Richard Lamming has been cutting some large pieces for us. He is a master cutter, the phrase “master’ is somewhat over used these days and in this context it is quite correct. Richard Lamming is a true master of his craft.
Category: Craft Thoughts
Habsburg exhibition reveals Holy Roman emperors’ taste in bling | Culture | The Guardian
“Most of the objects have no functional value whatsoever. They’re designed just to be beautiful. “This is a wow show,” said Victoria Avery, keeper of applied arts at the Fitzwilliam.”
Well that resonates with me !
via Habsburg exhibition reveals Holy Roman emperors’ taste in bling | Culture | The Guardian.
Lecture Friday 8th April – York
For visual arts practitioners as part of York Open Studios. Bar Lane Studios @2.30pm.
Enjoy sharing my experiences and the creativity of business with creative souls. It’ll be interesting to see who comes along from York St Johns Uni & York College as well as the makers and artists of York.
Craft Matters
Find some inspiring quotes here from Craft Champions about the value of craft and hosted by the Crafts Council.
This is taken f rom the Craft Matters web site. I particularly like what Grayson Perry had to say…. but I would !
Follow the link sand see what else the great and good have to say and how you can participate in Craft Matters by signing up to say why craft matters to you.
GLASSROOM – Pukeberg Sweden Nov 10
Stephen is off to Sweden for a few days glass making as part if this interesting project info below. Its a heady mix of teams with designers, skilled glass makers working together experimentally.
“Glassroom is a nordic glass project. Our vision is to conform a concerted association for artists and designers and open up a joint hotshop at Pukeberg in 2011. We aim to create a non-traditional movement, which stimulates experiment and development, where craftsmanship serve as a powerful and valued tool. We want to make the glass available for both the creators and the public and strive to be the home of personal, mindblowing glass that leaves room for both reflection and evolution”
for more info see here www.glassroom.se/
info@glassroom.se
fredag 12 november
08-12.30 workshop 3: silent caos
Morgan Persson – studioglasblåsare
Steven Gillies – glasblåsarmästare
Julie Kausland Shirani – elev Kosta Glasskola
Anette Gulbæk – studioglasblåsare
Liselotte Henriksen – formgivare
Wilke Adolfsson – glasblåsarmästare
Lars Hellsten – formgivare/glaskonstnär
Studio Glass at York Art Gallery
Thanks to Helen at York Museums Trust who showed us their collection of early UK studio glass, including works by Pauline Solven, George Elliott and Sam Herman.
So different to studio glass today but still each piece still has a real sense of the excitement of the maker and the a strong sense of integrity within the work. Good to see and handle pieces that are only usually seen in print.
Origin 2010, Craft
The purple walled garden of Craft.
The makers made an excellent show of work, as usual…. sadly for exhibitors and visitors alike the physical conditions, location and context of the show did not enhance the value of the work.
Pity the professional crafts people showing work in these conditions… It’s hard as a crafts person not to be grateful for every one of the few opportunities offered to us by the ‘powers’ that be, but this incarnation of the brand that is ‘Origin’ I believe does the experience and ‘offer’ of professional contemporary craft no service. Oh dear. Do so desperately want it all to be brilliant and represent craft well as a valued, meaningful element within our consumer culture……. much much more to say but will stop there !
Garth Clark – Palace and Cottage
This an inspiring podcast from the American Craft Council Conference in October 2009 “Creating a New Craft Culture”.
Garth sets a cat amongst the ACC pigeons, indeed amongst all long established Craft Instutitions and asks some powerful questions and makes some keen observations.
There too, were many good comments from the floor challenging makers to rethink their role in looking after themselves, and not waiting for ‘mom & pop’ (the established craft institutions) to do it for them.
Perhaps for too long, makers have hoped that their relative councils will somehow help to make life just a bit easier, but in reality for the vast majority, the councils have succeeded in marginalising craft further from main stream consumer culture, abandoning, confusing and undermining a craft language that may have helped people new to craft to connect with its values, creative, cultural, social and economic, and therefore, fewer people have confidently purchased craft
As a maker who works to fill my ‘rice bowl’ as well as working to fund the ‘spirit’ work, Garth Clarks words have a particular resonance.
Have a listen here and many of the other podcasts are also very interesting for those of us interested in the politics of craft and the future of craft.
Thank you Mr Clark.
Stephen Bayley
like very much what Mr Bayley has to say about making things….. but I would !
Crafts Council / Craft Matters
This is the new British Crafts Council initiative to encourage all who have an interest in Crafts in any of it myriad forms, to add their names to the list above at the link to clearly express this.
Rosie Greenlees says in her recent news letter:-
‘Mindful of the run-up to the election, Craft Matters is designed to give everyone who makes or enjoys craft the opportunity to show policy-makers and opinion-formers that craft matters to them. The DCMS’s own Taking Part data tells us that 17% of the population took part in a craft activity in 2008/09. Now, we want to animate that statistic and make it meaningful. Craft Matters is your chance to show that, contrary to the theory that “there are no votes in the arts”, there are thousands of votes in craft alone.”
If you feel inclined please follow the link .
A quick read between the lines and we can all see whats coming for the publically funded Arts & Crafts organisations with either a change of government or the same government.
