doublethelearning

Looking forward to working with people who have signed up for a series of workshops I’m running online for Double Elephant Print Studio based in Exeter. The course is title Influence and Connection - An online course to support artists’ reflection and practice. The requisite number of people have signed up for it to be viable but if anybody is interested there is the possibility of joining in – check out their website https://www.doubleelephant.org.uk/courses  Its 4 sessions that will explore the lateral thinking, problem solving I have been developing over the past 10 years that started with my Post graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching where I focused my research on reflective thinking, introducing it to the Textile design Course at NUA. I’m working on a commission for the new space created in the Science Gallery at London Bridge – the space is being re-imagined as a well-being space for students and I’ve been devising activities, creating graphics, instructions, and workshops. It’s interesting to use some of the folding techniques I’ve been exploring alongside the work I developed for care homes and libraries. Before Christmas I had a quick visit to Laurence Edwards foundry in Halesworth to develop the ongoing series of film/projection work. These are just some screen grabs but show the idea. Onto screens – The Lost Daughter – endless sadness, Humans – The grief of family, The Matrix Resurrections – realities reinvented, Don’t Look Up – too real, The Last Train to Christmas – disturbingly clever.

goimgtoseestuffsothaticanmakestuff

The exhibition of year 3 textile design students from NUA in St Margarets is over and has been a great success. Lots of learning took place and the route to the final show seems to of started. A weekend in London with a huge gallery trawl - Serpentine Gallery had Pierre Huyghe - last seen in Berlin where the show was awesome, the whole building controlled by an algorithm linked to yeast. The highlight in London was huge live bluebottle flies in the gallery, the shop, the entrance, the toilets........The Sacker building had atelier a.b the fashion art collective with, depending how you read it - interesting ideas at the cross over or just highlighted a point where fashion and art eat each other. A quick jaunt to the V&A is always a winner and I popped into check out the textiles, both real and imaged in the Gothic gallery. Meanwhile BlainSouthern had Chiharu Shiota with her theatrical thread work, Hauser&Wirth's two spaces had Zoe Leonard's beautiful haunting aerial photographs in one and Martin Creed in the other. David Ostrowski's the thin red line was a gorgeous collection of digital tapestry rugs, prints and painting all looking at the found and the red. The hang at Spruth Magers was stunningly considered, especially the paintings floating in the middle of the room. Brent Wadden's tapestries at PACE were bold and monumental as ever. Michele Abeles collection of bits and pieces at Sadie Coles was okay but I mainly go to look at the space which is awesome and then drop into the Adidas shop around the corner to stroke trainers. Fiona Tan's video work at Frith Street Gallery was stunning. The work flowed as a aesthetic visual but also said something about us as humans at this point in history. And finally the video structural apparatus excess that was Dara Birnbaum at Marian Goodman - so much kit. Upstairs was the thoughtfully funny brain-delayed-video-work by John Baldessari which always makes me inwardly chuckle. Tried to get to see The Clock as part of Tate's 24 hour thing but the queues at 12:00, 1:30am 2:30am and 3:00am were so huge that each time we just walked away back to a bar. #mostexpensiveroundofdrinksever. Managed to see it at 11:00pm - 1:30am the next day which was a great time as high noon featured. On the Netflix front after wading through the bloodbath that was Narcos Mexico (why did they get involved with coke?) I have 'discovered' the Danish Nazi Biker Gang series Warrior. It is truly bizarre - I am now watching it for the overt expressions of tasteful design the bikers exhibit - IKEA light fittings in their garage and contemporary art sculptures in their den, let's not even talk about the cars and clothes! Springs to mind the role of Hugo Boss in designing Nazi uniforms.

The Synthetic Anatomy project at Kings has started up again - an initial meeting was a real solid good - it's great to be amongst interesting people who value what you do and share great ideas creatively. Lots of thoughts around developing problem solving workshops and reflective thinking which looks at how to support individuals to develop the skills needed to engage in the act of creating a reflective journal. Also we looked at how to build a set of learning outcomes that covers creative reflection, aesthetic concerns and empirical givens.

textilesonthemove

Year 3 Textile Design students at Norwich have an exhibition coming up. It's a self organised opportunity for the students to share new work and test exhibition ideas. It will be most excellent and everyone is invited. A lot of the work will be for sale and would make superb presents.

I've received a copy of the exhibition catalogue Telling Tales by Debjani Bhardwaj of her exhibition at Tashkeel in Dubai. There are texts and images of mine within it as I wrote a piece and had a conversation with Debjani as part of my mentoring role. I love the Arabic typeface and it's really interesting to see my name and text printed in a language that is totally impenetrable to me - the publication also operates in a way unfamiliar to myself - with right to left opening one becomes conscious of form. I've become a little obsessed with Michael Kiwanuka's haunting some Cold Little Heart  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOubjLM9Cbc it is actually possible to play it on repeat for  a whole morning.

madeinprogressisdone

Just finished hanging the show at CraftCo in Southwold, Suffolk - it's the work of 8 students from the BA  (Hons)Textile Design Course at Norwich University of the Arts who have taken up the invitation ​to show work within the CraftCo gallery. The project set the students the task of developing their practice and steering it towards the creation of objects of desire that will be for sale. The wide ranging work on show is testament to the creative minds of the individuals involved alongside the student centred approach to design that is embedded within the Textile Course at NUA. You'll be able to see items that have creative and practical value with innovative thinking at their core. The activities involved includes spinning, weaving, knitting, embroidery, printing. The work in the exhibition is affordable and accessible, I would recommend coming to see these designers at the start of what will be exciting careers so you can say you saw them first, while there why not buy while they are still affordable. 

@ambermayde @ambermaydeshop @Ameliaellwood_texiles miaellwood@hotmail.co.uk @Charlottestextiles_ charlottestextiles@tumblr.com @danielletaylordesign danielletaylor27@hotmail.co.uk danni_rainer dannirtextile.tumblr.com/ @lizziekimbley www.lizziekimbley.wix.com/textiles/ @shonajmorris @sophiecookdesigns

teachingandsharingisgoodforthesoul

textile designs engagement with teachers day at NUA was successful Grainne and myself, with David and Neil presented two great sessions that enabled everybody to be creative and understand what we do on the course. I have received nomination for a teaching award for my work at Camberwell - it's great to feel what I do is recognised as valuable - thank you - it is much appreciated.  Les is always very energetic and enthusiastic, who will be devil's advocate to ensure are assumptions are challenged.  Always ensures that all individuals in our group (we range from 10 to 16 if 2nd years included) contribute to the group discussions i.e. moderates - otherwise a few noisy individuals would take over.  Most of the students are non-UK and many from China so it's important that space and time are given for everyone to contribute and be listened to - otherwise we all miss out.  Les has brought in his own work too.  Essentially a very enthusiastic teacher whose own practice is wide-ranging and collaborative. White Cube at Masons Yard - the 70s work by Dora Maurer is both beautiful and thoughtful - the pieces are a puzzle but this aspect of the work isn't overbearing allowing the viewer to enjoy the folding. If you are in the area the extraordinarily designed mechanical arm outside the Royal Academy is mesmerising - working out how and where the camera is in relationship to the arm is part of the fun. Punk 1976-78 at the British Library is just sad - it's strange to see one's own personal history becoming historicised and part of a mainstream - punk (lowercase) an activity that never set out to be documented is represented by the beginnings of individual expression through the use of the photocopier and bad haircuts, at least the music is present. some films - nice guys - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3799694/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4 funny and clever with laugh out loud moments - "you remind me of somebody else who said they were just taking orders - Hitler"! z is for zachariah - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598642/ rethinking Eden Black Dynamite http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1190536/?ref_=nv_sr_1 a knowing blacksploitation experience that is occasionally very funny but mainly lame. looking forward to Grimes at Latitude - making do with the Stella McCartney Film POP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VewWPx6Xf3c at the moment meanwhile I've been recommended Christine and the Queens  - i like her laid back sound - it will work well in the sun!! - http://www.christineandthequeens.com/catq_language/ I can recommend ....Rodigan who I first saw under the westway flyover - if you love your Reggae - http://www.latitudefestival.com/line-up/artist/david-rodigan-journey-through-reggae if you like your theatre challenging - sh!t theatre in the Little House will be.http://www.latitudefestival.com/line-up/artist/sht-theatre-letters-windsor-house if you like your entertainment full of double entendre - duckie is for you - http://www.latitudefestival.com/line-up/artist/duckie-presents-ursula-martinez-figs-wigs-barbara-brownskirt-frank-chickens-disc a friend of mine is  performing in Carnesky's Finishing School - http://www.latitudefestival.com/line-up/artist/carneskys-finishing-school it will be transgressive. the film tent is full of great stuff - films about Gary Numan and by Ken Louche who is in conversation with the great Mark Kermode, Adam Buxton with Louis Theroux and a Bug TV David Bowie special and then there's Cassetteboy vs DJ Rubbish. finally if you like your sound to assault you Christopher Brett Bailey's This Machine is for you http://www.latitudefestival.com/line-up/artist/christopher-brett-bailey-machine

consciousmakinghatwearing

My experience of Nano Technology has led me to clean rooms - How does the oppressive otherness of the clean room enable free thought? I thought that maybe I could explore this with creative capes! - but have started off smaller - how can ritual and uniform make one hyper conscious of one's actions and thoughts within an art education context? 

ok another reason why both studying an art subject is so wonderfully expansive and that my job is so great - my favourite conversation this week......  discussing the role and position of British folk customs, the characters and their costumes, for a Research Report led to talking about English traditional music, thinking about folk music and its roots in notions of tradition. Now consider ....if there were a group of individuals who thought that the ideas behind the BMP, NF, EDL, UKIP etc were a good thing and these individuals wanted to explore and celebrate their version of what it is to be English - Englishness etc but they also liked folk music. What would they be called? What would be the name of their band? - yes we came up with the answer - Fascist Folk -  this could be both a group and a genre. A bit like Minimal Gothic - an architectural genre for the guilty who like to think they want a sparse, functional space but harbour a rapt obsession about Cath Kitson. And then... a quick Google search of my new idea - Fascist Folk takes you to straight to Neo-folk....oh well.

lookingforwardtoitall

really excited to have spent the afternoon buying tickets after getting hold of the Spill festival booklet - http://spillfestival.com/ my highlight has to be Heather Cassils http://heathercassils.com/ although the performance will be a world premier of Inextinguishable fire - I think the images created during the performance of becoming an image are truly magnificent. It looks like I might be giving a talk as part of Being a Man at the South Bank in London http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/festivals-series/being-a-man

Meanwhile the new Textile Design Course technical workshop spaces at Norwich University of the Arts look excellent - looking forward to working in them with the students in a couple of weeks.

hanginglookingandlookingforward

How do you manage to make dinosaurs boring? Well Jurassic World has managed just that – dull dull dull and oddly it has a number of misjudged moments of violence towards women which I found unnecessary. Meanwhile if you are in the area the barkcloth show at the British museum is quite gorgeous – tucked away in room 91 it shows a wide range of approaches to the making of cloth from bark along with some startling graphic designs - as a bonus you get to walk past the mummies on the way there and make exciting connections between the two displays. The image of how the chief of the Nadrau Tui Nadrau wrapped the cloth around him so that with one pull it could all be removed and presented to a visitor was wonderfully odd. http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/shifting_patterns.aspx

The Agnes Martin at The Tate is quite sublime – room 5 has a number of large grid paintings – they talk of duality – inside outside, freedom restraint, closed open, random order. The room of drawings on paper gives you an insight into the process of conceiving these pieces – its a must see show. http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/agnes-martin

The Norwich Textile design course has a stand at New Designers again this year – spent most of Monday building it - I left it looking very clean and structured – it will be interesting to see it with the students work in/on/around it when I have a stint manning it on Thursday. The students on the MA Book Art Course are in their last week of developing  work before we hang it next week for their graduation show. It was good to be in the space with a tape measure and begin to see how the pieces made by individuals become a collective joint show.........hopefully!

musicalcarpark

Got to see multi-story orchestra in Ipswich at the weekend – http://katewhitley.net/projects/  the one nice ‘extra’ moment was police sirens from the street adding into the mix – I would of liked more of the ambient sounds infiltrating what was great playing to make it worthwhile sitting in a drafty space on hard benches – otherwise I struggled to see the point of using a private car park – it would have been more interesting in a public car park so that when I next visited I could of re-invented the space in my mind – or a more random seating plan so that maybe we wandered around, or the kids could of danced - oh well a missed opportunity.

Meanwhile the final show at NUA of textiles BA students at Norwich is looking good – here’s their site http://nua15degreeshow.wix.com/nua-textiles

iterativefoldingfilms

off to New York with Textiles students from NUA at the end of the week – planning the itinerary on the internet and  playing with Google Earth makes it feel real....!!!!!......looking forward to some most excellent highlights including – The new Whitney down by the highline, Serra at David zwiner’s, Bjork and Yoko Ono at MOMA - and then there’s the American Folk Art Museum which I’ve never been to. Meanwhile working on the folding iterative films about folding within and about folding.

somestandingout

Year 1 Norwich textile students have a show at Craft Co in Southwold http://www.craftco.co.uk/exhibitions1.html - it’s based on the idea of the decorative ribbon – the show works really well as a whole with some individual pieces that really stand out – it’s on till the end of February. Today has been all about the year 3 interim textile show at NUA – Semiotic presentations around the possible meaning of using pegs whilst hanging work, alongside more the practical issues of budgets, social media and deadlines – all good.

Meanwhile - two ‘slight’ films- the wandering around of Witherspoon’s fractured but fairly obvious narrative in Wild http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2305051/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_5  and Woody Allens latest – Magic in the Moonlight http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2870756/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_3 Colin Fith’s thoughts on spiritualism whilst strolling in exotic gardens in the South of France. Both ‘nice’ but they won’t worry you too much. And one unpleasant one - Vice http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3480796/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 this appears to be an excuse to show repetitive graphic abuse of women all wrapped up within a layer of science fiction – what was Bruce Willis thinking?

excitedandlookingforward

Spill tickets have arrived with 6 days to go till the opening party – can’t wait. Meanwhile – with many references to Brazil, although without the humour and a nod to David Lynch the Double is worth a watch http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825157/  Work wise - after a day of assessing on the MA in Book Arts course on Monday it was straight into 3 days in a chalet with the new year 1 students in Hunstanton making, bonding, drawing and encouraging lateral thinking and problem solving – most excellent – some wonderful moments despite the driving wind coming straight off the sea – or maybe because of it! and then there are the issues of economics made visual in the buildings.