A Mouse on a Mission...
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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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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 Summer Lull

26/6/2013

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It seems Summer is well and truly underway (despite the weather!) with many people on holiday (or conversely being so creative they were too busy to make it!) I do however; have a couple of recent updates of my own that I shall share before including news from a few of our other regular attendees.

On the 15th of June, I was delighted to take the PlaceMaking and This Place Is workshops that I have been developing along to the Magpie Thunder Bureau Pop Up as part of the Barnaby Festival. In the morning, we took the PlaceMaking boards on to the streets of Macclesfield and gathered some thoughts on local perspectives, especially in light of the recent approval of some major town centre redevelopments. This took a slightly new approach to previous sessions and rather than working as part of an existing workshop group, we approached Saturday shoppers and arts trail visitors. We got some interesting conversations going too, once we had persuaded people that we weren't trying to sell them anything! In the afternoon, I ran a This Place Is demo session back at the Pop Up Shop and rather than asking for completed booklets there and then, they were made available for the duration of the festival for visitors to take away and return at their leisure. If you are interested in participating yourself, you can request a booklet online and find the return address on the project page.


On a bit of a tangent, I additionally have four paintings on display until August 11th at Nexus Art Café as part of their Happiness exhibition, along with Renate Wendel who also has work in the Malgras|Naudet Summer Show (until the 28th). Renate has been working on some still-life drawing & sketching and is currently in the initial stages of venturing into portraiture by revisiting the theme of music & musicians, a recurring strand in her work. Although she is experienced in life-drawing, drawing and painting portraits is a new venture and she is experimenting with drawing on old photographs, both studio portraits and live rehearsal/concert shots, and is beginning to explore them further through drawing, painting & collage.

Christine Wilcox-Baker will also soon have some more updates for us on her contribution to the Elephant Parade and has shared these photographs of a recent public art project she has worked on.

James Sharp continues to develop his range of textile coverings for notebooks and has started using some new tweeds from his re-upholsterer.  James finds they make excellent slip covers for various books because they feel good as well as being pleasant to work with. James has also kindly offered a 20% discount on his workshop fees to anyone affiliated with CRITgroup. You can find more information about these and links to make bookings or contact James on his website.

The next CRITgroup will be on July 31st and I shall be handing over to Christine for the update as I shall be in China! I very much hope to have a lot more to say about this in my talk scheduled for the September meeting!

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Jo Scorah and MidConversation

31/10/2012

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Jo Scorah
October‘s CRITgroup welcomed the long-anticipated Jo Scorah to present her work. Yet another multi-functioning creative practitioner, Jo was originally a dress designer before completing a degree in embroidery in 2004 and then moving on to an MA in textiles in 2008. She also runs a graphic design company but it was her sculptural textiles that she shared with us this evening. With a practice in this area that historically revolves around the body, this evolved during her explorations on the MA into far more sculptural pieces.

She employs an interest in mark making through stitch (amongst other methods) to bring textural detail into a series of works which investigate themes of transience in terms of homelessness or the need for refuge, particularly citing this in the context of military conflict. She draws upon her Libyan family background to inform this and also shared with us photographs taken of army encampments in Israel during the Lebanese war. Her sculptures realise aspects of this by referencing physical methods of carrying and housing personal belongings during such crises; soldiers bags, tents and temporary accommodation.

Much of her works exist both in and beyond the dual camps of garment and sculpture and she prefers to describe her practice as ‘sculptural clothing in an ambiguous way; 3D works of art that could be used in performance.’ Many pieces are both displayed in a gallery and worn in videos or photographs and her use of materials as well as the inclusion of the model invite the audience to consider the relationship between the external surface textures and the ‘refuge’ of the interior. She then uses features such as boning to create structure in the garments forcing the body into awkward positions which then cause us to question just how comforting the promised refuge can really be.

This dialogue between the internal and external is also used as a metaphor for conflict itself, as in ‘Bubble’, her MA show piece which references the Middle East conflict as ‘a bubble fit to burst’. Where these pieces are worn in performance, they frequently depict the model as inside the bubble, trying to escape from it.

Icarus
Susie MacMurray and Jo Scorah, Icarus
Refuge
Jo Scorah, Refuge, Wall mounted garment
Refuge
Jo Scorah, Refuge, Worn by model
Bubble
Jo Scorah, Bubble
In July of this year, Jo collaborated with Susie MacMurray on a commission for the WWF 50th Anniversary Show Pandamonium in Hyde Park. Their piece Icarus, reflected on the environmental themes of the event by invoking “the cautionary tale of the dangers of over-reaching ourselves” and comprised a wearable sculpture formed from a harness and a train of ostrich feathers threaded into wire mesh. It was sold at auction for £10,000. She is now developing the technical aspects of this piece by knotting leather thong through wire mesh in a similar way to produce an almost lace like aesthetic and is working towards producing a head piece for exhibition.

Tucked into the schedule at the last minute, we still managed to make time to hear next from Lucy and Liz from Manchester based artists’ collective MidConversation. They came along to share with us their recent installation as part of the Free for Arts Festival, during which they took over an empty shop space in the Northern Quarter of the city and turned it into a temporary open studio. This installation; Open, was primarily an interactive piece and so was constructed in the space for the duration of the festival with the express intention of involving volunteers and passers-by in the creation. The ‘finished’ piece was only up for two hours at the closing event on Friday evening and featured a series of hinged pyramid shaped boxes which were designed to be moved, manipulated and reconstructed by the audience.

Open
MidConversation, Open installation
Lucy, MidConversation
Lucy demonstrates an object from Open


Having graduated last year, this is just their second project working together (they recently completed a piece in the textiles gallery at MOSI) but have found that operating as a collective enables bigger projects to be realised than working alone. As a result, their experience of the Open installation has been very positive and despite an initial moment of discomfort when it became time to ‘let go’ and allow the participants to interact with the piece, they soon found people enthusiastically manipulating the shapes in unexpected ways. Following on from the piece, the objects will now be used in a stop motion music video and it has been proposed that they might be utilised as design objects such as book cases and tables. Oh (I almost forgot!), and I will also be collaborating with the group on November the 12th, through an urban intervention with the Open objects documented with the Placemaking boards, bringing in an additional element of interaction.

Om nom nom...
Hallowe'en Biscuits
Through an unprecedented feat of focussed concentration, despite all that content, we still had time for additional discussion (and we hadn’t yet run out of Hallowe'en biscuits) so James Sharp shared with us a few developments to his gift card holders and textile journals. Christine Wilcox-Baker also agreed to make a presentation of her work to us early in 2013 and we decided that next month will be set aside to revisit websites and online promotion as well as to have our first proper discussion about planning a CRITgroup collaboration.


So that concludes my summary for October 2012. Next month will be the 12th meeting which sort of technically makes it our birthday; however you will see I have actually listed December as the ‘official’ 1 year marker. This is because our first meeting wasn’t at MadLab so December will be our 12th meeting in the space and also because it seemed like a good month for a bit of a knees up. It’s then onward and upward into 2013 for lots more Creativity, Reflection, Investigation and Talking! How time does fly!


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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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May 2012

23/5/2012

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Danbo is tempted by the fresh summery snacks...

It was quite a small group this month but no less varied for it. Tammy Leigh, James Sharp and I started off chatting informally about craft stalls before I’d even really noticed we were properly ‘in session’! We mostly discussed the reasons behind lower than expected sales at local art fairs and festivals and tried not to point the finger too exclusively at the recession without being more widely questioning. We all agreed that there was a tendency for such events to attract visitors who have no intention of buying anything at all, but while these may not be immediately lucrative opportunities they still present a useful method of raising interest in work. This interest can later manifest as online sales or interest in workshops. Additionally, we talked about the benefits of making whilst supervising a stall to be time efficient and more importantly provide talking points and interest for potential shoppers. This can also be an effective way of demonstrating that the work is genuinely hand made. The potential for selling and running workshops simultaneously raised both pros and cons; a problem if it makes you inaccessible to make a sale but of benefit if you can make sales relating to the workshop content (such as craft kits, etc.)

James Sharp shared three new journals with us today, a Cook Book (with pages for notes and recipes), a Stuff Stash (a book-based format of an existing textile product; for keeping notes and loose pages together) and a Lazy Journal (for those who enjoy the aesthetics of his work but are not inspired to generate their own content!). James will be giving a live painting demonstration at the Creative Recycling Gallery this Saturday (26th of May) as part of the Chorlton Arts Festival and will have a stall at Much Wenlock in Shropshire on the following Saturday (2nd of June).

James Pashley
then introduced us to the newest member of the group in the form of Danbo (see above!); a card model robot who will be helping us keep up to date with James’ imminent adventures in Japan by posing for a series of photographs for section headings on the new (and rapidly improving) instantpash site (link soon). I then spent the next 10 minutes working with Dambo on a series of glamour shots and completely failed to support James in explaining our recent collaboration to the others!
The other work James brought along was the latest development in a project which we have started that references the writing of Mitsuri Senda who discusses ‘circulatory play systems’ when designing playgrounds in urban spaces. Senda summarises this in a series of 7 points, which our project looks at applying to Manchester City Centre by identifying existing environmental features with the potential to be used in such a play system.  Ultimately, we aim to design a route for use by visitors to Manchester, though we are still in the early stages of this.


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The group view the plans so far

One key consideration raised was the need to be aware of health and safety restrictions, though it was also recognised that this was being deliberately set to one side temporarily in order to avoid prematurely capping the creative stages. It was also argued that allowing children exposure to supervised and calculated risk is an important part of facilitating healthy development and that opportunities to encourage outdoor play could be seen as especially responsive to recent news items regarding a lack of exercise and over use of screen based media. The next big challenge facing us in this project is the actual design of the map as we have a proposed route and a suggest list of features, all of which tie in with the source reference to Senda
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Danbo notes the next CRITgroup meeting while the others look at maps

To conclude the evening, I briefly shared the final draft of the proposed This Place Is booklet which has been developed in response to feedback from the group at several previous meetings. That is now ready to be printed and it would not have been half as robust an outcome if it had not been for the input and the suggestions from CRITgroup sessions so it was good to be able to share it one last time before sending it off.

Finally, I invited the group to the ‘opening’ event of a show I am hanging tomorrow at the Nexus Art Café in Manchester’s Northern Quarter; though the work will be up from Friday (25th of May), the actual Private View isn’t until the end of June which coincides with the opening of the Nexhibitionists show, in which I will also have some work. The show, titled I Hope To See presents the conclusion of a series of workshops with various community groups in Hulme.

The next meeting is June 27th and you can find details of months up to October including guest speakers on the home page.
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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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