As part of the awareness raising and dissemination of the Mary Greg collection artist Sharon Blakey ran two one day masterclasses at Manchester Art Gallery in Dec 09.
As part of the awareness raising and dissemination of the Mary Greg collection artist Sharon Blakey ran two one day masterclasses at Manchester Art Gallery in Dec 09.
I delivered a Mary, Mary themed creative workshop for Engage, National Association for Gallery Education, recently. The stimulating one-day seminar was part of their Professional Development series: Craft, Makers and Making. Ian Middleton, Ofsted HMI and Specialist Advisor for Art, Craft and Design provided a fantastic overview of current education policy and set the context for the days discussions. His report “Drawing Together: Art, Craft and Design in Schools” contains some thought-provoking insights into the way the subject is being taught (or not) in schools today. Essential reading for anyone involved with Craft education whatever the level of delivery. Other presentations from Stuart Shotton of Craftspace and Katy Bevan from the Crafts Council highlighted some of the great work they are doing to engage young people in the crafts and making, ensuring the subjects’ continued relevance in an ever-changing and increasingly digital world.
My session encouraged seminar participants to engage in some creative activity around the Mary Greg project. Liz gave an enthusiastic introduction using the display in the Object Memories Showcase, in the Craft and Design Gallery and whetted everyone’s appetite for the session. The Mary Greg chatelaine was used as a starting point for creative response.
A chatelaine is a nineteenth century item, usually worn by a housekeeper, a wearable ‘tool kit’ containing all sorts of useful objects necessary for going about her everyday business. Hung from a loop usually attached at the waistband it allowed the wearer easy access to things like scissors, thimbles, needles, notebooks, pens etc. Workshop participants were asked to choose an everyday object that they had on their person. Starting with individual questioning, drawing and making, small groups then collaborated to create a ’21st Century Chatelaine’, a contemporary homage not only to the Greg chatelaine but also the objects we use and take for granted on a daily basis. During the practical activity I tried to unravel, what to me are, the fundamental aspects of craft and making, picking out the key elements and transferable skills embedded in a hands on approach to creative thinking. Some examples follow (sorry I can’t show everything).
Not bad for an hours work I think! …And I was ‘Ofsteded’ into the bargain (I hope I passed!).
I have added links to some key websites below for those who want to find out more.
Engage – www.engage.org
Ofsted – www.ofsted.gov.uk
Crafts Council – www.craftscouncil.org.uk
Craftspace – www.craftspace.co.uk
Thanks to all participants. Sharon
Thanks to all participants for the very positive feedback about the masterclasses. Here are some of your comments!
The best thing about today…. clay making… the way the theme progressed and developed through the day…clay….clay making….working with clay… using clay… making things with clay….clay by far….drawing the object in wire and lots of different ways…things being made out of clay!
Something I would like to change…less talking… the beginning was too long…nothing…more time to explore the gallery….longer in the galleries….more lunch time….nothing….a chance to pause and look at each others work in the afternoon session and use this to add fresh ideas…nothing it was great!
I am surprised that…. I made so much…objects so old and tarnished were so valued….ordinary objects can be interesting….what drawing with the wrong hand turns out to look like….I could draw well with my eyes closed…I managed to successfully mould a piece of clay…clay was as easy as it was…today was as enjoyable as it was, I thought it wasn’t going to be good…I can draw better when I do it quickly….my lack of drawing skill didn’t matter…I can draw well with left hand… I wasn’t bored…we did not have to draw with a pencil!
When I leave I am going to….practise drawing with my eyes closed…practise what I have learnt today…go on the website…try to do more of the activities…tell my family about my clay work…show my grandad my art…remember a good drawing is not always the most controlled…spend less time concentrating when drawing as I have realised I can draw interesting things in less time…look at everyday objects in a different way…pursue clay making…look at ordinary objects in a new way….take the message back to school that it is important to build on what the students have done here today!
Any other comments….Excellent day, thanks!…good day hope we do it again….organise another….the chocolate torte from the cafe was really good (I agree!)…..better than expected….Excellent day, thank you to everyone who led and supported the day.
Thanks to all masterclass participants from the team. You made it a rewarding and stimulating couple of days. Hope our paths cross again! Keep scrolling for further posts. Sharon
Thanks to everyone from Highfields for an action packed day. Although smaller in number than the first group you managed to make almost twice as much and I hope your laden boxes survived the trip back to School!
Special thanks go to Stephen and Leanne (hope I got that right!) who tried everything that was thrown at them with an open mind and positive attitude. And of course the accompanying staff who threw themselves into the day with gusto and great creativity! It was a pleasure to meet and work with you all. Here are your best bits.
Hope to see you all at another workshop.
Sharon
A credit to their school, pupils from Biddulph High engaged wholeheartedly with the workshop, producing a fantastic range of work. Particular highlights included the work based on the mobile phone whose owner cited the feelings of loss and sacrifice should he not have access to this particular item and the iPod with poignant comments about the fatality and loneliness felt should this object be lost. There were lots of fantastic drawings, too many to include but a couple worth highlighting are the dolphin key ring and the pen, which captured the essence of the object whilst displaying great verve and vigour!
Particular thanks to those who commented that the talk was a bit long. You were right and I adapted this for the following day and it worked much better! Helpful feedback is always appreciated. Hope we meet again at another workshop, or even at University should your studies bring you my way.
Sharon
As part of the awareness raising and dissemination of the Mary, Mary project I ran two one day masterclasses at Manchester Art Gallery in Dec 09. The day included a handling session of some of the Mary Greg Bygones, a talk about Mary and our project and a clay workshop that explored the value and narrative of ordinary and everyday objects, the sort that if Mary were collecting today, she might have acquired for her bygones.
Participants were asked to choose an object from their pocket or bag as a starting point. Each person was given a luggage tag on which to write the answers to five simple questions: What is the object? How often do you use it? What do you use it for? If you didn’t have it what would be the consequence? Out of a scale of 0 – 10 (10 being high), how important is this object to you? This activity focused attention on the value of familiar artefacts and the role they play in our daily lives (and perhaps gave some insight into Mary’s reasons for collecting the kind of objects she did). It also provided information and key words for use later in the session.
Further interrogation of the objects came through working directly from them via a series of short exercises. These included drawing with stick and ink (with eyes shut, with wrong hand etc) and making wire drawings and cloth templates. The changes in drawing styles and media provided a range of translations. In each, reference to the original object can be traced if not immediately apparent offering an abstract vision rather than a literal copy.
The cloth templates and wire drawings were then rolled into clay leaving a permanent record of the object. Further mark making through letter and number stamps and direct drawing into the clay with sticks allowed the inclusion of some of the key words identified at the outset. The sheets of clay were then cut, formed and pressed into and over simple moulds and formers making bowls, dishes, plaques or tiles, a personal tribute from owner to object.
A final display of the original objects with labels and tributes provided a forum for discussion and the sharing of ideas. A good (albeit tiring) day was had by all and thanks go to the Art Gallery (particularly Jas Sohel) for organising the sessions and the schools (Biddulph High and Highfields School) for being such keen participants. The fruits of their labours can be seen in separate posts! Sharon
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