I was particularly excited about the opportunity to meet at MadLab this month as I have attended events there before and know it as a very creatively nurturing space. It was unfortunate that not many people could make it along this evening for various (pretty good) reasons so I'm hoping that numbers pick up again soon and we can keep going. Not to start off on too much of a downer however, those of us who did attend, all left agreeing that it had been useful to meet so that's still pretty encouraging.

Tammy Leigh returned and briefly shared some developments in her range of knitted wire jewellery which involved the inclusion of semi precious stones threaded onto the wire. Following on from her presentation of some pieces made using recycled materials at the previous meeting, we spoke more about this aspect of the work. During that discussion, we arranged for her to visit my students at Tameside College next week to talk with them about using recycled materials in their own work.

I then asked people to look at some mock-ups I had made following suggestions at the previous meeting for the This Place Is book; a development from This Belongs To and a series of workshops run in Hulme. It was agreed that although I had probably done a reasonable job at being clear and concise in terms of the content, I probably hadn't allowed enough space for people to record more personal reflections. We then chatted a bit about possible tweaks to that and eventually came to the conclusion that I might in fact be looking at two projects, one formatted as booklet to hand out to people (probably locally) and eventually compiled into one volume and one printed more carefully to send further afield but to more specific locations. This seemed to make sense and I have since realised that the booklet format might also work really well in a workshop so there are more possibilities for developing those avenues too.

Juan Armellini also joined us for the first time and spoke about his experiences using blogging sites to build an online portfolio. We discussed the format of blogs as opposed to other kinds of web pages and I suggested that a blog might not be the most flexible format for his purposes. We also talked a bit about how the design of the site must 'agree' with or support the content. Having previously helped Tammy with her site, I suggested that at the next meeting I could spend a bit of time with the laptop showing people how I build mine (very simply) using a browser based system not dissimilar from many blogging sites. We agreed that might also help give the session a bit more structure so that has become the plan.

I have since spoken with the very supportive people at MadLab who have agreed we can use the space next month so we will next meet at 7pm on Wednesday February 22nd (2012) at Madlab, Manchester (36 - 40 Edge Street, Northern Quarter). We will begin with an informal sharing of practice and then for the last 30/45 minutes or so I will demonstrate how I build my website. If you fancy coming along but are not already on the mailing list, please drop me a note using the contact form on the main page and I can be sure we make time for everyone! Hope to see you there!

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!