A Mouse on a Mission...
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January 2015

28/1/2015

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January saw our first meeting for 2015, being the second of a revised bimonthly schedule and it was good to be back at MadLab proper, albeit still a ‘work in progress’ affair that saw us climbing slightly unfinished feeling stairs and avoiding the brick dust!
With three ‘core’ members present, it didn’t take long to get stuck into the chat! Kevin started things off by reminding us of a couple of his recent and ongoing projects; those of the Cave Painting work and the 53 Views project. Whilst the Cave Painting work, projecting and drawing inside pill boxes, is for now, as complete as creative projects ever are, 53 Views has been on pause while a bit of a refocus takes place. The initial concept for the work was to produce 53 photographs from a specific square window in Kevin’s flat (apartment number 53), to reflect the square Instagram format. This lost steam, however and the parameters are likely to evolve, permitting a greater variety of ‘views’. Retitled Windows this work would then encompass photos take from train windows as well as existing images from the flat and of other locations.
Kevin Linnane Cave Art
Kevin Linnane; Cave Art
Renate Wendel - Self Portrait
Renate Wendel; Self Portrait
Renate had been getting back into drawing with the Apple a Day series (See November 2014 CRITblog), work she has been continuing to a degree but which has also been overtaken by explorations in a few other creative areas. Some of this includes outcomes from life drawing classes, as well as sketches of musicians at various concerts. She’s also been reengaging with practical skills in the area of jewellery making, selling beaded and ceramic items at craft fairs. Whilst she has enjoyed this venture, it is unlikely to form a significant strand of future work as she explained that the ‘production line’ process did not appeal to her. This was something I could certainly identify with following my own experience of selling crafts and though Kevin suggested producing ‘limited edition’ ranges, Renate felt that once all the costs were factored in it was unlikely to ever be cost effective. At this point the conversation made James’ absence (due to the snow forecast) palpable and I felt sure he would have had much to contribute to that particular discussion!
Renate has also been making the most of access to a black and white darkroom at Start in Salford, where she has been volunteering, to revisit these skills. She shared a self portrait with us, as well as some photograms designed to function as bookmarks (she likes work to have a purpose, she explained) and talked about ideas for moving in to the area of contact prints. ‘Get yourself some good quality acetate!’ advised experienced photographer Kevin!

For my own part, I was able to share a new painting in the Serenity Series as well as a minor evolution in my own perception of this work; the question of whether or not ‘art’ that has been identified to have some therapeutic value (as opposed to enjoyment, as previously discussed) to the creator can really be classed as ‘art’. This led on to some analysis of the source of such perceptions, traditional academic views of this as part of arts educational institutions and established or well known examples in contradict of such dismissal, Tracy Emin and Sarah Lucas amongst others.
Annabeth Orton Heart Sutra
Annabeth Orton; Heart Sutra; Go Beyond
As I have recently been in the unfortunate position of being unwell and not in work, I have had time to be gently flexing some other creative muscles and so shared with the group a recent collation of old and new poems (I even read one out!) as well as the fruits of my other labours in the form of baking; a gugelhupf in this case! I explained that I find cooking a very soothing activity, as well as actually quite creative and this certainly fed in (no pun intended) to the whole ‘what is art anyway!?’ debate. I’d already responded to this by describing Scott McCloud’s suggestion that art is any human activity that cannot be directly related to a need to survive, (as Renate pointed out, you can survive by eating the berries from the bush but do you need to spend time and effort turning them into jam?) and it was equally relevant to earlier conversation about art as therapy; where does mental and emotional survival fit in to the definition and how does that support or refute each perspective? Renate had explained that her voluntary work brought her into contact with people who had actually been prescribed a course of creative activity to help treat various mental health conditions and it didn’t seem entirely random that our conversation had come at least in some respects, full circle.
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Return of the CRIT

24/9/2014

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Following our summer hiatus, we met this month in MadLab’s temporary home at New Federation House, currently managed by Castlefield Gallery. The primary aim of the meeting was to review recent feedback from CRITsurvey 2014 and make some key decisions on the future of the group to make sure it continues providing motivation, support and social contact for those pursuing a creative visual practice in Manchester.

Our main concern is that we want to continue to see regular involvement in the meetings; not necessarily huge numbers or the same people coming every single month, but enough to provide varied and meaningful feedback discussion for those who do attend. We had previously tried to achieve this consistent interest by running collaborative and research projects, one of which culminated in a group show, as well as hosting a series of speakers. Whilst these had been successful in many ways, it was noted that numbers were starting to drop off throughout 2014. Feedback from the survey and analysis in our discussion tonight suggested that aside from practical reasons like timing, this might be because the format had become a bit too formal and structured. We also felt that some people who had dropped in to see what we were about found it difficult to engage with a group who was already involved in a project spanning several sessions. The main thing we concluded was that due to our focus on these additional activities, we had started to run out of time to for informal critique on practical work; the very thing we originally set up to achieve. Without wanting to make accidental political references, it was unanimously agreed that the key to the ongoing success of the group was in going ‘Back to Basics’ and refocussing on this critical discussion as the primary function of the group.  One suggestion was to have less frequent but longer sessions, possibly meeting for a full day every 6 months; however it was decided that meeting for the same length of time but at only slightly longer intervals would be more practical. As such, we shall be moving to a bimonthly schedule. We hope this will allow those who wish to attend a bit more flexibility in meeting other commitments as well as feeling that they can still be fully active in the group, at the same time as giving everyone a bit more space between meetings to make progress on their projects or develop their practices.

We also plan to be less rigid in formatting any other activities. Whilst we intend to continue supplementing our critical conversation with events such as speakers, topic specific discussions and skills sharing workshops, we will arrange these in a less structured fashion on a month by month basis. The bimonthly move should also make it easier for us to organise things such as gallery visits at times outside of the established meeting pattern. We agreed to stick to the Last Wednesday of the month 7-9pm standard as it was generally felt that there was never going to be a time or day where everyone could be present anyway and there was not a significant bias towards any other specific option in the survey feedback.
We ended the discussion on a positive note and considering there to be ‘no time like the present’ to act on our new convictions, we then spent a bit of time looking at some new developments from those present! James Sharp has been developing an extensive range of distinctive textiles products that he sells at crafts events in and around the Greater Manchester area. He is very responsive to feedback from his customers and has recently developed a leather-bound book to supplement his art journals range.  He brought one of these to show us and we were pleased, but not surprised, to hear that they have been selling well from his stall. These are also available from his online shop.
Photographer and artist Kevin Linnane shared a new series of images generated in WW2 pillboxes. Titled Cave Art, these photographs document existing features inside the structures such as graffiti, combined with his own interventions; charcoal drawings referencing nude studies by various masters. These  initiated conversation about the relationships between the intended function of these spaces and those who have used them, both in a defensive role and as a hiding place for less formal, non-military secrecies. The act of voyeurism is highlighted through inclusion of architectural details such as the windows and gun ports as well as the subject matter of the graffiti and the nude studies.

Kevin Linnane
Kevin Linnane - Cave Art - Digital Photograph
Rainbow Buddha
Annabeth Orton - Tamana Buddha - Acrylic on Canvas Board
I also shared some developments in a tangential series of paintings, outside of my previous work in a Social Practice discipline. Currently under a working title of The Serenity Series, these paintings are developed from the Peaceful Places collection of photos that I took in China and Japan during 2013. The discussion these generated was less around the practical or physical features of the pieces but more about my own feelings of self-indulgence around working on pieces that didn’t seem to have as much function as the socially orientated projects. Whilst Kevin felt he could identify with having experienced this, James and Renate questioned the origin of those preconceptions and argued that the act of producing a creative outcome could be at the same time enjoyed by both the artist and the audience. A perfectly reasonable statement, yet not one I have fully resolved into my own practice!
Given our agreement to adopt a bimonthly format, the October meeting will be skipped and we will next get together in November. We'll also give December (our December meetings tend to be all about the mince pies anyway!) over to more festive engagements and shall then begin a new year of alternate months in January.  The January meeting will be the first in the fourth year of CRITgroup and it is with optimism in relation to our refocused intentions that we look forward to welcoming many new and old friends to our conversations. We hope you will be a part of it!

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Back to Basics

27/2/2014

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This month I was really looking forward to the opportunity for a freer session for a change, less constrained by attending to the specifics of the latest collaborative project, which we completed last month. I wasn’t disappointed! Though I have enjoyed the collaborations, both participating in them and being part of the discussions they generated, it was really refreshing to get ‘back to the roots’ of the group and just spend a couple of hours sharing and talking about recent work and ideas. It was good to see Colin Binns again, who fresh from a drawing session with Manchester Urban Sketchers, brought his sketchbook along.
The sketching meetings occur every three to four weeks and are connected with a worldwide network of similar groups aiming to connect and share places. They fix a location for an afternoon and get together to spend time drawing in the urban environment, sharing and discussing the outcomes at the end. Today the group met at the Manchester Museum, where many people focussed on drawing objects and artefacts, however Colin found he was looking out of the museum to the street scenes and other local buildings. He felt this was related to his architectural background and connecting back to previous practice, instead of some of his more recent painting work. When Colin had mentioned to me what he was doing in the afternoon, I decided to bring along my own recent sketches from the museum. It was interesting to compare styles and approaches, especially as we had both had very different purposes for the drawings.
Colin Binns
Resident CRITter Kevin Linnane and Dave Wilkinson, who has been on our mailing list for some time now but for whom this was a first meeting, were especially interested as photographers in  the relationship between sketching and accuracy (or lack) of detail.  This led us on to a discussion about the role of the visual arts in interpreting and depicting reality as well as the artist’s decisions in emphasising certain features. It was agreed that though this might be less apparent in photography, the expressive is still present, especially when considering that the photograph is not the subject (think Magritte’s Treachery of Images). We discussed how this is sometimes achieved in post-production in photography as opposed to directly during the sketching process, which led us on to the comparative immediacy of film and digital photography, planning images and editing en situ as well as back in the studio.
Colin identified that his drawings are a method of investigating how to develop a balance between an architecturally accurate drawing style and his abstract paintings. Comparing his drawings with my own sketchbook work (completed partly as a demonstration to students and partly as ongoing research development), we agreed that though the outcomes are very different in style and approach, they exist for essentially the same reason. Colin will be using his sketches in moving towards mixed media work involving silkscreen.

Peaceful Places - Lotus
As we had been looking at my sketchbook as a playground for new ideas, it was natural then to turn the discussion to my own recent, if unexpected, developments. Last week, I was delighted to hang the Peaceful Places prints at the Earth Café and I shared the selected prints with the group. I explained that as much of my work recently has been focussed on participatory events displayed (mostly) in online galleries, I had almost forgotten just how enjoyable it can be to get work out physically into a public display and that in the short time I was in the café hanging the work, I received very positive feedback which had been refreshingly welcome. This changed my thoughts around the project too; though the Peaceful Places series has been something of a tangent from my recent practice, I have enjoyed working with the images so much that I had already begun to consider making some paintings from them, and having experienced this response at the café I had been motivated to start a new piece.
The painting is a reasonably direct representation of a lotus in a Japanese Buddhist temple and I have been exploring the ‘peace’ theme further through the application of paint by employing calm, soft, almost meditative brushstrokes. I went on however, to question my motivations for this work, worrying that it was bordering on the therapeutic and explaining that I felt self-indulgent in producing it largely for personal pleasure. Though I feel strongly that I don’t want to put this new ‘tangent’ down and am enjoying making for makings sake, I also find myself questioning the purpose of it, uncertain of what it could be achieving in a wider context. Having said that, I am not able to explain why this matters and fully appreciate that the purpose of visual art is not easy to qualify, nor is it always appropriate to do so. Despite this, I seem to be challenged in applying this to my own practice.  Kevin suggested that this may be partly due to education though I suspect a lot of it has to do with my wider aspirations and self-expectations as well as it being quite a shift from my other recent work.

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Kevin also commented that he noticed a similarity between my recent ‘discovery’ of a new element of work within an existing theme (funnily enough, also concerned with the concept of place) and his own recognition of a previously unarticulated key thread in his work. The group all felt that there were examples present in our work of deviations occurring before we returned to a core subject. Kevin described this as being part of a process of finding out what it is you do, a recognition of things clicking into place, feeling right and thinking ‘I can just get on and do it now’.
He has recently been looking at issues relating to place and space but after looking back through some older projects has realised an ongoing interest in rituals. This is especially apparent in two projects he shared with us exploring acts of pilgrimage and performance . He is now working collaboratively on a series of photos of pillboxes in Bury St Edmonds and is currently working out the relationship between the new and old work. The pillboxes are positioned in defensive lines along the railway and I commented that this seemed to relate back to Kevin’s previous interest in ley lines while it was also noted that there were links to military rituals. Kevin hopes to open the work up following this rediscovered direction and plans to look at military bands.

Dave Wilkinson
Dave also discussed the recognition of key themes in relation to his own portfolio of work. Though he has been taking photos for years he is now starting to wonder what to do with them all! He showed us a range of images, most, if not all of which could be broadly categorised under many themes; Architectural, Sports, Nature, Travel, Astronomy, Landscape and Music Performance to name but a few possible headings! Despite these, Dave said he had not actually sorted through them all, which came as something of a surprise to me at least. He voiced some uncertainties around his work; having listened to other members in the group talking about projects and themes, yet the rest of us agreed that despite some apparent fragmentation, the key theme was in recording his visual experiences of the world.

Kevin made the very practical suggestion of sorting them into categories and looking at selling them through picture libraries, stating that as a photographers Dave has a very commercial eye. I thought it might be quite interesting to physicalising some of the images by printing them and seeing where that might develop and also suggested the possibility of setting a mini-project of something like a photo-diary, if this was a direction he felt motivated to follow.
Dave went on to say that he had recently recognised something of an ongoing theme in his more abstract compositions and that he was primarily interested in shape and colour, with much of his recent work containing botanical references, employing macro work, saturated colour and use of the vignette device. Kevin underlined the importance of such basic principles in photography and that a photograph isn’t always about the subject. The group felt that Dave was in the middle of his own learning journey and that certainly seemed to be a common theme tonight! 
In summary, February 2014 wasn't our biggest gathering, especially with the notable absence of a few familiar faces but the content of the discussion more than made up for this and it definitely felt good to get back to the CRITgroup roots in an open and meandering discussion inspired by the new work of those involved! I am certainly looking forward to seconds in March! 
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Crafting by Committee Conclusion

29/1/2014

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In November, we agreed to postpone the Crafting by Committee conclusion until January as some people had other commitments in December. The group was excited then to start the New Year by sharing their final outcomes for the Crafting by Committee project.

There was a varied response with each contributor demonstrating an identifiable departure from their usual practises and genuine responses to both rounds of committee feedback. The group reflected that the experience made people reconsider their approaches, and that the idea of the committee was a good one. There were varying levels of willingness to accept committee feedback however, and some felt uncomfortable about the instructions they received. Despite this, it was agreed that it had been positive to encourage each other to do something different within our practices. Some felt the main outcome was that it reinforced and highlighted what we already do, while for others it has encouraged development and more change in direction. Everyone found it to be an interesting exercise and agreed that it resulted in a variation on existing practices more than specific deviations from disciplines. One analogy was that it was more like adding a new flavour than a using an entirely new recipe. You can find details of the individual outcomes and further discussion on each by visiting the final stage project page.

This month we were also pleased to welcome photographer Jim in his first visit to CRITgroup. With a background in the building trade, he has also been active for the last 15 years in his side line of professional photography, focussing particularly on documenting performances. He is now hoping to extend into other areas and has an interest in 3D modelling and rapid prototyping.

Next month we will meet for an informal CRITsession and everyone is invited to bring some work. We will also make time to reflect further on the Crafting by Committee project, as well as discussing the possibility of a third research project.

James Sharp
James Sharp
DaDa Manchester 1
Things kick as the city decks its halls
Bright red decorations stretch out
Manchester's main streets
Square plays Dancers performing
Quarter's Contemporary Art 


Kevin Linanne
Christine Wilcox-Baker
Christine Wilcox-Baker
Annabeth Orton
Annabeth Orton
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A Second CRITmas

19/12/2013

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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.

Peaceful Places Book
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!
This Place is China
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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June 2012

28/6/2012

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I normally arrive at MadLab a good twenty minutes before everyone else, so this month it was a pleasant surprise to be greeted on the stairs by a member of staff who excitedly informed me that there were already people waiting. I was then pleased to discover a few familiar faces and to welcome a new contributor.
James Pashley was invited to speak first as this is the last time he will be joining us before flying off to teach in Japan for up to four years! After taking to opportunity to subtly remind me that we haven’t got as far with our collaborative mapping project as we had hoped to do before he left (!), he showed the group his new website (www.instantpash.me). Designed to be a portal to a series of informal blogs which will chart different areas of his various adventures, I recognised that some recent developments had been effective in lending a sense of cohesion to the site, which I felt had been missing before. I also commented that while it did still feel a little fractured, I suspect that in the process of populating it with content it will find its own level and develop into something a bit more streamlined, with the possibility for sections to change or merge depending on James’ experiences.
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James Pashley demonstrates his new website

Comments from other members centred (unsurprisingly!) around the featuring of Danbo in the photographic visualisation which head up each section. If you’re a regular reader of CRITblog you’ll remember that Danbo paid us a visit last month; an impressively designed cut-out-and-make cardboard ‘robot’ with moving parts. Asked if Danbo would be featuring in all James’ Japanese photos, he explained he is keeping an open mind about his expectations for the workload whilst out there and wasn’t sure how practical that would really be. This then led on to an interesting discussion about the relationship of photographic documentation to actual experience and the potential for falling into the trap of unintentionally focusing so much on taking photos that you remain one step removed from fully enjoying the experience of being somewhere. James wrapped up by impressing us with his Japanese, demonstrating the most important word he’s learnt so far… 'Bīru'. Yes, it means ‘beer’.
Following James, I shared my latest steps on some existing projects, including work currently on display at the Nexus Art Café in Manchester. I also took the opportunity for one last bout of shameless self-promotion by reminding the group about the next evening’s Private View of the Nexhibitionists show at which I will be showing some photographs of two recent workshops, one with Rolls Crescent Primary School and one with Nexus staff and contributors (though the Rolls Crescent work has been up since May and will be coming out in a week to move to the school itself.)
I then held my breath somewhat as I distributed the final published form of the brand new This Place Is project, which is replacing This Belongs To as the active participatory project in my practice and on my website. CRITgroup members have been central to the changes and developments that have shaped the final form of the booklet and recently completed mock versions for me to help assess the content and the experience of participating. It has, however, been a project which hasn’t always caused complete agreement and I have had the chance through this to pick and choose from sometimes conflicting feedback in order to try and ‘distil’ the project which best fulfils my intentions. The main criticism of the published document was the fact that I have not included a return address actually printed on it, which caused some members to question if I was making it harder for people to return their contributions. This was a factor I had already deliberated over and made a specific decision on so I was pleased there were no unpleasant surprises in any other areas of possible criticism I might not have thought of! I explained that I was reluctant to incur the costs of a P.O. Box (having already paid for printing) and didn’t want to use my home address for reasons of security as much as practicalities (such as in the insecurities of rented accommodation!) and as I was expecting most responses to be gathered through workshop sessions I had chosen to be a bit more discriminating in giving it out.  It was then suggested by Marcelle (our new guest who shall be introduced shortly) that it might be appropriate to ask an organisation or venue I already have links with if I could use their address.
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Final copies of This Place Is booklets

Some other issues raised included the age old question of how to facilitate good participant numbers and it was agreed that giving people a specific time-frame or environment in which to get involved would be a good way to approach this. I recognised that my main downfall with regards to This Belongs To was a lack of promotion and outlined arts websites I had thought to use to get the word out. It was also suggested that seeking to ‘attach’ the project to an existing relevant organisation, using peer-generated content to build momentum, and making the benefits of participating clear (such as inclusion of contributions in exhibitions) were all important factors.
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Marcelle, Annabeth and James discuss... something.

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James peruses the DIY Art School prospectus

After a brief verbal wrangle around what my expectations were for the specifics of visual or written entries on to the forms (I perhaps naively maintained I had none!) we moved on to hearing from Marcelle, our newest visitor to CRITgroup. Having recently graduated from the Interactive Arts degree at MMU she explained how her experiences of being asked to generate ‘gallery ready’ content for a degree show had led her to question the validity of certain aspects of this process and that she had eventually resolved her process into a research project which aims to found an independent fourth year to the IA degree. This experimental curatorial project aims to question the traditional teacher/student hierarchy and facilitate peer supported, user generated learning and assessment. Titled DIY Art School, the project sets out to tackle current issues such as rising tuition fees and investigate what happens to graduates in the years following matriculation. Though Marcelle did end up contributing a lot to the discussions, she explained that her original motive for attending had primarily been to research the format of the sessions and see how existing projects with similar features to her own operated and might become part of a wider network.

Kevin Linnane took over and showed us some video work related to the 53 Views project. Interested in issues of psychogeography, especially around notions of ‘resonance’ and the qualities of places which mean people are attracted (or in some cases it may seem repelled!) to particular locations, Kevin organises and undertakes walks in areas which can be located in the wide view from his flat. These then generate responses to the environment, primarily in photographic form. Some discussion took place around ideas of pilgrimage and how the act of travelling can dislocate the walker from ordinary experience. Most of Kevin’s recent work has included imagery of water around the Manchester canal network and Salford Quays/Media City. This also generated conversations around the religious connotations of water and contrasts between concepts of desecration and libation as applied to urban environments.  Kevin then made the suggestion that CRITgroup members meet to join him on a walk round the Mancunian Way. This was arranged for Sunday July 22nd and we will be meeting at Oxford Road Station at midday. Kevin will ask participants to carry out specific activities at points along the route and we will also be using it as an opportunity to air the new This Place Is booklets. I’m delighted Kevin suggested this and really looking forward to the first creative collaboration for CRITgroup! If you would like to join us, drop me an email (mouse@glittermouse.co.uk) and I’ll look forward to seeing you there!

Last but far from least, we heard an update from James Sharp who shared photos of his textile bunting for the Creative Recycling Gallery and brought along a developed form of his journal-based Stuff Stash. Some feedback James had received previously was that the paper pockets he had featured in the Stuff Stash might not withstand the rigours of daily use, so he has responded by including textiles pockets. It was agreed that this was an improvement not only for practical reasons but also because it extended the existing visual language of his textile work and allowed users to continue their experience of this element of his work.

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James Sharp's bunting at the Creative Recycling Gallery

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Juan uses the camera

That concludes my report for June as I had to leave pretty promptly (for once!) at nine, so I am just left to thank Juan Armellini for taking the photos and to remind everyone that we meet next month on the 25th of July when we look forward to a presentation from David Haley about his recent work in Hong Kong! Hopefully we will also have time to share and discuss the walk of the 22nd.

Finally, if you happen to be based in Manchester and actually reading this on the date of publication, I hope you can make it along to the Nexus Art Café later between 5 and 9! Maybe see you there!

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Fourth Meeting

26/4/2012

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Six months since the seminal meeting, MadLab felt very much like ‘home’ for the fourth group meeting. Five of us came along this month and there were plenty of varied projects to cover with some interesting debates being generated in many cases.

James Pashley started by sharing the exciting news that he has now confirmed an offer of employment working as a teaching assistant in Japan! He will be working as part of a cultural exchange programme to support English teaching beginning in late July or early August. While his insights and contributions will be missed in meetings, we are all looking forward to seeing his new website, which we briefly discussed, and to hearing updates on his experiences via his new blog. Meanwhile I am wondering if this means we can now label CRITgroup as an international art collective…!

Christine Wilcox-Baker who joined us for the first time last month to tease us with a hint of her work in the areas of art and gardening then shared details of what sounds like a very exciting and potentially high profile project working with the Cheshire Gardens Trust. The Caldwell’s Nurseries Project will be creating a garden at the RHS Tatton Flower Show in July for which Christine has designed a 3.3m by 4.5m sculptural stainless steel gazebo and a mosaic. The garden will reference the King Canute legend about how Knutsford came to be named as well as raising awareness of the Trust’s project to record written and oral histories relating to the historic Caldwell’s Nurseries. The conversation turned to a discussion of the benefits of voluntary projects, which whilst being carried out ‘for the love of it’ can still be very demanding. It was agreed that the networking opportunities and CV building potential of such projects was very valuable, however, there are also times where paid employment becomes a priority! We also talked about the onerous task of seeking sponsorship (easier if linked to a charity),  ways of promoting events and ideas for getting national press coverage (including the pros and cons of inviting a range of celebrities to your opening!). The RHS Tatton Flower Show is open to the public from the 18th to the 22nd of July and I look forward to both a visit and to sharing photos of Christine’s gazebo!
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Kevin Linnane - Castlefield 064

This month, Kevin Linnane brought along some photos he has taken for display as part of a project with MMU for the new childrens’ hospital being built in Manchester. Each of the floors in the new building will be themed and Kevin has responded to the ‘Manchester Explored’ areas from the starting point of linking Manchester to its extensive canal network. His photographs depict various areas around the canals in Manchester with the common element that they have all been taken reflected in the canal; many of the images have become abstract as a result. The group agreed that the textural effects of water as well as the unusual angles and subtle use of colour produce a series which not only respond well to the theme but perhaps more importantly demonstrate an awareness of audience. Comments included recognition of the calming nature of water and the suggestion that an abstract composition provided a greater opportunity for sick or bed-bound children to use their imaginations than more conventional imagery.
James Sharp brought along some of his textile journals for us to see and perhaps what is more important with his work, to hold, open and flick through! After a brief discussion of possible practical applications (James has also produced re-usable book covers and a way of making binders from plastic wallets) it was fairly unanimously agreed that the main value of the books is simply as art objects or, more accurately, artist’s books. Whilst James reported that his High Peak journals were selling well he also recognised that most of his work came in as commissions for a variety of objects from laptop covers to shopping bags. It was suggested that it would be worth pursuing display in Artist’s Book exhibitions as well as his current representations in Chapel En Le Frith and Bermondsey. James also offers tours of his garden and studio and expects to be involved in the RHS Tatton 2013 Flower Show with the Creative Recycling Gallery (there are a lot of green fingers in CRITgroup it seems!)
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James Sharp showcases his textile journals

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Glittermouse - Mmm... 2012 - 30 x 30cm Acrylic on Canvas

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Glittermouse - Mmm... 2010 - Digital image

I then attempted to wrap up quickly (so much for that!) and shared my latest painting. I explained to the group that the series had begun in 2009 with a set of digital images developed from photographs inspired by my new urban environment (having just moved from London to Manchester).  The images especially looked at graffiti and explored this as a method of ‘claiming’ or ‘marking’ urban spaces (an interest which can then be linked right through to my recent work in areas of a more social practice) and were combined digitally with scans of drawings I had made during a live installation. From these I then selected four compositions which I developed into painted canvases (well, number 2 is now complete). I initially showed the group the photos of the paintings but it soon became clear that it was necessary to show the digital versions too. This then raised some interesting questions and debate around the relationship between process and outcome, how important this is to the viewer and the perception of comparative levels of skill involved in traditional and digital media. I found this quite exciting as it seemed to be the first time in the group that we’d actually unearthed some differences in opinion (very civilly conducted, it goes without saying!).

I then shared the most recent (and final) photographs from the Hulme Workshops series and briefly discussed my hopes for the future of the project before finally gathering feedback from the group on their experiences completing mocks of the proposed This Place Is booklets (another project seeking to harness interactivity and sharing to positively impact on how people feel about their environments). 
The group agreed that whilst time may be a prohibitive factor in getting the booklets done, it had stimulated emotional responses, reflective thought and awareness of alternative perspectives on the chosen locations, all of which had made it a positive experience. It was also suggested that it would be a good idea to make a digital version available for greater flexibility in formatting the layout while some people would prefer a paper based approach. I’ve certainly come away with plenty to reflect on and respond to myself and while I hope to make steady progress on these projects I am also aware that it may take time to get right.

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This Place Is contributions from CRITgroup members

The next CRITgroup meeting will be on May 23rd (continuing at MadLab) and I hope soon to confirm and publish the subsequent dates running up to the end of the summer. We also agreed that it would be a good idea to plan a series of topics or themes for discussion as well as potentially inviting some guest speakers so I hope to have some more news on those proposals next month.
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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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