In the first edition of 2012, an ‘Industry Insight’ article was focused on getting the right price point for your goods. A handful of suppliers and retailers were interviewed about the current climate and it became quite apparent that there has been an insurgence in the £10 category in recent months. Customers will not hesitate in spending £10 as these are more likely to be impulse buys.

With forecasts still gloomy, the retail climate continues to be a tough one, it is important as a maker to offer retailers what customer are demanding, and at the moment it is gifts valued around £10. As a maker myself, it is increasingly difficult to create and offer such goods when the cost of raw materials continues to rise. Also taking in to account the retailers mark-up as well as your own! With this in mind, a maker has to sell an item for £4 in order for the retailer to sell at £10. Not only difficult, but also having to compete the foreign, mass produced goods!

The article has been an interesting read and one which I am now taking into account. It has made me think about reducing my costs i.e., buying in cheaper/alternative materials, without compromising the end product. The key being to create fun and unusual items that customers still believe to be good value for money. It’s not easy having to be one step ahead, but the beauty of handcrafted products, is that they are unique and will often stand out against the mass produced. Keep creating!!

Kathryn, Lazy Daisy Glass

Thank you to Kathryn of Lazy Daisy Glass for her thought-provoking blog – This is the first of a series of guest blogs by craft makers and retailers which will be hosted by Northings Crafts Blogs in 2012. If you are interested in contributing to our blog site, please feel free to contact Avril on avril@hi-arts.co.uk

Sacrum Quiver, body adornment in blown and cast glass, Patricia Niemann 2011/12 (image by Fergus Mather)

I personally will have to blame a masterclass attended at North Lands Creative Glass in the summer. Michael Rogers from the US, glass artist of international renown, teacher and poet, led a truly inspirational class. Also, I have been drawn more and more to anthropology and the study of the human body, and this particular way of working is the only way to reproduce my chosen models faithfully. And, finally, my work is … err … somewhat increasing in scale.

What follows below is an illustrated description of the process, lengthy and still in no way complete. How did this come about? Well – Twitter is to blame! Or more precisely my Twitter friend Justin Bellinger in Denmark. During the masterclass I ‘mini-blogged’ a little about the process. Talking to him it became clear that the process was too complicated to explain in a few tweets 140 characters in length. So I promised him a proper explanation – and only recently followed up on it: I have an important solo exhibition coming up shortly at Broadfield House Glass Museum in the Midlands and needed to make more pieces: A perfect opportunity to recap the process! The sacrum is a bone located at the bottom of the human spine, forming part of the pelvis. My piece also contains the coccyx below.

Lost Wax casting: A Human Sacrum

Making a rubber mould

1. Preparing the sacrum (medical specimen)
The sacrum bone has to be looked at carefully: Are there undercuts and hollows, which make moulding difficult? There are all of those! These have to be blocked off and smoothed down with oil-based clay (plastiline).

2. Framing the sacrum

Now, the sacrum is embedded halfway up in a layer of more plastiline (green in the image). A big cone-like shape is made from plastiline and attached to the sacrum – this will later be the reservoir for the glass to be molten into the final mould. A tight ‘frame’ is built around everything with sheets of glass cut to size. This frame has to be watertight, because liquid rubber is to be poured in later: All edges are to be sealed with more plasticine. Deep registering indentations are made with the help of a dowel and the whole interior of the frame is sprayed with a separator (that’s why it looks so shiny here).

3. Pouring the first layer of rubber

Liquid silicone is carefully measured, weighed and mixed with catalyst and booster and slowly poured into the frame from the highest point. While it takes time to set (30 min +), the surface of the rubber must be painted with an old brush to prevent it pooling in the lowest spot – and try to even out the complete rubber thickness all around the model. From previously set rubber chamfered bits are cut and attached into the setting rubber (later registration marks for plaster).

4. Pouring the first layer of plaster
Now plaster ismeasured out, a water/plaster mix made and poured to about 3cm thickness over the rubber and left to set. The plaster layer will later give stability to the completed rubber mould.

5. Turning the mould and treating the opposite side

The frame is now to be turned onto the plaster side and the plastiline on top and around the sacrum is removed. The sacrum is left in place. A new half of the cone shape is modelled from plastiline and attached. Again, the surface is carefully sprayed with separator and another layer of rubber mixed and brushed on (with chamfered bits). Another layer of plaster is poured and let set. Finally the whole mould can be disassembled: First, take the glass walls away, and then take off plaster casings. Now prise the two rubber halves apart carefully and off the sacrum bone. Finally remove the sacrum bone. The rubber will have picked up the finest details of the bone surface!

Making waxes

1. Pour wax

Assemble the new hollow mould, taking care to fit everything together by using the registration marks. With strong rubber bands the mould can be kept tightly pressed together. Level the mould on the table. Melt moulding wax and pour/ladle into the cavity. It is best to leave the wax to set undisturbed for 4 hours at room temperature. Then disassemble the mould again. Special care must be taken in prising off the rubber, especially when you are aware of special ‘undercut’-issues: the wax is soft and fragile and can break easily. The sacrum is such a delicate piece, that something always breaks or needs fixing. This can be done with the help of metal dental tools and the flame of a wee spirit burner or candle.

2. Finish wax

The finished wax on the far left has wax sprues attached. These ensure that the glass can later flow into the extreme fine ends of the mould, which could otherwise be closed off by trapped air in the mould. Visible in the image are also the original sacrum bone in the middle and both halves of the two part rubber/plaster mould in the background.

Making a plaster-silica mould

The wax in the image above sits stuck on a piece of float (or window) glass. This arrangement is to be transferred onto a small pottery turntable. Enough plaster and silica flour are weighed out in equal proportions, thoroughly mixed by hand and set aside. A face mask must be worn, because silica dust has the nasty habit of gradually blocking up the lungs forever, when inhaled (‘silicosis’). A small bowl of shredded glass fibre is also prepared. Lay a throwaway bristle brush at the ready and off you go: Pour a small amount of cold water into a small bowl and with dry hands start drizzling in the mould mix until a mound forms in the middle. Let this soak through and mix or ‘squeeze’ to a consistency of cream. Wash the mixing hand and start painting the mould mix quickly and evenly onto the wax, taking great care to reach and cover any nook and cranny! Start at the bottom of the cone ‘reservoir’ and work your way up. The fist coat is crucial and hard to apply. The mixture tries to ‘pearl off’, but it will ‘stick down’ eventually. Once the mix is too firm to paint, pour the excess into a lined bin and wash the wee bowl in a dip basin. Plaster or plaster mix must never be poured down the drain, because it will gradually block pipes. Continue to mix fresh material and paint on even layers until you have reached an even thickness of about 2cm all around the wax. Now add the fibre to a new mix and spread it on evenly. The fibre will strengthen the mould when firing. Finish the mould with two more coats, checking the thickness on the bottom intermittently by lifting the glass plate and peeking under the wax. Smooth down the last coat as evenly as possible using your (wet) hands. Let the mould set for a little, but no more than a couple of hours. Steam out the wax as soon as possible, i.e. before the mould has dried. At North Lands the mould is set on a metal table with a hole, through which the hose of a wallpaper steamer comes up. The molten wax drops into a basin below, filled with a little water. Cover the mould with a plastic bag, tie loosely and steam away, for ca. 1 hour. The wax is molten out completely, when the top of the mould feels hot. The mould is now at its most fragile. Let it cool slightly before moving and place to dry in a drying kiln or in a warm place, always with its opening down. The moulds will feel significantly lighter after drying.

Firing the mould

Now you can see what the cone reservoir is for! The cold casting glass (Bullseye billets in this case) is weighed, cut to size and very carefully loaded into the moulds. The moulds are soft, the glass is hard and sharp, but no speck of mould wall must fall down into the mould! If it does, it will be imbedded in the cast forever. The filled moulds are levelled and stabilised with ceramic props and kiln furniture and sand is put down on the kiln shelf to catch any potential disaster overflow.
Now the kiln can be slowly fired up, at a rate of 50°C/hr to 840°C. At this temperature the glass is liquid enough to fill up the whole sacrum cavity over the space of 4 hours. Liquid glass behaves like honey. Because glass is an insulating material with tricky expansion and shrinkage rates, the cooling must be very slow and controlled. Even when the temperature meters suggest safety, the finished cast pieces should sit undisturbed for a day to make absolutely sure they are evenly cold all the way through. These pieces will be in the kiln for 72 hours altogether, 48 hours of which is firing and controlled cooling.

Finishing

1. De-vesting

This image was taken after the firing, once the kiln has cooled completely. You can see that all the glass has molten down into the mould.

In order to de-vest the piece, i.e. break the mould away and clean the glass, a work area needs to be prepared. A few layers of newspaper are spread out and wooden tools and spatulas prepared. A metal brush (not too stiff and hard – your glass piece is delicate), old toothbrushes and inexpensive small bristle brushes will be helpful. Latex gloves are useful: The mould material tends to dry out your skin. Make sure you – again – wear a tight-fitting facemask because of the silica dust, and ideally work under extraction or outside: The fine dust will get everywhere! Carry the now soft and brittle piece to the prepared work area and carefully start easing the mould material away. It will come away in very convenient layers. Note the paper thin edges on the far right in both pictures above: This is very thin, sharp and dangerous glass. If you are careless or get distracted, it can be (by experience) a serious potential hand-slicing hazard. The thin remaining layer of mould material can now be tackled with the metal brush, then the toothbrush and finally the small bristle brush. At this stage a fine metal dental tool may be helpful to remove the last trapped mould material. Generally, it is best to clean the piece of all mould material before bringing it in contact with water; even if it seems tedious. On the right you see one of the almost completely de-vested sacra. The sprues have done their job perfectly!

2. Cold working

This is done by machines or by hand using abrasive material and water.  Water not only cools the piece, but also binds silica dust particles generated in the process. Safety glasses are essential for any kind of cold working: Due to the process and the fast spinning machines tiny glass chips are created, which can bounce far. These machines make a lot of noise: Hearing protection is advised. The first machine used in this instance will be an even-edged diamond-sintered grinding wheel on a lathe: Notches are carefully ground to mark intended break-off points in the sprues. The next machine will be the sliding table saw: It is a big and very loud machine, seemingly scary, but in reality one of the most ‘harmless’ and useful machines in a ‘Cold Shop’. Here is a picture of the two sacra after the reservoir cone and the sprues have been sawn off. The next cold working stages will happen on a lathe with stone or diamond wheels in different profiles and ever finer grit sizes.

On the far left you can clearly see one of the sacrum’s holes. The other holes are not so obvious and not all completely free of glass. Earlier, I may not have been careful enough with the painting-on of the first mould mix layer! Alas, it turns out that the glass blocking those holes is very thin and can easily be removed with small diamond burrs using a pendant (flexible shaft) drill machine.

Glass casting is not always this complicated, but in the case of this piece lengthy and necessary. Most of the stages are somewhat meditative, and if care is taken at every stage – hugely rewarding! Studio glass is an entirely addictive art form. You have been warned.

www.patbat.com

From Skye to London via Inverness, I have seen work that has ranged from community knitting to dresses made from 20,000 pins, from exquisitely crafted jewellery to automata made from scrap.

Deirdre Nelson

Starting off in Portree in early September, the Bàta Brèagha / Bonnie Boat event and the Fish Exchange project saw the community create hundreds of knitted fish with Deirdre Nelson to raise funds for the RNLI; shop windows were filled with shoals for colourful silver darlings and £350 was raised at the auction on the 10th September. Visit the ATLAS Facebook page to see lots of the silver darlings which were produced as part of the Fish Exchange: www.facebook.com/atlasartpeopleplace

As Deirdre is also one of our mentors on Making Progress we took the opportunity to host a catch up meeting and exhibit work from some of our mentored makers in shop windows during a week which culminated in the Bonnie Boat event on the Saturday.

Craft Spotlight window in Portree, Sep 2011

Avril and I were then off to Helmsdale for 2 days of workshops with the Cultural Enterprise Office. Starting Out and Costing your Work gave us a chance to meet new makers and catch up with some established ones all in the inspiring setting of Timespan. It is always good at these events to network and make contacts and sometimes it feels that this is really what it is all about as we all know that being a maker in the Highlands can make you feel very isolated.

The noise level at lunchtime is always a good indication that things are going well!

No chance of peace and quiet at my next stop – London! Last year Origin relocated to Spitalfields market with a new date to coincide with the London Design Festival. Many makers were hesitant about the move and felt that the venue was not ideal. Not only that, the current economic climate makes taking on shows such as this a huge undertaking financially. In the good old days, makers could be confident that when they were selected for Origin they would go home having made lots of contacts, a full order book and having more than covered their costs.

Gilly Langton at Origin

Not any more, so it was with some trepidation that Gilly Langton and Eileen Gatt made the long journey on the sleeper train laden with work. Luckily for them it proved worthwhile and it was a real pleasure to see that their hard work had paid off. They both proved that having good images of your pieces, exquisitely crafted work and a beautifully designed stand are worth it – both were featured in the catalogue with Gilly’s image on the front cover and on all the posters!

Whilst in London I took the opportunity to visit Tent and 100% Design, both shows on a large scale featuring work that covered product design from small makers to large businesses.

Eileen Gatt at Origin

A real treat was to see the Power of Making at the V&A. I always love going to the V&A even when there are not large exhibitions on and this time I could only fit in the one visit.

45 minutes waiting in a queue to get in tested my patience but I consoled myself that it was really impressive that so many people were interested in seeing a craft exhibition! The 100 pieces celebrate the role of making in our lives and present an eclectic range from a life sized crochet bear, dry stone walling to new technologies.

Entrance to the V & A

I would like to go back when it was hopefully quieter as being herded round in a crowd was not ideal but at least I got the chance to view this inspirational show!

To complete my London trip I managed to go to the Royal Academy to see the stunning Degas exhibition, just to immerse oneself in the colour and line was a tonic after all the running around.

Home to the Highlands (always the best bit about going to London no matter what I have been to see!) and the change in weather was a shock but there was no let up in my travelling.

The Ganseyfest was an international celebration of the fishing heritage and gansey, the beautifully crafted patterned sweaters worn by fishermen. The Moray Firth Partnership is running a three year project focusing on the tradition of hand knitting in fishing communities and researching ways to introduce the craft to new audiences. This has included showing work at London Fashion Week and to forming a cooperative knitting group.

The two day event took place in Inverness on the 1st and 2nd October and was feast for both the enthusiast and the general public.

Helen Lockhart at Ganseyfest

Ganseyfest

Finally, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery completed my month by showing part of Lizzie Farey’s beautiful Spirit of Air exhibition alongside the amazing Sharmanka show of automata.

Work by Lizzie Farey

So 4 weeks of inspiration, innovation, exhaustion, many miles and many words.

Seeing such a range of work in such a short space of time really brings home the amazing work that can be called Craft by no other name. Craft overload? There is no such thing!

Enjoy it all when you can, here or further afield!

Pamela Conacher
5th October 2011

So after my initial meeting with Jen Cantwell in her cosy wee Forres studio we arranged that when the weather conditions were just right she and her partner/collaborator/sound technician/chauffeur Dave Martin would travel down and pick me up on their way to a day’s sound recording in Smirisary, near Glenuig. So one beautifully sunny Wednesday somewhere in the middle of July that is exactly what happened.

After a quick hello and cup of tea at mine we all piled into Dave’s car and hit the road, chatting all the way about anything and everything: the project, people we knew in common, zombie films, electric ceilidhs… and of course about how lucky we were to have such a cracking day for roaming around the countryside. Now I don’t know if it comes with being a mum or from juggling a conceptual knitting practise with a commercial sporran design practise or if you’re just born with it or a combination of all of the above, but I got a strong impression from Jen that she had just the right balance of being super organised but within that framework of organisation left a lot of room for playing it by ear and just seeing how it goes. So this was how I decided to approach making Jen’s film. I knew I wanted to document the sound recording process, reflect in some way the sense of place and exploration that Jen has running throughout her work and perhaps get a couple of shots of wee birdies larking around but other than that I was very happy to just see where the day took us.

And as it happened, not only did we go to Smirisary, we also popped into the Glenuig hall (where we bumped into Pamela) and the forest beside it and then, on our way home, into the Lochailort Post Office, which is without a doubt the best post office I have ever visited in my entire life. By and large the day’s events ran seamlessly (well, after I learned to stop crunching loudly through the undergrowth with my camera and tripod, scaring away all birds in a half mile radius while Dave was trying to record them…).

That night Jen and Dave dropped me back at my house  and I had the opportunity to go over the day’s footage before the next day of filming up in Jen’s Elgin studio and see how the playing it by ear had gone and where I thought I would like to go next. For this reason, the next day in Jen’s studio was very straightforward. It was also great to be able to see the audio to visual transition of the bird sounds, from twittery chirping birdie noises to the clean and crisp sound waves on a glossy screen to a multicoloured textured piece of knitted fabric. And after this, our second and last day’s filming, I left Jen to her seemingly infinite pile of work while I went back to my much more manageable process of putting together all our sound and video footage. And now it’s all done, three weeks on, I genuinely hope that the resulting wee video from our two days filming together adequately reflects Jen’s practise in a way that she’s happy with.

And so I’d just like to say thanks to Jen and Dave for a great day out (and for my Solero, yum ). I haven’t had a chance to pop into her exhibition but I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews so am very excited about taking a gander up this week!

Well maybe I’m exaggerating.  Actually the summaries are the same but they, of course, were very different days with different obstacles and equally different triumphs. First of all, unlike with Patricia in Caithness,  it was vaguely sunny weather conditions we were hoping for but as it happened our scheduled day of filming fell on one of two or three hurricane style days that Scotland has had this year, where huge planks were falling from scaffolding and trees were being ripped neatly from the ground and flung like matchsticks across roads into oncoming traffic and I’m pretty sure at one point I saw at least three horsemen of the apocalypse come striding over the hills on the horizon… Okay, too much maybe, I do like drama. But the weather was rotten, too rotten for a standard issue tripod to battle against, so filming in Glasgow was scuppered for the day, as was our intended train trip due to weather based cancellations. But in the end we got the bus to Aberdeen instead and, lo and behold, by the time we got to Perth the world was nice and liveable again and we (I) forgot all about the fourth horseman.

As mentioned in my previous entry about meeting with Nick, our intentions for his film were twofold: to depict his traveling time, which is key to Nick’s practise as he used it for research and computer based development, and to also slot it’s making as unobtrusively into Nick’s travel time as possible, as using available time and resources efficiently is something that Nick does throughout his working life. And, after reflecting on why we had wanted to film in Glasgow at all, we realised that actually focusing on just one journey Nick makes regularly would perhaps be slightly misleading because actually Nick moves regularly between Glasgow and Aberdeen AND Inverness.

Upon this realisation, I decided that perhaps the extreme weather conditions in Glasgow were for the best in that it pushed us towards making a film that would reflect Nick’s travel time more open endedly rather than as a clear stepping stone between just two places.  So we got the footage we had always planned for on the move and back at his studio and, as is often the case in the east coast, it turned out to be quite a beautiful and sunny day in Aberdeen and I think we got a lot of nice shots to illustrate our overall concept.

So hopefully his final film has achieved both of our initial objectives. And, although I sadly missed Nick’s exhibition opening, I have been in to see it and thought it looked great. It’s still on for another week or so so if you’re reading this and haven’t been to see it yet I would thoroughly recommend popping in!

‘Selling the Sizzle’ was Tina Rose’s suggestion for a title and it seemed very appropriate,and all the more so, as the day progressed and each speaker had another tale to tell about how they go about selling work. We were certainly feeling the sizzle by the end of the day!

To get things started our keynote speakers were Professor Georgina Follet and Dr Louise Valentine who outlined the exciting plans for the V&A at Dundee and what this will mean to makers and designers. To have this amazing resource in Scotland as soon as 2015 is a huge undertaking but with support, funding and the drive of a focused team is seems it will happen – I for one can’t wait.

Selling the Sizzle, Dr Louise Valentine and Melanie Muir

Deirdre Neilson is a name that is familiar to many of us -as artist in resident, mentor and textile artist extraordinaire but her talk was about how she has completely embraced all the new Social Media to promote her work. If everyone was not Tweeting by the end of the day they should be!

Then to get everyone talking we had a first – Speedcraft! The brainchild of Tina with assistance from Carol, it was a brilliant way to get people talking about their work, making new contacts and exchanging ideas.

In the afternoon we continued our theme with four speakers each with a different approach to retailing.

Maggie Broadly from West Kilbride and Craft Town Scotland, Steph Marsden from Edinburgh’s  Craft House Concept, Emma Blain from the Shetland group Text- Isles and finally Carrie and Clare from Made in the Shade in Glasgow.

The day was aimed at getting makers and retailers to look at new ways of selling, to inspire and enthuse! We certainly did that and I don’t think I have seen such an animated group of makers in one place for a long time.

Selling the Sizzle

Our event was another of HI-Arts Crafts promotions to support the sector in developing their work and to assist them to find new markets.

Through our Mentoring to Market programme makers have researched shows from Origin to Country Living.We took a group to London and Craft Central in May to showcase their work and then another group headed to Germany and EU-inqe trade and retail show. All have come back with similar tales of declining sales, the huge costs of exhibiting and all through no fault of the organisers or the quality of work on show. The public seem to love their work but very few are buying.

So where do we go from here? Are the days of trade and retail shows over as makers are getting less and less keen to commit to the outlay with no guarantee of sales?

I personally feel that the time is ripe to look at new ways of selling and to be creative with your approach.

Use social media to promote, think local and niche events, look at new customers in areas you may not have considered, get together with like minded makers for pop up shops and party events, be as imaginative as you can. And when the economic storm has passed – as it eventually will – you will be ready to take on the world!

Whatever you do, if your work means anything to you, you must not give up but see change as a new and exciting opportunity.

Pamela Conacher 8^th June 2011

The initial chairs or aboriginal chairs as  like the call them were finished some time in early February, and since then the have been cut in half, sanded, dyed, coated in rubber and upholstered.

…all I need to sort out now is the layout for the exhibition.

For example, lesson number one: Never assume that it will be blustery windy day in Caithness, despite overwhelming meteorological and historical evidence to suggest that it probably will be. With all our best laid plans firmly in place, Patricia, myself and Brian (Patricia’s very patient and obliging model) set out one Sunday morning in April to set them in motion. And I am always very aware that my hindsight can be a bit too rosy so I was very pleased to find that the location we had decided upon before was just as I remembered from my previous visit: striking and dramatic and beautiful and lots of other wonderful adjectives that I am not clever enough to summon to my fingers right now. But as I mentioned before, we had banked on the usual Caithness weather conditions so, although I was very pleased to be spending a day working in the glorious sunshine with some very nice people, it also threw a little bit of a spanner in the creative works. But as the proper Scots that we are (two native, one honourary), we were not going to let something like unforeseen weather conditions get in our way and so,  from the word go, we set about adapting our original plans to tie in with the most wonderful un-Scottish conditions that were thrust upon us.

From this moment on the day went smoothly and enjoyably (well I speak for myself when I say this. Patricia’s model friend Brian might possibly be one of the most patient and good humoured people I have ever met and can be sure to expect lots of wonderful karmic recourse for the amount of time he was happy to spend shrouded in black wool and tarpaulin on such a sunny spring day).  Patricia had brought lots of examples of her work with her so we had lots to work with and, due to the much aforementioned sunshine beating down on us, the effects of the light on the glass and metal work were really beautiful and it wasn’t long before the day was drawing to a close and we had all we came for and there was nothing left to do but eat the picnic we had forgotten to eat in the middle of the day because we were so immersed in the day’s purpose.

And, after all our initial weather based turmoil, Patricia made the very excellent point that had the conditions been as bleak as we had hoped for we would never have survived being out and about in it for so many hours. So retrospectively I definitely feel that it all happened for the best.

Upon my return from Caithness all that was left was to edit the footage into something that would reflect the enthusiasm and vision of the day and hopefully the final video has done just that. Amanda and her critical eye came to see me towards the end of this editing process and her advice, as both an objective audience and an industry professional, was invaluable to the final realisation of the film and will most certainly come in so useful for the three films that are yet to be made.

And I’d like to finish with a backdated wellwishing for Patty with her “Bones & Beasts” exhibition, I’m sure it’s brilliant and I can’t wait to take a trot up to Inverness to see it for myself!

My third visit was to Caroline Dear, in Fangan which is a wee collection of houses a few miles on the other side of Portree if you come from the direction I did. The run to Skye from Fort William was as beautiful as my drive to Caithness and reminded me again that there is such a spectacular and varied landscape right on my doorstep and I am a fool not to take advantage of it more regularly than I do. Caroline’s house itself is on the tip of a beautiful miniature peninsula in a bay. She described it to me in her directions as the house nearest the sea. She told me later that it was technically the second house on the left in that wee road but visitors often found that concept too confusing and never quite found her with it.

Caroline has previous film making experience so following our initial chats in her house I was promptly taken next door to her adjoining (freshly tidied and organised) studio and shown a very fitting and clear foundation for a plan about how she would like for us to approach the making of her film. And (I’m touching wood while I write this) it all made perfect sense and I think it’ll reflect Caroline’s practise in the exact right way and I think we should have absolutely no problems whatsoever when we meet next (wood touching stops here). And after this the only thing for it was for us to step outside and take a wander around the fields where she collects the bulk of her materials and have a scout about for possible locations and backdrops.

Something I really enjoyed with Caroline, as with Patty,was being taught to look more closely at the natural environment. This was not a spoken tuition, just through her looking and admiring I felt compelled to look and admire too and, during our relatively short expedition through the local area, I felt like I began to see with my novice eye how much colour and variety there can be in the undergrowth if you actually look. I might previously have wandered by this habitat accepting it passively as brownish with maybe a wee bit of green here and there but, whilst discussing with Caroline, I started to see vibrant reds and purples and oranges and yellows… It was a bit like those Magic Eye pictures but on a bigger scale and with much more impressive imagery.

And over and above all this I was very struck with how intertwined Caroline’s practise and day to day life appeared, to me, to be. Her house and studio are attached to each other and every morning she goes for a walk and collects material for the rope she will be making that day and I just got a strong impression that her lifestyle and practise are very successfully intertwined and so then I considered the idea that this was part of the weaving practise just on a larger more abstract scale. But this could all very well be because, after having looked over a lot of her work, I had weaving and intertwining on the brain. Anything is possible. Regardless of what is true, this sense of weaving and complimentary activity will form the framework for Caroline’s video and, again (touch wood) will all make perfect sense in the greater context of her practise (touching wood, again, stops now) 😀

I’d had a good look through Nick’s website and read his blog entries so was really interested to hear about his practise. From my time in art school,  I have always been very aware of a very distinct, although very often completely unnecessary, divide between fine art and design and what intrigued me most about Nick’s practise was how he seems to straddle this perceived divide through working with a very design based problem solving ethos but, in doing so, producing work for a gallery environment.

I’d come to realise, through the organising of this meeting, that Nick leads a fairly nomadic lifestyle (living and working between Aberdeen, Inverness and Glasgow) and not long into our discussion in the art school cafeteria he seemed keen that this be reflected in the video somehow. He talked of how this nomadism is integral to his working process, how it often compartmentalises his life into very clear practical activity (Aberdeen) and research based activity (Glasgow and Inverness) and, alongside this, has instiled in him an empirical awareness of how small this country actually is in terms of traveling between jobs and sourcing materials. Nick had also done a lot of research on the subject of makers films so I was almost immediately given a list of recommended viewings for when I returned home so that I could gain an insight into the format and type of aesthetic we will strive for in working together.

After a good chat about what we both hoped to reflect through his video, Nick took me for a tour around the product design workshop and for a visit to his own personal studio annex.

The fact that this studio had been a disused men’s toilet adjoining the product design workshop prior to Nick’s claiming it for his own personal use was, strangely, not a complete surprise. As I mentioned before, Nick quite clearly works with a very pragmatic solution based design ethos and, as such, seeing ongoing works and evidence of his trials and experiments arranged within a former men’s bathroom made perfect sense. And I’m still quite enjoying the idea of his work beginning it’s life in one type of white cube and ending up in entirely another…

Once we were done for the day I left Nick to his making and tutoring devices and made my way back to the city centre with the cogs in my head turning nicely. As with Patty, I’m very excited about this video and now, even more so, my role overall in the Making Progress project. Already I am aware of how different the artists involved are and consequently how different the processes and outcomes will be for each and, as such, I feel the whole learning experience will be pretty well rounded. And on a more selfish (nosy) note, I wish I could be there to see his work develop into finished pieces. It sounds like it’ll be a fun process.

Aided + abetted by my partner, sound designer Dave Martin I’m turning birdsongs and ambient sound  into knitted fairisle patterns. The idea evolved like this —> random chat about birds having regional accents —> regional identities within textile mediums (knit,lace+ crochet) —>  Scottish ganseys and Irish Aran patterns that identify individual families —> the concept of knitted thumbprints —> identity, homeland and movement —> data transference  —> virtual community and viral behaviours.

We’ve been out + about recording + have done two locations and are planning a third this weekend, I’ve yet to happily translate the sound files  into images, the knitting machine has been controlling the process and all I could see was the restriction of a 24stitch repeat but just this week I’d an epiphany, y’know one of the ones where you sit down full of despair + hopelessness + headbanging brick walls,  and then you make a visual connection and then another and another and then there it is, staring you in the face like it should have been all along and blimey that was SIMPLE and god you’re so STUPID you should have had that in your head all along but how clever at the same time, brilliant …WINE!  One of those epiphanies, so rain permitting we’re back on the road on Saturday and work permitting I’m knitting next week.  I’ll be dictating to the knitting machine instead of it dictating to me, I’m the boss of it so I am.

We’d planned that I would arrive at lunchtime on the Monday but the forecast over the weekend looked bleak to say the least so I was a bit worried that I might not be able to make the journey up to Caithness. But, as it turned out, rather than impede the already fairly long and somewhat arduous four hour drive, the weekend’s snowy weather just helped to make it an even more beautiful and scenic run than it might otherwise have been. (If anything, the distractingly beautiful landscapes I was continually confronted with on the way up probably posed more of a hazard to my driving than any slippy road surfaces ever could have…). It also helped to get an understanding of Patricia’s work before I arrived, although I didn’t know this at the time. As I gradually made my way physically through rural Caithness I was very gradually being immersed into the world that so strongly influences and gives home to Patricia’s creative practise…

Upon arriving at Patricia’s studio we pretty much immediately (over lovely home made soup, my lunchtime arrival was no happy coincidence…) launched into a discussion about her creative practice, her influences, her experience of being involved in the Making Progress scheme over the past year and what she and I both hoped to achieve from collaborating over this video together. As I had previously suspected, she is a very energetic and inspiring person and, as such, had a very infectiously energetic and inspiring effect on our discussion. And happily for both of us she introduced an idea for a film that she has had “brewing for some time” so from the word go we had a starting point from which to develop (hatch?) a plan. So with a vague and exciting discussion of this plan under our belts and the aforementioned lovely soup resting nicely in our bellies, we hopped in the car and set about our world tour of the local area.

We visited three sites in total, each one as stunning and dramatic as the last. From the landscape and natural environment itself I got a real sense of how and why it is that Patricia makes the work that she does and how it will inevitably need to be the integral cornerstone of the film we’re going to make if we are properly going to reflect her practise as an artist. Although in my mind her relationship with this environment is possibly a bit like the one with the chicken and the egg: did she have a way of working and then stumbled upon Caithness and everything made sense or was she working a particular way and then, upon moving to Caithness, did her work evolve in synch with her surroundings? Either way it doesn’t really matter, I just enjoyed mulling that over as we drove through the beautiful countryside listening to 1970s psychadelica remixes. (Patricia later informed me that had I not been there she would’ve been singing along out loud. I think I would’ve enjoyed that too and I told her this but she assured me that I certainly would not have.)

We continued exploring the local area by car and by foot until dwindling daylight hours and a slow rumbling hunger dictated that we should probably stop. At this point we retreated to Patricia’s cosy wee house on the top of a not so wee hill and further discussed our plans and compiled some to-do lists over an amazing dinner of Jerk style ham and leeks and mashed tatties. And then before we knew it the day was over and it was time to bed and I went to sleep exhausted and weatherbeaten and excited about working with Patricia and developing our plans further over the coming weeks…

In the morning I enjoyed more of the Niemann hospitality I had been exposed to so far (home made spelt waffles and lemon curd) before jumping in the car and making my way back to Fort William.  Needless to say I am very excited about this project and making something that both Patricia and I can be proud of and now (even more so than before) very much looking forward to meeting the rest of the makers and seeing what we can come up with together.

c.dear - rope display in studio

I have now also got a title for the exhibition – ‘ Tied to nature’  Rope, string and thread made from natural materials so I am making progress, although I am aware there is so much to do!

gathering birch twigs

There have been some moments of sun in between strong wind, rain and snow to gather materials. I am interested in seeking out materials that I haven’t worked with before; some of these are the ferns and the seaweed. You can see more on my blog where I have been doing a different rope each day.

Many of the big producers were showing new products by high profile local designers such as Offecct’s new Oasis collection which contains pieces by Front, Claesson Koivisto Rune and Monica Förster as well as new work from Italian designer Luca Nichetto, someone who was very well received by the Swedes during this year’s show. Other new products on show were the various new lamps for Zero who this year had collaborated with designers such as TAF, Front, Jonas Forsman and a strange collaboration with Karim Rashid, something which in my option really didn’t tie into the rest of Zero’s minimal collection. Other highlights were Inga Sempe’s new work for Gärsnäs, Jonas Wagell’s ceramic collection for Danish brand Muuto and the new HAY collection which had one of my personal highlights and surprises in Scholten & Baijings new textile collection which included graphic bedcovers, kitchen towels and dishcloths. Not something I would usually find exciting.

Next to the main hall is the infamous Greenhouse section which showcases the Scandinavian schools and the recent graduates. This is seen as a great place to see emerging trends and to spot new studios before they make it big. As usual the quality of work there was very high and there were even signs of some highly conceptual craft objects, something which is usually confined to the Dutch or London graduation shows.  This year’s show was curated by Jens Fager, someone who was a past success at the Greenhouse when he showcased his Grovhugget Anno 2008 as a Konstfack graduate.  The room was set out like circus this year with large stripy tents and a circus ring like space in the center which contained the curated ‘Ung’ exhibition which happens bi-annually, showcasing the best young designers based in Sweden. This seemed like an amazing platform for upcoming designers as there was a lot of focus on the event and after the fair the exhibition will travel the whole world giving these designers an amazing chance to get noticed on a global market as well as marketing the whole thing to show a strong and exciting emerging Swedish design scene. Something Scotland could learn from in terms of National marketing. In fact it makes me proud to think that there was actually something similar for Highland graduates during the ‘New Highland Graduates’ exhibition which I was lucky enough to be part of in 2009. How great would it be to see the whole country try out something similar and tour it across Europe or worldwide?

In the main entrance to the fair stood a seating installation which was designed by this year’s guest of honour Arik Levy. In this space people were offered a chance to relax after all the walking in the halls and take time out to listen to the lectures which were taking place just next to it. Some of these included guest talks, one of which seemed very much like a design version of Letterman with all the intro music and the host chatting to his co-host who sat behind him playing a piano. Some talks were a bit more formal with discussions on future trends and what a designer’s role will be in the future. One of the more thought provoking discussions was a look at what the meeting place of the future will be and how will it affect the way we work and communicate professionally.

Outside the main fair there were also many great satellite exhibitions and openings. One of the most talked about this year was the launch of Form Us With Love’s new collection which included many industry collaborations including exterior lighting and seating, a new interior lamp and a modular sound absorbing concept. The opening for this year’s collection (Form Us With Friends) was once again the place to be with many well-known designers and industry celebrities being spotted at the event. Another talked about show was the ‘20 Designers at Biologiska’ which contained objects by young and established designers shown amongst the diorama at the National Biological gallery. In this show curious objects stood among stuffed animals and dried plants inside the vitrines of the museum creating an interesting environment to show work which was extremely refreshing.

On a personal note one of my favourite events was the launch of Fronts new ‘Front Page’ magazine stand for Italian manufacturer Kartell, a project which I had worked on with them whilst living in Stockholm. It was great to see the final piece in production and it will be interesting to see how well it sells.

After a week of openings, events, talks and parties it can be hard to see past the superficial side of the industry as the designers are placed on pedestals for the week and design fans flock in their hundreds to see what they consider just to be ‘cool’ stuff. From my point of view what impressed me the most was really the amount of support the creators receive within the country and the interest the general public have in well designed and well made goods. Many events in town even made the peak news show’s which is unheard of in the UK.  If Scotland wants to learn how to become a more creative and more importantly a supportive country for creative industries they should have a look at what they are doing over the other side of the North Sea.

Nick Ross, February 2011
Web: www.nckrss.com

Amongst all the doom and gloom of funding cuts and the difficulties of making exhibition happen in the current climate it is easy to lose sight of how important the curation of high quality craft exhibitions can and should be.

Lizzie Farey - Spirit of the Air (detail)

An exhibition can inspire, enthuse, teach and give pleasure but at another level it can change your way of thinking and move your own work on a new creative journey. And that is just for the audience!

For the maker, creating work for exhibition can give you the freedom to create new work within a framework – an exciting proposal that can free you from the constraints of the day to day of making and move your work onto a completely new level and direction.

You can gain respect from your peers, acknowledgment from the public and all this often leads onto new opportunities. One of the greatest pleasures is reading comments from people who are not friends or family and who have been moved to write about your exhibition in a positive way!

Our second year of Spotlight exhibitions will open on the 30th April 2011 and our four Making Progress makers are all planning and working away on their designs. Not only do they have to concentrate on new work but they also have to think about layout, the practical constrictions of the space, display, publicity, openings, invites and a hundred other things.

So often the public just think all this happens without too much effort; you spend 30 minutes looking round a show, think ‘that was great’ and walk away not realising how much blood, sweat and tears went into it all!

I had this brought back to me at the end of a wonderful and inspiring talk on Wednesday by Professor Lesley Millar about the exhibitions she had curated, often with Japan. See www.texturalspace.com.

Just seeing the list of funders and sponsors at the end made me sigh – all those months of funding applications, report writing and waiting with baited breath to see if your dream can happen. And then the joy of knowing it can go ahead and wondering what on earth you have taken on. And then the months and sometimes years of pulling it all together – you can only do this is you are truly passionate about your subject, anything less and you would give up!

Or the disappointment of going back to the drawing board and trying to think of other ways to raise funds and make it all happen and not giving up with the setbacks.

On my way home I had the real pleasure of finishing off my day by a visit to the City Art Centre and Lizzie Farey’s ‘Spirit of the Air’ exhibition. To see how she has moved her use of materials from basketmaking to wall and aerial sculptures is inspiring and moving. Drawing in air with willow has freed her from the constrains of closely woven structures and has moved her work in a really exciting direction.

The pleasure for the public is immense but for Lizzie on her creative journey it must be life changing. As all good exhibitions should be!

Pamela Conacher
18/02/11

Witchy branch fingers at Carbeth

The big trip seemed doomed that Saturday morning in early January – with snowfall and ice on the ground in Caithness. And indeed, per text message one of the meetings I was heading for had to be cancelled. This meeting was to be for a theatre project, which is scheduled to happen this summer. But it was hopefully one meeting of many to come…

The main reason for the journey, however, was the opportunity to take part in a workshop offered by the Cultural Enterprise Office in Glasgow called “Next Steps” – development advice for creative businesses trading three years or more. That workshop was scheduled to take place on Monday afternoon, the 10^th January 2011 –and in order to make most out of the trip South, I had organised to still my creative thirst over the span of a few days.

One of the Carbeth Huts (and yet another gnarly tree)

The first station now was to be the home of the environmental artist Ruth Macdougall. Ruth had just come back from a study trip to Uganda, where she had teamed up with a local artist to collaborate on simple boat building for the community at Lake Victoria. Ruth had built a coracle and is currently working on a curach – both ancient forms of boats, which were used to travel over water and over land (carried and used as shelter). Ruth also introduced me to the Carbeth Hutters Community, her artistic history with them – and the gnarly, old, slightly ragged and enchanting landscape she and the hutters live in. The image above was taken there: twigs and branches like witches’ fingers and hairy lichen (you have read about that stuff  before here – inspiring!). From Ruth, I also received a short course in filming (using her professional camera to film a quick “interview” and watch her editing it with professional software – am learning all the time!).

On Monday morning then Ruth and I headed into Glasgow on different missions, but she had a chance for a quick hello to Deirdre – they knew each other through a residency. Deirdre Nelson had kindly agreed to be my mentor within the Hi-Arts “Making Progress” project. Now, Deirdre is a very enthusiastic and inspiring person – and it was such a treat to have her look at images of my work and listen to her comments and suggestions. I filled two pages with notes and ideas to research, alsolots of h elpful and inspiring links (which have set things in motion …).

From her it was only a few steps to a friendly welcome at the workshop. Carol Sinclair led the class. I had met her and – as it turned out – the lady sitting to my right, Melanie (an architect) before at North Lands Creative Glass in Caithness. To my left sat Caroline Dear, partner artist of “Making Progress”. I found the way each of us three sitting there had dealt with the preparation exercise of “mapping” our activities, quite remarkable and unique. It had taken me more time, than I thought it would, but through the workshop it was a bit of an “eye-opener” to myself. I seem to always have a guilty conscience of not doing enough, but boy, do I do a LOT! And don’t want to give up anything (apart from cleaning the constantly dusty studio/showroom, which I obviously cannot give up). Alas, through the workshop I managed to identify a few things, which need to be changed or remedied. And without this session it would have been much harder for me to take the necessary step back in order to see those. I also found listening to other participants’ situations, problems and thought processes extremely interesting and helpful.

After the workshop I had the opportunity to get to know Caroline better – I love her almost ethereal work. And how good, that we had the chance for a one-to-one to find out, that – although our work is so different – we really are on the same wavelength. We both then went for a bite to eat with Deirdre – and I left them to talk about Caroline’s work (Deirdre is also her mentor), while I headed on to Edinburgh.

Through driving rain I made my way to glass artist Carrie Fertig’s studio. Carrie reported about her huge yearly trade fair trip to the US and glass residencies, projects and exhibitions, which she is currently involved in or planning for – some busy and talented lady, she is! Carrie also pointed me to a camera workshop near her house, where I could have my recently damaged camera looked at. Not having this essential tool working properly had started to worry me greatly. Next morning I handed them my camera for investigation – and found out that I need a new one. Thankfully the dithering had come to an end! (and I have a new one by now…)

The road back up to the Highlands was flanked by much snow on the roadside and bathed in sunlight – I arrived in Inverness for a loosely scheduled meeting with the kind Sian Jamieson to talk about – for me – pressing audience development (i.e. facebook) issues. Great, that she was able to fit me in on my way North. She managed to clear up many questions I had – and suggested some things, which I am now using for my research (notably “alerts” – great things, those are!)

Arriving back at my home in Caithness, I managed to throw out the luggage, dump paper and equipment in the boot and got to Wick and life drawing just in time…

Some trip, that was – full of experiences, enlightenment (if I may call it that), catching up, networking and new impressions!

*
Ah, but now! Let’s talk about these karbunkel things! Let me set the scene: It is dark outside, the wind is howling around the wee cottage and the rain is lashing against my windows. I am warm and in good spirits. Typical. That is actually, what a lot of my work is about – the bad and ugly made into the good and beautiful. If it still has some of the uncanny in it – great! A healthy dose of humour usually does not hurt, either.

So these “big” and small objects came into being during a hot glass master class at North Lands. They came from a drawing exercise, which was looking at negative space. I am terribly interested in cavities – especially cavities at archaeological sites, normally hidden away from our sight. But I have also always been interested in scourges and diseases blighting our very existence as human beings. The karbunkels are an amalgamation of those ideas. And again, I tried to make the uncanny into something beautiful. They are only objects just now, but will become body adornment in due course. Below are ideas from my sketchbook:

Oh, and one of these karbunkels has already made it into my weird world as a real, wearable object: Intro the Lichen Slug Ring (a family member of the Lichen/Fungi Rings, the firstborn of which has not been photographed yet). The beastly creature is made from textured Sterling Silver and dark Blown Glass.

Lichen Slug Ring, February 2011

www.patbat.com

enclose picture of my studio wall with combinations of plants, peat

and experimental structures – creating forms which engage with the plants…

I am interested in the balance and contrast between: –

the natural order of the plants and the manmade order we create

studio wall

hair moss

Boy, Caithness got its hooks in me! I am just back from an afternoon walk along cliffs, with dramatic light plus some getting lost in micro lichen vegetation and almost “losing the plot” over dizzying heights.

This blogger is a beginner, be warned – also an “incomer” (I hail from Bavarian Germany – these people are known to fall in love with the wilds of Scotland …) – and a maker (of body adornment with precious metals, studio glass and textiles). This place has become my home quite a few years ago. And it is seeping through my work!

My main creative interest is the human body – also anthropology, decay, funeral archaeology and infectious agents – with some humour thrown in. At the moment I am developing and making work for a small exhibition within the Making Progress craft programme. The working title so far is Bones and Beasts.

Lichens are a combination of fungi and algae (or bacteria) – and fungi are  intriguing beings anyway: They grow in many forms, sizes and colours, strictly are neither plant nor animal, can be parasitic (and potentially dangerous: think mould), can be living in symbiosis and/or be quite useful (bakers yeast and antibiotics spring to mind). They spread through mycelium and spores and seem to have something weird, alien and disconcerting about them – absolutely fascinating to me! I would put them into the “Beast” category…

These are components for one of the pieces I have started to make: a ring inspired by lichens and fungi.

In autumn I have made some blown glass objects for more “Beasts” to wear – at the moment these are lovingly called “carbunkles”, but I will talk about their treatment next time…

Many of our projects address the need for our makers to get together; sometimes in a formal way through events such as Makers Days and at other times it just happens that the people involved hit it off and before we know it an informal group has emerged with very little intervention on our part!

Feeling isolated can be a real problem when you live and work in a remote area and anything that can be done to help with this is a really positive and essential aspect of the work we do.

Informal groups have sprung up from Makers Days, our visit to Stroud International Textile Festival, from our Making Progress mentoring project and many of the research visits we have arranged.

Emails and social networking go a long way but sometimes you can’t beat a good blether over tea (and cakes!).

Our latest visit to London and Craft Central brought this home once more.

Members of Craft Central are part of a network of UK makers who can rent studio space in two wonderful buildings in Clerkenwell and participate in many of the events organised there including Open Studio selling days and exhibitions as well as business support and workshops. For obvious reasons a large number of the makers live and work in London but some (and that includes several from Scotland) use the organisation as their London studio, giving them an affordable way of reaching new markets but also the opportunity to meet other members.

Makers that I spoke with said that having the support system of the others in studios near by is one of the most important aspects of membership.

Our makers don’t often have such a luxury so we need to do all we can to put our own systems in place.

Through our Mentoring to Market programme we are delighted to be able to now have the opportunity for our makers to become members of  Craft Central and to benefit from a London base, new contacts and networks.

We will be featuring more on this development on the website but it is one positive way of increasing our profile and gives our makers a chance to work together and with a new group of people.

As we stopped to take a break at the end of a hectic day – and yes more tea and cakes were involved – we reflected on how to make the very best of our London connections.

We are so fortunate to be based in an area that inspires and gives our makers’ work such a strong identity and now we can dip into city life and all the new opportunities that this will bring.

Throughout the next few months we will be strengthening our London links and in May 2011 we will be showing our makers work to this new audience with our Highland Showcase.

I can’t wait to see the results!

After such an inspiring trip it was back to battling snow, delayed trains, flights and the cold road home and the reality of the distances involved between  London and the Highlands. Hopefully we can do something to make this less even if we can’t control the travel aspect!

Pamela Conacher

November 2010

www.craftcentral.org.uk

This Festival is a great one for crafts as it is all about being sustainable, so the emphasis on making things yourself, from scratch and using locally sourced materials is very apparent.

On arrival we walked from the vehicle along a narrow road with massive broadleafed trees looming over us, and in the distance we could hear music spilling out from the arena, which turned out to be coming from performers Brazil! Brazil!. Once inside my father had to rush off so I was on my own, but I was pleased when the first tent I walked into turned out to be the craft tent.

This was a large wooden floored marquee with stalls around the edges, comprising mainly of woodworkers, which led out to even more crafty stuff at the back. I was pleasently surprised when I stopped at the jewellery display to find the work of Dot Sim, a lovely jeweller and excellent teacher, who taught my year for a short while at university. It was nice to see her composing her delicate silver pieces right in front of all the visitors, and think this approach the crafts people were taking deffintaly leant to the overall relaxed but inquisitive atmosphere of the place. After looking around all the stalls, including a basket weaver who sourced his willow from Eigg, and a man creating decorative wall pieces out of wood, Tartan from Trees, I went out to check out the many other tents.

there was a lot of interesting talks going on with topics such as sustainability viewed from many stances I also bumped into a classmate of mine who was diligently doing research for his dissertation. I bumped into another friend of mine their who had come on public transport and said because of this that she had been presented with a punet of strawberrys on arrival, what a great incentive for being more environmentally aware.

Then of course, the shops, I wandered along the ‘street’ of stalls which had a fantastic array of interesting things to offer, I tried to ignore the Chocolate Tree with its inviting aroma and went to look at the non food items instead. Village Green Trading Ltd. from Ullapool was there with a selection of fairly traded gifts and clothes, Geoff King at Woodland Treasures, Based in Tain, was busy carving out their intricate wooden jewellery and combs, and Celtic Leather from Ullapool was also in attendance.

Displayed on the stalls were signs indicating where they were from and exactly how many miles they had traveled be there, one of the closest must have been the Pillars of Hercules cafe which is based on the estate itself, it certainly seemed a popular choice with its organic produce and haybails for seating.

The impressive main stage was hosting a diverse range of entertainments which encompassed creative musicians who perfomed circus tricks simultaniously, dancers and other world music. The only act my father wanted to see were traditional musicians Session A9 which unfortunatly, due to travel arrangments, we only managed to see 2 sets of their beautifully energetic performance. As my father had decided he couldnt resist the temptations of the Black Isle Brewery tent it was up to me to drive home, up the A9 at night, in a van with a 50mph speed limit.

oh yes, and I did sneak back to the Chocolate Tree and ordered a freshly made belgium waffel with chocolate sauce and strawberrys, appreciated all the more for the wait.

Early on in my job we featured the work of Plockton based Jewellery Designer/Maker Gilly Langton as part of the Makers of the Month section on our website. I love Gilly’s work and have been lucky enough to get to know Gilly quite well from meeting her at Makers’ Days and through her role as a mentor in the HI-Arts Making Progress Scheme, so when Gilly sent through details of her jewellery making workshops this summer I was really keen to go and take part.

The added bonus of Gilly’s workshops is that they take place in Plockton, a beautiful coastal village on the West Coast (about 2 hours from Inverness). My colleague Fiona had also signed up to come to the workshop, so we set off late on Thursday afternoon and headed west.

Plockton

After a really lovely evening in Plockton on Thursday, we woke up early on the Friday morning and had a good wander around the village. Plockton is a really friendly place, and you realise that everyone knows everyone  – it turns out that the girl who ran our B& B (also called Fiona) was also coming to the course and Gilly had even signed up a recruit for the course in the pub the night before (Janie from Cromarty!).

Gilly is originally from Chorley (near Manchester) and came to Plockton about 5 years ago for a residency at Plockton High School – understandably Gilly fell in love with Plockton and made the massive decision to move from the north west of England to the north west of the Highlands. Gilly runs her studio from her house in Plockton (see recent video footage of Gilly at work: http://www.vimeo.com/12766044) , but has kept her relationship with the High School and now runs her jewellery making workshops from the CDT department of the school.

On entering the school, what struck me was how great the workshop facilities at the school seemed to be – I have to admit that I haven’t been in a  large workshop like that since my days at art college in Birmingham (I studied Furniture Design), so to have access to so many fantastic tools and workbench space I was like a small child in a sweet shop.

Gilly made us all feel very at home with a lovely cup of tea and some homemade flapjacks and she explained how the day would go; she said that she would familiarise us with some of the tools we would be using and then would show us six different techniques she uses as part of her jewellery making process. Gilly also showed us a range of her own jewellery which was particularly useful, as she explained the techniques used to create them as she went along. Also a great inspiration were the jewellery design books (the type of design books I aspire to have lying about on my coffee table) which she showed us, it really opened all of our eyes to the fantastic contemporary jewellery that is being made by makers in the UK and beyond at the moment.

Gilly Langton Jewellery Workshop

We were then let loose on our own to experiment with the tools and try out some of the techniques shown to us using copper as a working material. Gilly explained that copper was a good material to start experimenting with as it is very supple and is hardier and obviously a lot less expensive than silver, so you felt you could make mistakes without worrying about wasting too much of the material.

I decided early on that I enjoyed how much you got to hammer things when making jewellery! Using a range of hammers (Jobbing, Plannishing and Hide Hammers) with a Doming block and punches, it was really interesting to see how the metal could be manipulated. I also enjoyed using the Ring Triblet to form links and ovals which could be used to form a larger structure.

It became apparent very early on how important it is to understand the make up of the material you are using and how it will react to different processes and how the design of the work almost comes from understanding these processes. I know it sounds silly, but I have always been someone who has been over dependant on a sketch book and working through my designs for things on paper, this felt like a very different way of working and I felt a little regretful that I hadn’t spent more hours at college experimenting in the workshop rather than sketching in the studio.

This was not a time for regret though, after a fantastic lunch (with the best homemade chocolate cake I’ve ever had) we were all encouraged to concentrate on one piece of work that we could finish by the end of the afternoon. Gilly had supplies of silver with her which we could purchase to work with. I have to say that by this stage everyone was so focused on what they wanted to make, that there was quite a level of excitement in the workshop. Gilly was great at coming through the group and spending time with us individually to work through our designs and the processes we would have to go through to make our pieces.

As someone who likes to wear quite large jewellery I thought I would stick to using copper and was keen to create something using lots of circles and domes as I had enjoyed making them in the morning and thought it best to stick to a couple of techniques rather than try anything too ambitious. What I hadn’t considered is how difficult soldering is!! We had been shown this by Gilly in the morning and she had made it look relatively simple – I failed to remember that Gilly has had over 15 years practice over me! Anyway, my soldering skills (or lack thereof) didn’t dampen my spirits and I was pleased to finish the day with a piece that half resembled what I had sent out to make.

The other women in the class had made a fantastic range of jewellery and had had the confidence to work in silver – out of the day a total of 6 rings, 3 necklaces, 2 bracelets and one copper creation (that’s mine) were made.

I would like to say a massive thank you to Gilly for such a great day, it really was inspiring and also thank you to the other women on the course, it was a great group of people and really good fun working alongside them all!

Gilly was kind enough to give us all a printed list of the tools and materials we would need to purchase to set up our own small workshop at home. If I knew I could master the skill that is soldering, then I might well consider converting my shed at the bottom of the garden in to a workshop and spend my weekends hammering metal to my heart’s content.

Avril Souter, July 2010

Cove Park

Time Out

This is the time of year when many of us try to take a break and escape from our usual routine by relaxing with family and friends, hoping to return refreshed and inspired.

How many of us devote that same attention to our working practice and take time away  to consider the direction we are going, the work we are creating and engage in conversations that push our ideas?

Many consider this an indulgence that we are too busy to address and this  is understandable when bills need to be paid, families cared for and life to be pursued.

Having the luxury of spending time to reflect alone or with like minded people, to assess and develop your work and to really take time away from  daily life (including family!) can be so beneficial.

We are delighted to be offering two Highland Craft residencies at Cove Park this year (through Rural Innovation Funding) and hope to do the same next year. We will watch and wait to see how our makers enjoy and benefit from the experience but I am confident that they will return inspired!

Cove Park is an international arts residency centre that allows artists working in all forms to undertake research, develop new project and take time away from ‘normal’ life.

 All the artists I have spoken with who have participated in Cove’s unique programme say that it is an incredible experience and one they look back on as a defining moment in their creative practice.

Places like this are so important and should be an essential part of any professional creative person’s development!

Perhaps those who are not so fortunate to be able to visit Cove Park should take note and build in time their diaries to take a break away from the day to day and to take time in a new location to concentrate on how their work is progressing.

 A sort of business and creative health check!

 Even events like Makers Days, exhibitions and trips to conferences can have the same effect – we are still counting the benefits from our Makers trip to Orkney last year, our visit to Stroud and countless makers’ visits through our Go and See and Makers Awards funding.

So please don’t make it an indulgence and make it essential! I look forward to hearing from you with your success stories.

Pamela

 www.covepark.org

Assemble

On Tuesday I was in a very hot London for the Craft Council Conference, Assemble. Set in the lovely surroundings of LSO St Lukes, I had high expectations for the day, hoping to come home inspired and informed!

The Craft Council used the conference to launch research papers as well as the giving us opportunity to debate economic innovation and the social value of craft in the new economy.

 I was fortunate to have Gilly Langton from Plockton with me (she had been funded through our Go and See programme, see her report http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/Crafts/go-and-see-visits-reports.htm) as I did not spot many other familiar faces. It is a pity, as one of the reasons for going to conferences is the opportunity to catch up with colleagues as well as making new connections!

Although the Craft Council is billed as the national development agency for contemporary craft in the UK, I do find the London- centric slant of their programmes irritating. Every time they say that they are rolling out a programme for the UK I feel like saying ‘but not Scotland’ as whenever I have approached them about projects I would think could benefit our makers I have been told that they are only for England. Fair enough, as they are funded by Art Council England, but they should not say the UK when it is clearly not the case!

Saying that, we do benefit from some of their programmes such as the work we have borrowed from their Collection for our exhibition, Made it – but it is very unusual for this to happen and certainly the first time work from their collection has been in the Highlands.

As the day progressed I tried to make sense of what was being discussed and how it relates to the work we do here in the Highlands. So much talk of digital media and making sure we embrace it or we will be left behind! Possibly all true, but I do worry about the time and energy all this takes and how we are in danger of moving away from what craftspeople do –making beautiful objects with their hands- and hope we will not be left with makers with amazing skills in digital media who can throw a wonderful virtual pot but when faced with real clay are unable to do anything with it!

I trust not and do have faith that makers are practical, realistic and love what they do, realising the huge importance of creating with your hands especially in these difficult economic times.

By the end of the day I felt frustrated that I had heard so much before and that no clear idea of a way forward was being suggested, perhaps it was the heat but I felt the audience was not really engaging with the conversation and that it was a missed opportunity.

However, as always it is important to go to events such as this, especially when you live in the Highlands, as it is too easy to get complacent about the work you do and forget about the rest of the world. Even if one comes away feeling slightly disappointed, there will still be benefits, even if they are just to confirm that we are on the right track here!

As Gilly and I agreed on the train home, the best bit about going to London is getting the sleeper and waking up the next morning in the Highlands knowing that what we are doing is right for us in our area and that we are so privileged to be able to do this in such an inspirational place!

Pamela Conacher

24^th June 2010

www.assemble.org.uk   www.craftscouncil.org.uk

http://craftresearch.blogspot.com/2010/06/assemble-london-session-1.html

On the 4^th June we had our afternoon event to Celebrate Craft and our Mentoring Project, Making Progress. It also saw the opening of our exhibitions, Made It! and Laura West’s Spotlight.

 As promised, the sun shone, tasty food, refreshing fizz and good conversation was in order!

As part of the mentoring project makers have to curate their own spotlight exhibition and Laura was our second maker to go through this process.

Our Spotlight makers have very rarely experienced installing an exhibition, so it can be a daunting prospect. However, the pleasure in seeing your work as a whole, having positive comment on it  from the public and breathing a sigh of relief as you realise that you really are making progress should make it all worth it!

 For the public who view exhibitions, few have any idea of the huge amount of work that goes into getting an exhibition to the Private View stage.

 From the initial idea, selecting work (and making it when you are the maker), getting it safely to the gallery, planning the layout, designing plinths and display material, making sure everything is all delivered on time and in the correct condition, labels, invites and posters designed- printed and sent out, lighting, security, Private view refreshments and finally installing it all and you then have to be in a fit condition to speak to your guests when it all opens!

With the short changeover time in galleries, you very rarely have the luxury of days of time and more likely it is 24 frantic hours of painting plinths, unpacking and hanging work. It always gets done in time, thought sometimes floors are being brushed as the visitors arrived!

Our exhibitions last week were no exception and we had the added stress of dealing with work from the Crafts Council Collection that had very stringent installation and handling requirements. Highland Council Exhibitions Unit have worked incredible hard to ensure that this exhibition has been given a professional and classy display that does the work justice. No easy task with limited resources and no access to the work until the last minute!

As the work was unpacked, the excitement mounted as one of the great joys of pulling an exhibition together where the work is of this calibre is seeing it insitu and realising that it is going to look amazing!

The Craft Council Collection work was selected by our makers and their mentors as work that has influenced them and seeing their work displayed alongside it, you can see this journey  clearly.

 For me, the greatest pleasure is seeing that our makers work sits on a level footing with the top makers work. A true indication of the quality here in the Highlands!

If you have not already been, please go and see for yourself. And as you view the exhibitions, remember the months of preparation that has gone into making it all look so wonderful!

Pamela Conacher

June 2010

Collect

Our group visit last week was for makers who aspire to participate at Collect in the future. It was good to have a group who, once more spent time together catching up, discussing their own practice and wonderful to see them realise that their work is on a level with much that is on show.

Collect is very much about selling to a high end market and to be able to see work from all over the world in one place is a rare opportunity. As usual, after a day or night of travel much of the first day is spent absorbing the atmosphere, people watching, forgetting to eat, resting weary feet and being amazed by all that is on display and the prices people are happy to pay!

Visiting London is always hectic as you want to cram in as many exhibitions and gallery visits as you can in a short space of time, take that experience home with you and then digest it all in the relative peace and tranquillity of the Highlands!

Collect is constantly inspiring, sometimes amusing and occasionally disappointing. The majority of the work is exquisitely made and pushes the boundaries of what is perceived as Craft, reflected in the fact that the show is called the International Art Fair for Contemporary Objects.

To see work by makers who you have long admired is a real treat and one of my favourite occupations is to go round picking the work I would buy if I had unlimited funds. You find new makers, new work by makers you know and work that you do wonder ‘how on earth did that get in’! But generally the quality is of the very highest and the gallery stands beautifully displayed.

 Many red dots had appeared by the end of the Private View which goes to show that people are still buying; indeed both the Scottish Gallery and the National Craft Gallery, Ireland had sold most of their work by the end of the first day.

As well as our visit to Collect, our group visited several other galleries including the V&A and work at Fortnum and Mason ‘Handmade’. This display was really interesting as it was a selling exhibition in a very well known retail shop. Work from 50 makers was of the highest level and featured work for the home and in particular, food and dining. Many displays were on old tables so you could see and touch the work and it took away the gallery feel making it all more accessible.

It was a pleasure to see work by Tain based Glasstorm included as well as several makers from Cornwall that I had not come across before. I will be doing some more research as it is a wonderful way of retailing craft to an upmarket audience and an approach that is to be commended.

Once more, it struck me that so much can be achieved by getting makers together at events such as this. I personally value the time I get to discuss makers practice and problems as well as feel that relationships are strengthened and anything is possible with such strong and creative people working in the sector in the Highlands!

Pamela Conacher

17/05/10

Having read through the selection of events and talks in the Stroud International Textile Festival brochure, I was thoroughly looking forward to our visit to this event, but what I was also particularly looking forward to was spending some time with the designer/makers who were exhibiting and selling their work at the festival and were also coming along on this trip.

Those makers who attended were Mhairi Killin from Iona, Jenny Deschenes from Spean Bridge, Lizza Hume from Westray in Orkney, Andrea Williamson and Wendy Inkster from Shetland (Jennifer Cantwell from Inverness was exhibiting her work, but was unable to attend the festival). Also attending the trip was Hazel Hughson from Shetland Arts and of course Pamela Conacher, our Crafts Development Coordinator at HI-Arts.

Highlands and Islands Makers at Stroud

As everyone was travelling from a variety of locations throughout the Highlands and Islands and arriving at various times on the Thursday evening, we agreed to meet up at breakfast on the Friday morning. It was clear from the start that this was going to be a very enjoyable way to spend a couple of days, everyone very quickly got to know each other as the makers talked about their plans for the next few days, what they hoped to get from the visit and how it would be interesting to see how their work looked ‘in situ’ and what the other work would look like in comparison.

We had been invited to the opening of the textile festival which was being held at a gorgeous location called the ‘Museum in The Park’ in Stroud.

The opening itself was very busy and was held in a gallery space within the Museum. There was work on display from several of the artists who were exhibiting as part of the festival, this was also a great chance to mingle with other exhibitors and take in the splendid surroundings. I have to say that I was quite smitten with the work of jewellery designer Angela O’Kelly, whose work is quite sculptural and crosses the boundaries of jewellery, textiles and sculpture. I also loved seeing Jo Barkers tapestries – such a fantastic use of colour, and also loved the fantastic range of felt animals by Annie Hutchison, which were on exhibition in the foyer of the museum. I also particularly enjoyed hearing Sir Christopher Frayling talk as he officially opened the festival; he was so inspiring and talked about craft with such a passion.

Deirdre Nelson has been working as Artist in Residence in Stroud in the lead up to the festival and her installation of swing-ball on the front lawn outside the museum was really great fun – she also had installed her embroidered tennis balls throughout the museum exhibits and it really worked well.

We then ventured in to the town of Stroud as a group and went to find the Made in Stroud shop where the Made in Highlands work was being exhibited and was for sale. Thanks to the very handy festival brochure, we found the shop quite easily. It was a little nerve racking waiting to she how the work looked, as you appreciated that the makers have invested quite a lot of time and money in sending their work to Stroud and attending this visit and that they wanted their work to be shown in the right environment, surrounded by products of similar quality.

Thankfully when we arrived we were told that some of the work had been sold already and that there had been a great level of interest from everyone who had come in to the shop. I have to say that the quality work for the Highlands and Islands makers was fantastic, I was familiar with each of the makers’ work, having seen it online or having featured them on the HI-Arts website, but you really have to see the work in real life to appreciate how great it is. We all commented on how great all of the work looked together, although it was felt that perhaps a little more space could have been provided and I know that Mhairi Killin felt that she felt her work may have looked better in more of a gallery-type venue.

Made in Highlands at Stroud International Textile Festival

After making a few purchases in the shop (well, you have to treat yourself!!) we returned to the hotel and proceeded to have a great evening full of conversation and laughter. I have to say that on a personal level I really enjoyed spending time with a group of people who have a similar background, we had lots of fun conversations about our experiences at art college and it was great to hear how they went on to then progress in to running their own businesses – a route that I often wonder whether I should have gone down at the time of leaving college. No regrets now though, as working with HI-Arts I still get to indulge my love of design and work with some of these great makers.

Saturday

As the festival was now officially open, many of us had planned which of the exhibitions and talks we wanted to attend. Pamela and I wanted everyone to have the freedom to attend the events they wanted to so once we arrived in Stroud, we all agreed to ‘do our own thing’ and meet up later in the day.

Along with Pamela and Jenny Deschenes, we went to visit Losing the Thread Textile Artists which was held on the top floor of the Kendrick Art Shop, it was a tiny space, but I really liked the idea of having the exhibition in this venue. Then on to the exhibit by the Cork Textiles Network at Stroud Subscription Rooms, a good selection of work, in a great bright space.

What I liked about the exhibits is that many of them were in unusual locations, shops such as Millets and Oxfam had installations in their windows and they really made an impact. I felt holding a textiles festival in a town that has such a rich textile heritage was an important part of the impact of the festival too, this would be an important aspect to consider if planning a similar event in the Highlands and Islands, that and somehow making all the venues an accessible distance from one another, with a great map etc to guide visitors from venue to venue.

Pamela and I had pre-booked tickets for a couple of talks in the afternoon – Material Activism by Dr Jessica Hemmings and ‘In Conversation: Contemporary Tapestry’ with Jo Barker and Sara Brennan.

I thoroughly enjoyed the talk by Dr Jessica Hemmings, she really opened my eyes to the range of works being done throughout the world, and how powerful a medium textiles can be to point out injustices and issues that are going on in the world now.

Again it was good to hear about processes and influences from Jo Barker and Sara Brennan – perhaps it would have been more powerful to have this talk staged in the exhibition space so that they could have talked about their work whilst us being amongst it.

That evening we were all invited to attend a supper with fellow exhibitors and Lizzie Walton who organises the festival. This was a good opportunity to chat with makers from other areas in a very relaxed environment – we were sat beside some of the makers from the Cork Textiles Network, it was interesting to hear about their stories, what they made and a little about where they lived. It is so important to have these sort of opportunities to mix with makers in a more social occasion.

Sunday – unfortunately I had to leave early to next day to travel home, but I was left wanting more.

Avril Souter, May 2010

Our makers at Stroud, with Hazel and Pamela

Travelling Makers

From Shetland, Westray, Iona, Lochaber and Inverness, we arrived by trains, ferries, buses, taxis, planes and in some cases, all five!

Organising Highland invasions like this seems to be an integral part of my job and one I relish. By the very nature of our location, we usually work in isolation and although this can be wonderful a lot of the time, sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone and look at the rest of the world. The chance to meet with like minded people, to discuss and plan, inspire and enthuse and then to return home exhausted with a head filled with new ideas, friendships and contacts is essential for those of us who live here.

Our group to attend the Stroud International Textile Festival was such a visit – all makers who were exhibiting as part of this year’s festival plus Hazel Hughson from Shetland Arts, Avril and myself from HI-Arts.

We were also going to see how we could be involved in the festival in coming years and to look at ways we could translate this to the Highlands.

Attending the festival was a great way to get our band of well travelled makers together and then to watch what happens as they realise that they are not alone in their struggles, that they  have all to leave and organise their workshops, families and life. That wherever we live, we have similar needs and demands.

Where the Highland and Islands are different from most of the rest of the country is that we have serious transport issues to address; getting supplies, organising exhibitions, meeting other makers and organisations take on a whole new dimension when you have to deal with ferries,planes, weather and single track roads.

Our Stroud trip confirmed that this is something that people in other parts of the country have really no idea about. I heard one comment at our networking supper that seemed to sum this up, ‘Shetland, is that where they make Harris Tweed?!

Hazel usually takes out her map at this point and then shows the bemused person where Shetland sits in relation to the rest of the country, and when they also realise that the Highlands are a huge area geographically and I tell them that my commute to Inverness is a 5 hour round trip, they get some idea of the scale of the area we cover!

Perhaps this is why our makers work really demonstrates such a sense of place. Looking at our groups work at Made in the Highlands at Made in Stroud you are struck by the way the colours reflect our area, the quality is outstanding and the designs are  contemporary but still retain the essence of our heritage, something that was commented on by so many people.

I hope by taking groups to other areas, our makers go home feeling less isolated and that the places and people they visit have a better understanding of where we come from and what we do. And best of all, I look forward to makers getting back in touch to tell me about their new plans and projects as a result of their trip!

Next week we are off to London and Collect with a new group, so watch this space for my update on that visit!

Pamela

www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk

One of my home made gold finishing tools.

Producing new work is demanding. It requires investment in time, money, focus, inspiration, invention and hard work. The first two of these things, ‘time and money’ are usually in short supply. It is easy enough to ‘buy in’ custom made tool and materials if you have enough money to flash in front of your suppliers, but what if you don’t? Invention is the only way.

Since gold (like) tooling features on my new work, and my usual tool makers have been slow to help with tool stock, I have resorted to making my own gold finishing tools out of brass screws and broom handles. It works a treat and my designs are drawn and hand shaped by me. What a revelation! See picture above.

I always love getting new images sent through to me, whether it is for the crafts newsletter which we send out every month, the online galleries or for Making Progress web pages on the HI-Arts website – it’s great to see examples of makers work from throughout the Highlands and Islands.

We are also putting together a postcard to promote the work of the Making Progress makers in the very near future –  I will be sure to include a copy on these pages for all to see. Keep up to date with all things ‘craft’ by visiting the craft pages on the HI-Arts website and checking into the news section: http://www.hi-arts.co.uk/Crafts/

Tree in a vegetable garden by Paul Scott. Image Richard Batty

Taking Time

Taking the West Highland train home from Edinburgh takes around 6 hours compared to 3 ½ hours in the car. It is a spectacular journey in daylight and one I have done numerous times since childhood but more often I drive because taking 6 hours out of my life somehow seems wasteful. But sometimes you need a train journey to ponder, think and plan!

This week I travelled the journey at night so the views could not distract me and I had precious time to reflect. It seemed appropriate that I had just been to Innovative Craft and the Dovecot studios to view Taking Time: Craft and the Slow Revolution. The exhibition considers how contemporary craft practice embraces similar values to those supported by the Slow Movement. Both think through where things are made and by whom and ask us to slow down, philosophically if not necessarily literally and to reflect on a more thoughtful way of doing things.

The work of the nineteen international makers in the exhibition invites you to question time and to perhaps try to forget about it for a while. Through their work and thinking they offer the chance to interact with and become immersed in time.

As David Gates says in the catalogue to accompany the exhibition ‘..time to think and reflect and to take thoughts on to the next piece, not necessarily slowly but as a mark in a continuum.’

Perhaps here in the Highlands we already embrace many of the values of taking time to make, having time to reflect and the sense and importance of place. Before it had the name of the Slow Movement, I always used to believe that this way of working was crucial to being a maker here! It takes time and commitment to live here, to travel to outside markets and events, to reflect on work and to develop it to a new level and direction. None of this can be hurried and it all happens in its own time.

A word on the work of IC: Innovative Craft and the exhibitions at the Dovecote Studios. Over the past year I have visited many  times and encouraged others to do the same.

I am constantly amazed to be able to see exhibitions of such high calibre in Scotland and value their approach to challenging preconceptions about the boundaries between arts, craft, music and performance.

Showing at the same time as Taking Time is an outstanding show of contemporary silvermaking from Bishoplands, a centre for silversmithing which gives makers the time and space to become true professionals. As well as world renowned makers such as Malcolm Appleby and Adrian Hope the display has work from silversmiths now beginning to establish their careers such as Lin Cheung and Angela Cork.

The breadth and the standard of work is stunning.

So taking time out is important too; taking time to go to see exhibitions, to reflect and to come home inspired and enthused and ready for the next challenge. And taking the slow train can sometime be the best way to get home!

www.innovativecraft.co.uk  www.dovecotstudios.com

www.bishoplands.co.uk       www.craftspace.co.uk

www.takingtime.org              www.tweave.co.uk

The menu bar is right at the top of my screen, which being a Mac, all the tab lines and catagories are on a grey bar which is EXACTLY the same colour as the Northings – My Account . . . etc. bar. No wonder I couldn’t see it  until Sian talked me through it.

Drowning in leather samples, bits of experimental tooling, dying, braiding, fringing, etc. This is all very intense – actually a good thing that I have photos in three weeks and must have the new product ready for that. By the time of the exhibition, I will be totally relaxed! I am using some of the methods of The Artists Way by allowing myself to start the day with creative writing & drawing of new ideas that have germinated during sleep. It is such a challenge to create something totally new! The only reassuring thing is that I can see from the blogging community that there are lots of people out there who are still in love with books. All this I-Tab stuff is so depressing. Will pen and paper really be obsolete? I use it all day, every day, but am I just part of a dwindling minority? Are children who write and draw seen as being backwards by their peers?

Time for some digital Radio 7 to give a backround of fantasy while I play with more paper. Good to see the progress of you other three.

The Orkney Ferry

Orkney has always been a place I hold dear and when we were planning a Makers’ Day that would bring together craftspeople from different areas of the Highlands and Islands I could think of nowhere better to hold it.

With the wonderful Pier Art Centre in Stromness, the range of craft studios, trails and shops as well as the consistently high standard of work, the landscape and heritage, I felt that makers could only go home inspired.

I also wanted makers to realise that location should be no deterrent to making and retailing and indeed, can be used as a selling point and should inspire your creating. The makers in Orkney have long proved this with a first class reputation for work that really takes advantage of the place that is their home.

With makers such as Jenna and Lizza Hume returning back to their roots on Westray (1 ½ hours by ferry from Kirkwall on a calm day) and building an internationally known company that really sells their location, I felt that by speaking with and visiting the islands our makers based in other areas would have no excuse to say that where they stay is holding them back!

Like all good plans, this one grew and we finally ended up with over 50 makers coming from the Highlands, Shetland, the Western Isles -as well as Orkney- to gather at the Pier and then disperse to workshops and shops all over the islands.

The weather proved a challenge as it can often do here, so gales and driving rain added an extra dimension to the ferry and plane travel of many of the participants!

Makers Days are all about networking or rather; catching up, exchanging ideas, making new friends and contacts, developing plans and this one was no exception – the noise level was particularly high and you could feel the buzz and excitement!

Many people work in isolation so events like this really help with connecting you to the wider craft community.
Being a maker in a remote area is essentially a life style choice with many parts making up the whole; family, animals, homes, community all having to fit in with the thing that really drives you -that all essential part that makes you tick and comes from your heart – creating your work.

To be able to do that in a place that is truly Home is a privilege that many aspire to and the lucky ones can realise.
Eoin Leonard put it so well when he talked on the Makers Day, ‘after 27 years doing a so called ‘proper job’, I feel that this is really my first Proper Job and I want to do it for as long as I can!’ No talk of early retirement and pension plans for Eoin and his wife Jane, just the wish that they can continue doing what they love, in their home for as long as they are physically capable.

Lizza Hume said something similar when she recalled a visitor who asked her why there were so many craftspeople in Orkney and they then suggested that perhaps it was because there was no ‘real jobs’here!
The makers we meet are certainly doing real and proper jobs and fitting them in with all the other things that make up their lives in a place that shapes and guides their choices and work.

Many of us in the Highlands know only too well the difficulties and issues we have to face in choosing to live here – travel, weather, isolation to mention three!

After my 2 hours on a stormy ferry followed by 6 hours of night time driving to get home from Orkney, it is something I know only too well!

I love this excerpt from a poem by Andrew Greig, as it seems to sum it all up, especially after spending time in Orkney.

Orkney/This Life

This is where I want to live, close to where the heart gives out, ruined, perfected, an empty arch against the sky
where birds fly through instead of prayers
while in Hoy Sound the ferry’s engines thrum
this life this life this life.

Pamela Conacher
29th September 2009
]]> http://northings.com/2009/09/29/a-proper-job/feed/ 1 http://northings.com/2009/08/05/stitching-together/ http://northings.com/2009/08/05/stitching-together/#comments Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:30:00 +0000 http://hianewpkd

Studio Seven

At the beginning of August I travelled to Stroud on the edge of the Cotswolds to meet with the Director of the highly regarded Stroud International Textile Festival, Lizzi Walton as well as members of several groups in the area.

The landscape is very different from the Highlands but we have a lot in common including issues around rural isolation, strong textile traditions and their makers struggle as ours do to raise the profile of their work, get new audiences and keep inspired.

Their Textile festival is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when a group takes a germ of an idea and runs with it.

Now moving into its fourth year, the festival encompasses an ambitious and inspirational programme of events to do with all things textiles – many of them not as you would imagine! When they first started the festival they got a lot of stick from traditional groups saying – ‘this is not textiles!’ So it has been a struggle to get people to understand that they are trying to demonstrate that textiles are not just textiles as we usually think of them and to engage with new and diverse audiences. This year a member of one of the groups that was upset about the first festival said – ‘I get it now!’

From small but very ambitious beginnings, the festival now attracts over 12,000 visitors from all over the world and transforming this small town over a period of 21days in May with a heady mix of exhibitions, talks, music, performance, residencies, circus, debate and with work from jewellers, basket makers as well as textile makers from woven to printed and everything in-between!

One of the most inventive translations of ‘textiles’ comes from a group of 7 textile artists who have combined their talents as makers to take their work to a new audience through performance. Studio Seven combines textiles, dance and sound and the work is performed in stunning locations from buildings to gardens with each work responding to the location and having an interactive audience participation element. You need to be there to really understand how the journey from a flat pattern to a finished garment can be a transformed into a something so innovative!

The way that this group work together, pool ideas and skills, think creatively and then create an event that is so far reaching in its appeal that it pushes the boundaries of all their combined talents is a real inspiration.

From Stroud, Lizzi took me to visit the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen annual show. Alongside their own show they had a curated exhibition of work from invited makers and artists. This was a wonderful way to combine both inspirational work from new people and work from the guild members. One part of the show really appealed to me – delicious lunches and cakes made by members of the group and served with beautiful ceramics, woven napkins, wooden bowls and interesting staff who really know the work on display – they make it!

The festival, exhibition and the diverse programme demonstrates what can be achieved when you really think about how to get a new audience and how to make your group a success, when you take a small idea and then build on it.

The leadership and vision of Lizzi must go a long way to pulling it all together but the work achieved here left me inspired, enthused and even more determined to ensure that our makers continue to make things happen in our own small part of the country!

Pamela Conacher , 5 August 2009

Links:

www.stroudinternationaltextiles.org.uk

www.studio-seven.net

Saatchi Gallery

I always look forward to visiting Collect – ‘the international art fair for contemporary objects’- in London. For the past 5 years it has been held at the V&A and at the beginning of the year, around the end of January.

There were many positives to this timing and location, not least the fact that when you got tired of looking at contemporary work or just needed a change of scene you could go and wander around the wonderful and inspiring galleries of the V&A and put all you had seen in context – a real pleasure when you have travelled all the way from the Highlands!

But times and needs change and this year the Crafts Council made the decision to relocate Collect to the Saatchi Gallery and to hold the event in mid May. I understand there were several reasons for this, not least the raised profile the event would achieve by taking over the wonderful space at the gallery and to capitalise on the its reputation for showing contemporary international work.

From a practical point of view, May seemed an easier time to visit as I have memories of delayed trains, snow and gales from previous visits – although it was a very inspiring way to set you up for a new year!

So it was with some reservations that I headed to Chelsea on a lovely sunny May morning. It is always takes a while to get your bearings when visiting a show like this and I found the layout and map slightly confusing, however I persevered and wandered through the three floors – my end aim was to find the Craftscotland stand and some friendly faces! As luck would have it they were in the top floor so that meant many flights of stairs and a very hot location for the girls manning the stand. However, I did think that each stand had much more space than before and once you had done your initial recky it was fairly easy to find stands – and the stair climbing keeps you fit! It did not feel as busy as usual but this may well have been due to the layout – I will be interested to see the how the attendance figures and sales compare to previous years.

As well as the 11 Scottish makers represented by Craftscotland, there were 7 shown at the Scottish Gallery and a further 5 with Contemporary Applied Arts, Bishopsland, Electrum and the Lesley Graze Gallery – I am sure this must be a record!

On the Craftscotland stand, I was particularly pleased to see Beth Legg’s new work inspired by her exchange residency in Nova Scotia (organised through the Highland Council). It was also good to see how makers work had developed over the years and how well regarded our makers are. Geoffrey Mann’s work was shortlisted for the Art Fund which was a first for Craftscotland. Tina did a wonderful job organising the stand and I was particularly impressed by the ingenious cabinets she commissioned for displaying jewellery!

However, one of the best parts about Collect is seeing how our work sits on the international stage and also allowing you the opportunity to get an overview of global crafts in one space. A couple of my favourite galleries were missing this year – Australian Contemporary and Ruthin Craft Centre- but there were some new faces like the Craft Council of Ireland National Craft Gallery. There is work from all over the world with Scandinavia having a particularly strong presence especially with showing jewellery.

One thing I always do is to ask myself which work I would love to take home with me and usually it comes down to wood or textiles. This year, I fell for some exquisite bowls created by Christian Burchard turned in Pacific madrone burl, a wood that apparently changes as it dries, finding its own form. Interestingly, Burchard studied Fine Art followed by furniture making then wood turning and was born in Germany but has lived in the USA since 1978. He is represented by Sarah Myerscough Fine Art who specialise in museum quality turned and craved wood by international renowned artists. This includes a favourite from previous years – Philip Moulthrop whose work was also at SOFA.

I then passed the stand showing Danish ceramics – the Cultural Connections CC Gallery- and fell for a beautiful Mediterranean blue coiled bowl by Alev Siesbye. As both pieces were in the thousands of pounds range unfortunately I left empty handed! And I always want a Sara Brennan tapestry!

The show was shorted in length this year too and ran for three days. I was there on the first day so it was difficult to gauge how many sales would be made. Certainly, Craftscotland had several red dots in place already and hopefully the buyers will continue the trend that I noticed at SOFA of purchasing art instead of shares.
So my final thoughts: mixed on the venue as it was confusing and I felt that stands on the top and first floor would not get the same attention as you are confused when you come in and exhausted by the top floor- and I do like going to the V&A and never managed it this time!

A note on the catalogue – this year it is a real coffee table book, bound with fabric, colour co-ordinated pages and stunning images. Something to treasure and worth the £20 to purchase!

The work on show was inspirational and it is so good to see the best contemporary work, to see the different aesthetic for each country and to realise that craft of the highest level is being created by people with a real passion for what they do despite all the obstacles in their way and the constant struggle to have craft recognised as a serious contender in the art world. A show like this reaffirms that Craft really can take its rightful place.

Pamela Conacher
19/5/09

Links:

• Collect

• Crafts Council

• Craftscotland

Frock Coat by Isle of Mull Weavers

In the depth of winter, we planned a Makers Day with An Tobar on Mull.

May would be lovely we agreed, as we battled against snow and gales and thought of spring, sunshine and calm seas! Little did we know that the Highland weather would do us proud, and yesterday we once more faced snow, gales and disrupted ferries!

Not deterred, over 35 makers gathered in the comfortable surroundings of AnTobar and enjoyed a day of good company, delicious food, inspiring stories and enough information to keep everybody planning and thinking for many weeks to come.

Mull has been a popular destination for HI-Arts staff this year. Indeed, if you have not been to Mull enquiries are made to your holiday plans with ‘are you going to Mull then?’ On Thursday both Avril and myself were there, John Saich came along as he is writing a feature for the website and Fiona Fisher just happened to be there on holiday with her parents so, in exchange for her lunch, she helped out – and on the drive in I passed Iain in the Screen Machine!

This group approach obviously worked as participants at the makers day were left in no doubt as to what and who HI-Arts are – and putting faces to names always helps!

Our Makers Days are a great opportunity for people who live in isolation and rarely meet up to do the all important networking – or blethering! I think we will need to extend our lunch break to two hours as the noise level just keeps on rising as people find out what friends and colleagues have been up to. I always think that this is really the essence of what the days are about and love it when people get back and let me know that, without the opportunity, they would never have heard about this exhibition, that supplier and a new retail outlet!

Our Argyll day really was inspirational as our range of speakers brought home what it is to be a maker and live in this area – and why, despite the odds, we keep on doing it!

Two talks by representatives of Art Map Argyll and Cowal Open Studios started the day off on a really positive note and is was so good to see groups using their own initiative and skills to really make a difference with very little outside intervention.

Mhairi Killin’s very moving talk about how her life came full circle and brought her back to weaving silver and metal on Iona was a fitting end to the first half of the day.

A practical workshop about setting up a website from Nicola Henderson followed the very tasty lunch and many participants benefited from hearing about how to successfully sell online.

Alex from Mull Weavers really inspired us all by showing how chance meetings and journeys can lead to great things – and he had us all wanting to save up our money and buy a gorgeous coat made from organic tweed!(please see photo above)

On the ferry back both Avril and I felt that the day was a tremendous success and the combination of wonderful surroundings, positive people- and Mull- was a winner! We will be back – and more than likely for our holidays too!

Pamela
8th May 2009

Links:

• HI Arts craft pages

• An Tobar

• Art map Argyll

• Cowal Open Studios

• Cove Park

• Isle of Mull Weavers

• Mhairi Killin

• Nicola Henderson’s Notes on Online Selling

Norma Morgan with one of her paintings

When I was a girl growing up in Arisaig, a friend of my mothers came to stay. Norma Morgan was an artist from NYC who was on a sabbatical to the UK as she was fascinated by moors and mountains and wanted to spend time painting in the Highlands. As you can imagine, she was an exotic visitor and caused quite a stir in our wee Highland village!

She stayed for about a year and our spare room was turned into her studio – she was one of those people who, on reflection, influence a child’s life and I remember being amazed that a women could live independently by painting and go off and have adventures!

Over the ensuing years she has always kept in contact with my mother and Norma’s Christmas card and letter filled with news about another life in New York is always exciting to receive.

Yesterday I was so delighted to spend time with her again – the first time since I was a 10 year old! We sat in her communal garden under the magnolia tree thousands of miles from the Highlands and reminsced about her year with my family.

She is elderly now but still filled with enthusiasm for life and goes off camping in the mountains (using the same tent she had when she stayed with us!), plays music, paints and exhibits. She has a studio three hours away in Woodstock and visits when she can but has her 98 year old mother to care for so that is not so easy now. In her apartment were many of the paintings and etchings that she created in the Highlands – her work is either in oils and very large or small scale etchings. She does not like to sell her big work but has many pieces in collections all over the world including the V&A and Glasgow Museum.

Norma and her mother live a very simple life and I found the contrast between their apartment filled with paintings in progress and everyday life so different from the apartment that we went to for the reception on Thursday night!

Ethel her mother, is now in wheelchair and nearly blind but had an amazing life as a couturier, milliner and latterly as a writer and singer. Both women seem so happy and content with their lot in life and echoed the words of the Japanese jeweller, Reiko Ishiyama whose studio we visited the previous evening – to be an woman and artist in NYC is great as you can be who you want to here and nobody judges you. Ethel’s parting words to me were to live as long as I could because life is so wonderful!

The visit was such a good way to complete my trip here and perhaps is an example of how international exchanges can have such long lasting benefits and can affect the lives of people in so many ways.

It was lovely for both Norma and myself to see how her decision to come to the Highlands all those years ago had brought me back to see her and how my life had been influenced by seeing how she lived hers and how her life was changed by her time with us. She said she thinks of Arisaig every day of her life.

Pamela
19 April 2009

After being overwhelmed by SOFA on Wednesday evening it was great to return yesterday and actually meet some of the makers and talk to people involved. We still came to the conclusion that the European and Japanese work stands out and when I discussed this with Americans later they said they reckon it is because we have much more support for our makers – the Arts and Crafts Councils, Art schools and generally much more respect for Craft as an art form.

I headed off for a meeting at the American Crafts Council in the afternoon and (after a very scary ride in a yellow cab and a panic about wondering where I was!) was made so welcome by Monica Hampton. She was really impressed by the HI-Arts website and what we do – I gave her a guided tour!

Much discussion followed on ways we could work together and we both felt that this was the beginning of joint working and that there is so much we could both gain by this.

Another quick taxi to change and then a real treat. We had been invited to the home of Bill and Laura Paulson for a reception to find out a bit more about the Pentland School of Crafts.

This was no peanuts and warm white wine event – staff took our coats and we were whisked by lift to their penthouse apartment overlooking the river. Nibbles of mini hamburgers, sushi and other delights awaited us and a home that was unlike any other we had seen.

As we watched the sun go down over the skyline from the roof garden we indeed felt that we would wake up today and think we had dreamt it all! I felt so privileged to get a glimpse of this other world and to speak with people whose life revolves in a completely different way to mine.I have persuaded at least two collectors to come to the Highlands to see what our makers do so I think I earned my wine!

Our final event was a wonderful meal with a group of invited curators and people from the crafts scene. It seemed like our first really proper meal as there were vegetables, fruit and smaller portions. I sat beside a lovely girl whose job it is to go shopping for collectors and buy up new work for them! I have invited her to visit us too and made the rash promise that there would be no midges!

So to today and another hectic schedule beginning with a visit to MAD ( Museum of Art and Design) and discussions with staff followed by studio visits. Tonight is a ‘free’ evening so we are debating where to go – a show, meal..or even just bed and sleep! I will let you know tomorrow!!

Pamela
17 April 2009, New York ]]> http://northings.com/2009/04/17/having-a-dream/feed/ 0 http://northings.com/2009/04/16/pamela-conacher-7/ http://northings.com/2009/04/16/pamela-conacher-7/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:11:00 +0000 http://hianewp0r

Work by an American Maker

Before I went on my travels, my son took it upon himself to organise my MP3 player – alphabetically, by genre and with a special section of music for New York! The one song that keeps playing through my head so far is Leonard Cohen’s ‘First we take Manhattan’…  So – we are doing just that!

After a lunch that left us all with plates that looked like they had not been touched even though we could all eat no more, we set off to explore galleries and exhibitions.

Manhattan is fairly simple to navigate as it is all based on grids (just like Glasgow!) and everything seems to be within walking distance. However, our feet and legs tell us today that we must have walked miles! Some of us went to MOMA and came away overwhelmed by the crowds and have decided to try when it it quieter – I have seen very little sign of a financial downturn here but perhaps that is just where we are situated. Talking with people, they say that instead of shares the wealthy are investing in art works. Indeed there was a rash of red dots appearing on work at SOFA – many in the $40,000 + range!

The SOFA reception was amazing – so many people in incredible clothes and you could nearly smell the wealth. We wandered in a daze clutching champagne and kept being stopped in our tracks by the sheer bad taste, garish colours and size of some of the American work (and many if them had red dots and huge price tags) – it was very difficult to not just concentrate on them! The American aesthetic is so different from the European and indeed Japanese. Our work stood out in with it’s beautifully executed craftsmanship, design and quality. It was hard not to compare a perfect work by Alison Kinnaird at $18,000 dollars with a ceramic figure decorated with wool that had been badly glued on (yes, you heard me right!) by Michael Lucero at $40,000!

However, that was first impressions and we did find some gems in amongst the more obvious work. I am really looking forward to today when we go back to have a proper look, get a guided tour and a chance to talk to people as well as attend some lectures.

After that, I am off to meet Monica Hampton at the American Crafts Council to talk to her about their Searchlight mentoring scheme – amongst other things. Hopefully, I will take away some ideas for our plans! Then it’s on to The Pentland School of Craft Artists Reception at the home of Bill and Laura Paulson followed by our group dinner with invited curators and artists! Luckily the sun is shining and I had a few hours sleep last night!

One really important part of a trip like this is having the opportunity to spend time with colleagues who are as passionate about crafts as you are. The discussions that follow events, the planning of new projects and the sharing of ideas are invaluable and if that involves a trip to the top of the Rockefeller Tower for cocktails all the better! The views last night were stunning and I was fine if I didn’t look down!

Now it’s on to take on today’s experiences! I’ll be reporting back later.

Pamela
16 April 2009, New York