After warmly welcoming two new faces to the group this month, we set about kicking off our second collaborative project; Crafting by Committee. There were six initial proposals submitted (two remote) and whilst I personally found it quite straight forward to dictate procedures for carrying out projects that would challenge the artist (must be that teaching instinct kicking in!) I felt one of the hardest things was listening to the discussion about my proposal without asking questions or feeling the need to clarify intentions that I thought may have been misunderstood. Surprisingly, I didn't find it difficult at all to accept the conditions applied to my proposal but I did find I wanted to ask for more clarification than might have been appropriate. I actually thought that everyone who was present for the committee discussion of their proposals did very well in biting their tongues and taking the feedback without query as the process could easily have caused some debate. Thankfully, that wasn't the purpose of the session tonight, though I am sure there will be plenty of time for that in future meetings! The committee’s decisions and feedback on the proposals can now be found on the second project page.

By the time we had discussed all the proposals and decided on feedback (as well as agreeing the format for the next stage; progress to be presented in November with final outcomes submitted at the Christmas Meeting on December 18th), We enjoyed some time to chat about the creative projects of some of those attending. Christine asked for some thoughts on how best to go about selling prints and drawings that she has stored at home. Suggestions from the group included online sales, running an open house event, attending craft fairs and even initiating a ‘lucky dip’ project (probably online). This last suggestion was inspired by conversation around the fact that there was not one single style or process represented in the work and that it might be more appropriate to categorise or selectively ‘brand’ differently grouped pieces in order to target different audiences more effectively. The ‘lucky dip’ suggestion centred on the idea that people on a budget would still like to own a piece of original art and that they could submit a budgeted amount, receiving a corresponding piece of work at random. We also talked briefly about different websites that might be utilised including Ebay and Etsy, as well as debating how useful a social media presence really is in increasing online sales.

Without wanting to put them too much on the spot, we then heard from our guests Melanie and Matt, who had both popped along on the off chance that they might find something interesting! Melanie joined us primarily in a research mission as a creative project manager who is involved in a new business incubation project in Inverness. The project aims to get creative and non-creative businesses and freelancers interacting to encourage innovation and ideas based cross pollination. Matt then introduced himself as a freelance illustrator who has recently moved to Manchester. He shared his portfolio with us and talked about recent projects he has completed for the Royal Navy and a London based brewery. Having sometimes struggled to make time for illustration alongside paying the bills (though a recent job painting Disney princesses onto bouncy castles fired a few CRITgroup imaginations!), He described his new routine in which he sets aside 4 hours a day for illustration. Group members suggested places he may find opportunities and support in Manchester including Creative Industries Trafford, Castlefield Gallery, Islington Mill and some smaller local galleries and venues.

We also had remote updates to share from a couple of absent friends;  James could not be in Manchester as he told us he is busy preparing for the Fall Fair at the Robert Crown Center, Evanston in Chicago on Saturday! Renate, though a bit more local, has been equally busy with preparations for the opening of Oldham Symphony Orchestra's Golden Jubilee Exhibition at Gallery Oldham. The exhibition celebrates the orchestra's history and place in the community and reflects on the work of the orchestra's late leader Anne Heeks. Renate will be exhibiting the portrait In Memoriam Anne Heeks as a personal contribution. The exhibition runs until 4th January 2014

After stuffing ourselves on the promised pre-hallow e’en treats (and mercifully avoiding too many tricks), we melted off into the Northern Quarter night to begin brewing up our responses to the Crafting by Committee feedback. 

Check back or join us at MadLab next month to find out  what we’ve pulled from the CRITgroup Cauldron!

Hannah began by posing a question to group members; how did you acquire your most valued skill? She set this against a background example of the tattoo industry which, despite coming from a history of strict and revered Japanese masters and a strong tradition of harsh relationships with long suffering apprentices, can now be apparently ‘learned’ via online video tutorials. Recognising that her own apprenticeship sits somewhere in the middle of these extremes, Hannah guided the conversation to a discussion of differences between traditional institutionalised learning and ‘on the job’ training, including the various pros and cons of theory versus practice.

Coming from a less mainstream (yet increasingly accepted) field, there was also a fair bit of eager but friendly interrogation from the group around the practicalities of tattooing; what is the difference between holding a pen and a tattoo gun? Would you agree to tattoo a face? Did you practice on anything before starting on a person? One of the most fundamental observations with relation to the realities of tattooing came from a comparison with Hannah’s earlier illustration work, which was largely digital. Recognising that there is no such facility as an ‘undo’ function in tattooing, perhaps underlines the importance of learning practical skill in such an area!

One concept that arose from this was that of a skills exchange between the teacher and the student; Hannah initiated her apprenticeship placement after learning that her mentor was keen to learn Photoshop skills, something she was able to provide. This led to a common consensus in the group that an ideal educational experience always involved some give and take and that teachers should be constantly learning from their students just as students should be asking themselves what they could bring to the relationship. This came back, I felt, to the idea of an apprentice being someone who earns the respect and trust of their mentor by demonstrating a willingness to carry out necessary but less glamorous jobs; recognising the need for such tasks and exemplifying a commitment to their chosen discipline with a willingness to work long and hard to achieve their ambitions. This is not something that on reflection I feel necessarily excludes self-taught development, however it certainly does negate the possibility of a ‘quick fix’, X Factor style, overnight success that certain examples at the online video tutorial end of Hannah’s example spectrum seem to suggest possible (no doubt to cash in on).

Conversation eventually evolved into a discussion of perceptions of the modern artistic ‘elite’ juxtaposed against a more traditional, ‘purist’ perspective which prioritises aesthetic value and technical skill over conceptual interventions that require verbose (and questionable) artists’ statements to decode. It was eventually agreed that in creative areas (whose main goal is arguably communication of ideas) the ability to simply explain your concept could be applied as a litmus test of your own integrity. Despite a suggestion that this could be true of any area, it was eventually conceded that this should not always be applied to scientific disciplines which may lose significant details in the process of simplification.

As conversation stopped to allow some further peer support around website construction (James Sharp is currently building a new site), the rest of the group broke off into little discussions which reminded me of a rather focused cocktail party. This hasn’t really happened before, so while I am unable to report on the contents of those discussions I was very glad to observe that people had plenty to discuss!

Though the focus of this month was Hannah’s talk as outlined, It would be remiss of me to end without mentioning that we also welcomed some new faces along, whom I hope very much will return to share their practices with us a standard CRITgroup session in the future. David and Shirley Hammond were very welcome new friends, along with Nick and Ahamani who came with Hannah. We hope to see them all again in the near future! Thank you to everyone who participated in a very enjoyable and dynamic session with lots of content and only a little tight on time!

We have another talk next month from Jo Scorah who will be sharing her sculptural textiles with us on October the 31st. I may even be persuaded to provide some appropriate treats though we’ll certainly aim to avoid anything too tricky!