, all my linocuts printed on linen.
Can you discuss your Linen Prints and how and when you started to print on linen? Does it have any restrictions?
I started printing on linen about 15 years ago. It really suits my linocuts which I print in black on natural linen. I like this colour combination and I think it works well. Working with linen can be a bit tricky as it creases easily and has to be ironed and starched.
'Sail Away with Me’
Discuss your ‘Emigrant Series’?
This series refers to people who have left their native homes and long to return. Although I enjoyed my time in America I eventually became homesick and moved back to Ireland. I was lucky in that it was only a flight away and these days if you have the money for a ticket you can be back in no time at all. Years ago when people left it was often a one way journey and many never had the chance to return. When you are away you are more likely to think about home at certain times of year such as Christmas (‘Coming Home’) and I imagined in the past people wondering how the family would manage the farm without them (‘Harvest Time’). The title of ‘Promises to Keep’ comes from the Robert Frost poem where someone is travelling and has to keep going along their way. ‘Sail Away with Me’ refers to young couples moving away to start a new life together.
'Gardener's Friend'
You also have a ‘Bird Series’. Discuss: ‘Gardener’s Friend’ and ‘Garden Girls’ in relation to each other and as a part of a series?
I feed the wild birds in my garden and enjoy watching them every day. ‘Gardener’s Friend’ is about a robin which is always nearby when I’m working outside. I keep hens and ducks for eggs and ‘Garden Girls’ refers to some of my little banty hens and chicks. The images in this series are a combination of the patterns of garden trees and flowers along with an element of storytelling depicted by the birds.
You attend Craft Fairs - can you explain the importance of these to presenting your work.
I usually take part in 2-3 trade shows a year where I wholesale my linen prints and greetings cards to galleries and shops throughout Ireland and the UK. The retail craft fairs are quite different from the trade shows as they give me the opportunity to meet the public and sell directly. I enjoy the peace and quiet of rural County Down but it is also nice to have the buzz of excitement at a busy show. I have made some good friends among the other exhibitors over the years. It’s interesting to chat with customers too and build up a connection with them. I like travelling and taking part in the shows. It gives me the chance to see other parts of the country and I plan for a day or two off to go exploring whenever possible.
Discuss how important it is for you to represent your country through your art?
The landscape of Ireland is obviously very important in my work and has always been the main influence over the years, even when I was living abroad. I don’t feel I represent my country as such. I depict the elements of it which hold my attention and these could be anything from a scrap of ancient folklore to mountains and fields to the shape of a tiny leaf. My imagery is not intentionally ‘Irish’ but once people know where I’m from they see the strong connection I have with the land here.
Contact details
www.alganarts.com
www.gailkelly.co.uk
gail@alganarts.com
Gail Kelly, County Down, Northern Ireland
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, March, 2015
Ute Rathmann
Expand on the importance of looking at the work of past Masters in your work?
I am very inspired by the work of past Masters. I tend to arrange my work in series with scenes reminiscent of masters such as Gustav Klimt. A model is dressed up according to a particular theme. This is the visual basis. The end result, however, is not directly connected to the depicted subject but takes on a life of its own.
‘Hommage à Gustav Klimt X111’
How do you describe your art medium?
It is a vivid mix of all sorts of mediums. I use pencils, watercolours, pastel, pigments, crayons, etc. Important is their compatibility with paper – and I do not like to use colours that have a chemical smell.
‘Hommage à Degas XXI’
Can you explain how you use Collage in ‘Ewig’?
This special piece is a bit different then most of my other abstract collages. I work with this medium for many, many years and my whole studio is crowded with tons of pieces of paper that are glued together and then torn apart again. From time to time some of those pieces that emerge by accident happen to be so beautiful that I want to use them just the way they are. For “Ewig” I found this one single piece and I just glued it with wallpaper paste on a cardboard.
‘Ewig’
Can you take us through the before and after process of ‘Hommage à
Goya XV’?
First of all there was the figure – a draw over a collage. I thought a faint background would fit the best, so I started to use paper in different shades of white. My aim was to show a development from the colourful skirt to the subtle head. I used the paper for the background to create a sharp silhouette of the skirt and I made the skirt longer and more vivid. The upper body stayed the way it was from the beginning.
‘Hommage à Goya XV’
Discuss where less is best using Hommage à Degas XXVI.
To me, “Hommage à Degas XXVI” is a very light and soft picture. It always reminds me of “Sternentaler” (“The Star Money”), an old fairytale by the Scandinavian author Hans Christian Andersen, in which a poor girls gives everything she owns away until her gowns and then the stars fell from the sky turning into golden thaler.
‘Hommage à Degas XXVI’
When do you decide to add colour?
Drawing is a very intuitive thing to me, therefore I do not really `decide` to add colour, it is always a result that just seems to happen.
‘Hommage à Ingres XI’
Can you explain where and when you use gold pigment?
I discovered a box with gold pigment while cleaning the studio of my deceased professor Christine Perthen. Since the very beginning using this medium, I fell in love with it. I apply it with a dry brush to achieve a blurred surface area or draw lines with a wet brush. In any case it must be fixed with a very strong spray afterwards.
‘Hommage à Botticelli XIII’
Discuss ‘Tribute to James Goldstein VIII’ and the use of collage and shaped paper?
Usually, I tear the figure out of the drawing to creating a perfect surrounding that highlights the figure. With this piece it was a bit different I did not compose a background, I just used black paper and put some small pieces of silver paper around to combine the background with the figure.
‘Tribute to James Goldstein VIII’
You teach Fashion Illustration. Can you explain the changes you have noticed in the area of art?
Some years ago, the perception for an artist who deals with fashion in his artistic work was considered as a bit frivolous. But now, there are more and more artists like me, whose work may be described as “fashion art”. It is not “fashion illustration” because it is not created for the purpose of promote and selling fashion. It is more an artistic involvement with fashion.
Fashion is iconic and timeless in your art, can you discuss this?
I have studied fashion-design at the Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee because there has always been a very strong fascination for clothes, costumes, fabrics, patterns, etc. It took me quiet some time to realize that I did not want to design clothes. Instead my artistic aim is to create a special kind of setting I could use as a visual basis for my artworks by using clothes and costumes in combination with a human model.
You also draw nudes – discuss this in relations to being a woman and the depiction of other women?
I also draw male nudes, it makes no difference to me. At this moment I start drawing I am always turning into some kind of a neutral being excited only about the beauty of the composition.
‘Nude IX’
Composition is very important in your work. Please expand on this?
The composition is like a perfectly fitting frame for an artwork. First, there is the figure and then I try to create a surrounding that presents the figure the best.
‘Hommage à Cranach III’
Explain about your titles and the numbering system you use?
I sort my works by the name of the Great Masters that inspired the setting. The numbering is not really chronologically because I work so much that somehow I lost the overview. I try to keep at least the series together which are made at the same time.
Do you sign and date your work?
Yes, I do. I sign and date the front or the back of my artworks.
Discuss the use of signed Certificates of Authenticity?
It is very important for my collectors to get a hand signed Certificate of Authenticity. An artwork is something you probably want to leave to your heirs and they might need the Certificate for the eventuality of selling the artwork.
Hommage à Watteau XII’
‘Fashion Illustration’
What is the magic of fashion and art – discuss?
I guess it is all about feeling and not about thinking. When I was younger, I felt quiet unsure about my work. I always wanted to capture poetic and magic in my work. A lot of people told me that my drawings are somehow not “serious” enough, too decorative, etc. but the older I became, the more I trust in my own feelings.
Contact details.
ute@uterathmann.com
Ute Rathmann, Berlin, Germany
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, February 2015
Sally Simpson
Can you discuss the ritual and ceremonial rites in your installation ‘Precipice’?
The background to all of my work is an interest in ‘power figures’ and ‘votive objects’ used in many cultures as mediators between humans and nature. In addition I refer to the tradition of using materials at hand to make such objects. However my sculptures embody personal questions about the contemporary relationship between humans and nature, in an era of many confusing and contradictory value systems.
Why was the exhibition called Precipice?
The anchor piece for the exhibition held at ANCA (2013) and Gallery Smith Project Space (2014) was ‘Precipice’, consisting of 9 figures poised along the edge of a bench. The figures kneel and extend empty hands, inviting interpretation by the viewer. Kneeling is associated with a position of last resort, whether in prayer, submission or despair. The exhibition held at Gallery Smith Project Space included 5 kneeling figures carrying empty cow horns. The idea underlying this body of work is that a precipice is a moment in time when an individual or group faces an unknown future.
How many figures were exhibited together in this exhibition?
ANCA showed ‘Precipice’ plus 9 individual figures. Gallery Smith Project Space showed “Precipice’ plus 5 new individual figures.
Discuss the collaboration between the Gallery and yourself in putting this installation together?
The delight of working with a commercial gallery is that they are experienced with installation. Emma Benichou and Marita Smith spent a lot of time deciding on the best display, and although they consulted me often I was happy to trust their judgement. For example I agreed with their decision to remove all drawings planned for that show, which made it far more visually powerful.
Discuss the use of found objects in your work?
In the past I’ve used objects found at particular sites and these materials have inspired the forms created. For Precipice the materials relate to my life on small farms over the last 25 years. I like to begin with the soil or vegetation of the area, as traditional sculptors began with clay or timber. For several years I worked only with clay so I still find modelling comes naturally. Now I include any found objects as I build and model, as these embody both the site and the issues I’m working with.
Within the found objects, do you always combine natural and man-made objects?
So far that has been the case because it is my way of merging the process with the ideas. However I can imagine an idea might lead to a decision to use either one or the other.
Do you think living in the country has brought a stronger Eco influence to your work?
Most definitely. Issues such as revegetation of rainforest, water and power sources, and the potentials and limitations for a local, organic and sustainable lifestyle are part of daily life. Which is not to say that I live according to ideals but rather see how complex the issues are.
Discuss the relationship between human and the land in your work?
I hope I raise questions rather than convey opinions. Land changes constantly, and so do our values about land. The issues today are complex so it’s important that people consider as much information as we can to form our own opinions and act on them as best we can.
The making of ‘faces’ from fish bones, lace and mud. Can you explain why you have used this particular combination?
The objects made for ‘Venerated Remains’ are examples of the materials dictating the form. After I had collected mud, irrigation pipe, fish bones and a lace curtain from the dried out bed of Lake Mokoan I tried putting them together in many ways.
The early works exposed the irrigation pipe and used other found objects. Over time the lace began to wrap the irrigation pipe, and the fish vertebrae happened to fit perfectly at the end of the pipe and acquired a different character when used in that way. When the final form suggested mummified fish it embodied layers of meaning regarding Lake Mokoan.
‘Veneraated Remains’ -detail
Can you explain the Meroogal Women’s Art Prize and how it affected your art practice?
This prize is named after a group of women who ran a property in the early settlement of Nowra. At the time I wanted to make a piece about the drought, and a watering can that could not possibly hold water, made from the dried out ribcage of a kangaroo, was decorated with chicken bones and stitching to reflect upon the harsh Australian rural lives of women settlers. Although I had been collecting bones for many years this was the first time I made a sculpture using them, and it was the beginning of a mode of practice that has continued since.
Can you expand on your ‘The Berry Series’?
‘Cattle Dog 2’
It was appropriate to use cattle bones for this series as I lived on a former dairy and had observed Berry change from rainforest and cattle farming to retirement and holiday homes in the time I was there.
I intended to express a type of memorial to the former farming life, so used graveyard imagery of the cross and totems. The ‘Cattle Dogs’ were more affectionate and playful, made specifically for ‘The Dog Show’.
‘Cattle Cross’
How has your Master of Philosophy in Sculpture influenced your work since 2012?
The rigour of researching and writing about my ideas within the Australian National University sculpture department established a more professional approach to my work.
What are you currently working on?
I’ve just completed 2 more kneeling figures using quite different materials for ‘Imaginarium’ curated by Amanda Stuart at Belconnen Arts Centre. These are probably the last of the kneeling figures, but the materials, wax and thread ‘hybridising’ the bones of many different animals feel like the beginning of a new direction.
Contact Details:
Website:www.sallysimpson.com.au
Email: salsim6@bigpond.net.au
Sally Simpson, Canberra, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, February 2015
Ailsa Black
Recently you held a solo exhibition at The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum. Your work was mounted on ‘RED’ walls? Can you talk a bit more about that? Did you know that the walls would be red before you began?
I had been to visit the gallery so I knew the walls were red. Because it was a Xmas exhibition I thought it would be very festive.
'Hedgehog Of Happiness"
How did the red effect the work you sent for the exhibition?
I just painted using the same palette I normally do. I have overheard people talking about buying a piece of work at my open studio event and trying to decide whether it would match the curtains. I’m not squeamish about these things but I wouldn’t paint anything to match a wall colour just like I wouldn’t choose a painting to match curtain colour. I just paint what feels right at the time!
Your work is small. Can you discuss this in relationship to the space?
Yes my work is generally quite small. I trained in Illustration so I’m not used to working on a huge scale. I just carried on working the way I normally do. I think it gave a good variety of work and a depth of subject which you wouldn’t be able to cover if you did fewer but larger pieces of work. Also it makes them more affordable. I think because I had over 70 pieces if filled the space quite well in the end.
Humour plays a huge part in your work. Please discuss this?
The humour is something that has just evolved. My paintings always include animals or birds and I think there is a lot of communication going on between them that we as humans are not aware of. I imagine they have conversations like I image I converse with my dog. The communication is there I think it’s just that we don’t always recognise it and animals understand a lot more than often we give them credit for.
'Hoo Many Snowflakes’
Part of the humour in your art is held within the titles, ‘Broon Coo’, ‘The Offering’, ‘Biding Time’, ‘Pep Talk’. Please discuss the title and these works.
'Broon Coo'
I suppose the titles reflect the capture of a moment in time and an insight into the companionship of the creatures and people in the painting.
'Biding Time'
Your work is so light hearted.Can you expand on this?
I grew up in rural Scotland with chickens, ducks, doves, cats, mice, cats, rabbits and so on. Animals have always played a part in my life. The titles come from the conversations I image animals are having with their contemporaries or with us humans. Animals bring so much pleasure to our world...we couldn’t live without them.
‘Mooching an’ Mooing’
Discuss ‘One More Wee One’
Inspiration: The lovely Belted Galloway Cow
Size: 20cm square
Use of Colour: Deep red, paynes grey, white and some brown for the robins
'One More Wee One'
You use a limited colour palette Can you explain why?
I think if you throw in too many colours to a painting it can look like a big dog's dinner! It gets messy and disjointed. I like my work to have a coherence which the colour helps bring together. I suppose I like to work compositionally to be well balanced and the colour is another facet of that.
‘Woolit Beasties’
Can you discuss the process your work takes, from idea to completion.
I start with a sketch often just something done quickly and roughly. Then I work the sketch up on to a canvas board which has been painted with layers of modelling paste and primed. Then I start to layer the paint up. Often it will take 3 or 4 layers of paint to get the effect I like. Sometimes I put it on in fairly thin washes and quickly wipe it off again before it dries so you can see the lower layers of paint underneath. All my work is then photographed and some of it goes to be made in to greetings cards or prints which are either published by myself or licensed out to publishers.
Discuss your use of a sketchbook?
I don’t do a great deal of sketching from life but I do use sketchbooks for working out ideas and playing with new compositions. They are useful for information gathering but pressure of time means I don’t use them as much as I could.
‘Maybe One Day’
Discuss the way you decide on what will be original and what will be made into prints and the edition numbers?
Oh it’s not very scientific…I just pick the ones I like most. Sometimes I can gauge whether something will be popular by the reaction I get on social media which is a useful tool for gathering public opinion!
‘Waiting Game’
You participate in Open Studios, can you give us your thoughts on the pros and cons of being part of Open Studios?
I love our annula open studio event. I am very lucky because I live in a part of the country where there is a formal event which artist are selected for. It is very well organised and I always have a good footfall. I use my local village hall because my studio is really too small. The local community run a café over the weekend and serve soup and homemade cake so it becomes quite an event!
Can you take us into your studio?
Where is it?
My studio is in the converted attic on the 2nd floor of our very old house. The house was built around 1800 and is a bit cold and draughty but has the most fantastic views facing the sea. I love living in a small coastal village. I know everyone who lives here and we all help each other out when the weather is bad. There is just a row a houses, a bus shelter, a phone box and a pub! The pub is an important hub to meet friends and socialise especially in the winter evenings when it is dark and cold. It’s a 26 mile round trip to the nearest supermarket and you can’t order a take-a-way. There is a mobile post bus which comes to a village about 6 miles away so even posting something becomes an outing.
How important is this space to your work?
Well I look down on to a stretch of beach and sea. From the studio I can see otters, porpoises, seals and lots of bird life. It is my inspiration even when the rain is battering off the window!
What you love about your studio?
I love the big windows, the light and the views.
‘Maybe two Day’
Contact details.
E-mail: ailsa.black@btinternet.com
Website: www.ailsablack.com
Ailsa Black, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, February, 2015
Alesandro Ljubicic
Alesandro at his easel
Explain how your relationship with Sean Cook (Sydney florist) began?
Our working relationship began when Sean enquired about one of my paintings that was in the window of Art2Muse Gallery, which is directly opposite Sean’s florist. We then met and started discussing the idea of a collaboration.
Discuss how your large current floral paintings have developed since meeting Sean Cook?
Since working with Sean, my way of viewing floral arrangements has changed dramatically. Sean has introduced me to flowers in such amazing colours, textures and shapes, and what makes them even more amazing is the way Sean skillfully puts them into beautiful arrangements that I could only dream of.
How did you and Sean work together for your latest exhibition at Art2Muse in Sydney?
Every month Sean and I discussed ideas for colour palettes and shapes for my next painting. From here Sean would take what we discussed and come back to present me with an amazing arrangement (which never ceased to blow me away!) I would then begin sketching and coming up with idea on how I would best represent my take on Sean’s marvelous creation.
Inspiration comes from many places. Can you discuss the connection between the marriage of George Clooney & Amal Alamuddin and your flora painting?
This was actually just a simple coincidence! About a week after I finished painting that particular painting, the photos of George and Amal were shown around the world.
I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw how similar the composition and palette of Amal’s dress was to my painting so I had to share it!
Your works ‘Jaune Violet’ and ‘Naples Italian’ are very different from your current floral paintings. Discuss how you have developed your work?
My new work is more exciting for me as it’s created with more emotion, which I express through large, bold, gestural marks.
Expand in the technique you have developed by layering paint to create a 3D effect?
The key to the 3D effect is to keep adding more layers of pure oil straight out of the tube with minimal mixing to keep the colour vibrant and clean.
Discuss the importance of winning the ‘William Fletcher scholarship and an exhibition at Xavier Art Space propelled your art career?
Winning really gave me a confidence boost and made me realize that art in this country is so well received and respected by all, and it made me see that I wanted to be a part of it.
You have also started The Sydney Art Store, this must be similar to being a kid in a lolly shop! Can you discuss this?
You have hit the nail on the head! It’s exactly like being a kid in a lolly shop, but don't be fooled, I still have to pay for the paint!
Your studio is above your business, how do you separate your time?
From 9am-6pm every day, I work with other artists at The Sydney Art store to help them solve the issues in their work while at the same time relating my work back to theirs. In the evenings I get away from this and move to my studio where I spend several hours on my own paintings.
Discuss your colour studies and the relationship with a particular painting?
The colour studies for me are very important as they give me answers to how paint can be sculpted whilst at the same time gives me an understanding of how certain colours work together.
Alesandro using colour
Can you tell us about the Archibald Prize?
In 2013, I was lucky enough to be working with George Gittoes while he was in Australia.
For me this was so, inspiring as I wrote essays and studies about Georges Art whilst in High School and to have an opportunity to be working with him side by side in his studio was beyond anything I could ask for.
The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919. It is administered by the trustees of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and awarded for "the best portrait, preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics, painted by an artist resident in Australia during the twelve months preceding the date fixed by the trustees for sending in the pictures. Source: Wikipedia
Contact details.
mail@alesandroljubicic.com
Alesandro Ljubicic
Studio
940 Bourke St
Waterloo, NSW 2017
For a full list of available works and price list, contact Zaria Forman at the email above.
Alesandro Ljubicic, Sydney, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, February 2015
Tracy Luff
What lead you to use cardboard?
It all started when I was studying art. We were given a task to create sculpture or artwork from recycled materials. I think I actually forgot to bring some materials so I simply took some old cardboard boxes from the industrial bin. That is where it started but there is more too it. Working with the fluted cardboard I soon discovered that beneath its surface was a dynamic and interesting medium. The variety of textures I discovered and the variations possible, simply by cutting it a various angles was amazing to me. I also loved the earthy and humble colours the cardboard came in. The more I worked with it, the more excited I became.
'Pivotal'
How do you store your collection of cardboard?
I have never thought of my stock pile of cardboard as a collection. Since I needed so much of it, I was always on the look out for the right kind of cardboard. They all vary so much in quality, from soft weak cardboard that is not durable enough for my work to really hard or even brittle cardboard which is also unsuitable. I quickly discovered the brand names associated with the best cardboard – that is the brands of whitegoods or car part manufacturers etc that use the cardboard for their packaging. So I soon had a store of the best cardboard that I simply store flat in a waterproof shed.
How important is the print on the outside of cardboard boxes to your work?
'Hill"
Generally speaking, the print on the cardboard is not important in my work as it is the exposed cut edges that are predominant in creating textures and visual effects. Occasionally the printed colours do show through in my work, usually in an accidental kind of way rather than by design
'Bare Land'
Discuss your feelings about the importance of using recycled materials in your art?
I don’t set out to voice an environmental message; although due to the nature of the medium that message or interpretation is always there. It is challenging to create work that surpasses that basic environmental message – I mean that I want my work to say more than speak simply of the medium it is constructed of. Having made that point, I still have strong feelings about re-using and recycling resources. I grew up in a culture that held those values more or less out of necessity. We never threw things away that could be re-used or recycled in some way
'TDO'
Explain how your artistic career has developed since your arrival in Australia in 1997?
I actually arrived in Australia in 1985 but didn’t formally study art until 1997. As a child I was always very creative, in fact I often recycle materials to create craft works. In 1997, I commenced formal studies in fine arts at the Newcastle TAFE. I studied everything from drawing, painting, print making, sculpture and photography at the Diploma level. When I enrolled for the Advanced Diploma course, I focussed on painting and sculpture. It was my work in fluted cardboard that attracted the most notoriety so as much as I loved to paint and sculpt in a variety of mediums, my work became dictated by this humble yet powerful medium. In my early years my focus was on gaining as much exposure as possible and I did this by entering as many competitions an
d group exhibitions as I could. …..
Discuss the process your work takes from inspiration to the finished piece.
Inspiration for my work can come from literally anywhere. Often I am creating work as a response to a theme presented to me by a curator, other times I am designing for a particular space where the work will be exhibited. Also the medium itself talks to me, i.e. I respond to the way the medium feels or looks as I manipulate or shape it. Often I get ideas for new works when I am working on current work. I always make notes for future reference. All my ideas pass through a visual diary where I sketch to develop ideas and inspiration can also be a product of this process. I have often woken at night and found myself madly sketching ideas that came to me during sleep.
Once I have developed my concept for a work I nut out the finer details like proportion and scale using mainly drawing, but often by manipulating images on my laptop. I nearly always produce a Marquette, especially for large scale work. A lot of my projects cannot be assembled in my studio so the Marquette is essential to get an overall 3D image of what the work will look like.
Planning the production of the work sometimes requires the use of a spread sheet program to calculate sizes and quantities of individual cut pieces. Depending on the work, steel frameworks, internal support structures, suspension methods, attachment or joining techniques need to be designed and made. There is rarely a project that doesn’t require some level of technical problem solving to accomplish.
Production of the artwork components is quite laborious and time consuming. I get lost in the repetitive processes of marking out, cutting and sorting the individual pieces before assembly. It really feels like factory work to me and transports me back to my younger years when I worked in factories during my school holidays to make extra pocket money.
'Rising Tensions'
Assembly of large works requires a well-organised space and sometimes that means outside in my back yard. Most of the time I will also pack my work, transport and install it myself – with the aid of my Husband.
'Shoots'
How about durability, is this a question you are often asked?
Most of my work is designed to be in doors and the main question of durability related mainly to the archiveability of the work. Fluted packing cardboard is not archival and not designed to last forever. As I had not been using it for very long, I couldn’t be certain about its longevity either. I investigated it through industrial chemists and by looking at examples of cardboard used in art going back a long way. I concluded that it would last quite well under relatively stable conditions – the kind of conditions most artworks would be kept in. I was curious about how it would cope outside in the weather so I created an installation called “The Different Ones” and installed it by a lake where it endured wind, rain and the hot sun over a period of six weeks. It did survive admirably and to this day that work is still in my garden after five years weathering gracefully.
Discuss the importance of having a good gallery space for your work?
It is important to me that my work is exhibited at its best and this means the space needs to be good. In most cases, I will install the work personally so that I am happy with the way it is presented. I work hard to create the work so I want people to see it at its best. Often I will check out the gallery space before I create the work so that in essence I make the work for a particular space.
'THe Sticks'
Discuss the relationship between your medium cardboard and your organic shapes?
I have always been conscious of the origin of cardboard. It comes from trees and trees are organic living things. The cardboard still contains the DNA from the trees it came from. I have never seen cardboard as originating from a box – it has always meant more to me than a utilitarian packaging material. Initially, I wanted people to see the link between my work and the medium’s origin and also to be able to look beyond the flat surfaces and right angles of a cardboard box. I wanted people to look below the surface and beyond the obvious – towards the hidden beauty within.
'Waiting'
Do you always work in series, e.g. Paddock?
I think series’ of work reflect the excitement I feel when working in this medium. I just can’t stop at one, and each new work develops a little further, or I discover a new nuance that I want to explore. Sometimes I create a series of works simply to fill a space – to create a bigger impact or prevent a small work being swallowed up by a large space.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on an installation for the CODA Museum at Apeldoorn, Netherlands. The exhibition, titled CODA Paper Art puts paper and cardboard centre stage as a material. It opens on 7th June, 2015.
Contact details.
art@tracyluff.com
Tracy Luff, Goulburn NSW, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, January, 2015
Peter Randall-Page
You grew up in the country. Do you think, if you had been a city boy, your work would have been different?
Very much so, I was quite a solitary child and spent my days exploring the countryside, collecting natural objects and being rather self-contained. This fascination at looking at the world around me and my place within it has informed my artistic practice ever since.
' Beneath the Skin, 1991, Kilkenny limestone '
photo credit: Chris Chapman
Can you expand on the way you have used continuous coils to create works?
When one looks at a coiled object it conveys the potential to become something more: what happens when it unravels, uncoils, unsprings? The idea of conveying that latent dynamic tension within a material as dense as stone appealed to me, what might be below the surface? What is being concealed? I hope to engage the viewer in a dialogue of what might be beneath.
'Three Dormant Objects, 1991, charcoal on paper'
Can you discuss how you run a parallel between your drawings and your sculptures?
Drawing has always been an important part of my practice as a sculptor.
I always carry a sketchbook and use drawing in many different ways:- objective drawing as an aid to memory and analysis, drawings for sculpture, technical drawings to help explain my ideas to architects, engineers and clients, and other drawings which are not preparatory to anything but works in their own right.
Some ideas reappear over the years in countless sketchbooks before becoming sculptures and conversely, sometimes I have a frenzy of drawing activity for the pure delight of mark making, such as the recent ink flow series. Both approaches are vital to my work.
'Ink Flow series, ink on paper, 2013
photo credit: Steve White'
Can you expand on geometry and pattern in your work?
Initially, some of my sculptures were quite literal interpretations of natural objects but in recent years my work has been preoccupied with the underlying principals of growth and pattern formation in natural phenomena: exploring pattern and form, order and randomness, geometry and morphology.
Shapes in the Clouds, 2014 Rosso Luana marble
photo credit: Steve White
You have had three had Individual exhibitions in 2014: London, Devon and Plymouth. We all have 24 hours in a day. How are you able to achieve SO much?
I did have a rather exciting 18 months! What was lovely for me was that each show had a very different feel and dictated a different focus. Due to floor loading restrictions, there aren’t many galleries which can show large heavy sculptures and so it was a fantastic opportunity for me to exhibit at Peninsula Arts, Plymouth, to be able to produce a new body of work without worry of constraint. The exhibition at the Thelma Hulbert Gallery, on the other hand, couldn’t have been more opposite, a domestic and intimate space, it was all about works on a small scale for which I produced a new body of prints. Then the Pangolin show was different again, working with Pangolin Editions.
I spent several days playing at the foundry and they converted these musings into the Inside Out series. Of course, it would be impossible to make all these works single-handed and as well as the technical brilliance of the foundry I also have the support of a very good team here at the studio.
'Inside Out 2014 bronze'
photo credit: Steve Russell
'Natural Order' at Purdy Hicks Gallery in London was a group show with seven artists. How did you collaborate, or was this done by the gallery?
I have exhibited with Purdy Hicks Gallery both as a solo artist and in group shows for a number of years, they approached me with the idea of Natural Order and it appealed to me.
Did you know all of the other 6 artists before the exhibition?
Yes indeed, which is why I had no hesitation in agreeing to the exhibition.
What are your criteria for a Group exhibition?
I think there has to be some cohesive whole created that makes the exhibition more than the sum of the parts.
Can you discuss your thoughts on the value of working in group exhibitions?
I think when group shows work well there is a spark created which adds a frisson to the whole: allowing space for the unexpected to happen.
Your work is in many Public Collections, can you take one that you remember as giving you a huge boost to your career?
Honestly, I am still delighted every time a work of mine is entering a public collection but without question, the biggest boost was when the Tate bought Where the Bee Sucks.
'Where the Bee Sucks', 1991 Kikenny limestone
Discuss the importance of Public Art:
- In relation to the surrounding it will be placed in?
'Give and Take', 2006 granite and associated hard landscaping
For me, public art is at its most successful when it is integrated into its environment rather than being an ‘add on’: sometimes a development can be near completion before the public art element is addressed. With the commission I undertook for Silverlink Properties in Newcastle I was involved from the initial stages, working with Southern Green landscape designers, to problem solve the different ground heights, need for seating and creating a calm, intimate environment within a busy urban square. I feel we achieved something that wouldn’t have been possible if I’d been called in later in the day: this sculpture went on to win the Marsh Award for Public Sculpture.
- The visual impact it will add to the space?
Often, specifically with urban developments, so many considerations such as parking, transportation, access, utilities and emergency procedures have to be addressed that a sense of human scale and interaction can be lost. Public art can transform an environment, creating a focus and allowing the viewer to indulge in a moment of reflection.
How the sculpture will cope with the weather conditions?
This will naturally vary according to the artist and the artwork: with my granite works I can imagine an archaeologist of the future uncovering a destroyed city and my sculptures will be more or less exactly as they were when they were installed!
- How the sculpture will cope with the public?
My sculptures cope well with public handling: though ‘Seed’ at the Eden Project is beginning to be polished at around 1.5 meters high as the hands of visitors caress the bumps, adding an unexpected but rather lovely aspect to the work.
In Mind of Monk, 2008 marble
Can you give your thoughts on the importance of large Sculpture Parks, like the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, in the life of a sculpture?
Several of my sculptures are made to commission and go directly from the studio to their final home. Showing works such as In Mind of Monk at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park allows these pieces to be seen by thousands instead of a few.
Contact Details:
Website:www.peterrandall-page.com
Email: contact@peterrandall-page.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peter-Randall-Page/46843490580
Peter Randall-Page, London, England
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, January 2015
Antoinette Badenhorst
You did your training in South Africa. Was this very different from the training available in the USA?
I did a few workshops in the US, but taught mostly. I did a lot of research on the internet about the direction I was following and consulted with several potters that are more advanced than I am. They were always very generous with information.
Explain the “porcelain” in your work?
Porcelain clay is made up from pure raw materials found form different sources from across the world, thus manmade. The main ingredients of porcelain is silica ( the glass former), feldspar ( the melting agent) and kaolin (the actual clay, which in itself is not very plastic) These raw materials have a larger particle size than other clay bodies, due to the fact that it is mined at, or close to the place where it is formed. Clay manufacturers add different plasticisers to make the clay more workable these days, but often at the expense of one of the pure qualities of porcelain, which is translucency and/or whiteness.
I love the true qualities of the medium, because it reminds me of the unpolluted country in which I was raised.
Envelope
Discuss the importance of the translucent quality of your work?
I was raised in a country, where one could see mountains a 100 kilometres away on a clear day and where I learned at an early age what the differences between real water casting and mirages was.
As a child I often observed the translucency of the sky and clouds, lying on my back on the grass behind our house on the farm where I was raised.
Many days I would walk on the hillsides and this is where I became aware of rain approaching in a translucent curtain, until it poured all over me.
I dreamed my study hours away in front of the of the window of our study hall in the dorm where I lived during the week, observing how the clouds over the Khomas Hochland Mountains changed from oranges and red to purple and pink before the sun sinks behind the mountains. When the moon and stars finally appeared, it came so close and clear, that one could almost pick it from the sky.
These are qualities, among others, that I like to bring out in my work. Porcelain that is worked like clay, but are fired to a glasslike matter, allows me to do that.
Your work is both hand-built and thrown. Explain the techniques in relation to a piece using each particular technique?
I love working on the potter’s wheel. The way that the clay moves always fascinated me, but it was years before I realized that the movement of clay, resonates with my whole philosophy about life, nature and the interaction between our physical and emotional lives and how everything goes around in circles, cycles and seasons.
Just throwing on the wheel however, limited my vision. Not everything in life spins in a perfect circle. In fact, it spins out all the time. As humans we are affected by things that happen to us and our interaction with people around us. It brings seasons of happiness and sadness to our lives. We live and become successful in life, but then we grow old and make room for others to take our place and when we die, new babies are born.
So my original perfect wheel thrown pots had to break out and find its own way. Just as in real life, our centres do not always start from the centre, I had to find ways to “misplace” the centre and my envelopes were born.
These envelopes are formed in press moulds, which are basically shells that I put together to form an enclosed oval form. It allows me to take it in any direction that I wish to take it.
Can you explain the design process you take to make a new piece?
Much of what I do comes almost automatically, just because I am experienced with my designs, but all designs begin with some inspirational object or event, mostly directly or indirectly (a saying or a song) from nature or the lives of people around me. From there I have to either make a model or have to draw it.
This would only be the beginning, since the effectiveness of an object drawn, or modelled change as it becomes alive. I see these design processes as permission to change and re-design as I create.
Explain how you incorporate the very old technique of pinch pots into your current work?
Pinching clay is a very underestimated and under used clay technique. I think the reason is that potters often see it as a technique to train beginners.
Just the opposite is true for me. To be able to pinch and shape a piece of clay by hand to the point where its limits are pushed and it still has a beautiful flowing quality, is a very advanced technique.
Pinching is often just the connection that is needed between two clay slabs or to extend a wheel thrown pot. It is tricky to pinch a raw piece of clay into these “smooth” surfaces and make a smooth transition. The way that one’s eye has to flow (or has to get interrupted) over a clay form, is a very important design quality that I like to use effectively and pinching clay helps to achieve that.
Discuss the processes you made in the firing to get the colour and glaze you require?
It is relatively easy to create porcelain glazes for high firing. The basic raw materials that will mature at 1260 are often found in porcelain clay that matures at the same temperatures. Other than stoneware and earthenware, porcelain clay and glaze becomes a single layer. The interaction of glaze and clay materials when fired to maturity makes it the strongest fired clay medium, despite its fragile appearance.
I created a few basic glazes that have a matt, satin or glassy appearance. To these basic glazes I add mason stains. I like to work along with the fashion colours of the season. I know it is not how artists are “supposed” to work, but I believe there are much more to creating art than only what I believe in. Firstly, there is no right or wrong way, but a comfortable and effective way. Art only becomes art when it resonates with someone and if colour is what attracts people, so be it.
Secondly I am personally very affected by colour. The subtle nuances of colour as it find its way through the walls of my vessels is intriguing.
When I have to come up with a new colour, I would seldom start from scratch with a basic glaze. I would use the older mixed up glazes (I seldom mix more than 1 litre of glaze at a time) and alter it to get the required colour. An example is a soft green glaze would become a bright lime glaze the next season, just to become a yellowish old gold the year later. The challenge lies in the “reading” of the colour nuances.
It is a rule not to put more than 10% colorant into a basic glaze, so I have to keep filling the bucket up with a basic glaze. I am not always successful, but I do see one failure as an opportunity to do better next time.
Please discuss the mark you use on your work?
I allow the form of the basic vessel to lead me. Due to the nature of porcelain, I would often allow a form to find its own direction within my original design thereof. I want the viewer’s eye to move comfortably and with pleasure over smooth lines.
How did you develop the mark?
I use a charcoal pencil and draw lines over the leather hard clay and keep doing that until I find a pleasant line. From there I carve clay away to form a soft rounding.
Sometimes I will re-wet the clay (one of the beautiful characteristics that porcelain will allow the maker to utilize) and push parts of the wall out to place emphasis on these areas.
Where do you normally place the mark?
It depends on the form.
Sometimes I will cut parts of the rim away and follow up with incising into the wall as I described above. If it is a plate or a shallow bowl, I will carve the interior. When it is a taller object that may be seen from the side rather from inside, I will place the emphasis on the outer wall. The effects will differ, since some of it may be glazed over the marks and others will show shadow and light, mingled with colour as it seeps through the wall with the translucency.
Lately I started to carve in and out, but it is tricky, because in the translucency that may shine through, these lines has to work together to make the design successful.
What is the importance of the use of an artist’s mark?
It took me a while to develop that mark, but I believe that is what defines my communication with my viewers. I have a story/message to tell.
Nothing under this sun is new, but if I would not develop my own honest body of work within that frame, but copy someone else’s, I will not be honest to myself or anyone around me.
I trust that by looking at my work, the viewer can directly recognize an “Antoinette Badenhorst”
Can you expand on the two pots you have in the collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art?
I have one piece in the Mississippi Museum of Art collection and one in the Gumtree Museum of Art, Mississippi. The Mississippi Craftsmen’s Guild also has work in their collection.
These collectors pieces stems from my early days in the USA. At the time I was working with porcelain in a different way. I used the porcelain qualities to obtain fine
I also have works in private collections of celebrities and in Enzogama in Biei, Japan and in Museums in South Africa.
Teapots
I guess any true potter is attracted by the teapot making process, since it is a great theme for expression. It has its own design challenges and if it needs to serve as a utilitarian object too, it becomes even more complicated. Some potters will only use it as an object of ornamentation or sculpture.
‘Teapot’
Inspiration?
Teapots fit very well into my overall theme of circles, cycles and seasons. The emotional feelings that we have often influences those around us and vice versa. It “flows” from or too us. The body of a teapot that receives liquid through an opening and then pours it out through a spout conveys the same idea.
Problems in the process?
Oh, teapots have many design challenges, because it has so many parts to it that has to balance. A misplaced handle or spout will make it difficult to get a nice flow of liquid, but at the same time it may also limits a nice flow of the viewer’s eye.
Any kind of spout requires fine planning, because liquid must organize itself to move from a hollow body into a spout and out without dripping and splashing everywhere.
I have a problem with potters making heavy, oversized teapots that does not function well. Too often we may use the excuse that a heavy teapot is meant for a sculpture, but I disagree with this approach. If it looks like the real deal, it should function like the real deal.
The importance of a snug lid?
You ask questions that may get me into a very unpopular situation. LOL!
By measuring the diameter of the opening where the lid will fit and then making the flange 3/4 of the length of the opening diameter, will secure lids from falling out when pouring tea. It is a simple rule that is often ignored by teapot makers with the excuse that one should hold a teapot with both hands; on the lid and by its handle.
A frail person may prefer to hold it by its spout (there is often a little lug on the spout to help pour tea this way) and handle and not worry about a falling or spattering lid.
A snug lid with an extended flange is much more attractive than loose fitting lids. It is however important to have a little hole on the lid to allow stream to escape, or else the pressure may force it out the opening. That may cause a burning hazard.
Southern Ice Porcelain Envelopes - please explain this series?
The envelopes allow me to make larger sized pieces, without taking up too much space on a table surface. My clients like to place against a wall on a mantel or a narrow space in a cabinet or window sill. The fact that I can elevate the piece on a pedestal or stand, allow the message to grow in importance.
As a potter, I admire ancient pottery. I think the forms of my envelopes developed from antique Roman cups on pedestals, although I never hand the intention to make any replicas of any ceramic form.
There is a challenge in working with porcelain, particularly Southern Ice Porcelain. The challenge is raised with envelopes, particularly in the firing.
When porcelain is fired, it has a tendency to move in the kiln, because the clay becomes soft (pyro plastic). For that reason the walls of porcelain should be of even thickness and the lower parts should be stronger and sturdier to support the higher parts. My envelopes are carried by its “stem” and when it becomes soft in the firing, the top heavy part can swing into any direction and even topple over. I had to overcome this challenge by learning how to fire these pieces so that I can manipulate the movement. I love the fact that I can leave some of the movement to develop in the fire. That is part of the relationship that I built with the porcelain clay medium, but I have to be very careful in how I place the work in the kiln and not allow the “Diva” to take over completely.
As far as my marks are concerned, I use the same approach as with other clay techniques.
Do you always have a Christmas range?
Not always. In South Africa Christmas is summertime. We did not place that much emphasis on Christmas trees. Here in the States, lights brighten our days and I started out with series of ornaments some years back.
Explain your 2014 Christmas flags?
There is no true challenge in the making of it for me. I used a design that is recognized anywhere in the world, but that carry the triumph of overcoming the difficulties of immigrating to the USA. Every American that owns one of my flags, celebrate that triumph with me!
Can you tell us a little about your e-courses?
We love it. I had people contacting me from across the world to ask questions about porcelain and it is often difficult to explain, while it is so much easier to show.
In 2014 my husband Koos, who is my manager and also the person behind my porcelain images and website, and I put a curriculum together for our first “Understanding Porcelain” e-course. We decided that we want to present a workshop to potters, similar to those that I present live at ceramic schools and institutions. We knew we had the ability to bring our classes to people around the world and particularly those that may never have the opportunity to learn in another way than through the internet.
We realized that we can give every student a front row view with videos, but we also had to compete against so many “how to” videos that roam the internet.
We created a forum online through which our students can communicate with us and ask questions. We make it as personal as the internet allows us and by the end of this year we created 2 more courses; “hand building porcelain” and “hand building porcelain dinnerware” Each of these courses was per request of our students. The next logical follow-up will be “Wheel Throwing Porcelain Dinnerware” that we will launch after the re run of “Understanding Porcelain that starts January 5th.
Our classes are set up in a way that it place the emphasis on porcelain, but do not exclude students that want to work in other clay bodies, but would like to learn about clay techniques in general.
We hope to continue with more of these courses in 2015 and even expand it beyond our own studio.
“It is my ongoing task to encourage young and upcoming artists to strive for those elements in their work.” Please discuss?
I was a beginner once in my life. I try to remember that when people ask me questions. I remember how many times I opened a kiln and wanted to throw the towel in. I remember how long it took me to find my way. Other than what people often think, pottery is one of the most difficult mediums to master, because there are 3 main parts to it: learning to master techniques, learning the science behind the medium and learning to express oneself as an artist through clay. Apart from that, there is physical labour involved in pottery making, but the three parts mentioned cannot stand loose from each other if one wants to become successful as a potter.
I love to be a mentor for those potters that take their work serious and that want to grow in and through their clay work.
You do international workshops. Can you expand on your workshop in South Africa?
We were traveling through South Africa and Namibia over a period of 6 weeks in 2014 and had the opportunity to meet with old pottery friends and met new ones while I was presenting demonstrations and hands-on workshops in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Johannesburg. We stayed with potters and had a very enriching experience.
It was a great opportunity to give back to a potter’s community that raised me as a potter. I was honoured to present the knowledge that I gained here in the USA over the past 15 years to people that was previously my teachers and mentors and as it always is when one give yourself unconditionally, I got so much more back from these people that what I gave them.
Discuss salt in your work and how it relates back to cooking and your daughter?
This relates back to the science of pottery. Much of what I know today was from research that I did as a young potter. In those early days of making pottery, the whole clay process was overwhelming to me. When I learned that by using salt (as it relates to salt firing)can make a simple glaze, I thought the salt that is referred to, is the scientific name for some difficult-to- explain clay medium.
Our middle daughter is a celebrity chef. She gave me some rocks of salt that makes a beautiful display on my kitchen counter. It often reminds me of my early days, when I randomly put salt in the kiln to see what would come out, without knowing how to use it.
I also believe that salt is associated with sincerity as it is described in the Bible.
Can you discuss your thoughts on the importance of the connection between potters and chefs?
Practicing pottery as I mentioned before, is a difficult medium to master. Potters are very passionate creatures as it must have shown in my answers to you by now. Therefor we do not always realize the implications of making things that become permanent objects. Once a piece of clay is fired, it is as hard as rock and even when we break it to pieces; it will stay on earth for as long as it would take for a rock to erode.
As potters we have a responsibility towards our clients. If a food container is carrying a health hazard in some or other way, we should distance ourselves from it.
On the other hand there is something hearty and very personal about eating from a handmade plate. Just like we have our own doctors and therapists today, people had their personal potters before the industrial revolution.
There is a reliving of the art of cooking and to grow our own fruit and vegetables, so it is a perfect time to let the pottery object in households relive too. To become successful, potters should work with chefs to learn what their needs are. After all; potters, chefs and the eating public can create a perfect balanced relationship.
I have the perfect opportunity to learn from my daughter what is needed to present to chefs a perfect container, while she has the perfect opportunity to learn from me what a plate should not be.
Contact Details
www.porcelainbyAntoinette.com
Antoinette Badenhorst, Mississippi, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, January, 2015
Shelley Jones
Can you discuss the journey you have taken with your three techniques to get to the combination you are currently using?
I started as a graphic artist, doing mostly print media work. During that 18 year period I seemed to have little time for making art for my own pleasure. I switched careers, getting a degree in social work, and started silversmithing as a hobby. I only had time to make jewelry at night, and had little interaction with other artists. I decided I needed to find a less cumbersome (for me) and more socially interactive medium. I began to work with glass beads and fell in love with the colors and textures. I explored a range of beading techniques on my own and in workshops. I found bead crochet and free-form beading most appealed to me. I especially like the portability of beads and the ability to work on projects as I travelled for work. I tried to include my silversmithing, and eventually took up silver metal clay, finding I could mold the silver in a way that worked for me. But I still could not quite fit the silver and beads together in a manner that was all my own.
In 2004 I took a basic felting workshop at a beading exposition and got a taste of felt. I found the colors and textures of wool spoke to me as beads had earlier. I experimented with wool, trying to make it do things I was not sure it could do, but enjoying its malleability. I began to add felted elements to my beads and silver and found the perfect combination of elements for my ongoing work.
Discuss the weight aspect of your felted jewellery?
As I continued to explore what felt could do, I especially liked the very light-weight quality of the felted work. As I added beads to the work I was pleased with the contrast between the hardness of the glass and the softness of the wool. I liked the sense of weight and playfulness in the work that I seem to always end up with.
Discuss the combination of felt and beads?
Expand on the technique you have used to create a necklace?
‘Tricolor Rope’For my crochet ropes, I wanted to embellish them, and the addition of felt helped add dimension, yet kept the weight of the piece down. I use mostly charlotte seed beads because they have a cut side to the bead which catches the light. My choice of beads and colors tends to the less vivid and shiny, with the cut bead adding only a subtle flash of light. I often use a contrasting thread, most often an embroidery weight polyester thread that has little stretch and great strength. I must sketch out and count my beads for each design, and find I am often reflecting the colors of natural elements and creatures.
‘Prickly Pear Neckpiece’I also love dagger beads, which come in such a range of colors, many of which remind me of my garden. These are used in my dagger bead pieces, which I often top with fine silver. They have a core of felt into which I stitch the dagger beads. The cord is adjustable and embellished with felt. So I am able to use all three of my favorite mediums to make a nicely weighted neckpiece.
Can you discuss 'Bangle with Spikes'?
‘Spike Bangle’This was one of my first successful ventures into felt jewelry. I wanted to use colors that make me happy and make a piece that was playful, yet stretched me. It is made of merino wool and has a copper wire armature, since I was concerned it might fall out of shape. I no longer have this concern for such a simple design.
You also use semi-precious stones, such as pearls. Can you discuss the use of pearls in your work?
I am always drawn to the patina of pearls and have added them to some of my pieces. They provide such a subtle sheen and texture to felt. The gemstones I have added are also the types that have a subtle light, yet add that contrast of hardness of the gemstone to the softness of the felt that appeals to me.
‘Pod Brooch’You also make vessels in felt. Can you expand on one or two of your vessels?
Recently I have added decorative vessels to my repertoire. Each is made of hand-felted wool, and often decorated with stitching, beading and sometimes fine silver. I am particularly drawn to teapot inspired designs.
Roadrunner is made of hand-felted merino wool, hollow formed using a multi-level resist. The top is removable and has a fine silver base to the lid. Hand stitching with a heavy weight polyester thread I find very dependable when working on wool felt finishes off the piece. It is 12Hx11Lx4W inches in size.
‘Roadrunner’Hot Pot was inspired by my forgetfulness in leaving the burner on under my tea kettle. It is hand-felted merino wool with a flame red underfelt that bleeds into the burnt grey “steel” and cerulean blue ‘enamel”. Embellished with glass seed beads to catch the light and hand stitching to attach the handle and spout. It is 12.25Hx9Lx5.5W inches in size.
‘Hot Pot’Discuss the use of colour in your work?
Intuitea came about by covering a wire armature made from millinery wire with hand-felted merino wool, expressing my idea of the gridlines for a teapot. The corner beads are vintage glass nailheads. It is 9.5Hx13Lx7W inches in size.
‘Grid Teapot’Colour is a large part of your felting, do you do your own dying?
My pieces are relatively small, I prefer to buy wool that is already dyed. I find I can blend colours with my drum carder and layering techniques that have satisfied me so far. When I find a dyer willing to part with unusual colours or blends I take full advantage!
Please take one or two of your most current pieces and discuss the work?
My larger teapots made me think of smaller ones, so I have started a series of small teapot brooches. About 4 inches wide, they are also hollow formed and topped with a detachable lid with a fine silver base.
‘T pot Brooch’A fairly new series I am working on arose while looking at some old tools and found gears to be most intriguing. So I made some simple felt bangles in non-industrial colors. They are fun to stack on the wrist.
‘Gear Bangles’With your rings, what are your care suggestions?
My rings require little care other than that required of jewelry in general. A piece may get wet, but that is not a problem. It was made with soap and water. Just let it dry naturally and all is well. If it gets soiled it can be gently cleaned with a damp cloth. The colors will not bleed, since this has been addressed in the making of the piece. The beads are stitched using strong thread, so they would only loosen if forgotten in the pocket and tossed in the washer and dryer!
‘Three Rings’Explain your teaching and where this is done?
I teach only a couple of workshops each year: beginning felting classes and a range of wire and bead classes. I teach at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Studio School and in my studio at my home.
Contact details.
Shelley Jones, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Web: www.shelleyjones.net
Email: shelley1448@gmail.com
Shelley Jones, Richmond, Virginia, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, January 2015
David and Jennifer Clancy
What lead you to move from being a weekend glass artist to having a full time studio and company, Clancy Designs?
David and I both value the time that was spent learning the craft of glass and working for other artists. In earlier times artisans spent years and years working under the masters before forging their own path. Once we felt we had established an aesthetic and a proficiency with the glass it was only a matter of time before we we’re going to reach for the goal of having our own studio.
David & Jennifer at work
Is it important that much of your glass is functional?
One of the seducing qualities that the material glass offers is its magical relationship with the maker. This fluid that turns into a solid is given life and shape through the breath. The bubble’s natural expansion with the breath is a rounded shape that calls out to the hands for holding. The day after making one’s first vessel it is ready to be held in the hands of the maker and used in everyday life. A hand-blown drinking glass, especially of one’s own making, is one of the most decadent ways to experience a simple glass of water.
No matter how elaborate, technically challenging, or beautiful our Nature Sculptures get I don’t think we’ll forget the basic pleasure of using our glass every day.
Discuss the importance you share for providing customers with unique pieces in their everyday life?
Before building our glass studio, David and I spent several years renovating our 1787 home. With lots of help from family and friends we were able to do the project ourselves which was fortuitous as with not very much money we couldn’t have afforded to hire the task out. Being that intimate with the project really allowed us to pay attention to every nook and cranny of our space. This was to be our home why not take the opportunity to make it really ours, to make it special. In the end the renovation ended up being an expression of David and I’s creative nature, in and of itself it became our art. This experience has stayed with us and it is one we hope to share with all of our clients. When we work with them on a project or a custom piece we want our glass to contribute to the creation of a space that is a deeper expression of themselves. We hope our work helps transform their physical shelter into more of a home. We hope our work brings light, life, and joy.
In 2004 you opened your own workplace. Can you explain how this happened?
After finishing the renovation of our home the time was right for starting on the glass studio. Luckily for us a friend who has a talent with post and beam structures offered to work with us on building our studio. David had the pleasure of working with him for weeks shaping the posts, beams, and carving out the pegs. In an afternoon a crane and a handful of helpers pulled all the pieces together and we were on our way.
Running, maintaining, and paying for a glass studio is a truly daunting task, but the commute across the lawn, past our beautiful gardens to a job we love is priceless.
Can you discuss your work Superfruit.
The Superfruit Line of tableware was designed by David before he and I met. It uses an Italian technique (pulling glass cane and cutting it into dots) and is a simplified version of Millefiori called Murrini. The goal with this line was to create functional pieces that are bright and cheerful in colour and comfortable in use. It is our most extensive line and for many years quite popular with our clientele.
Many customers have told us (separately and without knowing each other) that they call this line their “Happy Glass” and use it joyfully and frequently.
Take two of your drink ware collections and discuss the inspiration for their design?
Pops!
The Pops Tumbler was developed to offer people a physical experience with the glass. In this piece the shape takes the lead. In what I have always thought of as Venus like curves the Pops Tumbler fits directly in the hand following the natural curve of the palm when the hand is partially closed. It is a satisfying feeling to see the look of pleasant surprise on the customers face when they first hold a Pops Tumbler. Of course we always strive for each piece to have its own physical relationship with the user, but this particular line takes the gold! We kept the Murrini for decoration because people love the spots so but made the colour more subtle so the spots wouldn’t try and steal the show.
River
The River line developed when we were looking for a way to express a stripe. After years and years of dots they began to take a visual toll. Our solution was to trail colour up and down the piece thus giving it something stripe-like but also allowing the clear glass to provide a canvas for the study of colour. Each colour is represented with its neighbour on the spectrum as an accent. For example the green tumbler also has gold and blue and the blue tumbler also has green, indigo and purple. As an added bonus the trails of colour also provide ridges so all the way around the glass there is texture for the hand to enjoy.
Discuss you Hoop bowls and the way you have used colour in them?
The Hoop Tumblers, Bowls, and Carafe decoration came to us while experimenting.
Experimentation in the studio is a very important part of the process as it allows for the conscious mind and the subconscious mind to play in a sort of three dimensional sketch book. Every year we hope to add an additional design to our Drinkware Line.
We have a strong representation of the dot and the vertical line but not of the horizontal line. The Hoops allow us to do that and as well, like with the River Tumblers, play with colour relationships. Although from a distance each piece seems to be “a” colour, up close one can see more complexity. For example the Red Hoops are composed of 4 different threads of coloured glass – pink, tangerine, red, and cranberry giving the overall appearance of Red a bit of contrast and vibration enriching the visual experience. On occasion we have an opportunity to play with more disparate colour and create, usually on bowls, quite unusual combinations that create beautiful and unique palettes. One of our more popular pieces gave off a vague purple hue, with a bit of earthiness thrown in. Upon closer inspection it shows threads of turquoise, lime, brick red, tangerine, purple, lavender, and off-white. In this line the combination of a clean tight shape and graphic coloured lines truly makes for a striking piece.
Can you explain your piece called "Hosta"?
The Botanical Series came out of a love David and I have for nature. We have several gardens on our property and get much joy out of creating and tending them. It was a natural step for us to pay homage to our local flora.
Outside of the glass studio on the way to the house is a large grouping of Hosta. Every day we walk past them. They are touchstone for each season from breaking out of the soil in the spring, leafing out in the summer, and blooming early fall to dying back in the winter letting us know another year has passed. It was easy to want to try and replicate these wonderful plants with their interesting leaves and delicate spires. Trying to capture the essence of a plant provides us a challenge we can really get our teeth into. Although we are never able to create plant life as detailed as Mother Nature does, it certainly is fun trying to achieve all those nuances.
Can you explain how you have used steel and light in your work "Prairie Grass"?
I have long been taken with grass, almost to the point of obsession. One of our first botanical pieces was grass. I love the way each blade contributes to the whole of it creating the “lawn” or in the case of a prairie the “sea” of grass.
When we do it correctly one can almost image it swaying in the wind.
One of the challenges of the botanical pieces is to create a base that holds the individual pieces in place without taking away from the whole sculpture visually. In Prairie Grass the base is one of the lowest to the ground we’ve used, in the hopes of keeping the viewer’s eye on the grass itself. With the application of a patina to the steel base creating earth tones (aka “ground”) I think we have achieved that end. The beauty of the Carex Testacea (Prairie Fire Grass) is that at a certain time of the year the tips turn golden and red. Showing this piece in front of a floor to ceiling window with sunlight streaming through is quite an experience to behold but when night comes or if we’re showing it in a gallery setting back lighting with artificial light has really brought the piece to life in a powerful way - almost as if it really were on fire.
Colour is held so well in glass. Can you comment on this statement?
Nature provides us with an unlimited amount of colour. Some of it is bold, some subtle but all of it is alive shining from the inside out. For me glass is the only medium that captures that essence. When light shines through glass and glows it such an impactful experience on the eye. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing sunlight shine through rich cobalt blue glass can never erase that experience from the memory. Even frosted glass has a certain play with the light, where you can almost hear a sort of humming from the colour.
You also make custom pieces for the home and work with designers, discuss this aspect of your work?
David and I took so much care with creating the spaces we move through, both in the home, studio, and yard that we wanted to be able to do that with and for others. For a long time we’ve had home owners and designers commission sculptures and/or lighting from us. Every now and then a space needs a focal point or an added accent to what has been created there. We take this job very seriously and always enjoy getting to know the owners taste and the designers style that we may work in concert with them creating a piece of art that is ours but nods to all the members of the project and respects the space.
Expand on the importance of ‘Handmade’ to you both.
David
I am reminded of a quote when you ask about handmade:
“When buying from an artist/maker, you’re buying more than just an object. You are buying hundreds of hours of failures and experimentation. You are buying days, weeks, and months of frustration and moments of pure joy. You are not just buying a thing, you’re buying a moment of someone’s life. Most importantly, you’re buying the artist more time to do something they are passionate about.”
Jennifer
I cannot express enough how passionately I feel about the handmade. Machine made items are necessary for our lives but, they will never be able to provide the user with the kind of personal experience that a handmade item can. The handmade object has a life to it, some may even call it a spirit. Handmade items provide a depth of experience when holding or using that touches all the senses. The act of making is also important and an experience that everyone should have in order to express their own creativity and truly understand the value of other handmade objects.
Contact details:
David & Jennifer Clancy
Clancy Designs Glass Studio
382 North Road
Jamestown RI 02835 USA
401-423-1697
www.clancydesigns.com
glass@clancydesigns.com
David and Jennifer Clancy, Rhode Is, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, December 2014
Kerry Spokes
Explain your involvement with mobile photography both the limitations and advantages it has given your art?
Four years ago I bought my first iphone, since then I have concentrated on using mobile devices to create imagery (iphone, ipad and apps), striving to extend the boundaries of what is possible with digital collage using photographs and apps on my ipad only.
I like to print some of my iphone work on a large scale and with the limitations of camera quality in a mobile device I have explored the use of photo and art apps to overlay filters, enhance some areas, etc to ‘mask’ over those limitations of photographic print quality, thus creating a more ‘painterly effect often.
The digital medium has become a useful tool for developing and recording ideas and concepts I want to portray, and in turn is informing my latest drawing and print works. This has been a huge advantage in my processing and recording of ideas into visual images in a quicker timeframe than my current lifestyle would otherwise permit.
'Flotsam & Jetsam'
Please discuss the techniques you have used.
There are a number of apps and techniques used to create my digital collage like the Domestic Bliss series. I usually lay down a background in an app called Superimpose, often overlaying a few to achieve a base or if I want a room with walls and floor as a background or perhaps a landscape I have taken an image of.
I take many photos of objects, animals, flowers etc, then mask around them to delete the background around these items, save them to a mask library enabling me to use them in any number of ways in compositions. I also look for imagery on the internet that is free to use; images of particular objects etc. I may not have to hand.
Apps which specialise in applying layers of texture and/or colour along with enhancement tools are usually employed throughout this process of merging objects to build up an image.
Flock
Please discuss the importance of colour in your work
My printmaking and drawing art practice has largely been based around black and white, so I have thoroughly enjoyed introducing colour to my digital works. In fact, I have hardly touched black and white as a genre of iphoneography. Colour is an all important aspect of my digital work, often altering the light, introducing shadows, higher concentrations of contrast and colour saturation, with a focus on the relationship of colours and the visual ascetics of colours working together.
Where do you get your inspiration?
The Domestic Bliss series is inspired by the idea of creating a suite of images which depict domesticity in a humorous and contemporary way, and of also using the huge number of collected items I have (often picked up enmasse in secondhand shops) and putting them to good use. I guess its a justification for being a bit of a hoarder of interesting objects, homewares, machinery, books etc etc....
'Cooking Up a Storm'
Can you comment on your work ‘Pass the Salt’?
This work is one of a suite of images I am working on based on objects in a landscape. This body of work will be reproduced as photogravure prints for an exhibition in late 2015.
I have used a local scene of Tarwin River and introduced a domestic scene reference of stirring a large pot of soup, so to speak. It could also be interpreted as a reference to the conservation of our waterways. I often like to have an element of social comment coming through my images, however subtle or not.
'Pass The Salt'
As we get closer to Christmas can you expand on ‘Xmas Pudding Paddock’?
I have been making a line of Christmas cards for many years with a comical and distinctly Australian bent. Prior to my digital iphone works, small drawings and paintings were reproduced onto cards for sale. I have a bit of a thing about the commercialisation of Christmas, finding it rather obscene and out of control. I like to take a subtle dig at this in my Christmas cards.
‘Xmas Pudding Paddock’, one of 8 new designs I have released commercially this year making up a group of 12 Christmas themed cards, is based on the idea of large round hay bales sitting in paddocks ready for collection and storage. This farming activity occurs in Australia where I live, at Christmas time. Using a Christmas pudding instead of a hay bale was an obvious choice really.
http://www.kerryspokes.com.au/#!xmas-cards/c19b8
Can you explain the term Digitally Modified in relationship to photography?
I use the term ‘digitally modified’ at times rather than the term ‘iphoneography’ which is often used in American mobile photography circles.
‘ Digitally modified’ in terms of my art and in relation to photography, means photographs which have been altered in any way using filters and overlays of texture, colour, pattern and objects etc. What is termed ‘photography’ encompasses such a broad and diverse array of image making, and has merged with contemporary printmaking practices quite successfully, making for exciting times in the digital arena of art making.
'Cry Baby'
You enter many exhibitions, can you discuss why you see this as such an important aspect of your art practice?
My art practice had a pretty big interruption when I was bringing up three children over a number of years. Exhibitions in my local area were a way of getting my small output of artwork shown without having to worry about producing a complete exhibition of works.
I still enter a number of local art shows, with the belief that contemporary art has a place in country art shows and opens up diversity of styles to the general public.
I have noticed a shift with country art shows to using more contemporary judges with sound credentials, and feel that it is important to encourage contemporary artists to be more involved in this important aspect of cultural and artistic identity.
I enter a number of selected and/or prize winning exhibitions, both nationally and internationally based on mobile photography. I have had a couple of iphone works selected for showcase exhibitions in Melbourne and Canada as part of the Mobile Photography Awards as well as a few highly commended pieces in the 2013 MPA Awards.
For me at this stage in my career as an artist using digital iphone imagery, it’s important to get my work shown on the international stage. The mobile photography movement in Australia is still in a fledgling stage I think, and I initially connected into the iphoneography scene through an American based iphone art based site called iphoneart.com where I ‘met’ many creatives also discovering the potential of iphone apps for creating artworks based on their photographs. There are a number of mobile photography competitions and exhibition opportunities in various countries worldwide, it’s just a matter of deciding which ones to pay to upload images to with the hope that they are selected for consideration of either an exhibition or prize.
‘Late Afternoon at O’Grandys Ridge’
What are your thoughts on the importance of an artist taking up the latest technologies available and why you have embraced them?
My art practice is partly informed by the exploration of medium and technique, and mobile digital art is another ‘tool’ I am exploring in my art making. The latest technologies used in art making sit side by side other more process driven art forms and for me create an exciting mix that doesn’t necessarily lock one into a particular genre of art making.
‘What Makes a Smart Meter Man’
Your original training was in printmaking and painting. How has and does this help you in your current practice?
I was always fascinated with drawing and from an early age I practised hour after hour teaching myself how to draw from looking at life, images in books and my imagination.
Form, light sources, image placement, colour relationships and a narrative are all components I employ in my printmaking, drawing and painting, and carry through into my current digital work. The more labour intensive and process driven mediums of printmaking, drawing and painting are integral to my overall art practice, whilst the more immediate digital works can be created in just about any situation – an extremely mobile art form!
‘Tarwin River 11’
How do you use commercially available apps in your work?
I use commercially available apps in my digital work to build my digital collages from a base photograph I have taken or a background from an app I have downloaded. I also use apps for particular editing tools such as shape of images, filters, basic enhancements, and with the collage works, digital masks I cut from images.
I usually know the size I intend to print the images, so once I have completed an image I upload them to Photoshop on my laptop and resize them for print.
‘Summer Grass on O’Gradys Ridge’
Can you comment of the importance of printing on Digital Rag paper?
The archival properties of the digital rag papers are of importance for artists who sell their works. I treat my digital work as I would my printmaking works, editions of a smallish size, all printed to a particular size on a particular paper.
Often my images are intended to look somewhat like paintings, and the rag paper I use mostly, Moab Entrada Smooth 290gsm has a beautiful, almost smooth suede feel to it, picking up the colours of the ink in a lovely intense way. It suits a lot much of my work, although I also use a metallic finish paper for some – Slickrock by Moab Entrada.
My works are printed on a large format Epson inkjet printer with pigment based archival inks.
You also teach. Can you tell us a bit more about your classes?
I have a studio at the end of the property of Gecko Studio Gallery, set up with 2 etching presses, and where we have had a vibrant workshop schedule with guest tutors, and myself giving workshops in printmaking techniques.
I have recently begun iphoneography workshops after many enquiries from people asking for them to be made available. I guide participants through learning how to use apps for a variety of different effects.
In the future the workshops will be geared towards learning about specific apps for particular effects. There are camera apps, editing apps, apps with special effects you can apply, art apps giving painting, drawing, pens etc tools, and of course the ‘collage’ apps
At the end of a workshop, participants go home with a whole new array of creative tools to employ in their art making if they choose to, and will have created at least one image which I print for them on photo quality paper.
'Unnatural Selection'
You are the co-owner of Gecko Studio Gallery in rural Victoria, how do you balance your art practice and the Gallery commitments?
It’s a constant desire of mine to have more time for my art practice, and I am gradually working towards this each year, allowing myself time to fit in my art around my commitments with the gallery as well as community arts which I am involved in to a degree.
Over the eight years we have been operating come January 2015 as a small contemporary art gallery, picture framing and artist supplies business, we have steadily grown busier in all areas.
We host monthly exhibitions of contemporary art by local or national artists. Our framing is of a high quality and we employ a gun framer who we never want to retire. I used to be the framer for Gecko, but have found I am needed in the gallery daily for quotes, computer design work, art material orders etc.
We also operate a small boutique accommodation called the ArtHouse, behind Gecko, and is becoming busier as people discover the town of Fish Creek whilst looking for an artistic cultural experience as well as the amazing lush landscape and coastline of which Wilsons Promontory National Park is a part of.
I feel extremely fortunate to be in the position I am today with a business based around art and my own art practice gaining momentum as I put more time and energy into creating. To have access to an array of art materials, processes and techniques through workshops, along with meeting many interesting artists and lovers of art through the gallery, is a very rewarding way to live one’s life.
'Rapt 1'
Contact details.
Kerry Spokes
15 Falls Road Fish Creek
Ph: 0423 721 593
E: kerryspokes15@gmail.com
W: kerryspokes.com.au
Kerry Spokes, Fish Creek, Victoria, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, December, 2014
David Gerstein
Your work is all about movement discuss?
Movement is indeed essential in my sculpture works and it has to do with the special technique that I am using which render itself very well with elements of motion. One of my early inspiration was comic films while the moving figures are cut out on the celluloid and move along the background. The repetitions of the figure while moving the body was used in my metal cut outs to create the sensation of movement that was lack in almost all the art works that I came across except in the futurist movement from the early years of the 20th century and that was abandoned for more than 50 years .When I abandoned paintings for cut-out sculptural images I enjoyed the freedom of the body detached from its background that always made it stable and motionless. Than my bicycle riders started to flow and many runners joggers, football players and others sport images became the centre of my interest. Since then I used many different motives most of them had the sense of movement.
'Champion'
How and when did you take your work from 2D to 3D?
After I finishing my studies of paintings I was immersed in figurative painting, rather narrative, that dealt with my own personal life and surroundings as well as childhood memories that need to be released to the world. I did a great deal of water colours as well as oil paintings in large formats.
'Jogwoman'
It was unusual for a young ambitious artist not to join the very dominant conceptual or minimalistic styles in fashions at the early 70ties and I was considered as an artist away from the main stream. However I believed and insist on my ideas and paid the price for being unpopular by some one–track-mind critics. My heroes at that time were Hockney, Kitaj as well as Hopper, Lucian Froid and Picasso on top of all and they gave me the courage to do what I did. When I felt after 10 year the need to go on and find my own language I made my mind to search through sculpture a way to get my image a sense of volume and not merely illusionary. My intuitions led me to cut out the images from wood or cardboard separate them from the background and placed them in space while painting them from both sides. I also joined them together with other cut outs and enrich the scene so the viewer has to encircle the piece in order to see it all at 360 degrees and enjoy a bigger experience than what a flat painting could provide. From that moment on painting seems to me dull compare to the new possibilities the 3D could provide.
Your wall sculptures, how large can you make them?
The wall sculptures could be as large as I wish them to be. When the size grows I use thicker material to keep the strength and also could build them in parts so they joined on the wall to the required size.
'Surfer'
Can you discuss how your wall sculptures are hung?
They are joined together by screws that go through the holes I provide in every layer. Normally it hangs by two hangers that are placed at the tip of the top screws. Mostly two hangers are enough and then I provide two screws (hooks) on the wall and hang the wall sculpture just as a painting.
A different look is ‘Sharing a Cup Cake’. Please discuss?
If you mean the bronze sculpture of the 3 pigeons sharing a cup cake then it is a comment about the street pigeons eating all day long some dry pieces of bread given to them by people walking by. The cup cake was probably left by a child and becomes a first for the hungry pigeons. It could be regarded as a comment on our society: what is kicked by one - it is a find for the other.
'Sharing a Cupcake'
You have 5th Avenue - do you have any other district places?
No, the name came up as a memory I had from visiting New York but it could applied to any other city in the world: Beijing, Hong Kong or London. The world becomes very crowded and it's the mirror to reflect our life in big cities.
'5th Avenue'
Bicycles, do you ride? Where did this idea or inspiration come from?
'Bicycles' started as an early memory of my mother riding at the age of 3 or 4 years old. Later I became a rider myself at school and I continue to ride even today. The image developed before it became a big trend worldwide. I love the integration between a man and the machine which manifest itself so beautifully with the bicycle. I also like the groups riding at great speed which looks like some kind of animal with many heads making its way through the open landscape. It's a beauty. It became for me the meeting spot between colours and shapes and motion with emotions.
‘Tour de France' - Horizontal
Your work ‘Sun on the Beach’ has a limited edition of 150. What is your normal limit or do you do specific sculptures in limited editions?
The cut-outs in metal are done by a laser cutting technology and once it is designed (which take a great deal of time and thinking) it seems to be such a waste to do only one piece .So I decided to create a limited edition in which every piece will be hand painted differently. It also helps to reduce the price and reach to bigger audience throughout the world. It is in fact still an original painting but not one of a kind. Beside that I do one of a kind paintings or sculptures as well.
'Sun on the Beach'
You also differentiate the forms by having one part black, giving stability while the flight or moment is full of colour. Can you discuss this in relation to ‘Happy Hours’?
The idea behind that composition is to create a tension within the art work between sketch-drawing and painting, black against colours, all together are moving elements in a different media. It is all about painting which start as a drawing and ended by applying colours to get more volume. The viewer can continue the painting of the two cyclists in his mind or enjoy the lightness of the drawing. The butterflies are getting more attentions and dominate the image leaving the riders on a lower scale.
'Happy Hours'
Can you explain your installation outside the stadium in Taiwan?
How the commission came about?
What was the brief?
How was this constructed?
How was it delivered and constructed on the site?
Were you there for the construction?
Discuss the Opening?
The commission came as a result of an open international competition that I was asked to take part in and went through a few stages. My work passed the first screening and I had to do another final stage with five other finalists. Then I built models from cardboard and came to Taiwan to be interviewed by the committee which had to decide on the winner. After I got the commission I made a proper design with the help of engineers to construct it as strong as possible to make it stand any wether condition and to prevent it from collapsing.
All the metal works were done in Taiwan and took about 3 months and I came from Israel with 4 assistants to do the complicated painting on the parts. We spent a month doing it and then the construction specialists assembled all the parts to erect it and made it possible.
I watched the progress through pictures that were sent to me by mail and was amazed by the high quality that it was made when I finally saw it...
The opening was a great first with the participation of the Mayor of Sinchu and the Israeli Ambassador together with all the people who took part in the realization including my agent Ms. Virginia Hui-Ting Chen from Taipei that made it all possible. There were different performances and choral singing together with speeches in the event that lasted about 3 hours.
Have you ever been asked to do your work in neon?
No, I never used electric lights as part of my works and never tried it so far.
Your ‘Window’ pieces remind me of Matisse, can you discuss this?
Matisse is definitely one of many artists that inspired me throughout the years and I am sure it is rooted deep in my mind, Therefore I could only be pleased that it came out in that particular piece. I see myself a small part of huge Art machine that is shaping our understanding of the beauty of life and defines our place in the universe
‘Table with Chocolates’
Your work is not always colour, colour and more colour. Expand on your Silk Way Sculptures in Ovda?
Using strong fresh colours is important part of my thinking and creation. In recent years it took more volume and people recognize my works from a mile away by that .However in many cases and other periods in my carrier other elements were more dominants and colours were used scarcely. In Ovdat project colours were out of the question because it was all about archaeology and ancient ruins and I wanted my works to integrate with the special atmosphere. I use colours where it is needed and not as a rule. I would even dare saying that drawing gives me more pleasure than painting.
Your work is sold in 21 countries around the world. Can you expand on one or two pieces that have given you great joy to know where they have gone and why?
It is a great pleasure to be recognized in many countries and to realize that the world accept my ideas and art without putting borders. When it appeals to a Chinese as well as someone in South America it means that I touch a mutual point that is common to human kind and that feels me with pleasure. My works speaks at eye level and are simple to understand at any level because it is honest and unpretentious. I believe that great music or literature could touch people anywhere if they reveal certain truth and reality. Sure it could not reach every one and luckily there are so many different tastes but having big audience is a great privilege.
My biggest sculpture so far is Momentum in Singapore and it brings me many regards from different people on many countries. This is why I like so much to do public works that everyone can see and experience.
‘Momentum’
Picasso said he never searched but he finds, I like that phrase. I would say that my art comes from what my mind produces without forcing it. I let my ideas float and goes with the stream of my imagination. Places I see, things that catches my attention, art that I like, things that I read or discuss, music I listen to, all inspire my creation and help push my creativity. I do not think there is one method for stimulating the mind, it depends on every person’s personality and it is perfect as long as one listen carefully to himself.
david-g‘Jazz in the City’
How do you record your ideas?
The only way I know is to draw in my sketch book. I 
do it constantly almost every day and sometimes more than once. Than the ideas that I sketch could be forgotten even for some years and pop up again while I look through it and get excited again.
I also take photos all the time wherever I go, it is so easy today with cameras integrated in the mobile phone. The pictures reveals precious moments and reminds me of past experience or ideas that caught my attention and surely helps creativity to come to life.
I like to show my works to some people and listen to remarks, it does not mean that I would consider what people have to say but it helps to define my position and test my new ideas if they are ready to be delivered.
And last thing is that having no ideas is a good way to create something new. It throws the mind into chaos from which a new order comes out and surprises.
What are you currently working on?
I was invited to show next year in an imported museum in China and I am trying to crystallize my past ideas. On the other hand to recreate myself again, in other words to come up with something fresh and surprising .Let it be!
Contact Details:
Website:http://www.davidgerstein.com
Email: david@davidgerstein.com
David Gerstein, Jerusalem, Israel
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, November 2014
Joe Hogan
Your move to Loch na Fooey in 1978 was a complete life style change. Moving for more than just a ‘tree change’ you now have a rural life and also speak in Irish. How did this work?
I was drawn to basket making because I wanted to grow my own willow (the raw material for baskets) and I sensed that this involvement from growing through to making would prove deeply satisfying.
The opportunity to live rurally and develop a real understanding for a particular place was very important to my wife and myself. We wanted to farm and grow our own food and live in a beautiful environment. The area of the North West Connemara where we live is very beautiful and it is a real privilege to be able to live here. When we moved here Irish was still the first language of most of the community. My parents had spoken Irish to me when I was young so, although my Irish was rusty, it was not too difficult to begin to speak it again.
It is true that it was a life style change as had both met at university so it was not the obvious choice of things to do.
Discuss the importance of finding full-filling work and life balance, through basketry?
It seems to me that to find useful and fulfilling work is one of the most important things we can do in life. Initially I used to also spend a lot of time working on our small farm but gradually I began to find basket making more and more absorbing as I became more proficient at it. We also grow a lot of our own food so with the gardening, farming and willow growing are a contrast to being inside in the workshop.
How was Tommy Joyce so instrumental in the early days in Lock na Fooey?
When we moved here I was able to make baskets but there was nothing particularly Irish or indeed personal about them. Tommy introduced me to the very rich heritage of traditional Irish baskets by showing me how to make a creel. This is a type of donkey pannier which is begun at the top or mouth of the basket with the base being formed last by interweaving the uprights. This was a revelation and it still informs my work as this method of working upside down allows me to make pieces with collars of bog wood and the like.
How has living close to the sea (The Atlantic) influenced your basket making e.g. lobster pots, skibs?
Although the Atlantic is only about 4 miles as the crow flies it is about 8 miles by road so it has not had such a profound impact. It is true that I was able to find one of the last people making lobster pots because I lived in the right place to be aware of him. The skibs are potato baskets and as such were used inland as well as by coastal communities. My own workshop overlooks a lake and the presence of water has become hugely important to me but I cannot say whether it comes through in any way in my work.
Skibs
Discuss how your understanding of ecology has affected your craft?
Over the past number of years I have become increasingly aware of how fragile this planet is.
‘Swirling Root’ photo by Rory Moore’
This has largely been the impetus for working in a more artistic manner. I am currently involved with six other makers- in an exhibition called “This Beloved Earth” which is currently at the Barony, West Kilbride, Scotland www.crafttownscotland.org/thebaronycentre. This exhibition encapsulates a lot of my ecological concerns and focuses on the need to look at the earth more as an organism.
You use many local materials like bogwood. Can you explain how these are incorporated into your work?
I believe the idea you are referring to has to do with a comment I made saying that my whole life is about creating; be that creating a basket or a garden, or a photograph. I see colour and desigI find the bog wood in an a nearby area of bog land where the peat has been cut away for fuel leaving the root systems of these ancient pine trees-they are more than 3000 years old- exposed. I wanted to incorporate them in my work as I find them amazing.n, and inspiration all around me. For me, creativity and inspiration are everywhere and touch every aspect of my life.
‘Ripe'
Do you only work with natural willow colours?
Yes. There is a very rich variety of natural colours of willow.
Can you explain your use of Lichen, Hazel Catkins in your work?
Again it is a fascination with the material. I really like the look of it and then I see if I can weave with it.
Lichen Bowl with Harrison’s Willow on the boarder
Can you explain the technique you have used in ‘Larch Bowl’?
The larch twigs are harvested in winter. I look for twigs with a good number of cones on them. I planted a good few larch trees in 1978 when we first moved here so I have a fairly good choice. I almost always use a long ladder to cut the branches I want. The twigs are then dried, soaked to make them flexible and steamed to increase the flexibility. Then it is a case of weaving them carefully to ensure I don't knock the cones off in the weaving process.
‘Larch Bowl’
How small and how large are your baskets?
Many of the baskets using bog wood are up to a metre in length. I do try to make some smaller work as well. The bowls are about 50 cm wide. I tend not to make very small work though lately I have been making a series of nests and some of these are only 10 cm in diameter.
Group of Nests 10cms to 25cms Birch and Lichened Twigs
How does poetry play a part in your craft?
I find it a wonderfully rich source of inspiration. It seems to me that poetry and music can offer insights which go beyond what is purely rational or sensible towards a more intuitive view of the world.
I am influenced by environmental concerns and feel that the changes we need to make as a race will become possible only when we go beyond a merely rational analysis and begin to encompass the worlds of poetry and art to imagine new – and more responsible- ways of being in the world.
Tall Vessel 60 x 60 x 100cms
Can you expand on the importance of repetition in your craft?
Repetition is crucial in developing crafts skills. In the case of basketmaking the techniques are relatively easy to learn but one really has to practice a lot to perfect them. I think this is true of many things in life and there is great satisfaction to be gained from making better work.
You still make traditional baskets and have expended these skills to your contemporary work, discuss?
The artistic work grew out of the functional work and these baskets would not have been possible if I did not have the fluency which I developed making functional work. Even the technical solutions needed to make the bog wood baskets are informed by traditional techniques.
Drift wood pouch, drift wood and willow rods
Explain about your collaboration with Joanne Haynes and her 2011 Autumn / Winter collection?
Joanne was looking for something eye-catching to compliment her work and suggested a twig hat as she has seen my birch twig bowls. Once the idea was there it was not difficult to figure out a method to make it work.
Photo by Brian O’Sullivan
Your son Ciearan is also a basket maker. Do you work together?
No. Ciaran has his own workshop in Spiddal craft centre near Galway city and he makes functional work. He did spend the best part of a year working with me a few years ago to develop his skills.
Two Birch Vessels
Contact Details
Email: joe@joehoganbaskets.com
www.joehoganbaskets.com
Joe Hogan. Loch Na Fooey, Finny, Clonbur, Co Galway. Ireland
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, November, 2014
David Frazer
You have always wanted to be a songwriter, but realized that you were more suited to Printmaking. Discuss this in relation to you comment. “I think of my work like a songwriter would produce an album”?
I wanted to be famous due I suspect to insecurity, I wanted to be popular and adored like Elvis, ha ha. I wanted to write beautiful heart felt songs and move people to tears. I really wanted to connect with people; I probably found it hard to do that the normal way. Anyway I tried song writing but couldn’t do it, I became an occasionally funny karaoke act. After art school I had discovered printmaking and found it more suitable than painting. When I saw reason and quit showbiz I decided to get back into art and focus on printmaking. I went back to art school to do an honours years in printmaking. There I discovered wood engraving and found it to be as close to song writing than any other medium. It suited poetry, narrative and storytelling. I also found I could do a series of engravings, even had some text and bind them into a book. Also what I discovered was that suddenly I had a subject. My years of trying and failing in the world of showbiz gave me that. Topics of yearning and alienation, failed ambition etc. still form the basis of my work. I’d won half the battle.
Together Alone’
You have also worked in collaboration with songwriter, Paul Kelly please expand on this and the book ‘Little Aches and Pains’?
It wasn’t really a collaboration, as Paul said when opening the launch of the book, all he did was say yes. I used the lyrics to a song he had already written for his most recent album “spring and fall”. I just found it refreshing to use someone else’s words to interpret. I also felt an affinity to the theme of a frustrated guy reminiscing about an old love or friendship that went wrong and wondering how life could have turned out different. I love the beauty in sadness and human frailty.
You have a strong formal arts background, though it has not always followed in the school - study - work pattern. Can you discuss this?
I’m not sure I understand the question. I also dispute that I had a strong formal arts background. Sure I’ve got a few letters after my name but any idiot could have got them. I learnt practically nothing in art school. I could have in first year where I was at Caulfield tech (now Monash) but I was an idiot and didn’t think I needed to learn technique. I then stupidly went to Phillip institute which was a complete waste of time. I learnt a bit back at Monash when I did my honours years. At that time there was a lot of practising printmakers there and I learnt a lot then. I stayed on there for ten year employed as a part time tech where I learnt a bit. During that time I did a masters and got a scholarship, not sure how much I got out of that but I suppose it did help me formalise my themes and approach a bit. About ten years ago I worked as an edition printer for port Jackson press and I learnt a lot there about printing. Still, I don’t exactly feel like an expert in printmaking; maybe that’s a good thing?
How do you decide on the medium you will use, eg paint, sculpture, engravings?
I’m pretty much focusing now on graphics. I struggled for years trying to paint and it felt like an exercise in torture and for all that time and effort I had a pretty small success rate. I settled on using the paintings as the scenic art, the stage for my characters and narrative that I portrayed with my prints. Seemed like a good system but in the end I just got sick of the struggle to paint. To be a good painter you have to be obsessed with paint and you have to work really hard at it, and want to. You have to be interested in aesthetics, with colour, with how you apply the paint etc. and I really didn’t give a rat’s arse about any of those things. I am only interested in the narrative really and I figured I was kidding myself trying to be a painter.
‘Skinny Man with an Axe’
Please discuss the size of your work and what the restrictions are?
Most of my prints have been small. Wood engravings are usually small due to the nature of the end grain boxwood. The smallness gives the work an intimacy, it forces people to go up close to the work and take in the detail, and maybe the poetry or narrative. I recently have started doing large scale linocuts which end up looking like huge wood engravings and provide quite an impact! It’s actually become an exciting development for me and the first big one I did “waiting for rain” sold out the edition of 50 in a year and gave me more money than I ever would have got for a painting that size. The down side is that they take ages to do. That work took me 3 months to cut, and it’s really tedious monotonous work! Still, I’d take boredom any day over the emotional torture of trying to paint! Also, I find it quite easy and I have a confidence that I never got with painting. That actually tells you something; but sometimes it takes a while for the penny to drop.
‘Another night on Earth’
In 2007 you took part in the International Print Biennale in Guanlan, China, where you became a major prize winner. How did this influence your career?
It gave me the confidence to know that my prints were technically good (at least sometimes). It was a real confidence boost getting that acknowledgement on an international stage where no one knew me from a bar of soap. I’ve been back regularly since for other biennials and artist in residencies. They think I’m a world famous artist and it’s nice to be treated like royalty once in a while. The last time I was there I was giving a show and I even got a billboard on the street, you don’t get that every day! Also it was good not only getting to meet other international artists and seeing their work but also seeing what the Chinese printmakers are doing. It was their big wood cuts that inspired me to try large scale linocuts.
‘Waiting for Rain’
Let's discuss your prints:
The number of editions you make?
I used to do small editions but it’s really annoying when they prove popular and you don’t have enough to sell so now I do at least 50-70. I got to make a living.
What you do with the plates after the print run?
Sometimes I take my old copper plates to the metal yard as you get good money for copper now. I usually keep my wood blocks, sometimes I get them resurfaced so I can use them again. I’ll probably donate the blocks from my Paul Kelly book to the state library of Victoria.
‘Lost Dog’
Your work is mainly about place. Can you discuss this common thread?
I love the duality of loving a place but wanting to escape it. I grew up in country Victoria, son of the school principal and a blow in (I’ve always been a blow in). The Wimmera where I lived in my primary school years is flat, with a certain melancholic beauty. It seeped into my system somehow and that landscape became the setting for my art. That environment though can be stifling and I used that to expand on the desires to escape it, to be somewhere more exciting and to be someone more exciting. Also I love the idea that you are afraid of leaving, and afraid of success. I used to often portray a figure flying over the landscape called “mr vertigo” who wanted to fly but was afraid of heights.
When to use colour and when to work in monotone, please discuss?
I’m on a bit of a black and white thing at the moment. Colour just distracts from the detail and the image I think.
'Sweet Dream’
Can you explain the figure often seen on your roofs?
As a kid in the Wimmera I used to spend a lot of time sitting up a tree or on top of our roof, dreaming (I like to imagine) of escape. Also maybe it’s the Launchpad for flight.
'Lonely Boy 111’
You have your work in many Galleries. Did you introduce yourself or did they approach you?
A bit of both. I was very lucky early on and galleries approached me. I’ve actually approached some galleries recently and met with rejection, it doesn’t always work out and it’s a very tough game. Also it will be harder for me now as most commercial galleries aren’t interested in taking on a printmaker. I have a couple of commercial galleries I’m with, one in Canberra, Sydney, Hong Kong and London. Port Jackson press in Melbourne sell my work and I have it spread around a fair few regional print galleries.
I’m freelancing a bit more now, most commercial galleries want you to be exclusive to them in that city and many now I find are getting worse at actually paying you and you get pretty sick of forever hassling galleries to pay you your 60%
'New Life’
Explain the importance of entering acquisitive and award winning exhibitions?
I admit I’m pretty competitive so prizes have that attraction for me. It’s a lot of work though and it means bugger all really. You do get your work seen though and often it helps you to get into collections if you get acquired.
'Holding On’
Can you discuss your iconic caravans and how the first appeared and why?
There’s several things I love about caravans. One we had one as a kid and we used to have many a happy holiday in it. Also it’s such a loaded image, you can make them ambiguous, like is it for a holiday or is it a home? It creates that tension I love, like is it happy or sad, safe or menacing? They are also so humble. As well as those things they are great shapes with great colours!
'Lost’
Discuss your work ‘Lest We Forget’. Are we likely to see a similar theme as we had on the 100 year anniversary of WW1 and our current involvement in war zones?
That image happened by accident. In 2007 the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commission) did a doco on me as part of the artist at work series. In mine I went back to my old home town of Murtoa and go over my old haunts and make some art from it. It just happened to be Anzac day and so we filmed the formalities and the march. I loved the character of the old digger who led it and I knew it would make a great image. I intended the image to mean not just lest we forget the diggers but the old days and the old ways, the old dying towns, the old climate. It was a very moving experience. A couple of years ago that old digger actually died on Anzac day.
'Lest We Forget’
Humour plays a large part in your work. Please discuss?
Humour makes sadness much more powerful and accessible. I do a lot of images now on hopelessly confused and bewildered men. It’s a fertile subject, one I find sad yet also funny.
You are currently building a new home in rural Victoria, Australia. Will it include a studio? If so, what are a few of the must haves? If not, where is your studio and why do you choose not to work from home?
I’ve lived up here in Castlemaine for nearly 7 years. I was very lucky to be able to buy a relatively cheap double block with an old converted stables on it. I built a studio up one end and last year I sub-divided the place and sold the old stables. I made a bit on it and am now nearly finished building a new house. The studio is a big tin shed with a mezzanine and I’m a very lucky man. Its good working at home but the danger is that daily life issues can distract you.
I am fascinated with the daily timeline of artists, what would be a typical working day or week for your in the studio?
I try to be disciplined. I usually get into the studio by 9 and try to work a full day. I have young kids though half the week and have to do school pickups and shopping and cooking etc. My plate is pretty full! Every second weekend I have the chance to do some work too. I’m not very good at working at night. I usually just crash out in front of the telly and go to bed pretty early.
You also find time to teach. How and where are these classes held? Are you open to offers to teach in Australia or overseas?
I have run lots of workshops in recent years, mostly wood engraving but sometimes linocutting and etching. I do one or two a year in my own studio and often at other peoples. I’ve done them all over Victoria and sometimes interstate. Sometimes in Sydney and Adelaide. It’s usually fun and a good way to supplement my income. I have a little press I can take in my car which means I can do a workshop anywhere (and I am happy to consider offers).
Contact details
defraz1@bigpond.com
www.dfrazer.com
David Frazer, Victoria, Australia
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, November, 2014
Elisa Confortini
Discuss your ceramic technique
What is it about clay that give you such pleasure in the creating?
What types of clay do you use?Where do you source your clay from?
Can you discuss the techniques you use with very high temperatures and how this achieves the results you want in your glazes?
Although in Italy there is a long tradition of Majolica, and I also began using this kind of ceramic, I always loved the material resulting from high temperature firing: the color, the hardness and the strength of the earth, its sounds, and the natural colors of glazes. I use stoneware, porcelain and refractory clay, often combined as I love the contrast and the tensions that are created: the cool white of porcelain with the warm tones of the clay and the smoothness of the glaze.
The origin of the clay is various: stoneware from Germany, porcelain from France and refractory clay from Spain.
The process is manual, but in some cases I start with basic shapes, obtained in the mold, which then I complete or modify. I personally produce the glazes, preferring whites and soft colors, shades and those small imperfections that make the glaze alive and material.
Detail
Your work has a very organic look and feel, please discuss?
I have a particular interest in exploring the sensorial, emotional and expressive qualities of natural materials. I'm passionate about collecting things even without an instant logic, listening to their form, their material, and I believe that this kind of feeling comes out even in my works.I work with synthetic and basic structures, because the primary element allows creativity to be free.Even in the world of forms there is space both for complexity and simplicity. Usually in my works complexity is delimited. Two opposite states of human soul: one calm and static, the other strong and dynamic.
Can you explain the sizes of your work?
When making pottery, dimension of your work depend directly on dimension of the kiln you have. This could also be a limit. I realize unique pieces ranging from ten to about seventy centimeters. But I like to conceive my works as groups, combinations, starting from a theme I’m interested in and then creating a series of small changes. This allows me to go through an interesting research study, on structure or material, and to develop the creative process even during the final phase of my work. This way the pieces can have their own life either individually or as a part of a whole installation.
How did your residency in Fupling, China develop your work?
In 2008, I stayed at the Fuping Pottery Village in China. This experience was the award of the ICMEA International Ceramic Magazine Editors Association contest for rising artists. I was included in a group of Italian pottery artists working there from April to May. It was a very strong experience from both human and professional point of view. It was my first trip into a reality of life and work so different from mine and it was a turning point in my work and in my life. The people I met that time led me to new and unexpected tracks.
During the summer of the same year, I moved to Genoa for love, and not far away from the city, I started to spend time in the workshop of the sculptor Adriano Leverone. I consider him my mentor and the motive of an important professional growth. I was able to begin a research on high-temperature clays and glazes and I approached a different material - bronze - which I started using to realize some of my works.
Discuss the importance of working with Enrica Negri from Milan to your art?
In the mid-90s, with Enrica Negri, my passion for ceramic material began. At the time I was working in the studio of a photographer and I remember flipping through a magazine and being fascinated by the work of this potter from Milan. I contacted her and I took a pottery class from her. I later attended other workshops, other classes but she represents my beginning in the world of ceramic, as well as Adriano Leverone has meant that in the world of sculpture.
‘Entomological Collections’
Discuss the importance exhibitions have, and continue to have, on your work?
Exhibitions, biennials of pottery are the opportunity to present my work but also a comparison, a discovery. It is the way to get into the game and out of the atelier, to see my work in another context and obtain new inspiration. I consider this a fundamental moment of professional growth.
Expo Contreta 2010
Your studio
What lead you to open your workshop “Atelier99”?
How many people work in the workshop?
Can we have a peek inside the workshop?
Discuss the size (space) and the equipment
At first, I worked at home or in my garage with an outside gas kiln, or at other pottery makers. These conditions were temporary, and finally in 2011 I managed to open my workshop “Atelier99”. The room belonged to an old butcher shop, where I saved the hooks that are still on the wall. I redecorated everything to create a neutral, white space, very bright, perfect for working and highlighting the volumes and the tones of the sculptures. I work alone, the space is not very big but enough for two working tables, the 200 liters kiln, the wheel, the spray booth, and a small exposition area.
Explain the logo you have for your workshop?
The name and logo of my workshop comes from a discovery: an old iron rack for bottles found in a country house. One hundred hooks available, but one missing: that’s why 99; 99 spaces for 99 cups. A number that becomes infinite as infinite is the variety of forms, colors, dimensions, textures to be created.
A simple object as starting point, always present, to characterize and recall the infinite possibilities. And the cup: essential, useful, universal, primordial, it bonds and becomes the symbol of present and potential creativity that accompanies us in any place and in any time.
Can you discuss your current work and the addition of ‘Bug’ in the work?
Entomology has always fascinated me; I also studied it at the agricultural school. It has always been with me and now that I work with forms, it has come back to me powerfully.
I'm fascinated by the incredible perfection, structure and variety enclosed in such small beings. They are fundamental in the balance of the world but they are considered insignificant or annoying, useless or harmful, to be eliminated or collected, but always to be killed. This is where my work starts with them: an ecological and environmentalist reflection on the use and the exploitation of living beings.
My “bugs” will lie on the ground, preserving just the memory of an event lived only by the primary spectators, leaving to everyone’s imagination the mental reconstruction of what it used to be and what it’s not anymore.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently caring on the work about decals for the “Collezioni Entomologiche” (Entomological collections) by extending the theme to other creatures.
This way I’ve created “Vasi da Esposizione” (Pots to be exposed)
Vasi da Esposizione
“Nidi Violati” (Desecrated nests). Right now I’m working on images of birds’ skull, a meditation on the beauty and the weakness of life, between abstraction and memento mori.
Contact Details
Email:info@elisaconfortini.it
Elisa Confortini, Genova, Italy
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, November, 2014
Amy Nguyen
Please comment on your relationship with Mary Edna Fraser and where it has led you?
Mary Edna Fraser and I connected after I graduated from college. I had decided to stay in Charleston SC to work and was custom sewing for a local company. Mary Edna Fraser needed someone to sew her hand-dyed fabric into dresses for her daughters for a special occasion. I was inspired by her beautiful batiks after visiting her studio. When she visited my small studio and saw my paintings, she posed the question of putting my artwork onto fabric. I loved colour and creating on a blank surface and had grown up around textiles, so the idea was a terrific fusion of both. She planted some important seeds in my head that year and I am forever grateful to her.
I’ve seen Mary Edna Fraser just a few times since leaving Charleston. We connected at the Peabody Essex Museum, north of Boston, in conjunction with the World Batik Conference. At that time, she gave one of the best piece of advice: always do something new, no matter how small a change. I do try to practice this often. Slight changes keep me from becoming stagnant in my work.
Discuss the importance of shibori in both your early and current work?
In the beginning, shibori was the primary focus of my work. I experimented with a wide range of mark-making and colour-mixing. Now, my work is a balance of shibori and subtle textural components through stitch. The complexity in the work continues to grow. My stitching adds a layer of dimension to each piece. I will always enjoy shibori mark-making, but I will likely always enjoy, even more, the challenge of taking that traditional surface down a different path.
Do you still take Jason Pollen’s advice, to carve out a small bit of time each day to experiment with no outcome in mind?
I really try to. Sometimes I’m not able to carve out as much time as I’d like. The business end of the arts can take an enormous amount of time with all the moving parts. But, I certainly appreciate the importance of carving out time to experiment and I come back to it as often as I’m able. I find it is always a good way to center myself when I don’t know where to begin.
Where has one of these small pieces of time lead?
These small experimentations have ended up in my sample books, to which I often refer. Each one leads to a slightly different textural technique. If I end up with a lot of the same grouping, or pieces that work together, I will use those pieces in a one-of-a-kind garment. Every thread is precious. I recently sold a one-of-a-kind coat to a favourite collector and she exclaimed, as we were admiring the piece, that it felt old and special. She had sensed the age of the fabric behind it. She sensed the soul of the piece. I suppose when you think of this question on that level, one could realize the collective importance of small things.
You work with a very limited palette, can you discuss this?
My early work was all over the place. It was not developed. I was beginning. In many ways, I feel like I stopped and went back to square one with black and white. I started to create shibori using a very limited palette. This allowed me to further develop my techniques, as limiting materials allows for more creativity in my artistic development.
I’ve always loved black and white, the contrast, the dimensionality, the tension between both. I go through periods where I love colour, but I often come back to black and white. While living in Boston I will always remember some time spent with Saundra Lane and her collection of black and white photography. Adams, Stieglitz and Weston pushed boundaries with only black and white. There is much to explore with everything and with nothing which these two opposing “colours” represent.
Explain your own shibori method of second layering?
Second layering is not part of the shibori dyeing process. I suppose it’s more abstract. It is my second part of process, or layering of process, when I deconstruct and remake the shibori by piecing, layering, tearing, or other methods of fabric manipulation. The dyed cloth is so beautiful on its own, but I find this compulsion to add weight, to make the fabric feel more grounded and to put my own mark on it. Thread is that weight. Stitching helps the piece to feel real.
What base fabrics do you use?
I love all natural fabrics. Mostly I use linen, silk, cotton and wool. When I first began creating shibori, I used man-made fabrics that could be heat-set to change the structure of the fabric. I don’t mind using man-made fabrics if they are recycled or repurposed, though the hand of natural fabrics is what I love most
Can you discuss the blending and balancing of the artistic, spiritual and physical in your work?
When I am deep into a day of dyeing and sewing, the process is very physical and repetitive and this allows me to meditate. I have recently started to practice tai chi and I find I am most focused after a class. I often find myself back in the studio. When my head is clear, artistic inspiration can spring up from doing the most basic daily things. Artistic, spiritual and physical all can become one in a moment of flow. Or, they can at least influence each other. There is a balance that must exist in order for me to create.
Explain your thoughts on keeping age old textile traditions within modern fashion?
I believe we have a need to retain tradition, pride in our community and our history. Modern fashion must exist as well, but with careful consideration of its effects on the environment. There should be a balance of old and new. For example, my dye techniques are by hand. Some of my stitching techniques are by machine. We are small-scale and care about every piece. It shows.
I don’t agree with disposable fashion. We have become a society of much waste and fast-paced consumption that is affecting the earth. I like the idea of having few pieces, well-made that express who you are. I certainly recognize that items like socks, underwear, leggings, basic black clothing need to be affordable. These items can be mass-produced as long as the company that is producing them stands behind protection of the environment, sustainable practice, and fair pay. As consumers, we should be asking where things were made, how they were made, who made them? In order to keep some of the old tradition, we can ask these questions of designers and support those who work the most fairly. We can support local stores. We can support smaller stores. And when we buy those particular pieces to express who we are, I think we should buy less of them…and really cherish what we have.
You emphasise the importance of handmade in your work. Why is this such a major part of your textiles and finished garments?
I’ll never forget the collector who recognized the soul in the coat I’d made – who sensed there was older fabric in the piece. Part of the cloth that went into that particular piece was from my mother’s stash of sewing fabrics. It was a beautiful silk/linen ivory cloth intended to be a suit she had wanted to make but never got around to making. This was a special moment for me – to have someone truly understand the soul of a piece. That is also why part of my work is handmade. There is an inexplicable soul in anything made by hand. I firmly believe in this. It is in direct opposition to fast consumption. We slow down – not just those making it, but those wearing the pieces as well.
Explain your interpretation of ‘Slow Textiles Movement’?
Slow movements, in general, represent a cultural shift towards slowing down the pace. The slow food movement has gained considerable momentum and now, I believe, slow fashion is following. We should know where our food comes from and how it was handled. We should know who makes our clothing and where it comes from. It really is just about being more present and more aware of the world that surrounds us. This is the main premise behind the slow textiles movement. I’m also paying attention to how we work in the studio, what I pay my interns, what we recycle and, most importantly, the quality that is going to a collector.
There is another layer to this for my work. Many of the pieces that we create are considered wearable art. Additionally, they involve an aspect of art, of craft and of fashion. These pieces have emotion behind them, they are made up of highly skilled technical craft and they are relevant today. Adding all of these additional layers creates pieces that are true works of art. They are authentic and people deserve this.
Couture is a word that we relate to high fashion. Your work has that very high finish. Can you discuss the importance of this?
Many processes, technical skill and collaborative work are all certainly a part of the pieces created here in the studio. The same could be said of couture. We have 4 different aspects of process and each one is of equal importance. First, the creation of the surface design work – the dyeing of the cloth. Next, the fabric manipulation and intricate stitching of the cloth. Third, the patternmaking of the garment shapes – turning two-dimensional into three-dimensional. And last, the finishing or very detailed final touches. Couture pieces are a true reflection of the artist. I feel each piece made should be both a true reflection of myself as well as of my respect for the craft and history behind each aspect of process.
The photography of your work is beautiful. Can you explain how you achieve such wonderful images?
In the beginning, my husband and I took our own photographs, which were flat and lacking in dimensionality. After viewing numerous headless shots with mediocre lighting, I came to the realization that we needed to collaborate with professionals who understood the emotions I was trying convey. I strive to create masterful work in the studio. Each person with whom I collaborate is doing the same in their own field. When great collaboration happens, it’s because the ego disappears and each person understands their role and yet has respect for each other. This ensures that each photograph evokes the feeling that existed in the creation of the piece. My goal is to seek the best in every aspect of what we create and to know that I cannot do it all. I’m not the photographer or the artistic director or the stylist, yet we all have a similar vision. In that room, I am only the artist/designer, one part of the whole.
Do you design seasonally? How do you add to the collection?
I add to the collection as process develops or changes or if something inspires me. I don’t create collections such as fall, resort and spring. Most of my pieces can be worn at least three seasons in different ways. That’s what I like in my own clothing. I find the less clothing I own, the better I feel. When I update a piece in my own wardrobe, another piece gets donated. I find it’s best to have pieces that work well and can be worn often that are loved each time they’re worn. When we love our clothing, we possess a wonderful energy. I care more about creating the garment with thought and care then making sure I have a collection available on a particular date. Each season does influence us some and I always offer some aspect of work that makes sense within the season. I love linen, for example. People say it’s only for summer. What about quilted linen?
What is one basic garment you would not be without?
A wrap (which can become a garment). I use one in the summer, in the winter crinkled and bunched as a scarf and during meditation.
Contact details.
amynguyentextiles@gmail.com
www.amynguyentextiles.com
Amy Nguyen, Boston, MA, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, October, 2014
Athena Jahantigh
Poetic Gazelles - series
Can you discuss the way you have been able to use simple gestures of the gazelles, to give different characters to these beautiful animals?
I started with a gazelle first with its head turned backwards. It was a slightly different reproduction of a model I had previously made in porcelain. Here I wanted to change, I wanted to give it a little bit more movement while remaining close to the main forms of the first model. I wanted it to have the look of a true gazelle turning its head down, looking left or right or raising its head etc... I had fun changing the movements of my imaginary gazelle in an exaggerated way and that's where we can realize the power of imagination in creation.
The size of the work:
The tallest gazelles in the series "Poetic Gazelle" can reach 30 cm.
The technique you have used to make the gazelles:
The gazelles are made in black faience and hand built, from clay slab strips. I always start with the legs and I finish by the horns or ears...
What animals do you use in some of the series?
To date, the animals I've made are categorized as follows: horses, gazelles, bulls, rams and goats, and birds. Apart from these few animals, I made a cat one time. I think that there are cultural and symbolic reasons.
Why not make an elephant or a rabbit? I can say that I love almost all animals in the nature, some because of their beauty, and others for their strength. Some amaze me with their intelligence and others by their affectionate or extraordinary side. There are too many things to see, to observe and to feel to be able to express them in a sculpture. I don’t see any point to present in my work all kinds of animals because I make animal sculptures, I prefer to focus on those that have a special meaning to me. The four legs (the general term I use for some of my animals) mentioned above are animals that have existed for thousands of years in Iran, my land of birth. They are drawn and made in sculpture since the time of my ancestors until today. Of course there are others, but here comes my choice and my personal desire.
Where did you watch and study gazelles?
During my art studies in Iran, for the theoretical part of my thesis, I studied the drawings on ancient pottery in Iran. One of the cities studied, "Shahr-e Soukhteh" (meaning Burnt City) which was founded in 3000 BC, had many drawings of gazelles with a characteristic: the tail of these gazelles raised up. It is from these drawings that I imagined and drew my first gazelles.
Shahr-e Sukhté (meaning "[The] Burnt City"), also spelled as Shahr-e Sukhteh and Shahr-i Shukhta, is an archaeological site of a sizable Bronze Age urban settlement, associated with the Jiroft culture. It is located in Sistan and Baluchistan Province, the southeastern part of Iran, on the bank of the Helmand River, near the Zahedan-Zabol Road. In July 2014 it was placed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.
The reasons for the unexpected rise and fall of the Burnt City are still wrapped in mystery. Artifacts recovered from the city demonstrate a peculiar incongruity with nearby civilizations of the time and it has been speculated that Shahr-e-Sookhteh might ultimately provide concrete evidence of a civilization east of prehistoric Persia that was independent of ancient Mesopotamia.
Do you work from sketch books or photographs?
Sometimes I study pictures of animals or observe them in real and near. But there is above all the legacy left generously by our ancestors all over the world (and particularly in Iran for my work): designs on pottery, on the cave walls, large and small sculptures or containers in the shape of animals. That forms a magical mix that whets my imagination and allows me to draw. My work is never made from a specific drawing or photo, although sometimes consciously or unconsciously I’m close more or less to an already existing form.
From Legs without Leg – series
Your series ‘From Legs Without Leg’ - where did this simple but exciting idea come from?
My animals are divided into two groups: birds and four legs. "Four legs without legs" was a series made for an exhibition in Paris. It started with some stylized rams up to the point that their legs disappeared and then some goats and other animals in the same spirit, they were different from those that I used to achieve. So I decided to name them by their differences.
Through the use of texture and curved horns you have allowed the viewer to know the animal. Can you expand on this idea?
The horns, in addition to being beautiful and delicate, are also the symbol of the strength of the animal. But it is the hair and the texture created to imitate them that make this animal looks like a ram or a goat instead of a gazelle or antelope. Although in this series the horns and the hair texture are two main elements to recognize the animal, in the end, it is a whole set of elements that reminds us of a particular animal. For example, I do not see myself making a gazelle with a rectangular body.
What is the material you have used?
Most of the pieces in this series are half- glazed white faience. The enamel is used to give more color to the piece but particularly to bring out the texture.
Can you discuss the size of this work?
The height of the pieces of the series varies from 20 cm to 40 cm.
Discuss, the simplifying of shape in this series?
In "The four legs without legs" series, I tried to remove a maximum of detail in terms of shape, as when we are watching a herd from a distance: details are gone. The body of a “four legs” can practically fit into a rectangle. The fact that some “four legs” have hair such as a ram makes it easier to make their legs disappear and get them into this rectangular shape, and this accentuates at the same time their skin and texture characteristic .
Birds - series
Are they actual birds or rather representations?
My birds are only representations and do not correspond to a particular species. Some are limited to a form which can remind us of a bird. Since nearly always, a bird is the symbol of freedom, especially the flying bird, I prefer to represent it sitting, resting or asleep. These symbols of freedom will remain forever at rest and at peace: they do not need to fly to be free.
Again explain the importance of texture to get the feel of feathers?
One of the first reasons I added a texture to a piece has been to overcome a technical problem. At first, I didn’t have the opportunity to work sandstone, only faience. I didn’t like the texture of the pottery after firing, and I prefer sculptures without enamel and without patina. I looked for another solution to cover the works: texture. In the end, texture had become an indispensable part of my work, as if not adding any texture left the animal naked. A passion that requires to be patient, and I continue to used it in my work even on sandstone
Sandstone Animals - series
Can you discuss the difference in your sandstone animals?
My latest works are presented in the series of sandstone animals. My inspiration travels between past and present, between my roots and my imagination. My sources have not changed, regards the technique, there was a big change.
Thanks to this new clay, I was able to significantly increase the size of my works, limited only by the height of my oven (71 cm). There are different colors of clay that are beautiful, but as I mentioned above, it has become difficult for me to make a piece without texture, so most of the time they are “dressed” with texture. These are often created by repetitive movements cutting or adding material and they do not take precedence over the main shape. The texture becomes the poem offered to the earth…
The pieces are fired at 1280 ° in a gas oven with oxygen reduction. They are manufactured and hand-modeled with clay slab strips. I always start with the legs and I finish with the ears or horns.
You began your studies in Iran, can you briefly discuss the academic availability for yourself in Iran up to 2006?
I studied Art for four years in Iran. My father, a painter and art teacher, allowed me to have some knowledge about art and gave me the desire to go on in this way. I started my studies in 1996 at the University of Art in Iran, during which I specialized in ceramics.
What was the factor in you going to France to study at the Sorbonne in 2005, and then to go onto your Masters of Fine Arts there?
Since I was young, I wanted to go to France or Italy to study. At that time, the history of Art in these countries, their museums and cultures fascinated me, especially France, which I had read several historical novels. Finally, I had the opportunity to come to France to follow at first a master of fine arts in 2005 and then a doctorate in fine arts that I got in 2012. At the beginning, I wanted to do graduate studies in ceramics, which was not possible in France. I chose the visual arts, a choice I do not regret because it allowed me to know other artistic universes.
Discuss the importance of Art and international travel for a woman from Iran?
It is not always easy to go to another country to study, especially from Iran. I think the opportunity to make art and to travel to learn more and be able to interact with strangers, whether you are a woman or a man, regardless of where you come from, it's an extraordinary chance.
About fifteen years ago, an unmarried Iranian woman needed the permission of her father to get out of Iran. Today this law no longer exists, and there are many more girls who are studying art than boys.
Can you expand on your own position as an Iranian woman artist in today’s climate?
Being an artist in Iran is not at all difficult. Art and poetry are an inseparable part of our culture with all its ups and downs. Whether, you are a man or a woman, you can continue your art without any worry under the condition; that the object of your art does not criticize the current politics or religion, also your art is not about nudity.
Contact Details
Email: athenajahan@gmail.com
Web: http://www.athenajahan.com
Athena Jahantigh, Iran & France
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, October, 2014
Meg Little
Explain the importance your move to Cornwall, in the UK, was to the development of your art in rug making?
I moved to Cornwall in 1984 right after getting my Masters Degree from Rhode Island School of Design. I walked into Plymouth College of Art and Design and introduced myself to the Crafts faculty and I eventually taught there. One of the lecturers told me that there was another American weaver living nearby: Grace Eckhert. She was a tapestry weaver who was beginning to experiment with hand tufting. We became friends and she let me use her tufter while she was on holiday. I had taught myself to weave in high school and have two textile degrees but in those years I’d also started to paint. Painting is more immediate than weaving and using the tufter gave me the same freedom as painting but in my preferred medium. It was a revelation. We spent 6 years in Cornwall and I do feel as if I also absorbed some of the design sensibilities of other UK artists.
'Sudd’
Can you discuss the relationship you see between rug making and tapestry?
In both traditional tapestry and woven pile rugs, one makes the web of the cloth while also laying in the design which covers up the web. Hand tufting is actually more like embroidery; one decorates the previously woven web. This means that the design is not laid in on a grid and is free of that underlying structure. Weaving is a very linear process and any design gets built in that way. With hand tufting that constraint is lifted.
Explain the actual mechanical process of tufting, as you do it?
Hand tufting is the way that commercial area rugs are made if they aren’t woven. My tufter is electric and has two hollow needles that the yarns slide between. The top needle has a point that spreads the web of a backing cloth which is stretched tight on a frame, and the bottom needle has a tongue that shoots the yarn into that space. In front of the needles is a foot like on a sewing machine that helps advance the tufter forward. The yarn is shot into the cloth in a continuous loop following the direction of the foot.
Meg at work in her studio
Discuss how this process has allowed you to use textiles as your paint brush?
The cloth can be filled in with whatever gesture one likes. I personally use a forty-five degree angle to fill in for the most part, which is similar to the way I sketch. Although the process is nonlinear it differs from painting in that the details are applied first and the background goes in last. And unlike weaving, there is the possibility to change elements after they have been layer in which I couldn’t do with my weaving.
The process is very similar to the French Tapestry method – you work from the back. Can you show how the work looks from both sides, how you manage to work “back to front” and why it is done this way?
Working from the back is dictated by the technology.
Back of the work
I always reverse my drawings so that the front of the rug is true and I tend to run around to the front frequently to see how things are progressing.
Front of the work
You work on a horizontal loom and not a vertical loom. Can you explain why?
They aren’t woven- no loom. I work upright so that I can get to the middle of the rugs and so I can see the front easily. The tufter really couldn’t be used any other way.
Meg at work in her studio
What type of yarn do you use and why?
I use 2 and 3 ply rug wools made specifically for carpets and rugs. I mix all the yarns in very complex color combinations blending four balls of yarn together in the tufter. Each ball has a different combination of related yarns, sometimes with some very surprising “wild cards”. As a former weaver I can never resist a complex optical color mix- more is more! Each color mix has about twenty-five different yarns in it.
'Arborvitae'
How about the dying of the yarn, do you dye or purchase pre dyed yarn?
All the yarn is commercially spun and dyed for the carpet industry. Hand tufting is an industrial process and I follow industry standards in making my work. I may make them myself but the rugs are definitely meant to be walked on.
Discuss the limitations of size in your work?
I can make any size rug up to 15’ x 20’. The cloth that I buy from Germany for hand tufting comes 17 1/2’ wide so one dimension needs to be 15’ or smaller. I put a cap at 15’ x 20’- that seemed a good place to draw the line. I’ve made one rug that big and it was a beast! I’ve made lots of big rugs, including round rugs up to 10’ diameter and hall runners as long as 25’. Recently I had an exhibition of only room sized rugs. It was wonderful to see them on such a grand scale.
'Paradise'
Expand on how you are now constructing the “whole” rather than working a design on the background.
I came to hand tufting with very little idea of what to “put on” a rug. My previous weavings were minimal sculptural pieces although very concerned with color. I had very little recent experience with pattern although I’d been apprenticed to an ecclesiastical embroiderer before going to Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. As I found my way, I discovered that through every culture and across all time there’s a common pattern language. The building blocks are the dot, the line, the square, the circle. I was delighted to find examples from every corner of the world and I have explored all the permutations. I love that I can be a part of a long continuation of makers and that my work reflects an ancient decorative tradition or some other part of the world.
For the past dozen years I’ve only been interested in the expressive geometric. As I mined the various combinations and re-combinations of these shapes I became aware that even though my designs were constantly evolving that one thing hadn’t changed. It goes back to the idea of embellishing the backing cloth. I usually took my wonderful jazzy circles, stripes etcetera and put them on some kind of mostly static background. I don’t necessarily think of “decorative” as a dirty word, but I did recognize eventually that there was something missing. If you think of the way music is layered, it was as if the bottom notes were missing. After that thought I began to demand more of the backgrounds. I didn’t wish for the rugs to become more pictorial, I just wanted the whole band instead of the trio. It gave me endless possibilities for the good old circle, square, spot and stripe to meet up in new and surprising ways.
'Taiga'
Some of your rugs have text - how and when do you use text and why?
I’ve been using text off and on since the beginning. It’s a challenge; the letters are all put in backwards and also sometimes upside down. My interest comes from an admiration for the Bayeaux Tapestry which has written commentary and for Matisse’s cut outs which sometimes included words. The words are another form of pattern and a narrative too. On the last rug I made with words the only way to read it on the floor is to walk all the way around the edge. This seemed appropriate since the rug is a journey through the four seasons. I’ll let you in on a secret- along with the initial charcoal underdrawing on the backing cloth I sometimes include poems or prayers. You’ll have to get an x-ray to see those!
'Another Year'
Your rugs are designed to be walked on but many are hung. Can you tell us your thoughts on both and also the method you suggest to hang a rug?
I love the way my rugs look on the floor. They get better looking as they get older and they are very luxurious under foot. I know my work has changed a lot from the days when the rugs were just artful to now where they are considered art. The rugs may now have a more profound meaning but they’re made the same way as when they were strictly decorative. So it seems specious to me to say they are “too pretty to walk on”. They are still perfectly functional and why wouldn’t you want something beautiful under your feet?
Hang it or don’t, it’s up to you, but as to hanging- it’s easily done with some carpet tack strip and some tiny nails.
'Cassiopeia'
You are very interested in having handmade around us. Please expand on this?
When I was writing my Masters thesis I researched why humans spent the extra time to decorate objects for us when it would have been quicker to make plain things. The answer seems to be that there is a human drive to make things “special”, to make the ordinary extraordinary, to celebrate and consecrate our daily lives. Even if you go back to prehistoric times you will find special objects for use including fancy bits of weaving.
People buy my work because it was made by a person and more so, one that they’ve probably met. That’s the kind of object I want in my house and I know I’m not alone.
Do you exhibit?
I exhibit as often as I can. Besides museums and galleries I show my work at high end retail craft shows- about a half dozen a year.
Do you do commissions?
A lot of my work has been commissioned. In the early days there was a lot of tinkering by my clients. Now that the work has such a distinctive look the requests are generally for a special size. I love working with people and seeing their houses if possible. It would be great fun to make a giant piece for the lobby of a building either floor or wall!
Explain the importance of Sketchbooks to the development of your work - from inspiration to finished piece?
I keep at least one sketchbook on the go at any time. I draw in pencil with a yellow No. 2 pencil (for those not in the States- that’s an HB with an eraser). In fact if we can only take one thing on the spaceship to Mars, that’s what I’d take. I draw to scale: an inch to a foot. No color- that comes later when I gather the yarns. I used to feel weird about that until I read that Bonnard would go for a walk, make his pencil sketch and then pick a palette from one of his porcelain plates of color. He’s got to be up at the top in terms of color.
I’ve had the habit of keeping a sketchbook since my undergraduate years at Tyler. Some days are good drawing days and I’ll make a whole series of sketches. I spend a lot of time gathering inspiration by looking at other artists and cultures. It all ends up in my sketchbooks. I’ve found if the drawing is good, then the rug will be good. If the drawing is unresolved then I usually leave it. When I’m ready to make a new rug I’ll riffle through the drawings and find one that speaks. At that point I decide the mood of the colors. I consider the drawing to be the bones and the color to be the meat. Recently I’ve realized that I treat my smaller sized rugs, the 3’ x 5’ size, as an extension of my sketchbook. This is where I try out new color combinations since they’re pretty quick to make.
Contact details.
www.meglittle.com
onthespot260@gmail.com
Meg Little, Rhode Island, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, October, 2014
Gráinne Cuffe
Can you discuss the techniques you are currently working with?
I am currently working with traditional etching techniques: aquatint and line. I use Ferric acid, and work on copper plates.
Over the years you have taken inspiration and academic direction form far and wide. Discuss the importance this diversity has had on your art?
Especially as a younger person, I felt a huge need to leave the comfort zone of familiar surroundings, be that studio or home town. An appetite for academic direction led me to the Tamarind Institute, in New Mexico, where I successfully completed a Master Printer course in Lithography. In hindsight, even more formative an influence than the Tamarind experience was the Fulbright Scholarship with was a brief visit to Gemini Editions in Los Angeles, where I saw gorgeous huge etchings of David Hockney’s beautiful simple silhouettes, profiles of heads. These etchings were approximately 4 Feet x 4 Feet. Plus an exhibition of James McNeill Whistler’s etchings, in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which I saw on the return leg of the Tamarind trip to the States, was also a huge influence.
Every studio I have ever worked in has its own ethics and set of reverences. In Giorgio Upiglio’s Grafico Uno in Milan, an Italian government Scholarship, I was intensely impressed by the woodcuts of Mimo Palladino, their graphic sophistication and simplicity, and mostly the intensity of saturated colour, and their large scale. While Central St. Martins in the late eighties opened my eyes to tonal value with aquatint.
Coming in more closely, can you comment on the influence Norman Ackroyd had on you art?
Norman’s theory was that you could get all the colour you wanted using black ink, and white paper. He was strict about this. He taught me for 2 years at Central St. Martins, London. I added a touch of blue, or green to the black, to survive the restrictions. He wanted us students to push those tonal values as far as possible, and using tone to make light/colour. This generated a love of the mesmeric qualities of aquatint.
The Chester Beatty Museum is a worldwide must-visit while in Dublin and a generous supporter of the art world. Discuss the exhibition and your involvement with the Chester Beatty Museum?
How did you become involved?
From my first visit as a 12 year old to the Chester Beatty Museum, I had felt a strong connection to the graphic work I had seen there, especially an iconic Japanese screen of staggered irises, a show of Albrecht Durer’s etchings, Mughal paintings, and many precious and beautiful watercolours and prints from Japan. Frequent visits to the Museum never fail to amaze, always feeding the visual appetite for more...this collection has fired the imaginations of many members of the Graphic Studio, and the delights of gardens seemed to be an interest common to both the collection, and to our members.
We felt that collaboration between the two institutions could benefit both, and make for a successful show. Hugely generous with their time, curators of varying sections of the collections introduced the artists to pieces we had not seen before.
What it was like to become a co-organizer of Gardens of Earthly Delight?
It takes a lot of meetings to organise a show like this. It is great to work out all the many details together, and exciting when the show is up and selling. It feels like one is giving back to the Studio. It was a hugely successful show, and a wonderful collaboration between 2 iconic Dublin institutions.
Can you tell us a little about the Chester Beatty (for those who don't know about its collection)
Sir Alfred Chester Beatty 1875 -1968 collected treasures of beauty and wonder dating from 2,700 BC to the present day. Egyptian papyrus texts, Japanese woodblock prints, European medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, Books of the Ancient world…now in this vibrantly run, small Museum. Housed in a purpose built building within the confines of Dublin Castle in the City Centre, The Chester Beatty is always an inviting treasure chest to visit.
What's it like having your work in their collection?
It is a huge honour and I am extremely proud and pleased to have 2 pieces of my work in the Chester Beatty Collection.
You joined the Graphic Studio in 1979. Explain the importance of both the studio, and collaboration with other printmakers has and still has on your art?
The Graphic Studio offers me all these positives:
- Sharing technical information about the work.
- Being in an atmosphere of work.
- Exposure to approaches radically different to one’s own to the making of an etched image.
- A wide variety of visual language in terms of the final image.
- The talk about the making of an image.
- The enthusiasm about visual language.
- The shared love of paper, colour, the end effect.
- The shared fascination of the progress of an etched image from start to finish.
- Constantly meeting Painters and Sculptors who come there to work collaboratively with Master Printers on the Visiting Artists program.
The Graphic Studio Gallery which the Studio owns, show my work.
Collaboration with other printmakers in my case currently means I need to work with another well trained printmaker on the larger pieces because it would be physically impossible to achieve the printing a successful print on my own. The weight of the large plates is considerable. They need 2 people to handle them. It would be counter- productive to work on these on my own. It is at the colour proofing and editing stage that I need to ask a skilled printmaker to work with me. Inking up the plate may take hours, and you have to be time-aware, because some ink colours dry and will not print properly.
Your work is described as BIG can you explain the constrictions that size place on your art within the printmaking field?
The main constriction is the size of the press bed in Graphic Studio. My metre square plates fit easily, with ample room around the plate. As I use my studio in Wicklow for working on the plates, I have recently invested in a wonderful new acid bath from Polymetaal, Holland, which easily fits the larger plates. I love BIG. The generosity and expansiveness is good.
Expand on your work ‘Delphinium 11?
Thinking I was totally finished with Delphiniums, recently having completed Delphiniums I, Delphinium II was inspired by a large stand of wondrously stunning delphiniums on a sunny June day in a neighbour’s garden. The leaves articulation is different to Delphinium I, more 3dimensional, and with a variety of bright greens. The blues and purple-blues are also different. In that garden, I felt a bit more could be said to honour the Delphinium statement. I felt I hadn’t said it all, yet.
You call ‘Clematis orientalist’ “the big one”. Can you explain this?
Clematis Orientalis III is a large rectangular 4’6”high x 3’wide etching. I have made 2 smaller etchings of the same plant, for A Natural Selection - a show which was originally a fund raiser for the Studio, 100 artists contributing a limited edition print, image inspired by National Botanical Gardens, Dublin.
You work with both plants and flowers how would you categorize your work?
In describing my work, the most accurate words are: Loosely Botanical.
That might be a category?
By adding that Georgia O’Keefe, the American painter, has been an influence will give a sense of clarity.
I have never been able to describe my work with accuracy, using words.
Your work has such a very strong Botanical aspect, discuss?
Adding in explanatory elements of visual interest is a nod towards Botanical illustration of the past, where much information is on the page. My extra elements are there because they balance a composition, and are very carefully balanced in themselves. They are not intended to be botanically accurate. Some plant elements are extremely sensuous visually and although tiny, are magnificently beautiful: wonders of design, and the Bauhaus principle ‘Form follows function’.
When working on both exhibition layout and print size how do you decide on the size of the work?
Exhibition layout is usually a balance between large and small works, depending on the constraints of the gallery. In deciding about the size of an etching, if I feel an image of a plant will make an adequate visual impact, then the large format will work. At the drawing stage this is assessed. Drawings may start on a small scale, then develop into a larger format. The plant also has to have enough visual drama to hold its own on a large scale. Often, holding a magnifying glass to a plant is the only way to see the detail.
If you want this detail to be a part of the image, scaling up is the only solution. Degrees of admiration and wonder and recognition of a magnificence [to do with the visual impact] play a part.
Where do you find your subjects (plants and flowers)? Are you, like many, a keen gardener?
As a great admirer of the world of plants and flowers, yes, my subjects are mostly from my garden. If I was to let myself get swallowed up by my very wild garden and the notions it inspires, I would never get an etching either started or finished.
Many of your works can be found in hospitals and also at the Dublin Family Law Courts. Do you see your work as calming? How would you describe it?
Some of my work is calming. I relish calm. In calm, I get space to think thoughts, have new ideas, and make progress with the etchings.
Calm lets people breathe about the goodness of themselves, potential for happiness and positivity of life.
When the ingredients of balance, calm, sensuousness are at an optimum in a piece that is when I feel it is acceptable. A visual harmony has been worked towards and concluded.
Although being collected by Museums etc. is wonderful, having my work in places where people are stressed is important to me. I have had excellent feedback about my work in the above; a settling down of upset and raw nerves.
Contact details
grainnecuffe@gmail.com
http://www.grainnecuffe.ie
Gráinne Cuffe, Dublin, Ireland
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, October, 2014
Latchezar Boyadjiev
Originally you worked in the field of optical glass, can you explain this process and the type of work you were able to produce using this method?
The term optical glass comes from using optical glass to create my sculptures.
I was using glass segments to construct my pieces. They were mostly clear optical with inclusion of coloured glass segments to bring a little life to the coldness of the crystal.
Each segment was cut according to my drawing and ground, fine ground and polished. After finishing the sections I was gluing them together with an opticly clear adhesive.
Why did you change to cast glass?
I was limited by this technique regarding size and colours. I wanted my work to be more dynamic and have great impact on the viewer.
I always wanted to try kiln casting and after a visit to the Czech Republic in 1996 I started casting my work there.
It was a in collaboration with the Czech Foundry that lasted about 15 years and is still going even though I started casting my work in my studio in California.
Can you take us through the process you use now from drawing, clay modelling to the final cast glass piece?
First and most important is the drawing. I spend a lot of time drawing on a craft paper with charcoal. When I like the particular sculpture I start modelling with clay. After the clay is done I make a negative plaster mould and then cast the original in plaster.
I grind and make the plaster positive perfect as I want it to look in glass. From the plaster positive I make another negative mould for glass using silica sand and plaster.
After the mould is dry I place it in a kiln. Than I measure the right amount of glass needed and load the mould with coloured glass billets which are in a shape of 8”x8”x1” thick tiles.
Then I program the kiln computer to adjust the temperature and annealing times depending on the thickness of the glass – the thicker the glass the longer the annealing is. It usually takes two to three weeks to melt and cool a sculpture.
After the piece is done than the hardest part is to finish the surfaces. It involves a lot of grounding, fine grinding with diamond tools, polishing, sand blasting and other finishing techniques.
You personally take your plaster positives to The Czech Republic, why?
I have been doing that for 12 years. It was easier to pack four plaster models in two boxes and take them as a luggage than to ship them. Also I wanted to talk to the foundry people in person choosing the right colours and finishes for the pieces.
Not only has your glass changed from optical to cast, your drawing material has also changed from pencil to charcoal. Can you tell us why?
Pencil drawings are great for smaller designs. When you get to draw life size of three, four feet sculptures the pencil becomes an obstacle – it slows me down.
Can you discuss the way you use a combination of glass and metal in ‘Radience’ / 'illumination'?
I wanted to introduce a light in my sculpture and designed a stainless steel structure with a built in LED light. The light is shooting up through the glass and illuminates it. It comes alive – almost like fire in a torch.
‘Illumination’
Shape and colour describe your work; can you expand on this?
Glass is a cold material. I am trying to soften the crystal structure appearance of the material. Giving it dynamic shapes, combined with fluidity and vibrant colours to express my feelings and emotions. You can take any two pieces of my work and find out about it.
The piece ‘Pursuit’ shows the control you have over glass and how you have the flow of colour within the piece. Please discuss?
The flow of the colour is achieved by controlling the thickness of the glass – the thinner it is lighter and the thicker – the darker.
‘Pursuit’
It is well know that you deflected to the United States via Italy in 1986. How does it feel to have to come from this position to having your art in residence at the White House, in Washington DC?
It is my dream come through. I came here after being in a refugee camp in Italy for few months. Arriving with $65 in my pocket and very limited English. Finding work with glass right away and opening of my studio in 1988 was very hard but rewarding.
Being part of museums and private collections including the White House was very rewarding.
‘Creation'
Your work was first introduced at SOFA in 1996 - how has this affected your career?
Actually it was 1991 and the time was named New Art Forms. It became one of the highlights for the year along with the solo shows I had in galleries representing my work.
'SOFA display 2003’
For those who do not know, can you explain about SOFA?
Sofa is the most prestigious art fair for contemporary Sculptural and Applied arts around the world. The top galleries from around the world are exhibiting their top artists. The show is only four or five days in the Navy Pier Convention Center in Chicago.
With a piece like ‘Emotion’ you have had it cast in many colours. Explain how many castings you make and how you choose the colours?
‘Emotion'
I do up to six castings of the same design but in different colours so no piece is ever the same. Some designs are only a single casting, some two or three. It is very rare to have 6 castings from the same design.
Your statement, “I want my work to become a part of modern architecture and a contemporary environment to reflect the era we live in”. Can you expand on this?
At the moment I am working on developing and finishing larger castings up to 7’ in my studio in Marin County. Ultimately they will become part of modern architecture and be viewed by many people and not only by few selected collectors.
Can you discuss one of your Commercial pieces and one Residential piece?
I do not make any difference between both. Each one is my work and I put my best to achieve whatever the task is.
In 2008 you had an exhibition at the Academy of Art in Sofia, Bulgaria This took you full circle; how did this feel?
It was great to come back to where my roots are and where I began drawing and sculpting.
It was covered by all media extensively and was the first large exhibition of glass sculptures in Bulgaria ever.
‘Quest'
You constantly exhibit, how far ahead do you work with your exhibition program?
I work with year to two ahead scheduling exhibitions and planning my future work.
I always plan ahead but I am ready to face any challenges that always come when you are pushing the limits or the economy affects the sales.
One of my favourite mottoes is:
“Plan for the best but prepare for the worst!"
‘Stream'
Contact details.
Latchezar Boyadjiev
5498 Nave Drive
Novato, CA 94949
415-883-2025
Website: www.LatchezarBoyadjiev.com
Latchezar Boyadjiev, California, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, September, 2013
Vally Nomidou
Your exhibition ‘Let it Bleed’ is made up of female forms. Can you explain the vulnerability you have been able to portray?
Fragility is the way women artists insisted to present as a plastic value in the 20th century. I worked out my figures spontaneously with the intention to show the mental state of ‘'between’. Between different trends, orientations, routes, decisions. The situation to be between and to do connections, fragile connections with a variety of possibilities, with uncertainty. Without a final decision. With tyranny. The difficulty, the sensitivity, the contrary emotions that coexist, the agony, the empathy, the cowardice, the fear. The game and the pleasure to express all this situation sometimes gently and sometimes hard. That wonderful 'embarrassment' in routes which you discover surprisingly. All these are a fragile world written on the female body which I build.
How many figures were in the exhibition?
There were seven figures in the exhibition, two small heads and a flower hand as well.
Can you expand on the use of stitch in the work?
Stitch as the meaning of the word describes, can be sewing, stitching (difficult, unnatural union) suggesting wound: wounds and holes (an emptiness). Mental gaps, wounds, difficult compounds that can be shown as wild jewellery, as strange rhythms on the figure. Stitches, episodes of soul and form.
Explain the building process in your figures?
I choose the person and I think with my senses what is that I want to show. I imagine postures and I try postures suggesting an unbalanced situation. We photograph all around the figure. I get molds partially from different parts of the body. I photograph gaps and compounds of the molds. I collect my molds on a table. At this stage I start my paper sculptures.
I create a colored palette collecting papers. Toilet paper, handmade paper and old newspapers. I make layers from paper inside the molds with acrylic glue and paintbrush. That means that I decide before which colour my figures will have.
With a specific printing tool I stick cardboard inside my mold. After drying I get my figure out of the molds .At the end I have many parts of paper forms. Then I start building. I connect the parts using cardboard till I create a whole figure. The difficult and beautiful work starts now. I use wooden tools to work with my figures. Knives, rasps, files. I work the whole form adding and removing again and again.
Who are your sitters and the personality of your figures?
People I know, anonymous people, simple people, children, (my son, a refugee girl, a lonely girl with a famous family) an abnormal dancer...
Why have you placed some figures onto forms?
They are abandoned and beautiful bedded in morbidity.
Can you discuss the personality of your figures?
All of them have something vulnerable. They are personalities under formation, defenseless against their fate. The women usually have a narcissism covering their despair.
Explain the fragility of #15 by both her age and position?
The same person express the abandonment, placed on the shelf, on high level, marginally placed on the edge.
In #19 you have left a large area showing the base, discuss this?
It is the same person again, created without any purpose to hide something or to become a plastic value. It is abandoned so to be exposed her draft construction of her structure. With that way it is given a tension to the breakdown of her personality and her individual construction. There is an emphasis to the coincidence and the deficiencies that create that image. That drama is emphasized by the base, which is a working base, and as a memorial stand. It is a contrast, an exaggeration. Let's say it is a hymn to those who face difficulties and harm in their childhood.
Also on #19 colour is more prominent, can you explain why?
All the material on that sculpture are unique and natural, as I found them. With their own identity and colour.
#20 and #21 you have not constructed whole figures rather a head and hands discuss this part of the exhibition?
#21 is a symbol. These parts of the figure are changed and separated from the whole sculpture. #20 is a small head another version of my figure portrait.
#20 is a small head another version of my figure portrait.
What lead you to limit you work to paper?
I love paper and its history. I like it because it comes from East and from the European Middle Ages tradition. It a light material. (It’s not belong to the traditional culture of sculpture). I reminds me maps, miniatures sensitive and light objects that show and describe real and imaginary worlds. It is light, recyclable and it has history. I love its discretion.
What are you currently working on?
I am working on projects, work on paper and some artist's books (thoughts and feeling diaries) and botanical drawings.
Contact Details:
Email: nomidouv@yahoo.gr
Vally Nomidou, Athens, Greece
Translation by Apostalia Tasiou
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, September 2014
Gary Drostle
How did you come to work in this particular medium?
After leaving Art College in 1984 I knew I wanted to work outside the gallery system, in public spaces, this was for me a rejection of what seemed a narrow and elitist system. I began to paint murals, but working outside on the street is a much harsher environment than a gallery and issues of durability and lightfastness became important issues. When I discovered mosaic art in 1990 this immediately solved those problems. I hunted for all the information I could find about most and basically taught myself from books to undertake my first mosaic commission. Initially I continued to work as a mural painter whose medium was mosaic but increasingly, as I have used and explored the medium of mosaic further, the medium of mosaic has gripped me and drawn me in. Mosaic has so much more to offer than the simple translation of a painting, it contains a beautiful and mesmerizing world full of patterns, textures, light, pure colour, expressive use of cutting and laying, the cohesion and breaking apart of the image… So much more to yet discover.
Discuss the different techniques that are required for mosaic. The distinction is not really about 2D or 3D but about flat mosaics verses not flat mosaics.
All floor mosaics need to be flat, and sometimes wall or panel mosaic are wanted flat too. The technique I used to achieve a flat surface is known as the paper-faced indirect technique. This process really begins with the cartoon, a full size drawing of the design on paper - however the design is drawn in lateral inversion (mirror image). Once this is prepared the mosaic tesserae are cut by hand and individually glued faced down onto the paper design using a simple flour and water paste. The mosaic is constructed in this way, if it is large it is cut between the tesserae into manageable sections as it is completed. Once the whole mosaic is complete it is transported to the site where it is flipped upside down and placed into fresh cement on the floor or wall. The paper, now on the top, is then damped, releasing the glue. The paper is then removed and the mosaic is left bedded in the cement. It just remains then for the mosaic to be grouted and cleaned.
This is a great technique for making mosaics, allowing construction in the comfort of the studio at any time of the year.
The technique used for 3D and for 2D mosaics that one wishes to have texture is the traditional direct method. Nothing could be simpler than pushing the tesserae directly into the setting mortar. It is the essence of pure mosaic making, giving ultimate control of texture and light on the work and allowing the artist to express the physical nature of mosaic directly with the hand. It is a beautiful way to work in mosaic.
It was through your work, ‘The River Life’ that I became aware of your mosaic work. Can you discuss the meaning behind the work, how long it took to lay and the number of people involved in the project?
The River of Life mosaic was probably my favorite work to date, perhaps particularly because the client, The University of Iowa, really showed great trust in me to create a work that I believed would work best. A committee that is willing to have faith in its appointed artist is unfortunately very rare, but I do believe that giving the appointed artist freedom to create the best they can is the way to get the best work and Iowa University was such a client.
Like most of my public, site specific commissions the starting point for this project was the site itself. I began looking at the function of the building, the campus health and fitness center, and its philosophy of Wellbeing. Then I looked further out and the terrible floods in Iowa City that instigated the building of the new center, and the meandering river itself, then to the communities around it and in particular to their textiles, the Amish quilt making and the First Nation Iowa people and their textiles, also the basket weavers of the local area.
When it came to drawing all this information together it began as a struggle but then there was one of those eureka moments (as I sat staring at an aerial picture of the Iowa River) when everything just fell into place. For me the River of Life sums up these diverse ideas all together with so much more. I imagined the source of the river being birth, with the life lines of people’s lives running along the river as individual courses of tesserae. The pattern fields of the surrounding countryside formed the background through which the river flowed, made up of those textile patterns. The central golden section of the patterns represented Wellbeing, a life in balance, whilst the grey outer sections represented life out of balance. The life lines of the river tracing their way through, sometimes bursting its banks as some lives go ‘off the rails’. It all fitted together beautifully.
As this was a large mosaic I needed help to construct it. I worked with a varying team of about five at any one time during the six months construction using the indirect paper face technique in my London studio. For the installation I and one other came from London and we were joined by two US mosaic makers to install the work over the course of two weeks.
For me this project was a great success as it worked on so many levels from the design to the technical and most importantly the functional success of the work for those who use the center.
Can you discuss one of your earlier works and the importance it has played in your career?
When I think of past mosaic works that may have marked changes in my work two pieces spring to mind, the Sunburst mosaic for Islington in North London and the Fishpond mosaic for Southampton East Park.
The Sunburst Mosaic was my first mosaic. It was commissioned by Islington Council and was basically an extension to an earlier painted mural commission to the extensive underpass network. Islington Council showed great trust in allowing myself and my colleague for that commission, Ruth Priestley, to create a mosaic based purely on our painted commissions. We made the vitreous glass mosaic in the attic of my father’s house using the paper faced method, it was a huge learning experience and set us both off on a new voyage of discovery and love for mosaic art.
The mosaic for Southampton East Park was commissioned in 2005 and was significant for me for one particular reason. The commission through a landscape architect was to make a 9 meter diameter mosaic which was to be designed by another artist, Caroline Ishghar. The commission came at a point when I was working with artist Rob Turner and our studio was doing well, we were confident of our design, fabrication and installation of our own mosaics.
When the design for Southampton arrived in the studio it was a small loose painting, unlike our designs to that point it paid no heed to the palette of available colours or any ideas of classical andamento - this was a big challenge but the process of translating the design into mosaic made me realize how much more was possible in the medium and it became realization of a new freedom in creating mosaics offering a greater freedom for future designs.
Can you explain the logistics needed to produce ‘Entwined Histories’?
The ‘Entwined Histories’ mosaic sculpture was commissioned by Poplar HARCA, a public housing developer in east London.
For me this commission was great fun and I hope a good example of how site, history, creativity and community can come together to realize an artwork that is truly site specific. As always the commission began with research into the local areas history, in this case picking up on the fact that the area was the former site of the major rope makers for the London Docks. The other factor that was important about the local area today was the large Bangladeshi community. This area of London, because of its proximity to the docks and correspondingly its large stock of poor housing, has always been a focus for migrant communities coming to London dating back many centuries including the French Huguenots, Irish Weavers, Chinese Sailors and Ashkenazi Jews. These communities settled in east London and made it their home, many often working in the textile industry. This of course sparked links to the earlier River of Life project. So I designed this large rope form, with each strand of the rope representing a different community in the area using a textile pattern associated with that community. I saw this as a perfect expression of how the larger community worked, each through its own strand keeping its identity but all binding, uniting to form a stronger whole - I was happy with this positive view of our multi-cultural neighborhoods. At the top of the sculpture the strands turn out to the world revealing a golden interior, I saw this as the result of the nurturing community enabling its members to grow and aspire to greater things.
Making a sculpture like this is always a challenge. I carved the polystyrene form around a stainless steel frame and then coated it with glass reinforced concrete. Once this was dry the mosaic process began, working directly onto the form the tesserae were cut and stuck to the sculpture. Once the mosaic work was finished the sculpture was grouted and cleaned. The sculpture included a lifting hook in the top and a fixing plate on the base allowing it to be hoisted out of the studio, transported to the site bolted into place.
Discuss the importance of the Mosaic Arts International exhibition to your career?
SAMA’s annual Mosaic Arts International exhibition is significant for me because it is the only regular juried mosaic exhibition that has recognized the importance and value of architectural mosaics, which after all is really the essence and birthplace of mosaic art. They do this by allowing photographic entry into their juried exhibition. I am extremely grateful to SAMA for their commitment to architectural mosaics in this way and am very proud that my work has been selected for many of their exhibitions - really it is the only opportunity for me to showcase my work to a larger audience and also to my peers. One of the great things about the world of mosaic art is the very open and supportive nature of mosaic artists, it is a friendly and passionate community.
Explain the overlapping of your work in modern London and the Roman mosaics found throughout the UK?
The Romans were the greatest exponents of mosaic art and there have been over a thousand Roman mosaic floors found in Britain alone. Obviously as a modern mosaic maker I am very aware of our Roman heritage and greatly admire these works. The Romans have a lot to teach us about mosaic making, in particular I admire the economy of their work, the way in which they balance the amount of labor, the detail of design and the cutting of the tesserae. As well as trying to use this knowledge in creating my own mosaics I have referenced Roman mosaics as part of acknowledging the history of a specific site and even just created Roman style mosaics for specific commissions such as those for Chester’s Roman Gardens which were realized in close co-operation with the city’s archaeologists.
‘Woolwich’ has a very personal association for you. Please discuss this?
I was born in Woolwich and have lived there most of my life, indeed I would still be there if it had not been for the loss of my family flat to the recent riots, which was quite a tragedy forcing me to move out of the area. I have a great affection for this unique corner of London. Woolwich has always been a poor working class area, far from the glamour of central London, but it has an amazing history and some wonderful architecture combined with a great multi-cultural community, the whole world is in Woolwich and I feel it keeps me grounded. It is home…
Expand on your personal thoughts about the importance of public art in contemporary life?
For me pubic art is about democracy, it’s about seeing art as a part of all our lives, it’s about seeing all the arts as a vital part of humanity and civilization - we are here not just to work and survive, life is actually about love and play of which art is an essential part. Unfortunately, like much of life now, art is being ‘privatized’, a commodity to be traded, something reserved just for those who can afford it. Genuine public art is the antithesis of the arts combined, it is site specific so cannot be traded, it is open to all. I’m not saying that only public art is worthwhile, far from it, all the arts, painting, sculpture, music, dance, drama, they are all vital. I would like to see a future where art is more prevalent than advertising on our streets, art that fills our world. The problem with public art at the moment is that it is too precious, because of its rarity, and this preciousness leads to over caution. Like the rest of life there is also a battle going on in ‘public art’ as corporate ‘public’ art threatens to replace art generated from communities.
Contact details.
Website:www.drostle.com
Email:gary@drostle.com
Gary Drostle, Central London, England
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, September, 2014
Kathryn Matthews
Your art training has been in two countries, The Netherlands and the UK. Can you discuss the differences and how this shows in your work?
The Dutch are more open minded about art in general and painting is not as elitist as it is here in England. I had my first abstract painting classes in Holland which terrified me as I went there straight from A-level college in the UK which is all about painting as realistically as possible.
Your studio is in Shoreham-by-Sea. Can you share both your studio (inside) and explain the effect living by the sea has on your art?
My studio and my gallery are both virtually on the beach about 6 miles from each other. From both I have an incredible view of the sea and the south coast. It is ever changing. The beach outside my studio is quite wild with lots of beach flowers. From May – July, the beach is a wash of pinks, purples and blues. In the summer months I swim a lot which helps me focus on my work.
Shoreham
Discuss both the sea and colour in your work?
I am quite well known for my use of colour. I use very high quality oils with a high pigment ratio which I think is important to make my colours ‘sing’. Occassionally I treat myself to a certain blue which is prohibitively expensive but it looks incredible. My obsession with the sea began whilst studying at Rotterdam Art Academy. My studio overlooked the harbour and I became fascinated by the shapes and colours of the boats.
Boats1
You work from, “Quick sketches”. Can you discuss the stages your work takes?
My sketches have become quicker since having children as they don’t let me sit still for long! However, the speed of the sketches mean that the lines are fluid and not overworked which I hope carries through onto my paintings.
You exhibit around the world, both solo and group shows. Can you expand on how this had developed over the past 20 years?
I began by doing all the big art fairs in London, selling the work myself until I got picked up by several agents and galleries who offered me exhibitions and gallery led art fairs in London / Dubai / Paris and New York. I’ve always worked very hard and it took a lot of perseverance in the early days to get my paintings out there.
The Wheel
How important has the internet become for your artistic career?
The internet has brought a whole new audience. I now have customers across the world seeing a painting on my website and having it shipped out across the globe. In fact I have quite a few customers in Melbourne who have done just that!
You have done several commissions in particular for P&O Cruises, can you expand on this?
This was really fun as the paintings were huge. There were lots of very specific guidelines though for example everything had to be certifiably fireproofed so I couldn’t paint on board as normal, I had to paint on a special canvas that is used in theatre set building!
How important is commission work to your career?
It is an essential part of my career but it can be quite nerve racking when you bring the client in for ‘the big reveal’! Thank goodness I have never yet had someone who didn’t love what I’d done but it can be terrifying!
Commission Piece
Discuss your thoughts on the importance of art in hospitals?
I spent some time in hospital a few years ago when my baby son needed heart surgery. It’s a difficult time for parents and so if in any way I can help make the time pass more easily, I am happy to do that. I remember once going to meet a consultant and the room looked dreadful with a half torn Mickey Mouse poster on the walls. It shouldn’t have been important but it did make me worry about the standard of the place.
You also present your work in the form of prints. Please discuss?
My paintings are not for everyone’s budget so I am glad to be able to offer a cheaper option if someone really likes my work. I do both signed Giclee prints and also limited edition handmade silk screen prints.
When did you first start using this medium?
I trained as a print maker at university.
Seagulls On The Rock
How do you decide which works become prints?
I choose the most popular paintings to turn into giclee prints. With screen prints it is completely different though. There is no original – The print is the original in its own right. It isn’t a copy of a painting.
How many do you have printed per Edition?
The screen prints have a maximum of around 75.
Norfolk
Can you discuss your involvement in the Two Kats and a Cow Gallery?
I set up Two Kats and a cow Gallery in 2001 with friends and fellow painters Katty McMurray and John Marshall. We’d all been painting on the seafront for a few years but felt like Brighton was lacking a good contemporary art gallery. We completely renovated it ourselves and built it up to be what is now a major gallery in the South and a popular venue on the Brighton Tourist trail.
Brighton Pier
Can you discuss your work, ‘Mevagissey Morning’?
Mevagissey morning was painted this year and sold almost as soon as I hung it. It all came together really well. Sometimes a painting just flows and everything worked with this one from the word go.
It is quite a large painting; 90 x 90 cm plus frame. Its oil on board.
I’m a huge fan of both Cornwall and the Cornish artists of the 2oth century. In particular the St Ives Group – Peter Lanyon, Roger Hilton, Alfred Wallis.
Mevagissey Morning
In you 2014 Collection you have work from the Souk. Can you discuss both the place and the inspiration it has given you?
Entrance to the Souk
I took my boyfriend to Marakesh as a surprise 40th birthday present. He ended up suprising me by proposing to me whilst we were there so this painting has lovely memories for me. Morocco is so inspiring. The souks especially are such an explosion of colours – it’s a painting paradise.
The Hat Shop in the Souk
Contact details.
www.kathrynmatthewsartist.co.uk
www.twokatsandacow.com
Kathryn Matthews, Shoreham-by-Sea, UK
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, September, 2014
Jon Barlow Hudson
Can you discuss your thoughts on where and with whom the “Behind the Scenes’ drawings etc. for a public art piece are stored for prosperity?
This is a very broad question and one I cannot really answer as I am sure that of the hundreds of public art entities deal with such things in different ways. Sometimes they might want the drawings or whatever that lead up to their piece to be part of their documentation of a project and others might not care at all. An unusual example is that I not long ago donated all my structural engineering papers and others to the Queensland State Library in Brisbane relative to my two major sculpture projects for the World Expo 1988, held in Brisbane. The Minister for the Arts Ian Walker received the donation into the library. Following that I offered the stainless steel sectional maquettes of the 100 foot high sculpture PARADIGM, to them also, to fill out their Expo collection. Often such items and donation might simply go the relevant public art committee.
Discuss your thoughts on world exposure to your sculptures career?
I attribute my work as an artist to having grown up traveling and living around the world from a very early age. All that I have seen, experienced and done, overseas in particular, has made me the unique person and the artist that I am: without which I would be a totally different person. The shape and meaning of my sculptures is the fruit of this experience. My first large--scale public sculpture project overseas was the commission of two very large scale stainless steel sculptures for World Expo 1988 in Brisbane, Australia. Following that project, I continued to receive commissions for projects in, 27 different countries. If I could say that one project led specifically to another, I would. I can only surmise that each and all of these overseas projects and international and intercultural experiences has contributed in one way or another to ‘My life, my sculpture and to my career’. Back in ’86 when I first made contact with Expo, to my perception there was not much attention to overseas projects by national artists. Given my life experience, it made eminent sense to focus outward and pursue overseas projects since my sculpture and my aesthetic sensibility is based upon universals and the timelessness of art and creativity, I was charged with expanding around the world with my sculpture. This has in turn immeasurably enriched my life not just by the experiences, but through the friendships and personal contacts that I have encountered throughout these overseas adventures. I probably know more international artists and friends than I do State—side, all of whom have made some contribution to my life and career.
ASWAN SYNCHRONICITY & TS’UNG TUBES
2001, 2002, Aswan granite. Aswan International Sculpture Park, Aswan, Egypt
How important was your time with Charles Ginnever in Vermont to your later professional life as a sculptor?
I greatly value the year with Ginnever both for his friendship and for the experience of being around a professional “New York” sculptor whose friends and colleagues were/are DeSuvero, Chamberlin, Kaprow, Forakis, Downsberry, Weiner and others. I helped make his large scale steel sculptures and helped with his exhibits, such as with the Louis Kahn maquettes and his sculpture models. It provided a creative, adventurous environment in which to explore and develop my own sculptural ideas.
Towards the end of the year, his friends Allan Kaprow and Paul Brach, among others, were helping form the California Institute of the Arts in LA, which led to my attending Cal Arts for its first two years, resulting in my BFA and MFA in 1972. Had I stayed in my home town working in my studio, or returned to Germany or elsewhere, my life would have been totally different. My time with Ginnever let to Cal Arts, which led to the 2 years working at a gold mine in northern California, then to New Mexico and on. He lives in my mind as a quintessential American sculptor, making wonderful sculpture, on a par with his contemporaries.
DANTE’S RIG, Chuck Ginnever
Aluminium, steel & cables. About 3 m. hi.X 4 m. L. x 2 m. wide. c 1966 aprox.
Discuss how your art has been influenced by your travels?
My first five years were on the plains of Wyoming. The American First Nations peoples say that these years are a time that is very important in one's formation, so they ask about your upbringing during these years. Following this we moved east, then about a year later we continued on east to the deserts of Saudi Arabia for three years: still formative years. My world travels began then and continue today. That early experience in the Mid East and other places between here and there, exposure to ancient stone architectures and distinctive, impressive natural environments, have been a constant inspiration in my being, my relation to the natural environment of the world, to previous cultures and creative products of both ancient and contemporary times---and of the sculpture I make today. As a kid, to climb around Baalbek, Petra, Jerash, Rome, Machu Pichu, puts one in touch with earlier peoples---one receives a communication from them. While I began my public art "career" working with stainless steel, a rather contemporary material, I tend to prefer working with stone: both as a way to work with nature, but also to do as the makers of Baalbek did, and speak to peoples down thru time into the future.
You have a strong background in the fine arts. Discuss your thoughts on how an academic background supports an artist
Creativity takes as many forms as there are artists. Each artist must follow and create their own path. For some it may be as an independent, “folk” or “non-academic” artist, as an artist nevertheless. Such folks often have a strong sense of discipline and vision, so are easily at work rather than not. My lot was to grow up going to school, then on to college, transferring to the Dayton Art Institute, then Stuttgart Art Academy, Ginnever’s farm studio, finally Cal Arts, eventually teaching art at university. My trajectory was academically based. It provided me with a broad education and experience in making art in a wide variety of media and a broad study of the history of the various arts. My intention was to teach art, and for that the academic foundation is necessary. Interest changed and I focused on making sculpture as an independent artist. However, I consider that a broad education is important in teaching critical thinking, an open and inquiring mind and providing useful training and discipline for whatever creative endeavour one might choose.
Can you discuss the commission of ‘FIREWALL?
A state-wide competition was set up calling for a firefighter memorial for this country region. My past work got me chosen to make a proposal, which was the one selected.
FIREWALL
c 2010, Steel powder coated, stainless steel, aluminium, brick, 5 meters high x 15 m. x 15m. Miami Valley Firefighter/EMS Memorial
FIREWALL was commissioned to be a memorial for fallen firefighters and emergency medical service people. I wanted to create something that was an obvious reference to firefighting and that was different from other such memorials. I also wanted to create something that was an outdoor environmental work that created a special and sacred space for memorial services to take place. The triangular shapes were arrived at in order to symbolize fires, and of course the colour red. There are numerous firefighting symbols within the work, along with a silhouette of a firefighter. This was inspired by a Jain icon of the Buddha—the figure being empty space. The brick precinct within which the three triangles are installed includes the firefighting symbol of the axe and hose nozzle.
The memorial is installed in a natural park setting with a path made of cobble-stones from an old fire station. As one approaches the memorial down the pathway, one will see the three fires/triangles, then the silhouette of the fallen firefighter cut out in the bright aluminium diamond--plate in the centre of the large triangle—which material is found in the middle of many fire trucks. Then as one enters the precinct, one is surrounded by the three fires—much like the experience of the firefighter performing their duties.
On both sides of the silhouette are attached the names of currently 68 fallen firefighters & EMS personnel. The sculpture is 5 m. hi. The largest triangle and the three of them are installed on a brick precinct 15 m. on a side. The triangles are made of welded steel powder-coated red, with parts in aluminium, stainless steel and brass. It is installed in Stubbs Memorial Park, Centerville, OH, USA, 2010.
‘Double Helix’ is a mathematical piece and it is also viewed daily by professional mathematicians. Can you discuss this?
HELIX was commissioned for the Wright State University Diggs Life Science Laboratory in an Ohio state percent for art project 2008. Their theme was the bio-sciences, as well as mathematics and geometry, given that the math building was next door and some of their funds were involved. After much thought and research into these disciplines, I arrived at the idea of a double helix constructed of dodecahedra, which are Platonic solids constructed of 12 pentagonal shapes. They are welded together, with the welds ground down and away, so that the geometry remains clean and clear. They are assembled in the configuration of two helix which intertwine but do not touch. They are large enough for people to walk through them and sit on them. This project was designed in relation to the environment of the bioscience building courtyard and other surrounding buildings.
The sculpture is constructed of welded stainless steel with sanded surfaces, each pentagon being unique and is installed on a berm of grass covered earth with a black brick surface just under the sculpture. It is 2.6m. hi. X 2.6m. w. x 8 m. Long.
As the viewer walks around HELIX they will see how the two helixes intertwine and rotate in a flow of geometric form. The many different surfaces reflect the light in many different angles so the light and colour is multifaceted. Most double helix sculptures look more like the DNA molecular structure, whereas this one is more abstract, the two helixes are not connected together and the use of dodecahedra is not normally associated with DNA double helixes. As the viewer walks through the canter of HELIX they will be surrounded by dodecahedra, as if in the world of geometry.
I have not had feedback as to specifically what mathematicians think about it, but what I have heard has been positive. When I was installing it, one of the bio science professors came out and screamed for the installation to stop, because the vortex was turning in the “wrong” direction. I was later told that DNA helix turn in both directions: Z-DNA. In any case, this is poetry and not an engineering or scientific model.
DOUBLE HELIX
c 2008, stainless steel, 3 m. hi. x 3m d. x 8 m. long. Ohio Arts Council Public Art Project, Diggs Life Science Lab., Wright State University, Datyon, OH
PARADIGM is also mathematical. Explain this work within a mathematical context.
PARADIGM is the sculptural expression of the DNA molecular structure, the double helix being the notable feature—here indicated by the spiralling pattern of the tube forms emanating from the body of the sculpture. The other important meaning of the sculpture is that it is the “axis mundi”—world axis, the metaphorical axis around which the world turns, the “still point of the turning world”, which is Brisbane during Expo.
PARADIGM Detail
A paradigm is a pattern, example, or model, for example, of a particular world view during a certain time period. In my vision, the oscillating/spiralling aspect of this sculpture represents the changing, flowing, cycling of various aspects of the world along the continuum of existence. There is a pattern to events on the macro-cosmic perspective, more difficult of vision on the micro-cosmic level. On a rather micro-cosmic level the monocoque structural form and pattern of the sculpture is very reminiscent indeed of a “cholla” cactus “skeleton” from the Arizona desert, where I lived for a year. Even though it is a very geometric form it is nevertheless a very organic form in its essence.
Speaking of skeletons, another reference that PARADIGM indicates is that of the vertebral column, which, while practicing Tai Chi or other martial arts, must always be very straight so that the energy may flow freely. Thus PARADIGM is a “vertebral column” between the earth and heaven thru which the energy of the universe flows. I think of PARADIGM as representing another aspect of existence—that each segment represents the conscious awareness of each present moment of being on the continuum of the progression of time, extending up into infinite space and time. The segments are designed with both yin and yang aspects to their form -- the protruding cylinders and the round openings to the interior. This later aspect leads to yet another realm of meaning, inspired by the ancient Neolithic Chinese jade ritual objects called a “cong” or “ts’ung tube”, symbols of the unity of heaven and earth. They are generally square forms, often segmented horizontally, with a round, tubular space drilled through the entire stone: the square representing earth, the round space heaven. These are wonderfully intriguing and archetypal artifacts.
PARADIGM is 100 feet high by 8 feet diameter and about 42,000 #’s in weight. It is constructed of type 304 stainless steel—the body of the piece is built with 5/16” thick plate and the tubes are 1/8”. The interior structural elements are all of mild steel, painted with a heavy coat of PFI PF300 Savinite epoxy primer, a high-zinc paint developed for Rockwell International airplanes. The sculpture is built in 7 sections which are bolted together: I believe they are numbered in sequence, which is important due to the structural specs on each successive unit. It was engineered for 110 mph as requested by Expo 88. It has been in storage since Expo, for most of the time under a bridge nearby the river in Brisbane. It was moved to an interior space in advance of my arrival in Brisbane, in 2014, to inspect it and to further the reinstallation of PARADIGM in Brisbane. This is an ongoing challenge. Its companion Expo sculpture, MORNING STAR II, a 15 foot diameter mirror polished stainless steel geometric “diamond” or “star”, was after Expo reinstalled in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens close by the Parliament Gate. A sectional stainless steel maquette of PARADIGM has been offered to the Queensland State Library and was accepted, but awaits shipping. I have been lobbying anyone in government and otherwise regarding its reinstallation since the end of expo, most often the Lord Mayor. The current Lord Mayor has indicated his support for the reinstallation, but discusses the need for a suitable context and funding. As a result of not altogether proper storage, it now will require a bit of maintenance.
A wonderful gentleman in Brisbane, who has become a good friend, Mr. Peter Rasey, has been very energetic in promoting the reinstallation of PARADIGM. He is a committee member of the Lord Mayor’s Parks Advisory board and an advisor to the Lord Mayor and others, on special interests regarding tourist projects for Brisbane and the G20. So the fate of a powerful, meaningful, beautiful, landmark sculpture the equal of any other one cares to stand next to it, is still at risk.
PARADIGM
c 1988, stainless steel & 66 airplane lights. 30 meters high x 2.6 m. dia.
Commissions for overseas must present logistic problems. Can you explain one or two of them?
For PARADIGM and MORNING STAR, I had to pre plan their construction taking into consideration the size limit for over—road transport, railroad and sea transport and the size of the steel land—sea shipping containers. MORNING STAR had to have a wooden crate built around it once it was about 80 % complete, not over 12 feet high, so it could go as one unit. PARADIGM had to be designed into 7 sections, so that they could all fit within the shipping container, both length--wise and width—wise. Since it would be constructed in seven sections, over a five month period and had to be constructed horizontally, it was never fully assembled prior to its Expo installation—it stood as straight as an arrow! The shipping had to be coordinated thru a state—side shipping agent and in cooperation with Expo. Once on site, I worked with two New Zealanders to complete MORNING STAR.
Another logistic experience was the commission, thru an architect in Hong Kong, for three large scale sculptures for a project in Jakarta in 1992. Once I had the sculptures completed, in order to ensure payment to me, and for the client to be assured that what they were paying for was indeed three sculptures, I had to have an SGF inspector, as part of the VCS (voluntary control system) come and inspect the sculptures at the fabrication facility, as to their voracity as sculptures conforming to what was ordered by the client in Jakarta. Once that was satisfactorily completed, arrangements were made with the shipping broker to truck the three large crates to the port for sea shipping. Upon their arrival in Jakarta, and damage to one of the sculptures, I spent a couple of weeks on site overseeing repairs of the sculpture and construction of the foundations, along with a stout case of Lord Ganesh’s revenge.
EIDOLA II
c 1992, mirror polished stainless steel, 4 meters high. Mulia Tower, Jakarta
Atrium sculptures must need different design techniques. Discuss one of your atrium pieces and the importance of the positioning in relation to the viewers.
The atrium installation TS’UNG MUSIC was designed for the four story atrium of the Emery Northlake office building just north of Cincinnati. The distinguishing characteristics of the space were the three glass walls surrounding the atrium, with all their mullions and the fourth wall was elevator balconies. On the wall opposite it, were two floor—to--ceiling columns and the ceiling contained a square grid of 25 square skylights, 5 to a row. I was charged by the architect to design a sculpture to work with the given environment of the atrium, so on one hand I had the round columns, on another the windows with all their mullions—lots of horizontal lines and vertical as well. I began working with a rough cage concept and I had the column shape to think about as well. Serendipitously I happened upon an Asian Arts magazine and on the cover was a photo of the Neolithic jade “cong”, or “ts’ung tubes” from ancient China. The author, Lars Berglund, explained that the jade ritual objects represented the unity of heaven and earth: the square outer form being earth, yin, and the round space boring through the square from end to end, is heaven, yang. On the outside surfaces of the square form are often found some vertical motifs and many horizontal incisions. Upon seeing these jade objects, it immediately brought my cage and my column forms together, the latter inside the former. Additionally, the concept of the unity of heaven and earth seemed appropriate for a sculpture suspended in space within a building.
TS’UNG MUSIC
c 1986, photos JBH. Stainless steel & brass. 9 units, from 3’hi x 3’dia. To 27’hi. x 3” dia. Installed originally in Emery Industries/National Distillery Corp., Cincinnati, OH.
Once I had the basic form, what to do next? In looking at the space and how one is to suspend an atrium sculpture, one has to attach it to the ceiling. Given that there are 25 skylights, how to relate to them? What logic to work with? Perhaps in studying the ts’ung tubes, there I think was some mention of the magic square of alchemy and how that relates to the plan of the ts’ung tubes. There are 9 numbers in the square, from 1 to 9: even number in the corners, five in the centre and odd numbers on the sides. This set of numbers fits into the skylight grid of 25 in a diamond plan. So I then had 9 skylights from which to hang nine elements. (Far too many for the budget!) So if the number one position is the skylight for number one element, how to distinguish each from the other 9 elements? Thus 1 became 3 feet high by 3 feet diameter with each number progressing longer by 3 feet and each number progressing smaller in diameter by 3 inches, making number 9 the longest and thinnest. Then how to place them?
The cage design allowed me to utilize the Fibonacci numerical series in the spacing between the horizontal bars, but rather than start at one end, I started in the centre of each element, going both up and down, which allowed for them all to be placed within the space with the centre of each on the same plane, which was I think around the third floor more or less. They had to be high enough above the ground floor pedestrians yet not too high within the atrium. Thus each floor had a unique perspective on the installation.
New owners took over the property in 2008 and for some reason wanted a different “décor” so had the sculpture removed and destroyed, without contacting me or anything of that nature. This was my second Cincinnati atrium sculpture that was destroyed by the Taliban.
Your installations are not always metal. Explain you installation 'Felt Hat Body Install' and relationship of the work to you wife and creative partner, Debbie Brush Henderson PhD?
My wife decided to go for a PhD. in costume history, with a focus on the history of the man’s hat, an area not previously studied. We travelled the country interviewing hat makers and sellers and visiting the few remaining felt hat making factories; in the UK and France as well. The steps of making felt hats are pretty much as they have been for a few hundred years, since “modern” machinery has been involved. The initial steps in forming the felt hat is a machine the blows the fur fibres along a tube, then into a space within which the air is circulated, carrying the fibres, round about a metal cone shape about 30 inches high or so, with holes in it so that the vacuum below it will pull in the circulating air carrying the fibres, which will then build up on the surface of the cone. This is done for a specified length of time to get the required thickness of fibres built up on the cone. It is then removed from the space, dipped in hot water, the felt hat body is then slipped off the cone and folded into a flat cone shape, rolled in a cloth dipped in cold water, beat about a bit, dipped in hot water, beat about a bit, for a few sequences, then moved on to the next steps. Down the line it has been pretty well “felted” together and also died a colour in many cases, so it is then fit over a machine that with steam will form the felt hat body into its first iteration in a hat shape. These are then inspected for potential imperfections and those that don’t pass are set aside and disposed of.
At a factory making such hats, I was provided with about a hundred of these felt hat bodies that did not pass inspection, with which to make a sculptural installation. While there are countless ways to assemble such shapes, I really like the cone shape and that, since it is the fundamental birth formation of the felt hat, and the hat is itself a sort of cone shape—the earliest hats were just that—it seemed to me a reasonable logic with which to assemble the felt hat bodies into a sculptural installation. The hats create a cone texture on the overall shape of the cone structure of their assembly. I chose the hanging cables in deference to the elliptical cable arches which Antonio Gaudi utilized in some of the construction of his great church, the Sagrada Familia.
Debbie chose a topic that we could do together, allowing us to travel widely in search of hats, hat makers, hat factories and the concomitant history. The project resulted in a museum exhibit, as I write this we go tomorrow to take down the 8th museum venue. Debbie also wrote four published books on the subject. We grew to be totally enthralled by the subject and its people and history. I even developed my own collection of hats to wear.
I would like to do more, but I also have a thing about making sculpture out of more permanent materials, like granite. While Debbie does not help with the making of the sculptures, she is my design partner.
FELT HAT INSTALLATION
c 2007, 90 felt hat bodies and nylon lines, about 2 m. dia. X 3 m. hi.
You have work in 27 countries. How do you keep track of everything?
Sculptures are not sacrosanct. They get both taken good care of and not, sometimes vandalized, stolen, destroyed, pushed aside. Just the other day I went with this same friend to see one of my 1985 sculptures in the basement of the bldg. where it was originally installed, for a moved away corp. Thankfully it has been saved, but needs to have the clear lacquer removed, to be repolished and recoated.
Many of the overseas projects are just too far away to hope to deal with, and pertinent individuals that might have something to do with them are either long gone or out of touch. Occasionally, if I am lucky, I might hear from someone regarding a sculpture someplace. Of the two Expo sculptures, MORNING STAR is safe in the Botanical Gardens, though needs wash. PARADIGM, while now in a more secure and weather resistant storage facility rather than under a bridge, is still at risk. The Lord Mayor of Brisbane has indicated his interest in seeing it reinstalled, but how it gets paid for and what context within which to place it has yet to be determined. I have lobbied everyone I could find in Queensland since Expo to get PARADIGM reinstalled. Even seeing it in a dark storage building, laying unassembled in its individual sections, it is still a powerful and impressive sculpture. A great loss to the community not to be reaping the value of it installed.
FIRE IN THE HOLE!
c1986, mirror polished stainless steel. 4 m. dia., Civic Centre Plaza, Omaha, NE
Do you feel that public art is dependent on the mood of the public or the financial directors?
The public is certainly involved, both as viewer and as tax payers and voters. Most projects tend to become accepted, but occasionally something is not and that can sometimes lead to its removal. The Tilted Arc wall sculpture in the courthouse park in New York City by Richard Serra being a notable example. The public is also part of the public art process as public art committee members, supporters, funders and the like.
They come and go, the type of art that is supported can also change. Today, as the use of computers increases in various aspects of design and construction, there seems to be quite a bit more works that are very much computer derived.
As for the financial directors, one would have to define who they are: whether public art committee members, city officials, community philanthropists, federal government officials or whomever.
Take one of your sculptures that you feel has a strong emotional effect on the viewer and why you think it has?
Probably the most comments I have received back, since the sculpture is in my home town, is for TREE OF KNOWLEDGE. Several community members thought we ought to have one of my sculptures here in town, since the rest of the world was getting them, so they set about raising funds and setting up the project. Once the commensurate funds were available, I set about making the mock-up.
TREE OF KNOWLEDGE
c 1992, bronze, 3.6 m. hi. x 2.6 m. dia.
Public Library, Yellow Springs, OH. Plan grant from the Ohio Arts Council
In order for the project to develop, I worked up a proposal for them and for fundraising. In thinking about the town, we already have a “yellow spring” iron orange, which has been in use since the First Americans were here. The stone work around the spring was built up into a recognizable form in the early 50’s. In wondering how to represent the village in all its qualities, I got to thinking about the character and history of the village, I noted that we have had educational institutions here since the beginning, Antioch College was founded here in the 1850’s, there was also Antioch Publishing, Antioch Grade School, and history of educational experimentation, many writers, educators, artists, scientists and engineers, due to nearby Wright Patt AFB.
The common element of all these folks is books and book learning and the other characteristic about the village is its trees: we have the 1000 acre Glen Helen from the College, Bryan and Clifton State Parks, a serious Green Space program around the village and a dedicated Tree Committee, thus the tree became a likely contender for significant signifier. The first tree form I made, using book shapes, was just branches; it was too much like a dead tree. Then I was driving along in my car thinking about it and the tornado from the Wizard of Oz came to my mind’s eye and that provided the logic for constructing a tree of books. Since a tornado is a vortex, and one often sees large trees with a vortex structure to them, the vortex became the operative motif. I designed the trunk to be constructed of books in a helical plan and at the top, books continue spiralling out from the trunk to become the foliage, thus a moving tree form of books.
The vortex is found throughout nature, from the micro- to the macrocosm and is very indicative of life. The trunk of the tree is made from real books – real books were stacked up in the helical form then a latex mould made of it, then eventually cast in bronze. The foliage books were fabricated from sheet bronze, then welded into place. In the foliage area there is a “tree house” and also a “book plate” – Antioch Publishing used to print book—plates. On the trunk there is a “book worm”, with glasses, and various other items, like tape recorders and cassettes, some of the books were leather bound with great textures, I did not have a computer to include, so the tree is rather engaging for those willing to take time to explore. I just asked poet Amanda Williamsen to describe why the tree works so well.
“The books appear to take flight like birds: it is a celebration of books that come alive from the ground up, that anyone, regardless of art education, can easily perceive: it shows that learning is not static but growing: the roots of the tree – books which cover the actual hold down bolts – are not stodgy: the tree has motion in all its parts.”
What more can I say………..
Space. The space that a work will fit into must have a huge influence on the work you produce. Can you expand on this?
Some of my earliest works were found tree constructions in the nearby Glen Helen forest – form and space. Of course my early small scale sculptures were/are more about space and form as sculptures, often enough implied expansion beyond the confines of their material forms. As I grew into making large scale sculptures and finding ways to get them funded, that meant working in a wide variety of architectural, environmental and cultural situations. This in turn meant the question of how to integrate the sculpture into that particular project context. How to relate the sculpture to the forms, spaces, colours, textures, uses of the spaces, both interior, exterior and surface, and the broader cultural contexture. Such spaces can be a wall surface, atrium space, interior or exterior ground surface, natural setting, and street scape, each one of which requires different relationships to gravity and to affixing the work to whichever surface will be doing the support work. I am always working with gravity, whether consciously or not, secondly, structure, which is basically about gravity in any case, to the functional situation, the material with which to make the work, relative to all of the above, or some other aspect altogether. I think all of the above pretty much holds true whether you are working with stone, steel, lights, fabric, glass, water, plants, whatever. I have particularly enjoyed the challenges of creating sculptures that relate to many different spaces.
SHIVA : SHIWANA
c 1980, stainless steel, 5 meters dia., HQ of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory – Very Large Array, on the Plains of San Augustine, west of Socorro, NM.
One project I particularly enjoyed was for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory – Very Large Array, west of Socorro, NM. Given that it is what it is and listening to outer space, I wanted to include outer space in my sculpture, as well as the location on the ground. The telescopes are moved around on three rail road tracks, in a Y configuration. The telescopes are listening to objects in outer space, many of which are more or less “round” or symmetrical, as are a number of manmade objects orbiting the earth. Thus I came to the tetrahedral structure as one that could, first, reflect the Y configuration of the site rail tracks that could represent “spherical” bodies orbiting earth and also the celestial orbs filling outer space which the telescopes were listening to. My sculpture, SHIVA : SHIWANA, is fairly liner in format, which allows the three outstretched “wings” to reach into outer space. Though standing on one leg, like Shiva, it is totally symmetrical, it could easily be one of those objects floating freely in space. Within the ends of the wings, are shapes that utilized on buoy radar reflectors, which reflect the radar signal back to the sender of the signal, the sculpture is a listener to outer space just like the telescopes.
The name Shiwana, comes from the local Native American Tewa tribe, if I recall correctly, which is used to designate a healer that has received his powers from being struck by lightning. We have references to space both ancient and modern.
Discuss your thoughts of the importance of public art in public spaces? What would you like the public to gain form the experience?
Given the history of art and that it has been so much a part of virtually every culture since recorded time, within their public aspects as well as more private, it is pretty self-evident that it plays an important role in every society. It has even been used for negative ends in some cases due to its importance. For me, there is no question, there are always nae sayers and the Taliban who will blow up Buddas and destroy my atrium sculptures and such, and politicians that want to cut funding to the arts, all the studies show the importance of the arts not just to the cultural and social life of society, but to the economic prosperity of society as well. Almost every country round the world today has a sculpture symposia, as just one small example, the results of which contribute to the local communities where they take place.
When I started creating public sculpture in the 70’s in the States, you could count the number of public art programs on two hands – today there are hundreds. Another example is China – in the 70’s they were still doing social realist worker art yet today there are many artists creating wonderful art for public places throughout the country, such as the spectacular works of Ai Wei Wei. Having such a dragon to confront has given him the opportunity to probe the depths and rise to the challenge. He is their Michelangelo.
The public, if they desire, has everything to gain from having works of art within their communities. This has all been written about countless times before and no doubt better than I can do, so I will not labour the subject.
CLOUD & RAIN
c 2010, stainless steel and stone, 5 m. hi. x 2m. x 4m.Commissioned for the 30th Anniversary of détente between China and the USA. Installed in the Wanshou Park, Xuanwu dist., Beijing, China.
Do you feel that governments are giving the right patronage to the arts?
Patronage in the States has improved, over the years, not without plenty of hard work on the part of the supporters of the arts. Of course there could be more and broader support. Seeing today hundreds of public art programs across the country, supporting all the arts, and how supportive the public is of the various arts, I believe that there is ongoing improvement in this country. Though two local arts museums are having financial difficulties due to changes in the economy nationally and locally. The number of public art projects that I see and learn about in many different countries is very reassuring. I have been to 27 different countries to create sculpture in a wide variety of public settings, so I am very positive about the state of public art round the world. That is not to say that there are a good many countries that could do a lot more to support the arts, but even some of those that are hard pressed do provide some support. Each place, each country, is unique in this regard. I think the overall trajectory is positive.
Contact Details:
Website:http://www.hudsonsculpture.com
Email: jon@hudsonsculpture.com
Jon Barlow Hudson, Ohio, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, September 2014
Alison Lowry
Your initial interest in textiles was fostered both by family heirlooms and your study of textile through City and Guilds. Can you discuss this?
During my (Foundation year) when I was 19, I didn’t start the three year Hons course at that time. I knew I wanted to work with my hands, but didn’t like working with clay, and that seemed to be the only other option. Glass wasn’t an option at that stage- as it wasn’t (and still isn’t) taught at the University of Ulster. I changed tack completely and worked fulltime for about the next 10 years. During this time I always had this idea of going back to do my arts degree and did several short courses- The City and Guilds I creative textiles being one of them. After I got married and had my first baby I knew the time was right and I enrolled into an Art and Design BA (Hons) course at the University of Ulster. This course allowed me to flit between many disciplines- sculpture, time based media, printed textiles. In my third year I decided I wanted to work with glass- I don’t know where this desire came from! Even though we had no glass course at UU I attended a short beginners glass course off campus and then had an uphill struggle to make the glass do what I wanted. It was a battle of wills! I knew I had found my medium. The picture above is me at the opening night of the degree shows (pregnant with number 3!) with my degree show work ‘Christening Robe (for Oisin)’. My textile back ground was never very far away
Your work has a very strong link between birth and death discuss these within the context of your art?
My mothers’ side of the family there is a very strong textile tradition. My mum has some beautiful Irish linens which would have been stitched by distant relatives – eg tablecloths that have been hand embroidered with traditional Irish whitework. During my City & Guilds in embroidery and creative textiles I knew how long it would take to embroider something so beautiful. It made me think about how fabric could tell a story. The women who had stitched this cloth had embroidered through all the bad times of her life and all the good times. The fabric was now a part of her story. Embroidery is such a lost art form, at the time it was regarded as ‘womens work’. Not ‘high art’ nor even craft. I am interested in redressing that balance through my work.
‘Memories c.1843’, 2010
During my degree I was having more children- James was born in between year two and three- and the children were being christened. The family christening robe hung in my room for a while waiting to be used. This Robe was a beautiful piece, cared for very carefully by my mother and grandmother before her. I began to think of all the children who had christened in it. It tied me to the past and my lineage. About this time my grandad, who we think was the first wearer of the robe in 1911, died and all of a sudden this robe took on added meaning. It began to symbolise life and its cycle of birth and death and how the states of birth and death are similar in their fragility and vulnerability.
You make the statement, “’Empty’ dresses hang like skeletons in closets, bound with the memories the (absent) body still holds.” Can you expand on this with the use of images.
I am interested in the space that the body leaves behind and how some clothing can frame the absence. I like the subtly referencing the body, and what leaving it absent can insinuate.
Empty Dress’, 2012, part of installation ‘Memory Vault’, at Galerie Format, Bergen
I am interested in how certain clothing- a wedding dress, a christening robe can hold special memories and every time you open the closet you instantly remember that day or that moment again.
‘Jack Fell Down’ - 2011
You use glass in conjunction with photography, print making and textiles. Can you discuss this?
I think I’m always trying to find ways to express the qualities of textiles through the medium of glass. To me there’s something very similar in both materials. They both have an ‘everyday - ness’, occasionally an ‘extraordinary-ness’. There is a delicacy with both materials.
During college I realised I loved process - I don’t think there was one technician that didn’t know me by the end of the three years! I made a conscious decision early on to use only several techniques and try and get better at them… there are just too many things I would like to try! I’m not in the studio full time because of the children, so I constantly compromise what I can realistically achieve with my work at this stage of their lives.
I’m drawn to print techniques and photography because I am interested in the image. Casting photographic images into glass makes these impermanent fleeting moments permanent. I also use repetition a lot in my work, and printmaking makes the reproduction of the same image again and again very easy.
'Pate de verre' is a glass mould technique you use, can you discuss the technique and when and how you use it?
Pate de verre is the technique of pushing crushed glass mixed with a little glue into moulds. The result is generally thin walled vessels. The advantage of this technique over other glass casting techniques is that you can place colour very precisely into the mould and because of the relatively low firing schedule it stays in that place during firing.
I was lucky enough to learn pate de verre from Deborah Horrell after winning the Warm Glass prize in 2009. I have used this technique ever since and find it great to recreate old documents (see below) or garments.
‘Born on a Monday’, 2010
How is box casting different and what have you used this technique on lately?
Box casting involves the layering up of sheet glass, damming them up in the kiln and fusing them into a block. I use ceramic decals which allows me to build up several layers of imagery throughout the block or screen printed enamels to give a similar effect (see below).
'Dolly Mixtures II’, 2013
Finally, lost wax technique is one you are now using. Can you tell us how and why?
Lost wax allows me to make a 3d object in glass that I would otherwise be unable to achieve using open face casting. I use wax to create the ‘positive’, cast it up with a plaster mix and steam out the wax using a wallpaper stripper. This leaves a negative cavity that, in the kiln, the glass is melted into. In this example below it’s an old pair of child’s shoes.
‘Found (and lost)’ , 2012. Part of installation, ‘Memory Vault’ at Gallerie Format in Bergen
‘Body Talk’ in Denmark would you explain the work you have had at this exhibition: the work load involved in the exhibition?
This exhibition is a group show which is being organised by the museum itself. They have chosen the piece, ’jack fell down’ to be a part of it. I am really excited to have been selected to be a part of this exhibition.
Off the back of it I have just heard my proposal had been accepted to show a new body of work at the start of 2015 in The Glass Museum at Ebeltoft, Denmark in ‘The Study’. The Study is a space for smaller, more experimental work or ‘works in progress.’ This is a really big development for me, as I have never had a solo show before and I hope I will also get a few more venues to take the exhibition closer to home.
You had a touring exhibition: ‘Vessels of Memory’ with Rachel Dickson. Discuss the pros and cons for both a joint exhibition and the mechanics of a touring exhibition?
Rachel and I were curated together for a joint show in CraftNI’s gallery in Belfast in 2010. We really hit it off and felt our work complemented each other, so we managed to acquire a little funding and toured the show around Ireland and the UK.
‘Worn Out’ ‘Vessels of Memory’ Rachel Dickson.
The pros for this approach are many: I wouldn’t have had the nerve to approach galleries and exhibition venues with our proposal alone. It felt safer to team up with someone else. We learnt a lot about the process of dealing with different venues and curators, how to set up and curate a show in the many different venues we went to and how to talk about your work to a variety of people. It was also interesting how the work developed and deepened as the shows went on.
‘Marjorie’s New Shoes’
‘Vessels of Memory’ Alison Lowry
I really can’t think of any cons… we had an absolute blast!
We will be exhibiting together again next year during ‘August Craft month’ at Flowerfield Arts Centre in Portstewart, Northern Ireland. I’m really looking forward to that.
You also teach at the University of Ulster, Belfast. Can you discuss this role?
My studio has been based in the ceramics department in UU for the past two years. Within this role I have tutored students who may be interested in working with glass. We still have no specific facilities or tutors to support students who may wish to work with glass, so I have been helping them out with the technical aspects of working with glass. I also teach short courses in the University, summer courses and night classes.
Your work is in many International collections can you take one piece and expand on the when, how, why and where about this piece?
‘Shades of Grey’ 2010
This piece, ‘Shades of grey’, is in Interpol’s public art collection in the Hague.
Interpol were moving into a new office and were inviting artists from Europe to come forward and submit proposals. They were only looking for a few pieces of sculpture- maybe only 6- so I was amazed when they picked my proposal. I started straight away as this is a large piece of (box cast) glass, and the deadline was quite soon. This piece is really thick-many many layers deep. I think it might have been in the kiln for 2 weeks annealing! It was also really hard to cold work, due to the size and weight of it. My husband and I took turns on the flat bed to get it polished and off. I think we worked right up to the deadline, but it’s a great thing to have on your CV!
Can you discuss your work 'Christening Robe'?
Inspiration:original antique Christening Robe ( a family heirloom)
Size: h 110 x w 80 x 15 cm
Technique: pate de verre, sandcarving
Colour sandblasted clear glass- it has the appearance of being white
Presentation: hung/suspended in cabinet.
Currently part of Arts Council of Northern Ireland Collection
Your 95% series - can you expand on ‘Broken Record’ and how you have done these pieces?
One (in 9) refers to a statistic that one in 9 children in the UK are abused. I created nine glass skittles- I like playing with glass’s material preconceptions- and housed them in wall mounted boxes. They tell a story of an abuse and its consequences. ’Broken Record’, illustrates how people with mental health issues- for whatever reasons- can become trapped a revolving cycle.
‘Broken Record’ 2012
(detail from ‘One in 9)
Broken Record was created in two halves with bits of box cast that had text from psychologist’s reports on the layers. The text is mashed up and trapped instead the skittle.
The 95% series also refers to a similar statistic- that 95% of women who are raped will never come forward to the police. I have used multiples of a small dress- a faceless, yet identifiably ‘female’ image- in a variety of different ways.
Although I do not advertise the meaning behind individual pieces of work- I would prefer that the viewer can create their own narrative- I do believe that applied art can have a voice and address larger issues.
Can you discuss the commission you did for the Arts and Business, Belfast?
Arts and Business commissioned me to produce a series of awards for their annual awards night. I produced a prototype and they gave me lots of feedback, which was really useful, and not something that I have had before on award commissions. I was invited to the awards night – a very glitzy and glamorous evening- and it was great to see them being given out!
Contact details.
Website: www.alisonlowry.co.uk
Twitter: @AlisonGlassArt
Facebook:Alison Lowry Glass
Alison Lowry, Belfast, Ireland
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, August, 2013
Ewan Clayton
It is hard to believe that as a small boy you had such bad handwriting. Discuss the implications this had on you at the time?
As a twelve year old it was impressed on me that my handwriting was a problem not simply because it was unpleasant to look at and hard to read but because it meant I would not be able to go to the school my parents had chosen for me. At thirteen I would have to take the entrance exams and because of my bad handwriting they were worried that I would fail. I was placed back in the junior class of the school, alongside the 8 year olds, to relearn how to write, it was very embarrassing!
On the flip side, your mother gave you a calligraphy set. Can you tell us how this was to alter your life?
It was the italic nib that did it, I saw that it was possible to make really beautiful letters, it was not difficult to do, and one could learn how to do it. But I was very lucky, I had been born near the village of Ditchling in Sussex. The calligrapher Edward Johnston had lived there. Today he is known as the man who revived calligraphy in the English-speaking world in the early twentieth century. He is also known as the designer of the famous London Underground typeface and logo.
My grandparents knew him (my grandmother used to go Scottish Country dancing with Mrs Johnston). She gave me a copy of Johnston’s biography to read. I was entranced, it showed me one could have an entire career involved with letters. With my new pen set I wrote out ‘’The Pen is Mightier than the Sword’ and swopped it for a 3d postcard – my first commission.
Can you explain what lead you to write your book ‘Golden Thread’?
I think the germ of it came to me one day when I was discussing calligraphy with the Libyan poet and artist Ali Omar Ermes. He was asking me about my tradition and I remember telling him it all went back to Roman Capitals and I described how various styles followed on - gothic, Italic etc. And then I asked him to tell me about his tradition. He said ‘I would have to start in a completely different place, I would show you the different aspects of society that use writing: the law, religion, scholars, merchants and then show you how certain forms of letters and styles of writing and documents were generated from those needs and communities’. I realised in a flash that this was a much deeper understanding of writing than my own community exhibited and realised this was the kind of history I wanted to write for the Roman alphabet.
Can you take one aspect, for example Book keeping traditions of the East India Company, and expand on the way this writing was done and why you have included this in the book?
It may seem paradoxical, for printing was invented in the 1450’s, but actually the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are key for handwriting. In these later centuries it was handwritten documentation that generated our entire financial system and enabled the spread of trading on a global basis. Handwritten accounts of the first-hand observations made by astronomers and early scientists also lay behind the whole project of the enlightenment. As Miles Ogborn shows in his book ‘Indian Ink’ (2007) the history of the East Indian Company provides us with a marvellous account of how this worked in practise. Worried that their employees would go ‘native’ in India and run their stations for their own profit, the Company developed sophisticated document keeping systems that made their employees accountable to each other. In the age of sail they managed to keep parallel sets of documents in London and India. The company’s expansion rested on the careful procedures they established for handling decision-making. This included a handwritten account of their meetings, displayed in public at each of the companies ‘stations’ for all to look at and signed after each meeting by each employee as an accurate reflection of their discussions. This is just one example of the continuing power of the handwritten document in an age often characterised as one where printing had finally triumphed over handwriting.
Discuss how important you feel it is to combine both historical knowledge and current technology?
The computer is a new writing tool in succession to the typewriter and the quill pen. It is a no brainer really. The future always develops out of the present, the present develops out of the past by understanding one we can have genuine insights into the other. Doing history is a thought experiment, just as is speculating about the future, both can inform the other. I believe however that this point is a wider one. This mixture is also needed in human communities at a social level, a community only of the young lacks something – it can literally burn itself out. A community only of the elderly is equally fragile but in a different way.
You have worked very closely with Xerox PARC and their digital communications explain this professional relationship?
The Palo Alto Research Centre of the Xerox Corporation invented much of the technology we take for granted today, the first commercial mouse, networked desktop computers, the ethernet, laser printers, the graphical user interface that we see on our laptops and smartphones. But because Xerox thought of itself as a photocopying company it never capitalised on these inventions. After the event the company realised it had to get a vision of itself that was non-technologically specific, so they came up with the idea of Xerox – the Document company. The document could be anything from a past technology or a future one, the company would never go out of date.
But then Xerox realised they did not know what a document was. So I came in with a lot of other people (anthropologists, linguists, philosophers, artificial intelligence experts, business historians etc.) to try and wrestle with that: what is a document and how we use them? I worked there of and on, on a consultancy basis, for 12 years.
Can you discuss how your calligraphy was picked up during your Monastic time?
In my late twenties I fell ill and when I recovered realised I had several unlived goals – one of which was to try life as a monk! I thought I would have to give calligraphy up but after a year the Abbot discovered I was a calligrapher and I got to work at it making large-scale work for the church, orders of services etc. The Abbot found out because his favourite sister came to visit and she recognised me, unknown to me she had once been the secretary of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators to which I belonged! My secret was out!!
Explain what being named the UK’s Craft Stills Champion of 2013 means to you both personally and professionally?
I was given this award for my role in the wider work of education in the crafts. Some years ago I was commissioned to write a substantial report on the state of the crafts in Britain which was used to guide the policies of the various charities set up by the Prince of Wales. The ideas it contained proved influential, they helped create the atmosphere that led to the establishment of an organisation for Heritage Crafts in Britain, a mapping of crafts across the country and various schemes to encourage apprenticeships in the Crafts. During the mapping exercise we discovered that the Craft industries combined are as financially important to the British economy as the British Petro-Chemical industry – this has given craft considerable additional leverage politically. Personally the prize came with money for training and materials. Japanese paper makers have been some of those who have benefitted from my spending!!!
‘Voice’
“Voice, written in 2010 with a goose quill using sumi ink on Chartham Vellum handmade paper. I love trying to get depth in to the picture plane in various ways, here I simply use lines”
Can you explain the importance of Guilds in UK’s craft history and how you feel the decline of Guilds will effect crafts and art in the future?
I am not sure that Guilds are on the decline anymore, in fact there are various suggestions at the moment for a revival in Guild structures and training. Some Guilds, like that of the Goldsmiths in London, have been very innovative in their thinking in this area. Guild’s guaranteed standards in workmanship and they may yet have a significant role to play in this area. One fundamental of the guild system was apprenticeships, these too are seeing a comeback with government support in the UK increasing significantly. A while ago I heard one government minster talking of his dream that one day parents would have framed photographs of their sons and daughters getting their apprenticeship awards alongside those of their siblings getting their degrees. This is what we need, making things and skills to be as valued as concepts and thinking. For making IS thinking, under a different mode.
'Sprachkurze gibt denkweit' Jean Paul Richter
A poem by Rumi 1997. Written with a speedball pen and red wax in gouache on Black Arches Villin Noir. Rumi invented the whirling dance of the Dervishes. I wanted this piece to disorientate people as they read it. The work was a commission from the Crafts Council for their National collection
How many different surface has your calligraphy been applied to?
Vellum, paper, glass, stone, cloth, wood, ceramics, metal… but I would love to do something organic, something growing!
Can you share 2 of your works that have given you great pleasure?
‘Tranquillity’
Written with a wood veneer pen on Kozo firre paper died with persimmon juice.
Tranquillity was written at the end of a long days teaching in Tokyo. The students had all left and I was alone in the classroom. I wrote the word about 5 times before writing this one. It was written slowly and peacefully and with a sense of continuous flow, none of my movements were hurried. I still enjoy looking at it very much. It is written with Japanese sumi ink, a pen made of wood veneer on Kozo fibre paper stained with persimmon juice.
‘The Sermon of the Dead Christ’
This piece takes a rather different approach! It is written with a quill and the fingers and palms of both hands. The words are from the German Romantic writer Jean Paul Richter, the sermon of the dead Christ. I wanted to create depth in the picture plane, but to do it calligraphically, using just the tone of the ink that I smeared out with gestures from my hands the very moment I had written the stroke. Writing the piece was a performance, every gesture had to work and add up into a whole, there was no chance of going back. There was a real sense of having completed a journey with immense risks once done, the concentration had had to be enormous to complete it. Quill pen and sumi on Royal Watercolour Society paper.
Discuss your work with Calligraphy students from all levels, beginners to experts?
I enjoy teaching at all levels of experience and have done so now for nearly 30 years. I particularly enjoy working over a number of years with an individual, this is the most rewarding kind of teaching. I have been lucky enough to work in several places, the University of Roehampton and most recently with Sunderland University, where we could take students at degree level for several years. I have been concerned to make sure calligraphy has a place both at degree and post graduate level, to raise the status and intellectual content of the subject. But I also work with entry level classes so students have a really good start with some sense of what is possible from their very first day.
‘The Letter R’
The letter r, illustrating the first verse of Rummi’s Mathnawi.
“Listern to the reed, how it tells a tale complaining of separations.”
Your calligraphy has taken you too many different overseas destinations. Can you take one and tell us about that time?
Ah - there are really too many to choose from, but… the first that comes to my mind is that I loved teaching in the ancient monastery at Bobbio in northern Italy. It used to house one of the great scriptoriums of northern Europe and while we were there they held an open air film festival in the cloister with all the glitterati coming up from Milan. We worked in the old refectory painted with medieval murals. In the town itself there was an ancient roman bridge crossing the river (which people swam in during the lunch break) and when we needed to get more energy we could cross the street for a quick expresso. For the year following the teaching I enjoyed many dinners using the dried porcinni mushrooms that were picked in the mountain forests around the town and which are sold is large baskets outside many shops. I also bought my favourite jersey in the market place there. But then there is also Japan - which I have now visited eight times.
'Last Night the Moon Came'
Discuss your signature?
My signature is nothing special, I guess the only distinctive part is the E which I like to write because it can be done in one swinging movement.
Can you explain your involvement with the Ditchling Museum?
Back in the 1920s, my grandfather moved down to Ditchling to become part of the Guild of craftsmen Eric Gill had established in the village. Many artistic people visited or lived there at one time including the painter Frank Brangwyn, the poet David Jones and the weaver Ethel Mairet. By the early 1990s all these people had become very famous but their work was being lost to the village. Two sisters, in their 80s, banded together to stop this happening, they bought the old village school and turned it into a museum. I had known these two women since I was a child and like many people in the village wanted to help them. At about the same time the Guild I was part of closed down and many of our precious things were given to the Museum. So over the years I have supported it. It has some of my earliest pieces of calligraphy in its collection (from when I was teenager) for the Bourne sisters would commission work from me even at that age. They encouraged me hugely. Today the museum has just been rebuilt and was one of the finalists in the National Art Fund’s Museum of the Year Awards.
In 2014 you were awarded the MBE. Can you explain the classification of the award and your feeling of receiving this honour?
Officially it is an ‘order of chivalry’, I am rather a lowly member, one up from the bottom!! But it was lovely to receive it. I won the award both for calligraphy and for my work with Heritage Crafts. It was a great day when I received it at Buckingham Palace in a ceremony presided over by Prince Charles. I could invite three guests, we went out to lunch afterwards. But then I had to dash to the airport as I was also receiving the award of a Golden Pen, the first Karlgeog Hoefer Prize, the next day at Offenbach in Germany. I left my guests eating the desert.
The presentation of the Kalgeorg Hoefer Award to Ewan Clayton
Your book ‘Golden Threads’ describes the history of the word. Could you give a description from a much closer and personal level, the way your father’s letters to you and your siblings can show how technology has changed the way we write?
Yes my father has written a letter to all of my five brothers and sisters every Monday for 47 years. They began on small sheets of notepaper with the address printed in type in the top right hand corner, then he moved to A4 size sheets on a type writer using carbon paper. Then, when the local library got a photocopier, he copied the original (which my mother corrected by hand) and we got personalised photocopied sheets. Today they are emailed from his Mac. For his 80th birthday we gave him a digital movie camera so now we sometimes get images and short films as well! He has had to master a succession of technologies in his life in order to remain literate. This is true for us all and indeed has always been so, what it means to be literate at any one moment is constantly changing. Just today I had to check I had the correct postage for a card I wanted to mail (the rate had recently changed), I helped my Dad sort out a new virus on his computer that was blocking his email, I had to work out how to print out a licensing agreement for a typeface that I had to initial and then see if I could download a 1.82 gigabite file (on one computer I could and on the other I could not) and finally had to confront postal regulations about how to send some emergency prescription drugs to a friend in Tel Aviv – this is just one day’s experience of learning what it means to be literate in my world!
Contact details.
ewanclayton@btinternet.com
Ewan Clayton, Brighton, UK
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, September 2014
Alex Friedman
You have a BA, Art History / Fine Art degree. How has this influenced your tapestry? What was your artistic background?
As a child I loved to draw. I spent hours drawing imaginary places and animals but, quite practically, I also made a number of floor plans for houses I would like to live in!
I studied both Art History and Fine Arts as I found each field offered insights into the other. Both sides of my brain were stimulated by the offerings and I learned to look at art from many different cultures over the centuries to understand why they looked the way they did. My final year I had a class that examined architectural history and this rekindled my childhood interest in buildings.
‘Full Moon Fancy’
After my formal education I considered architecture school but decided first to find a job in the field to learn more about it. I was hired as a librarian in a medium sized firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to catalogue building codes, blueprints, and archive boxes of building samples from the different projects. (This included door knobs, glass and brick samples, colour chips and a large range of assorted elements that could fit in the box(es), amusing work for a librarian!) I also built scale models and did some interior design. It was a very varied job that I liked after a few years I realised that I wanted less administration more hands-on creative opportunities.
I was encouraged by friends to take an evening weaving class at the YWCA. Three six-week classes of beginning weaving convinced me I had found a new direction. I loved the handwork, the vast array of colours, the planning the possibilities. I was fascinated by the endless patterns, the magic of it all. Still no sign of tapestries on my horizon but that came the following year.
Your initial introduction to tapestry was at Michelle Lester’s Studio, working on a large commission for jumbo jets. Can you discuss this introduction and how it has inspired you?
In 1973 I moved to New York City and joined a local guild to meet weavers and find a weaving job. The fates were smiling because soon after I was hired by Michelle Lester (1942-2002) to weave tapestries for a new fleet of 747s. Michelle, who had a weaving studio in the Garment District of New York City, also had a connection with a gallery that secured this very large airline commission. I had not yet woven a tapestry but I must have seemed very self-assured and willing to learn because I was hired on the spot!
I must backtrack here to say that the only tapestry I had seen to this point was a dreary verdure that belonged to my great aunt. As a child I remember thinking it was an ugly thing to hang on a wall. My slow to arrive tapestry epiphany came when I subsequently realised that tapestries could be colourful, dynamic and they did not have be mural size.
Eventually four weavers were hired to work on this project. Each jet plane was to have 6 tapestries on it; two to cover the movie screens and four to make up the first class cabin bulkhead that included two closet doors in the centre, and the fuselage shaped panels on either side.
The project took over 18 months and was well paid. The tapestries were not complex in design but they did have to be carefully woven to fit the shaped patterns they were to fill. They were repetitive and there were regular deadlines to meet. To keep it interesting, we would each weave six of one of the panels and then switch and weave six of another. By weaving the same ones over we got much faster and could anticipate where problems would arise. For example, one of the screen covers took me about three plus weeks the first time I wove it. In the end I could weave it in 5 days because I was so familiar with it, I realised that much of the time saved was all about the decision making. Doing a repeated project would seem to be boring but in fact each time the weaving developed a personality and, like children, they were a little different each time. Altogether we made an edition of 37 sets for 36 planes. There was an extra set in case one series needed to be cleaned or repaired.
This was my first trial by fire tapestry experience. After this experience I continued to work for her on other smaller commissions. She gave little tutoring in tapestry technique but I enjoyed problem solving and discovered many tricks of the trade. I recognised that I needed more direction and over the early years took workshops from many other noted artists.
Can you explain what the construction aspects are that make a work tapestry?
Unlike painting, to which tapestry is so often compared, the construction of a tapestry requires one to make the art and the structure for the art simultaneously. As a medium it is very simple as there are only two main elements; the warp which is kept under tension and provides the skeleton, and the weft which lies perpendicular to the warp and becomes the body of the tapestry design.
Tapestries are often described as ‘weft faced’ meaning the warp is not visible. Compare with most fabrics, sheets, jeans, oxford shirts, in which there is a balanced weave where both warp and weft are visible. The options for the weft are wide open. Artists have used wool, silk, cotton, as well as feathers, wire, synthetics, grass, newspaper, etc. I use wool, cotton and/or silk mainly because tapestries take a long time to weave and I consider the archival aspects in choosing materials since it is a big investment of my time.
To begin, the warp is threaded on the loom. Once it is checked over for correct threading, tension is added to make it ready for weaving. With a temporary weft I make a foundation that serves to spread the warp from the small knotted bundles into a properly spaced warp.
Warp tie up detail from Strata, Strata
Wefts are generally woven in one at a time in a specific area according to the design. I will weave a few inches of a colour area and then start a new colour and weave a section slowly building up the design. In the image here, I began at the lower right with the dark yellow.
The next weft is the one to the left, a striped blue which leans on the yellow, and so forth across the hemline. Unlike machine looms you may have seen, where the weft travels levelly from one selvage to the other, in tapestry, areas of one colour can be built up the warp so the next colour can be woven over it. The design will dictate the order in which colours are laid in because of this.
'Terra: Wheat and Grass’
Another difference is that there are marks you can make in tapestry that are unique to the medium. This includes certain kinds of patterns that would be tedious for a painter but easy for a weaver. Archie Brennan, from whom I have had several workshops, often, spoke about this to his students. It is something that I strongly considered when I started working with more dimension, that is that tapestry should be more about ‘textileness.’
Your work goes beyond 2D. Expand on the possibilities this has lead you to?
Some of the rules of traditional tapestry include keeping your edges straight and your surface flat and controlled. While this is important to learn at the outset, I was restless to experiment.
For me making a tapestry is a construction project. One starts at the foundation building up the shapes layer by layer. Because of this “construction” mode I wanted to create more dimension.
Initially I started with manipulating the tapestry elements. I did a small series called the Flip Series. It was about ten small pieces in which I constructed the elements that I subsequently manipulated.
I considered them studies for large scale pieces but in the end did not pursue because I was concerned that over time the 3D elements would sag and I did not want to add armatures to support them. These were quite successful at this scale and I went on to explore more dimensional work.
Big soft flips
I began working with an eccentric weft; for non-weavers, it is a weft element that is woven at an angle rather than the traditional weft which is 90 degrees to the warp. I began to have some interesting surprises.
These eccentric wefts were made in bands and went right across the tapestry. It was an interesting design but when I cut it from the loom the whole surface changed character and developed a new possibility.
Mini Flow
I have made a series of Flows in both large and small-scale format. I am intrigued how they enhance the image and create a more sculptural aspect in tapestry.
You have made the comment, “I have experimented to see what happens when the boundaries are pushed.” Discuss?
'Bound', detail
I have been working with these eccentric areas for almost 10 years and I have learned many of the quirks. There is a degree in the angle of the weft where the weaving looses its textile integrity and the tapestry fails but this is all part of the exploration. When it is successfully used the eccentric areas pop up after it is cut from the loom creating a dynamic surface tension. This is because of the release from the tension on the loom. I have made enough to know what to expect but sometimes I am surprised.
We have long seen tapestries in a 2D format that tell a narrative or explore traditional line, colour, shape, tone, and volume themes. I think that is limits what tapestry can offer.
Discuss the feeling of movement in your ‘Flow Series’?
'Flow 3'
All this movement takes tapestry from being a flat narrative format into a different way of thinking about the medium. Textiles are inherently fluid; they drape, they flex, they respond to their environment and by recognizing that possibility in a tapestry they offer more for the view to consider.
'Flow 6'
I want to respect the tapestry tradition but at the same time move away from the long narrative role it has played in our western culture. I am happy to celebrate its “textileness.”
Discuss nature and how it inspires your work?
How can one not be inspired by nature? I walk a lot and all my life have been observant of my environment.
That may come from my mother who was a scientist. She gave me a microscope as a child and we looked at lots of dead bugs, flower pods, and many other organic materials. For those who have looked it is a fascinating world. I find the shapes and colours provide me with a lot of ideas for my art and they become indirect interpretations ideas and need some time to evolve.
'Flow Unfathomed'
Along with your contemporary work you do pieces that you refer to as ‘Representational Tapestries’. Can you explain both aspects of your work?
My representational pieces are from an earlier part of my career. 1990- 2005. They generally included a lot of architectural details such as stairs, windows, entry ways. I worked from memory and incorporated shadows which gave the tapestries a tromp l’oeil feel to them.
'Beach Stairs'
Once a man saw a photograph of me sitting in front of my tapestry of a staircase at a beach house. He asked if it was my summer cabin. I replied, “Yes, but it is only a centimetre thick!”
'Three Graces'
What yarn do your work with and why?
I am currently working with three strands of Paterna, a fine plied wool in most of my tapestries. With three strands I can blend a new colour and make subtle colour transitions. I was very lucky that another tapestry weaver was closing her studio and selling off her huge collection of yarn.
I usually can make the colour effect I want from the yarns I have on hand but from time to time I need to dye a colour. I love this process because it is so magical and honestly, quite addictive.
'Here Today'
Discuss the dyeing of your yarn and also the availability of commercial yarns?
I really enjoy dying yarn but do it infrequently because Paterna has a very wide range of colour. Yet there is always a colour in my mind’s eye that I need and I am usually able to dye it. For my last projects I have space dyed some of the yarn to get a special effect in my work.
Space dye detail
How do you hang your work?
After I hem my tapestries top and bottom, I line them so that the backs are neat and clean. I attach the loop side of a Velcro strip across the top and I make a lathe strip with the matching hook side Velcro. The lathe is attached to the wall and the tapestry is then attached to the lathe. Because they are flexible, tapestries can also be hung on curved walls and I use a similar method in that case. In some cases with pieces that have shaped tops, I will add a flexible plastic section to maintain the erectness.
Size, what restrictions do you have to the size of your work?
I work in both large and small formats. I have an 8 foot (2.5m) Shannock loom which gives me lots of possibilities for size. I also have a six foot Regina Glimakra rug loom that I use for smaller projects. And I have used smaller, travel size copper looms for mini projects. Overall, I most enjoy being absorbed in a large format tapestry on the Shannock loom.
Shannock Loom
Can you show and tell us about your studio?
I share a large studio in an industrial building just north of San Francisco. There are over 50 studios which means an environment of many creative people. There are two Open Studios a year and this is an opportunity to teach visitors about tapestry.
Wooll Wall
You teach, where and when do you fit this into your timetable?
I teach irregularly both in my studio space and outside venues mostly when I am invited. I enjoy it and think I should do it more often but I find it hard to pull away from my projects. Teaching is always a great way to really think about your own art. It helps to me to distil all the thoughts that are brewing in my mind.
Can you discuss one piece that you have done that has been sold and how this sale then effected you both as an artist and in your artistic career?
When my youngest child started kindergarten I decided to rent some studio space for a three year stint to see if I could make a go of it. I was designing colourful abstract tapestries which received some success. I was feeling impatient with the random expression of my abstractions and decided to challenge myself to make a realistic interpretation of a porch scene. Again going back to my architectural interest I looked at a lot of sketches and photos and came up with a design.
‘Summer Shadows’
Three weeks after I completed this piece it sold. I decided to make more of these realistic pieces and this attracted many clients for whom I did private commissions.
Champlain Valley was a commission for a house in Vermont. The client asked for many things to be included in the tapestry. Like many commissions there is a lot of back and forth until there is an agreement. It worked out well and we were both pleased with the end result. It was very satisfying to do something I love and make people happy at the same time. A treat.
‘Champlain Valley’
As well as your own tapestry work, you are involved in ATA – American Tapestry Alliance. Can you explain the importance of ATA to tapestry and your own work?
I was very involved with the ATA for many years. When my children left for college I had some more time and was asked to be a co-director of ATA in 2000. Earlier the alliance had begun to lose its way and a few members had taken it on themselves to put together a whole new organizational plan that refocused the needs of the membership and how ATA could be more supportive.
Without realising the scope of what I was volunteering for, I signed up as a Director. I was living in London at the time and most of the volunteers were in the US so there was an avalanche of emails. We needed new chairs for the different jobs including a new co director and the organization had to adapt to digital format.
It was hard work and very left brained but I was constantly impressed how much time and energy the volunteers gave especially since we hardly knew each other. It was very exciting to see the changes appear and to see ATA start growing from the 200 members at the time. I wanted to see more international members and that too has significant growth.
I was active on the board until 2008. I have not been so active in recent years but do volunteer on smaller projects when I can. I am more active with a smaller local group, the Tapestry Weavers West that puts on regular exhibits and supports tapestry education.
‘Trellis’
Discuss your comment ‘…tapestry has the power to bring peace and harmony into any space.’?
From my studio experience I like to watch people enter and start looking at my tapestries on the wall. There is a sort of calm that comes over them. I am not sure how to explain this but I do think people have an inherent love of textiles, they never go a day without contact to some form of cloth. The softness and the colour may seem comfortable and welcoming to them than the hard edged world we are surrounded by.
Contact details.
Alex Friedman Tapestries
www.alexfriedmantapestry.com
Alex Friedman, California, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, August, 2014
Zaria Forman
After attending Skidmore College in the USA, Zaria Forman developed her own technique. Not only does she use her fingers but her work is on a large scale.
Image by Francois Lebeau
In her paintings she is able to capture both freezing cold seas and icy seas.
All of this is done with soft pastel.
Travel has always been a large part of Zaria’s life. From early childhood, she has travelled with her family to many of the world’s most remote landscapes. Travelling with her mother, who was a landscape photographer, lead Zaria to a very early understanding of seeing the view.
It was because of this that Zaria was lead to fulfill her mother’s dreams of gathering together family, friends, artists and scholars into one team. She took them on the voyage, following in the steps taken by William Bradford in 1869, when he sailed the northwest coast of Greenland.
Zaria said that the feelings she had were. “…both the power and the fragility of the landscape in Greenland. The sheer size, majesty and beauty of the icebergs is humbling."
In August 2012, Zaria led the expedition, called ‘Chasing the Light”, up the NW coast of Greenland. “It was the second expedition the mission of which was to create art inspired by this dramatic geography. The first, in 1869, was led by the American painter William Bradford. My mother, Rena Bass Forman, had conceived the idea for the voyage, but did not live to see it through. During the months of her illness her dedication to the expedition never wavered and I promised to carry out her final journey.”
“Documenting climate change, the work addresses the concept of saying goodbye on scales both global and personal. In Greenland, I scattered my mother’s ashes amidst the melting ice.”
“I am deeply grateful for the team of talented artists and scholars and the Wanderbird captains and crew for helping me carry out my mother's wishes and realize her dream.”
A percent of all Greenland drawing sales will go to 350.org.
The Maldives
This was not to be the end of Zaria Forman’s work with climate change. She moved from melting Polar Regions in the Arctic to the equator, and more especially to the Maldives. “I followed the meltwater from the Arctic to the equator. I spent September 2013 in the Maldives, the lowest and flattest country in the world, collecting material and inspiration to create a body of work celebrating and representing a nation that could be entirely underwater within this century.”
Zaria travelled with two award-winning artists who participated in the Greenland expedition, Chasing The Light. Joining her in this venture: Painter Lisa Lebofsky, and director, filmmaker, and actress Drew Denny.
“I hope my drawings will raise awareness and invite viewers to share the urgency of the Maldivians’ predicament in a productive and hopeful way. I believe art can facilitate a deeper understanding of crises, helping us find meaning and optimism amidst shifting landscapes.”
Thompson Lake
“Wherever we live, we need water to survive. Not only is the human body sixty percent water, but water is also essential for producing the things we need like food, clothing, and computers; moving our waste stream; and keeping us and the environment healthy.”
“And yet, while water scarcity is an abstract concept to some, it is a stark reality to many--some regions seem flush with fresh water, while others face drought and pollution. Myriad environmental, political, economic, and social forces produce this water scarcity.”
“During the summer of 2010, I visited Thompson Lake in Casco, Maine. One of the most pristine lakes in the state, this 12-mile-long lake is situated next to the Poland Spring Aquifer. I was struck by the silky, smooth quality of the water. Sipping it as I swam, a sense of gratefulness overcame me. The purity of the water here is no accident.”
“Through education programs and monitoring of the lake and its watershed, The Thompson Lake Environmental Association preserves the lake's natural beauty, water quality, and biological diversity. Such practices set a prime example of how we might effectively conserve and manage the fresh water we have on our planet.”
Again Zaria commits to the charity that is the most appropriate to the work she has done, so 10% of all sales from this body of work go to water.org.
Contact details.
ZariaFormaninfo@gmail.com
For a full list of available works and price list, contact Zaria Forman at the email above.
Zaria Forman, Brooklyn, USA
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, August 2014
Tracey Bush
Can you explain entomology in relationship to your work?
I created scrapbooks for many years as a way of collating and editing my ever expanding collections of found papers: beer labels, music scores, fragments of letters, tickets, packaging. Whilst researching the idea of a collection in book form in I happened upon the idea to create a collection of books in the shape of butterflies and moths. It reconnected with my childhood interest in insects; I even had a pair of entomological forceps!
Nest and Eggs
You commenced your art career with a strong interest in natural history. Can you discuss this link?
From the age of 8 I drew flowers and insects. I wanted to be a natural history illustrator. When I began my studies at Art school I was guided into a different programme of study, but now have come full circle.
Please discuss your British butterflies.
British Butterflies
Can you tell us about the different paper you use?
For British butterflies I usually use out of date maps and atlases of the British Isles. I enjoy working with both the range of colours: browns, greens, ochres and the evocative place names.
Discuss the different shapes of the butterflies and why you choose them?
The butterflies are all real species; the templates are cut actual size. When there are moth species called ‘The non-conformist’ and the drinker, there’s no need to make them up!
White Box
Discuss the link between the butterflies and paper?
There is always a link between the species’ common name and the material I use. For example, the moth ‘Beloved Underwing’ is made from vintage love song scores. The ‘Atlas Moth’ is made from an atlas title page.
'Beloved Underwing'
Explain your work with ‘Nine Wild Plants’ project and how it has propelled your art career?
In 2005 I was awarded an arts council funded exhibition opportunity by Craft Central, London which enabled me to spend more than a year researching, preparing and promoting the exhibition ‘Nine Wild Plants’ the impetus for the project began with reading that the average Western adult can identify less than 10 wild plants, but more than 1000 brands and logos. I collected responses to the question: which 9 wild plants could you identify and then collated the answers into a small artists book, the resulting ‘top 9’ plants were then used as the models for drawings with collage and 3D paper sculptures using branded paper packaging. The exhibition was featured in several publications, including Elle Decoration, Garageland, and Resurgence magazines. I had a really strong response to the exhibition, the Yale Centre for British Art acquired drawings form the show, and the work generated was also exhibited at Art Fairs, and curated exhibition: Precious, recycling in Art and Craft at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery (UK) Most recently the project was featured in the book: ‘Of Green Leaf, Bird and Flower’ published by the Yale Centre for British Art to accompany the exhibition (2014) of the same name. I am continuing to work with the herbarium format, although the plant species I am using have become wider than the original list of 9.
Poppy
After doing this project, can you discuss your own thoughts about the diminished knowledge we currently have on indigenous flora and fauna?
I’d like to say that I’m not making a criticism, just an observation. It simply reflects the culture we are immersed in.
Dandelion
Have you considered doing a similar project here in the Southern Hemisphere with an Australian artist? “It would be interesting to see the results” - Deborah Blakeley.
It would be difficult for me as I’d not know the common names of any of the plants. It is an idea that could travel though.
Can you discuss, ‘The Little Clod of Earth’ from a technical aspect?
When making ‘The Little Clod of Earth’ (2008) I collected and pressed specimens of daisies, nettles and dandelions. I used these as models for the shapes of the leaves, sepals and petals. They are all handcut from paper and card packaging.
The Little Clod of Earth
The leaves and flowers are attached to fake plastic stems, and these are pushed into a solid sculpted Styrofoam base. The foam base is painted with pigments and fake soil. Everything you see is a construct! It was presented in a taxidermy case, and is now in a private collection.
Explain your use of taxidermy cases in your 3D work?
This links to Victorian conventions of collecting and displaying the natural world.
The Little Clod of Earth, Detail
You do commissions of butterflies using the paper provided by the commissioner. Discuss this part of your work?
Usually the paper is significant to the commissioner; maybe a wedding invitation or a fragment of a dress pattern. Most recently I was asked to make a butterfly collection by a NY knitwear designer, using her collection of vintage colourful knitting patterns> I found a species called ‘The Queen Cracker’ which clicks its wings when it flies, it reminded be if the click of knitting needles.
Map Butterfly
Discuss the installation of your work in the Members Room at the Natural History Museum?
The installation I made at the NHM London was called ‘The Ephemeral Imago’. It was a while back in 2002, and was the first time I exhibited my now signature butterfly box pieces.
You have a close relationship with the Natural History Museum. Can you expand on their commission in 2006 of 24 Butterfly Boxes?
In 2007 the Natural History Museum in London commissioned a set of 24 butterfly boxes for the development committee of the Darwin Centre 2. This was when the entomological collection wad ‘decanted’ into a new state of the art building. I was asked to create eco-friendly collections of butterflies and moths to be pinned in reclaimed entomology boxes. When working with the vintage cabinets I admired the skilled craftsmanship of the woodwork, but was glad I wasn’t squeamish, as I often found legs or insect parts from the previous occupants!
Expand on the importance of accuracy in your work? “Each butterfly is an actual species”?
By this I mean that I make templates from actual size species. The shape is authentic, although I edit the body, legs and antennae. If the species were made up I would feel that the butterflies were simply a decorative symbol, which is not my intention.
Dyffnyn Fernant
Why are butterflies such an important environmental indicator?
They are affected by climate change very quickly as they seem to move locale as the temperature rises. In Britain many species are becoming more northerly in range.
Can you discuss:
‘Two Moon Moths’
Indian Moon Moths Actias selene are the most frequently bred in captivity because they have a beautiful elegant shape, and are quite large. I have cut mine from a vintage map of the surface of the moon.
‘Beloved Underwing’
This species, Catocala ilia is also called ‘The Wife’. I cut these moths from vintage love song scores, and have fun rearranging the fragments of songs to create new meanings.
What work do you have in the Tate Gallery Library?
How has being in collections such as the Tate Gallery Library, the Museum of London and Jaffe Collection (Florida, USA) influenced your art status?
I have some artist’s books in the Tate Gallery Library and Archive. Being collected by the Yale Centre for British Art has significantly influenced my art status. My work is currently on display at Yale, in the exhibition ‘Of Green Leaf, Bird and Flower’, curated by Elisabeth R. Fairman. The exhibition is accompanied by a gorgeous catalogue, which takes its inspiration from an antique field guide.
‘Of Green Leaf, Bird and Flower’. Publisher: Yale University Press (23 May 2014)
ISBN-10: 0300204248
Please discuss a piece you are currently working on?
‘A Spoonful of Earth’ is a plastic takeaway spoon, which appears to have scooped up a tiny clod of earth. Amongst the daisy plants is a garden snail, its shell adorned with the Starbucks logo. My daughter had the inspired idea of using yellow glass seed beads for its eyes. I’d like to create an installation of ‘free range’ snails. It would be a fun way to fill a space.
'A Spoonful of Earth' (with Snail)
Contact details.
Tracey Bush
Alverstoke, Hampshire, UK
tracey@traceybush.com
www.traceybush.com
Tracey Bush, UK
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, August, 2014
Mikyoung Jung
You combine both glass and other metals and materials in your work can you expand on how this came about?
‘Beyond’
As a border-crossing artist, I think my experience of displacement through constant migration has had a profound effect on my art works. My continuing migration from South Korea to Canada, England and Australia as well as living and travelling in different countries as a ‘nomad’ has encouraged me to develop ways to communicate and articulate my feelings beyond the traditional conduit of speech, while also re-defining the boundary between myself and others from different cultures. As I constantly move from place to place, I wanted to explore these spaces that I have visited in the past with colours and appearances by using the material’s fundamental beauty and unique characteristics. While I was seeking my own way to express my observations of the new spaces in which I was residing, I was not reluctant to mix materials even though my art practice has been primarily focused on glass making, particularly kiln-formed glass and casting. Later, I realized the effect my multi- cultural background and previous undergraduate art education in South Korea has had on my current practice. During my B.F.A in South Korea, although my major was in glass, I was fortunate to receive a well-rounded exposure in many different materials such as wood, ceramics, metal, print and mixed media. Thus, it was more natural for me to explore different materials. In my current practice, I mainly use metal and glass. I use metal to emphasize my personal sensory perception of new space in which I am currently residing in or observing, and glass is a great resource that allows me to be able to create boundaries of space in sculptural form with colours. Glass and metal together allow me to be able to create the internal and external space within my practice perfectly. sculptural form with colours. Glass and metal together allow me to be able to create the internal and external space within my practice perfectly.
‘In the Shadow of Giants’
Your work is truly 3D, it makes the viewer want to walk around it and view it from all angles. Can you expand on this?
My works are based on real scenery, explored by a creative process through the ‘Journaling’ of my past experiences. Incorporating catalogued data in the form of pictures of experienced landscapes and moments in time, I then start to draw the scenery by using Adobe Illustrator computer software on top of pictures to engage in exploring contemporary human life. I often incorporate metal in my works. Using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator together before I cut metals, I sometimes collage a few pictures to create the moment as I experienced it.
metal placement planning
When I place metal in my work I stagger the pieces that tell my story at different distances on the glass form, so although the metal figures are 2D it appears as a 3D image when it is placed in space. I also modify the size of each metal piece as well as the angle so I can make objects appear larger or smaller depending on distance. The process from planning the placement of the metal to cutting it is honestly quite time consuming and labour intensive I really enjoy doing it. It makes me feel like I am playing with the characters in my story. It possibly feels more real for some people who have shared a similar experience because my works might give them a chance to look at their current reality or look back on a previous experience in their lives and that is the power of my visual ‘journal’.
Metal cutting planning with Adobe Illustrator Software
Metal cutting process
Can you discuss the size of your current work?
My current works are in various sizes from small to large. Larger works are approximately 560mm long and 330mm high whereas small works are approximately 350mm long and 190mm high. I send most of my works overseas; I have found it is very difficult to ship works internationally if they are bigger than 600mm. I try to keep the size less than 600mm unless the works are being sent within the country I am currently working in.
‘A day in the Park’
‘Sunrise Sunset’
‘City from a distance’
Your comment “the old world and the new, east and west, citizen versus outsider” How is this reflected in your work?
‘Hanging on by a Thread’ and ‘The Daily Commute’
My current work called “Hanging on by a Thread” and “The daily commute” might be a good example in explaining the contrast between citizen and outsider. I recently travelled to the Philippines with my husband and while visiting a small island called Bohol, we came upon a long bridge made from Bamboo connecting one side of a village to another.
At first sight, the bridge seemed fragile and insecure and I was very hesitant to cross. I watched a few travellers cross the bridge visibly nervous. I finally gathered up the courage to cross this bamboo bridge, I noticed a local boy balancing a heavy sack of rice on his head nonchalantly crossing the bridge totally absent of fear from the opposite side. At that moment I realized that two people, albeit from different environments, experiencing the same location in very different ways. Observing the moment as an outsider allowed me to archive this experience into my current work.
Detail of ‘Unbridled City’
Detail of 'By the shore’
How has your work altered between the two western locations, Sunderland and Sydney?
The place where I lived in England was the city of Sunderland, located in the north east of England and it was not as multi-cultural as Sydney. It was a difficult time where I felt exposed and like a stranger. Also, at this time I could not yet speak English as well as I can now, so my works were more focused on the differences between ethnicity and language.
‘Outside and Inside I, II’
‘As a stranger’
After my studies were completed in England, I came back to South Korea, staying for about two years while sharing a small studio with a former glass artist friend in Seoul . Since Seoul is a very busy densely populated city, I was always surrounded by high buildings and traffic.
When I moved to Sydney, Australia, it was my first time living in a tropical climate and more raw, wild landscape. I was really inspired by the unique animals and flora of Australia’s nature, particularly its variety of vivid colours. I started to makes works which portrayed the different animals, trees, and plants of Australia.
'Fixture of Suburban life-Urban Jungle’
'View from above’
Can you discuss two pieces of work?
Country landscape
Bristol landscape picture
As I constantly move from place to place travelling to different locations I try to reflect the different landscapes which I have seen from different places into my works. Since I was born and grew up in Seoul, I had always lived in high level apartment blocks surrounded by huge buildings. Therefore, when I travel, especially to the countryside, this inspires me to reflect that moment in my work. One of works that I exhibited at SOFA Chicago last year, called “The pastoral life” was made based on a picture I took while working and travelling in Bristol, United Kingdom.
‘The pastoral life’
City landscape
Seoul landscape picture
When I come back home, the scenery which I have witnessed and stored in my mind makes me look at my current reality, that of the city, from a different perspective. The piece called “Ephemeral City” was made just after I returned to Seoul from England and was based on a picture I took on the way back from the airport.
‘Ephemeral City’
Can you discuss the way you choose to colour your glass? Some pieces are completely coloured, others partially coloured while others are clear?
'On the Coast’
I try to explore works with different colours and incorporate the colours I found in the pictures of a given moment. I think the colour of a moment really brings out my feeling of that moment and reflects my emotions. My choice of colour really depends on the work. Sometimes, works made in one solid colour better reflect the moment. In some of my old works, I built lines with flat coloured glass and stacked them into a mould to create levels in the pieces to create multiple layers to reflect the age of the land and create a layering effect to better illustrate water.
'The Still City’
Where are you currently exhibiting your work?
My work is currently being exhibited in four locations:
| Melbourne,Australia | Kirra Galleries |
| Pittsburgh, U.S.A | Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery |
| Denver, U.S.A | Pismo Gallery |
| London, U.K | Zest Gallery |
I have also completed a new work which is going to be exhibited at
The 8th Cheongju International Craft Biennale in Cheongju, South Korea in
August 2013.
Detail of ‘Old meets New’
Exhibitions are an important aspect for artists; can you explain how you choose where to exhibit?
I try to submit my work to be exhibited in glass art conferences, symposiums, and craft biennales as well as if there is an exhibition where I believe it will allow me to show my work to a wider audience. Besides that, I get calls from galleries asking me to exhibit when they have a group show going on with a certain theme that would suit my work. It really depends on the time.
What are one or two recommendations that you would tell a new artist to keep in mind?
As I learned from my mentor, I think it is very important for an artist to keep informed about information of upcoming competitions and exhibition opportunities in order to be ready to apply for ones that will fit your work. When you apply, having good images of your work will assist you in being selected for these opportunities since for almost all competitions, only images of your work are evaluated in the first round.
Many art students think it will cost too much money to have a professional image, I think it is a worthwhile investment as it brings you good opportunities.
If you use your images well, it really is worth it in the end.
Contact details.
Studio Address:
Joon Glass Studio
824-37 Daeja-dong, Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do
ZIP:412 480, South Korea
Website: www.mikyoungjung.com
Email: mikyoung.glass@gmail.com
Mikyoung Jung, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Interview by Deborah Blakeley, August, 2013