 I started off by sharing some of my own recent developments; firstly, some new contributions to the This Place Is project from Dalian. I had left some booklets with the staff and students of English First School where I ran PlaceMaking workshops in the summer and was delighted to receive some contributions through the post last month. With some specific reflections on Dalian itself as well as few references to other places in China, they certainly make for interesting reading. I especially enjoyed contrasting them with my own This Place Is Dalian booklet that I completed shortly after my return to the UK.  | Not quite a silent night but certainly a peaceful one; we had a small meeting this evening, three familiar faces and a very welcome new guest! All the more mince pies for us! We had already agreed to postpone the Crafting by Committee conclusion until January as some people had other commitments in a very busy month anyway. As such, it was really rather pleasant to ‘kick’ back on what was also CRITgroups second birthday and reacquaint ourselves with the underlying purpose of the meetings; discussing our work!  The other outcome from my summer was unexpected but none the less worthy of being shared; upon getting home, I realised how many of the photographs I had taken during my travels had still been concerned with place, although in a slightly different and less urban context. I collated a select series of these into a book titled Peaceful Places and brought along a copy for the group to see. The work will be on display at the Manchester Buddhist Centre’s Earth Café in February 2014. Whilst it was good to share the work itself, I think people also found it interesting to assess the quality of the self-published book. We briefly discussed using companies that allow you to compose and order such publications and their potential applications for things such as exhibition catalogues as well as portfolio books. |
We were then delighted to view work by our new visitor; Colin Binns. With a background in architecture, Colin currently works from his studio in Preston and is currently engaged with developing abstract mixed media work based on an exploration of the Bridgewater Canal for an exhibition at the Bank Quay Gallery, Warrington in November 2014. Colin starts with photographic references and develops these through drawing and print media into a series of canvases. He also shared some older work with us, much of which had references to specific cities. Of particular interest was a series completed as a portrait of Blackpool, in which Colin had associated different areas in the region with the concept of Chakras. These had particularly influenced the colours used and environmental features represented in the work. Those of you who have often attended meetings, or kept a close eye on the blogs will remember the work of regular attendee, Kevin Linnane whose work has also been inspired by the canal networks in Manchester. Colin and Kevin found they had still more in common with an interest in the application of dowsing techniques to respond to the environment that inspires their work.
| | Having had a good chat about the project work shared (as well as our fill of Christmas cake and mince pies!) all that remained was to wish each other a merry, yet peaceful festive season as we wrapped up the last meeting of 2013. We’re back on the 29th of January 2014 to conclude Crafting By Committee and get the new year off to a creative start! |
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