My first blog post for 2016.
So far I've been working on several different projects some I can begin to drip feed images through. Here are some ideas emerging for a couple of pending exhibitions later in the year.
My continuing fascination with brick is a starting point. Some of these pieces have been found some have been given to me and others have been carved by myself.
What I'm immediately thinking about is weight.
Or how these pieces and compositions can join together to make one large piece of work.
Revisiting these porcelain chunks that were initially split into sections. However, I've never fully explored the fact that they all belong together. Considering that they were cut from one piece of clay there is an immediate connection.
The cuts and joins, the raw outer edges, the traces of being handled.
These elements have been a consideration of mine for a while now and it may have been something that remained part of that feeding process whilst developing another idea.
I often find that pieces of work that have been produced quickly as part of a bigger thought can still hold their own as a stand alone object. There is a huge value in these pieces and to move them into another context can often unlock those initial thoughts that may or may not have fed the final work that they were originally born from.
As well as being consumed by the idea of weight in clay I have also been throwing other key words around such as suspension, gravity and balance.
Using existing work to begin this process I ventured outside with a bag of string, hooks, wire, sheeting, fabric and with Ben's help we began to explore how we could convey these singular descriptive words through objects and compositions. The works will not be shown outside but I find it so much easier to have space as opposed to being restricted to a room or studio. It also helps to have the addition of the elements to contend with because this could help change the direction of the thinking or help to stumble across something that would never have previously been a consideration.
This is a starting point! I still have a long way to go but I always enjoy the time that allows you to really experiment with ideas without feeling they are too precious. Thoughts and ideas come and go quite swiftly at this stage.
