Professional Development Bursary

The period supported by the grant has almost come to the end and this will be my final blog post. I stated in my application that by this point I would, possibly, have  completed one finished object. Following a tentative start, I began committing to a technique, material or idea, only to find that it produced multiple avenues of enquiry. The result is a studio full of parts of works that will at some point come together – rough metal structures that resemble beds, lumps of clear resin, small, highly textured concrete casts, several silicon moulds, piles of semi-technical drawings, instructional notes stuck to pieces of rock and twigs. Happily, I feel now that I am in the middle of a process, rather than at the end.

At this reflective time of the year, I thought it appropriate to share some of the lessons I have taken from this period of learning and making.

I applied for the Professional Development Bursary in order that I could learn new skills and techniques and refresh old ones, but also in order to evolve my everyday studio practice. My practice was – is – fairly academic, rooted in research, reading and planning. I made work and tentatively used workshops when I had an exhibition.

I still like to use my studio like an office, for activities like drawing, planning and note-taking, and will continue to do so much of the time. But having it set up for making has meant I enjoy working there more. I arrive and am able to work on some ongoing task immediately. I listen to the radio and podcast and sometimes chat to my studio mates without having to interrupt what I am doing. Most importantly, I have come to realise that thinking can still take place when you are using your hands, and that making is a form of research.

Over the past nine or so months I have come to realise the extent to which I have been focused on exhibitions rather than on having a sustainable studio practice. I have been slowly coming to terms with the notion that a fulfilling and engaging practice might be almost as important, or as important, as showing finished work.

Developing a new way of working – or new work – usually requires an investment of time, money, or both, but considered investments of the latter means that less of the former is wasted.

I have found that I tend to get things ‘right’ on or around the third attempt. I’m still not sure what this means for making work for exhibitions, especially at short notice.

Sometimes things don’t work. This is frustrating short term, but very useful long term.

Making begets making as it creates new problems and possibilities.

Appropriately, today I will spend a few hours planning what I will make at the beginning of the new year.

JB, December 2016

This week I worked steadily on new abstract, worry doll/bricolage-type objects to cast, produced another mould of an existing object made drawings to aide these processes. It is a sometimes slow process and lessons are learned by making – for example, a shiny surface produces a see-through object when using a transparent casting medium, or that – after carefully working on many different objects – I prefer those that are more abstract, almost insect-like in their form, rather than those with a recognisable human body-plan.

As discussed in the last post, these firstborn works will be placed on small metal objects that resemble beds. I want them to appear resting, but also in an anxious position of facing the viewer directly. Non-production, convalescence and even wallowing are crucial to an art practice, but at the same time very unproductive, in a conventional sense. These non-activities are also usually hidden. The consideration of these things feels slightly contradictory as the grant has meant my studio activity is now so much more about technique and producing things.

I am very aware of the grant period drawing to a close, but also the need to set myself up to continue working in the new year. Up next: another resin pour, and miniature bedclothes.

Last week I met with fellow GSS artist Beth Shapeero for a metalwork lesson. My intention was to build support structures for the casts I have been working on in my studio. I hoped to gain a basic understanding of certain processes in order that I could experiment independently. We covered cutting and polishing with an angle grinder, drilling, cold sawing, sanding and welding. Beth was a patient teacher and explained each process carefully.

The objects/support structures resemble a three dimensional sketch of a bed that is attached to a strip of metal in order to be attached, at a remove, from the wall. The day after the lesson I continued to work on a second structure on my own, adjusting the design slightly where the piece attached to the wall. There were occasional frustrations but I was very pleased to produce something that looked like what I had casually sketched out a few weeks ago.

This week I removed the first casts from the moulds. They are perfect in terms of shape and their lack of bubbles.

Unfortunately the resin has yellowed which could be something to do with the thickness of the cast, the batch of resin, the speed of the catalyst, or all of the above. I am going to call the suppliers in the morning to discuss.

Next: I am meeting with another GSS artist tomorrow to discuss a metalwork lesson in order to make a start on the support. The first will be a flat structure held at a remove for the wall, almost like a bed/plinth.

This is mostly a picture-led update.

This week I met with Alys Owen, a fellow artist at GSS and experienced casting technician for a refresher lesson in silicon mould making.

Alys was a great tutor – she ‘got’ the project immediately and explained each step of the fairly complex process clearly. The following day I made a mould without supervision. Casting in this way is something I can actually see myself doing going forward. There is something quite mediative about the very detailed process.

I will update later on the (final) resin pouring stage.