blog

Interview with Sonya Viney

Wed, 28 Mar 2012 07:43:13 +0100

Can you tell me a little about your work

I use objects that are usually considered rubbish to others and employ many processes to develop ‘found’ mass produced pieces. Everyday containers are transformed; cast in ‘white gold,’ commonly known as porcelain. Often pieces have precious inclusions, which create unique marks in the firing process or are explored in Pâte-de-Verre glass, raku and smoke firing.

I explore the notion of ‘still life’ within ceramics. My work is inspired by multiples and repetition, whether it is an accumulation of everyday objects inside a kitchen cupboard or an ordered display in a museum.

What have you been up to since you graduated from De Montfort University last June?

Following the degree show I was selected to exhibit at New Designers, London. A few weeks later an ambitious plan came to fruition when I was part of a group of seven DMU graduate ceramicists who presented themselves as ‘ De Montfort Emerging Talent’ at Art in Action. The feedback we received from the general public gave us lots of encouragement; we all really enjoyed the experience and the opportunity to talk about our making processes.

I believe you were selected as ‘Young Meteor’ for Lustre, Contemporary Craft Market 2011, what was it like having a stand alongside longstanding makers?

It was really exciting to take part in ‘Lustre’ the building had been newly refurbished and it was a lovely space to exhibit in. The other makers were really supportive and it felt very professional. I was thrilled because I sold a lot of my work during the weekend.

Have there been any other opportunities since leaving university that you’d care to tell us about?

I was involved in The British Ceramics Biennial 2011 (BCB) where I was selected amongst its complement of 40 ‘Fresh’ ceramicists from the last two years. Myself and two other DMU graduates won places to exhibit at ‘Fresh’ at the original Spode factory site last year. Consequentially an image of my work appeared in Craft magazine Sept/Oct2011 in an article by Tristram Hunt who debated the future of Stoke and the ceramic industry.

So what are your plans for 2012?

The year got off to sharp start setting up ‘Designer Crafts’ at The Mall, London in the first week of January.

I’ve agreed to be part of ‘The Collective’ in March at the The Atkins Building in Hinckley, which is becoming an annual event of Design Craft graduates from De Montfort University.

In June, I am exhibiting at Earth and Fire 2012, Rufford and I am currently developing work for my first solo exhibition ‘Fragile’ which will be at the Wallner Gallery Lakeside Arts Centre Nottingham between July and August 2012.

And this week have just received an invitation as part of ‘The Ceramic Collective’ to return to Art in Action this summer, where Rebecca Fraser, Aimee Fisher, Katherine Staples and myself will exhibit and demonstrate making processes in the Ceramics Tent!

It must be very exciting to have a solo exhibition, how did that come about?

Yes, you are right I still can’t believe it! This came about by kind invitation of Lesley Beale Craft Co-ordinator and curator of ‘Lustre’. She felt that my newly developed framed ‘still lifes’ would be suited to Wallner Gallery. This gives me the opportunity to play with the scale of work and at the moment I am planning a large focal still-life as part of the ‘Fragile’ exhibition.

Thank you Sonya for agreeing to be interviewed. Good Luck with all your events this year, and hopefully I will be able to come and see you at a few of them.

The story of the first Corby Open exhibition

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 13:35:38 +0100

The Corby Open is an exhibition that is a long time coming. I moved to Corby in the early 80's just in time for the local bookshop and local woolshop to close. There seemed to be nowhere, apart from W H Smiths to buy anything remotely like art materials. I think this is probably why my own work has developed in the way it has due to the lack of access to materials.

I don't ordinarily apply for Open exhibitions, but at the very last minute I had a change of heart. I like so many other artists in Corby have struggled to find a placement for my craft and to link with the rest of my creative community. This opportunity has brought out so many like minded people, which I never knew existed in my own town. I'm remembering one of John Lennon's songs 'Power to the People'..... how true. I am so glad I decided to submit.

Helen McKay, a local artist was the driving force behind the Corby Open and I wanted to share her story....

How did the Corby Open exhibitions come about?

The Corby Artists Facebook group way back in October 2011 had started a bit of a rant about the Corby Cube's failure to deliver a gallery that artist’s in Corby had been under the impression they were getting. Some people were annoyed they had been let down; others took a more diplomatic approach and examined the reasons why this had happened in an attempt to diffuse the tension.

After numerous comments it was clear that the real problem was not that the Cube had not delivered, but that artists were generally frustrated by the lack of space to show their work locally. This is where I chipped in with the idea that if we wanted it so badly then there was nothing to stop us doing it ourselves. Nothing is handed to you on a plate, especially not in the art world. You have to make your own opportunities. So we tossed the idea around, decided it was a good idea and held a meeting.

At the meeting we discussed what we wanted to achieve, who should do what to make it happen. I agreed to co-ordinate the efforts. We then identified who would select the work, discussed some possible venues and how we could promote it.

Thanks to the people at that meeting a venue was found very soon after and once that had been agreed to there was no going back, the Corby Open 2012 was going ahead!

The first task was to decide what we wanted from our artists and what the outcome of the exhibition should be. From its origin on Facebook it was clear that the outcome needed to be proof that there are large numbers of artists connected to or local to Corby. These included artists who have been showing their work elsewhere or who in some cases had never shown their work because they didn't know where they could do so locally.

It was then important to make sure that a standard was set. I didn't want this to be a show where everyone in Corby who made art could be exhibited; it had to be an exhibition that would stand its own in any gallery anywhere in the country and that local artists could aspire to.

The call for artists went out and I waited for the work to start flooding in.

Did you receive many submissions?

Initially there was only a trickle of entries and I started to worry that perhaps the general opinion was right and that there are no artists in Corby. But I knew they were there, there were 170 people in the Corby Artists Facebook group and I personally knew of at least 15 people so I didn't give up hope that we would get the response we needed.

My initial deadline had been New Years Eve and it soon became apparent that was quite a silly deadline. No one had the energy to fill in my hefty application pack or spend the time reading the terms and conditions, they were too occupied with the festivities. Artists!

So we had an emergency meeting and agreed to extend the deadline. It was felt that it was more important to do it right rather than rush the process.

After a discussion with Natalie at Watch This Space Gallery she suggested we hold a 'show and tell day'. The idea behind it was to encourage those who weren't familiar with applying for exhibitions and the forms you have to fill in to come along and get some help. We held it down at ‘Watch This Space’ from support from Lorraine Dziarkowska and I we took around 10 applications in one morning. Along the way, local paper, The Evening Telegraph had been publicising us and Corby Radio had been featuring us on the voice and word seemed to be slowly but surely creeping out.

Just to make sure my hair turned nice and grey there were a few people that left their application until deadline day or who had to be poked and prodded to apply (naming no names Phiona!) Finally though the deadline came and we had enough work to put on a show.

Did you manage to secure any funding?

We were extremely lucky to have received funding from the Corby Borough Council and Northants Community Foundation. The latter involved a frantic day of running up and down the stairs at Corby Community Arts because we'd only realised we could apply to for funds on deadline day. Thanks to successful funding we had enough money to put on the exhibition and have some money to help some of our artists with limited means to frame their work. That would help us put on a professional show as well as making sure that people with no spare cash weren't excluded from exhibiting.

The selection panel which consisted of me, J Devereux from Corby Borough Council and Lorraine Dziarkowska from Late Developers and CorbyCommunity Arts, sat to decide who fit our criteria. It was actually a heart wrenching experience. Having met some of the artists at the ‘Show and Tell’ day where they shared their passion for art, to then turn some of them down was horrible. But, the aim of the show as I've said was not to cover everyone but to show the high level of excellence in Corby and to do that we had to be a bit ruthless.

Following the selection process, was there much left to do?

From selection time it all gets a bit blurry as things sped up to unprecedented speeds at this point. Here began hours every night at the laptop chasing artist’s agreements, confirming dates, documenting artist's details and writing to do lists. Then there was thinking of floor plans and how best to set out the exhibition and the list went on!

Once this was all organized, I had to concentrate on presenting the space. So armed with tools, emulsion and filler and we were just about to move into the venue and get stuck in when disaster hit. The venue we had secured in October was withdrawn with 4 days to go. I dreaded telling 41 artists that have signed agreements left right and centre with you that you now have to change everything at the 11th hour!!?

How did you cope with this disaster?

Fortunately, all the artists involved in the exhibition are a fabulous bunch and I did not get one whinge about the sudden change of plan. All I received was messages of support and thanks and I'll be honest without it I may have collapsed in a heap and given up!

The search began for a new venue and it was fortuitous that Paula Boulton had been enquiring after the old Corby Library for a long term space for the arts. The timing was perfect and with a bit of bartering and moments of hopelessness followed closely by moments of hope we got the go ahead from Northants County Council to move into the space straight away and hold the Corby Open there!

Only one week behind I had to turn the engine back on and get everyone back on board at short notice. We went up there, got our paintbrushes out and just 4 short days later the space was ready for the work to be hung!!

The volunteers that came along to help were not all artists in the show, we had quite a few that just wanted to help us out and I can't thank them enough for all of their efforts. The team we have had in there have done a truly fantastic job and the old library is now a convincing gallery space.

The catalogue and posters are now printed, the work is hung, the advertising has started, the name tags for the art have been sorted, the much sought after blog will be finished shortly the wine is bought and the cakes are organised so that is the main thing!

So, how are you feeling now it's nearly over?

I am so excited by the exhibition and that is kept me going. And all being well the next step is to keep it permanently, which will mean that the exhibition has achieved its aims and the Corby Artists on Facebook will no longer be frustrated about the lack of space but rather overwhelmed by having suddenly too much of it!

Thank you Helen for sharing your experience of organizing and managing your very first exhibition, may this be the first of many. Roll on Corby Open 2012

The Corby Open will be open to the public from Friday 9th March to Saturday 31st March at what used to be the Corby Library, 9 Queens Sq, Corby. Opening hours are Wednesday to Saturday 11am to 4pm.

Love Letters

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 09:08:22 +0100

Today, I thought I'd share a little of my design process. Back in November of last year when I was at the Christmas Market at the Harley Gallery they asked if I would like to be part of the showcase that was being planning for the New Year entitled 'Love Letters'. They were looking for makers who feature text, handwriting and fonts in their work, so I fitted the bill nicely.

It is always a pleasure to be asked to exhibit my work and it usually sends a chain reaction from my brain to my fingers. The cogs started moving round and the electrodes fired sending idea after idea through my synapses. I decided, as it was so close to Valentine's Day, it would be ideal to use the Eva Collection as a starting point. Call it cliche but roses connect nicely to the feminine and will always be the Victorian token of love.

The Eva Collection takes the rose as an observation of the strong bond between mother and daughter. As a bud my mother nurtured me to full bloom where I flourished, and now I observe my elderly mother as the faded rose seeing her colour dim as the petals wither and gently but gracefully tumble to the floor.

My idea was to still use the rose structure but perhaps change the paper, introduce additional jewellery items such as a necklet, a wristlet and a different style of brooch, perhaps a brooch bar.

Incorporating more textile elements such as crochet and tatting to embellish the paper and make them appear richer, yet retain their feminine qualities. It was whilst down at my mother's house doing yet more sorting I came across some old letters that were written by my brother to an old girlfriend. I loved the idea of using paper with handwriting but I was unsure of the paper quality, it was quite modern and trying to age it purposely would be totally out of the question as it would look contrived.

Once I had the letters in my studio I set to work creating a few roses from the paper. What did I like about them? The blue ink stood out as it danced decoratively across the lined paper forming patterns. If I echoed the colour of the ink by using a very fine tatting thread it might just work to reflect the handwritten patterns. As you can see in the sketch, I have also added a few ruby red beads, these ended up being swarkowski crystals, a word I can never say the same way twice.

Other ideas that came, went or were developed included a crocheted wristlet embellished with tiny crocheted beads, a brooch bar and a rose brooch with tatting and crystals. I think I enjoyed creating the brooch bar as I feel it is almost like a medal or an award celebrating beauty. Now I feel that the brooch bar needs to be developed further........

Interview with Sharyn Dunn

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:23:44 +0100

Tell me about your current body of work?

My current main work is producing interesting and thought provoking lighting, sculptures and wall pieces produced from a mixture of papers and metals.

By using various light sources I am able to display hidden textures and designs often missed when using a simple item such as a piece of paper. Coupling this with repetition and manipulating these shapes leaves me able to produce chandeliers and lights with a different appeal.

I find your work truly stunning, what is your inspiration?

Inspirations come from within the organic forms found in nature and from their constant repetitions producing an array of designs and patterns.

Have you always earned you living by being creative?

Throughout my career I have been involved in various forms of art or craft, and at one stage owned a knitwear company designing and producing garments for high end boutiques and shops in SE England.

Why University?

I started to turn my hand to Interior Design which involved various other crafts I realised a need to “do something more” and decided to consolidate my skills and return to University on a design/crafts course. I felt this would allow me to experience and master various crafts across a selection of disciplines – my favourites being metals, paper and mixed media.

Did you see any major changes following your degree?

Yes, on the completion of my degree the obvious option for me was to work as a self employed designer and maker. Obviously this comprised of many applications to various shows and exhibitions throughout the country, building up a practice and improving and developing my designs. It’s hard work but definitely fulfilling.

So, how did ‘The Collective’ come about?

It soon became clear to me that there were very few opportunities for new designer/makers to exhibit their work within the Midlands and definitely nothing which would show the opportunities a Design Craft course would offer to a prospective student other than the New Designers show in London for graduates.

The idea initially for me to set up the group “The Collective”, was to show the diversity of skills and quality of workmanship we had achieved, and provide another stepping stone for new designers building their careers.

Are there any future plans for 'The Collective'?

The intention for me in the future is to extend our group, and take the exhibition on tour to galleries throughout the country, displaying our skills and showing how the development of a creative group of graduates move on to become accomplished craftsmen in their fields.

What are the details for this year's exhibitions

This year's exhibition will be at Creative Hinckley Gallery, The Atkins Building, Lower Bond Street Hinckley, Leicestershire, LE10 1QU

Monday 26th March to Saturday 5th May 2012

Opening times:- 9.00am to 5.30pm

There are also plans for some workshops whilst the exhibition is running, by Katie Almond, Phiona Richards and Samantha Robinson. Prices £20.00 - £25.00 To book a place please contact Creative Hinckley

Samantha Robinson "Springtime Inspirations" Saturday 31 March

10am to 1pm Make a bead/wire brooch inspired by Easter or Spring
2pm to 4pm Suffold Puff brooches

Phiona Richards "A day of Paper Jewellery" Saturday 7 April

10am to 1pm Paper beads to create a pretty necklace
2pm to 4pm Paper roses to embellish a brooch or hairslide

Katie Almond "Choose Ceramics" Friday 20 April

10am to 12pm Make a ceramic brooch
1pm to 4pm Ceramic beads or tiles

If you'd like to find out more about Sharyn please visit her website. www.sharyndunn.com

Lostock Hall Academy

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:13:04 +0100

At the beginning of January, I made my usual 6 week trek up to Manchester to visit my elderly mother. This visit had a few more added extras a) it was my birthday b) I had a day's work in a school in Preston.

I had a fabulous day, working with year 10 and 11 who were working on their GCSE Art and Design Textile. The girls were great, very keen and produced some lovely work. I feel honoured that a few asked me for my autograph, which I have to say is a first.

Buttons and patches and the cold wind blowing, The days pass quickly when I am sewing.

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:55:11 +0100

I recently made a delightful purchase of some jet buttons. It is something I've been thinking about for a while for some jewellery pieces I have in mind, that and incorporating hooks and eyes (which I explored for a little while at University). They were quite expensive, but compared to what. Whitby Jet is rapidly diminishing and was originally used in mourning jewellery by the Victorians who took the whole occasion of death rather theatrically.

After paying for the beads I waited about 3 days for my package to arrive. I was really excited as it brought back all those lovely feelings as a child when I used to sit in the sewing room and look through the buttons like I was looking through a box of precious jewels. Amongst my treasures I have some beautiful jet and metal shoe buttons which I still have to this day. I carefully took off the brown paper to find a layer of bubble wrap with a blue piece of paper(which has been turned purple by the camera) just underneath, it read:-

Imagine my delight, not only had I purchased a personal collection but it was coming in it's original container. Now, believe me, the temptation here was to rip off the bubblewrap as though I was playing pass the parcel and get to the next layer, but I had no idea what the box was going to be made of tin, card, plastic. I took a deep breath, carefully removed the note from Jessica and peeled back the bubblewrap.

How beautiful. I don't know whether you can see it, I think that Jessica's grandma may have handwritten 'Jet Buttons' on the box. The box itself, an old stockings box must come from either the 50's or 60's. By this time I was wearing a huge grin in anticipation of what my purchase had been all about - the buttons.

What an absolute adventure, the suspense still continued as I noted that the buttons were carefully wrapped in white tissue paper and almost tucked in the box ready for the next delighted participant. I carefully lifted out the bundle and gently peeled back the paper so as not to tear it. Here is what I found:-

I took my time appreciating every single group of buttons as quite a few of them were strung together. I counted 350 buttons in total, what a find, they should keep me busy for a while yet. There was also an odd buckle and an Art Deco bracelet which needs re-threading (I think I might be keeping those) the rest will be absorbed into new jewellery pieces that I am planning for next year.

Creating Ribbon Flowers at the Autumn Centre

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:54:45 +0100

Margaret, one of the ladies in the 50+ group came across these flowers whilst visiting a florist to stock up on supplies. There was a lady doing a demonstration using florist ribbon and a stripper (yes, some of the ladies did giggle at this!). After an investment of said stripper (now I giggle) I set about trying to figure out how they were made as the group agreed that this was something they would all like to have a go at.

I have to say that actually using the ribbon stripping tool is not the easiest tool I've ever come across. It's a combination of strength and manual dexterity. One hand is holding onto the ribbon whilst the other squeezes on the tool and sliding (definitely the wrong word as it makes it sound easier than it is) it across the ribbon. During testing of the tool, I decided that this was definitely not going to be an easy action for the group to perform. I know I like the group to use small motor skills but I think this would a big ask. So it looked like I would have to do the majority of the preparation for this one.

Preparation for this session meant adapting the length of the strips for easy handling and confidence building. Next week I will shorten the strips so they can have a go at some smaller blooms.

One of the first things I always do when I arrive at the Autumn Centre is go round and talk to the members and trying to encourage as many as I can to come and have a go. Of course I have my regulars but I do like make the members feel that can come and join when ever they feel like it. When I presented the flowers to the group and others at the centre, they were delighted. Some who hadn't joined in for a while came along enthusiastically. This is a group I have worked with for about eight years. I have seen the faces change over the years but there is always that keeness to use their hands, to create and share the results..

Their first attempts were absolutely brilliant I'm sure you will agree.

SlickSilver Jewellery

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 07:38:11 +0100

Following my appearance on Kirstie's Handmade Britain last Wednesday, I've been approached by many people wanting to know more about papercrafting or how to get started or more about what I do as a designer/maker. Each email I have answered as fully as possibly, in the hope that they will go on to enjoy their experience of crafting with paper.

Recently I've had a small spurt of enquiries from blogs and magazines, one of which was Val Williams aka @SlickSilverJ from twitter. She suggested a blog collaboration. Now, I don't know about you, but I always see a collaboration as working together. Val sending questions and me sending answers seemed a bit lobsided, so, we've ended up with a double wammy. She's interview me at Slick Silver Jewellery and here's my interview with her. She's also sent me some images of her work so you can see her work in all its' loveliness.

Here goes....

How long have you been creating jewellery for and what got you started?

I would have to say that I've always loved craft and have triend most things, but when I found myself living alone about 5 years ago I knew that I needed to do something to really occupy my mind and so I tried beading. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't enough for me and I felt like I wanted ot be bashing something but maybe that was more to do with the divorce!? Seriously though, I enrolled on a basic metal smithing course and never really looked back. I continued with the small workshop instruction for almost a year and at the end I emerged with wedding rings for my son and daughter in law. At the end of 2008, I started my businesss SilckSilver Jewellery and I feel like I've really found a medium that suits me.

You make jewellery from a variety of metals, which one do you favour the most and perhaps gives you more freedom to create?

I don't tend to use as much copper and brass as I used to, and my work now is dominated by silver and anodised aluminium. Anodised aluminium seems to suit me the most creatively as I can bring in all the elements that really get me excited like texture and colour. I really like challenging myself and the material by pushing it to it's limits jus tto see what effects I can produce. My most recent work combines heavily textured aluminium with silver elements. I think I can safely say that I've used most things for texture!!

Is there a craft that you have always hankered after having a go at?

Over the years, I've tried my hand at most things, but I'm quite disciplined now, because I don't really have the time to get into anything new, HOWEVER, if money and time were not object, I would love to try papercutting. I've seen some very intricate 3D paper cuts and they fascinate me.

Other than your website, is there any other outlets that stock your work.

I sell through my website www.slicksilverjewllery.co.uk, www.love-local.com, www.brightonpod.co.uk, www.wowthankyou.co.uk and www.fromthewilde.co.uk, and from local galleries such as the Brownston Gallery, Artmill Gallery and Cornucopia.

Adventures in Paperland

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:06:17 +0100

Last week I came across a You Tube video which showed you how to make paper yarn. I have to say this is not the first time I have visited this technique but I think it was the drop spindle that put me off. My attempts without the spindle have been so, so, I twist the strip of paper between my figures and it becomes a loose yarn with absolutely no integrity. Interesting none the less.

I would say the last time I researched and experimented with paper yarn was about 2 years ago. I found it frustrating that I couldn't actually do what I wanted to do with it, namely crochet or knit and eventually bought some from PaperPhine, which is absolutely gorgeous.

The way I work when I experiment is to try not to invest in new tools and materials, if possible. No, I look around at what I have and try and re-create something similar. So, after a little research, I found you could make a drop spindle using a pencil with a rubber, a small hook (like those used for the old style net curtain wires) and some corrugated cardboard). I know this sounds a bit like Blue Peter, but yes, these are all things that I have, not necessarily lying around the house there was a trip to the shed as well.

I cut a circular disc in some corrugated cardboard, and small nick in the centre and pushed the pencil through, success. But then when I tried to screw the hook into the rubber it all fell apart. Blast! Back to the drawing board. Again, I cut a circle of card, but this time I used a barbecue stick from a previous workshop which had some wire attached at the top in the form of a loop.

The next challenge was to master the technique. The way the lady in the video demonstrated it was to roll the spindle on her thigh to get it spinning. Mmm it looked way too visually dramatic for my liking and a lot of wasted energy. My technique was to twist the stick at the bottom to get it spinning and bingo I was spinning my first bit of yarn. This attempt was better but a little hit or miss. The spindle wasn't stable enough and I found it was frustrating having to thread the paper strips through the loop at the top.

Looking at the shop bought drop spindles I found they are usually made of wood. This led me to the conclusion that the spindle needed the weight to function effectively.. I needed to duplicate this in some way. So the final spindle was made using an old hard back book cover (very fitting), a piece of wooden dowling and a curtain hook. Success!

First batch was between a 4ply and double knit thickness. So, I had a play using a flower loom. What a wonderful effect it created. Very difficult to work with, snapped a few times. I even stitched it using the yarn. I didn't like the stark whiteness though.

Next batch, I managed to spin a 2ply or size 10 crochet thread. This time I changed the colour of the yarn with coffee to soften it. Once I had spun a small batch, I successfully crocheted with it, although it did snap a couple of times. This doesn't seem to make much of a difference as it doesn't unravel like conventional wool or yarn.

Conclusion: I am happy that I have discovered another way to re-use paper which can be incorporated into my creative toolbox. If I can get it fine enough I would love to attempt to wind it on a shuttle and do some tatting..... time will tell.

Alternative Village Fete

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 08:58:23 +0100

Yesterday, outside the National Theatre, under the shelter of a Tee Pee I was showing children and adults how to make traditional windmills and origami windmill pin badges. This event brings together a selection of artists that offer whimsical creations to buy or make, performances from another era or food you may not have tasted before.

Unfortunately, because I was so busy, I didn't get to see much. Although I did manage to peep my head out once and see some dancers performing the jitter bug. Thanks to my mother I know a lot of the music from that era, so at one point I was singing and jigging along to the sounds on offer. Surprisingly, no-one batted an eye (not that it would have stopped me anyway)