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Creative Whispers - Response 2

28/2/2013

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Christine reveals her illustrative responses
Tonight we started off with a bit of housekeeping and discussed the outcomes of a meeting I had with one of the directors of MadLab about potentially arranging an exhibition of the Creative Whispers work. As expected, cost is going to be the main factor in deciding how long for and when we want to do anything but aside from sending me back with a new list of questions it seems we are still looking likely for getting something organised in the near future. Once we have agreed dates (and how we will pay for it!) then we can start discussing the finer details of organisation. We were also pleased to welcome back Jo Scorah who shared her textiles work with us last October. 

We were of course keen to get on to sharing the second round of responses for the Creative Whispers project and started with James Sharp, volunteered to go first in his absence! James had taken my photographic responses to Irena’s starting point and had interspersed prints of the images with prints of his journal pages in to a bound, textile covered book.

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David shares his interventions in Irena's found book
We also looked at photograms from Irena, rubbings from Kevin, manipulated photographs from Shirley, Japanese additions to a found haiku book-come-photo album from David, Illustrations on canvas from Christine, a developed conceptual ‘object’ from Renate and finally a mixed media drawing from myself. Jo took away some prints that Shirley had made in response to Renate’s original acrylic on canvas starting point and will join in with the project in a ‘branched’ thread!

This is really just an overview and you will be able to see more of these over the coming weeks as I get sent images with which to update the Creative Whispers project pages. We finished the discussion on the project with many agreeing that they have found the opportunity to take some risks and be a bit experimental very refreshing. While we may not all have produced work that we are necessarily happy with in a way that we would normally associate with producing work, we have certainly appreciated the stretch of being kicked from our respective ‘comfort zones’!

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Glass and Ceramic Transfer by David Hammond
As we managed to finish with a bit of time spare, we were delighted to hear more from David Hammond, a mature student now in his third year of a BA(Hons) in 3D Design at MMU, who shared some of his recent work with us. We discussed some photos of his work in glass; sculptural pieces that make use of ceramic transfer techniques to involve 2D drawings, photographs and collages of modern urban architecture in a spatial exploration. We discussed the link between the materials and the subject matter being closely related to David’s inspirations; the interaction between the buildings and the environmental features around them such as reflections and negative spaces. The glass, it was agreed, is a medium that naturally lends itself to play with light as well as reflecting (no pun intended!) the actual building materials of the architecture.

We are now looking forward to March, when we will be sharing the second ‘layer’ of responses as it gets increasingly complicated to pass on a piece without it going back to someone who has already worked on it! In addition, Christine Wilcox-Baker will be giving a much anticipated talk on her sculptural work relating to food plants and gardens! This seems particularly appropriate as we move into Spring; there’s certainly a lot of new creative growth sprouting about us; check back next month to see if it’s started blossoming!


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First Meeting

2/11/2011

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The first Meeting of CRITgroup got off to a good start with six people attending. James Pashley got the ball rolling by sharing his recent investigations into  play environments. As a landscape design graduate with a new-found direction in 3D Design, his work looks at how play could once again be encouraged in the streets by suggesting structures and interventions for urban environments which would tempt both children and adults out of the car and back into enjoying the journey on foot. He spoke about how his work had been focusing on the research for a while but that this was now shifting back to a more project based approach and discussion then moved on to how our perception of environments affects our use of space.

Tammy Leigh then shared some photos of her hand made jewellery. The group agreed that she deserved to be far more confident in sharing them, as there were some genuinely exciting pieces involving knitting with wire. The group shared some ideas for promoting the work and the importance of wearing your own pieces when at a public event such as a stall or workshop!

John Quinn, sculptor, spoke with enthusiasm about his recent rediscovery of material properties since occupying a space at Cow Lane Studios in Salford, following a long break from making. Photos of his work conjured a discussion of tension and form and he spoke about the benefits of working in a studio space, especially when producing large scale pieces.

Kevin Linnane, photography tutor and postgraduate student, presented his recent explorations of Modernist views of cities, through photographs of Coventry. He discussed an interest in the myths of and interactions with cities and spoke about how his work had developed from an earlier body of work concerned with the location of an urban Green Man. This brought the topic of conversation back on to a discussion of our environmental perception and how this can affect the lives of city residents.

James Sharp
then shared some examples of his textiles pieces, especially a collection of art journals titled Bibliophilia. Though the journals are designed so that they can be used as diaries or sketchbooks, many members of the group felt that they were enjoyable just to have as objects too. James also brought along some examples of his other work including the Stuff Stash, a textile wall hanging with additional capacity to store or display household items. This brought the discussion on further to making work commercially viable and James especially recommended using online methods to make sales.

I then tried to wrap up with (what I hope was) a brief summary of my recent practice and how I was hoping to develop my work following the completion of the MA. I especially benefited from sharing one idea I had been mulling over; that of a series of blank template books which would require users to research and share aspects of their local area. It was suggested that instead of producing multiple copies that it might be successful to have one book with several sections which could better facilitate a sharing of the content.

A very successful first meeting, but we did feel that the venue was a little noisy, so not to be ungrateful to our hosts at Odder Bar, it will be my job to hunt out an alternative space for the new year (we're skipping December as too many people have other commitments!)

Check back in January!
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    CRITgroup

    _Creative Reflection and Investigation Talk Group is an informal network for local artists and designers. The group meets every other month aiming to facilitate a pooling of professional skills and knowledge to provide motivation, support and social contact for those pursuing a creative (visual) practice in Manchester.

    CRITgroup is an initiative organised and managed by Glittermouse.

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