Category Archives: Design

Edward Teasdale

21 July 2012

4 Comments

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I’m excited this week to show work and thoughts from UK furniture designer and maker Edward Teasdale.

Edward Teasdale appeared on the UK Crafts scene in the 1980’s. He worked as a furniture designer in industry, a maker and later a teacher, before once again establishing his own workshop in the Lake District, from which he now works, creating pieces for exhibit in selected galleries and for individual clients and collectors.

Elemental and enigmatic, with the intense energy of a rising wave, something alive hums from the pieces below.

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“Like every other maker my choices of material and process are not arbitrary but conditional on careful thought and experience, subject to practical and value judgements. So too with stylistic preferences where my personal aesthetic is probably more immediately connected to local conditions and a long term bond with the natural landscape, particularly the history and characteristics of the Lakes area of Cumbria. Here, the objects of my surroundings; mountains, moors, estuaries and lakes have a pervading and affecting elemental presence, particularly when experienced in what some call inclement weather. Everywhere in the landscape there are indicators of life; in natural light, wind, water and woodlands, in the mellowing influence of time and weather, in the simple disciplined human interventions to contain and control and in the value in striking a balance between the natural and man-made.”

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“Salvaged painted wood is a waste product of urban renewal and unlike the natural unfinished wood varies a great deal in visual character. Collecting and responding to this material is a new situation every time and involves a more conscious image building process, making each coloured piece of furniture more unexpected and unrepeatable.”

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From the beginning, Edward made “small consciously modest crafted objects comprising a basic utility and somewhat rough hewn appearance”, using found woods.

“I was determined to adopt a light touch approach in terms of production (small, basic, ethical) and make modest things that communicated my thoughts, values and visual ideas, but were also very practical.”

His relationship with wood began much earlier than this, he remembers:

“I loved climbing into trees when I was young and with school friends built shelters every summer out of natural materials in the woods around my home in the Lake District.

“I progressed from whittling bows, arrows and fishing rods (out of Hazel and Yew) to making sledges, bogies and rafts out of reclaimed materials using my fathers hand tools.

“Without noticing I must have developed a real interest in wood, as well as some skills in designing and making things. Now I appreciate that it’s the cleanness, and the visual and tactile warmth of wood, coupled with its versatility as a practical and aesthetic medium that appeals to me.

“I love the smell of wood, its density, its bulk, its texture, and the variety of types and surfaces available. I do however like to think of it, and work it, as a non-precious material.”

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“In construction terms my objects have the same economy as country fences, gates and stiles (not self consciously detailed or elaborated in design or craft terms). I use locally available found materials; especially those that already have worn and naturally aged surfaces. I stick to basic furniture requirements (storage box, seating bench, table surface)”

“I have tried to break with certain practices in my field choosing not to use exotic, plundered and endangered woods and not to use complex high consumption production processes. The finishes created do not aim for the perfectly controlled appearance of machined materials and production but retain much of the rawness and weathering of the reclaimed material used.”

“It is the quality of what I can achieve rather than the quality of what I use that matters most to me.”

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“Interacting with the physical world has always been central to my life. The natural landscape and built environment inspire me equally but consideration of such things as Art, Sculpture, Architecture and Environmentalism have all played their part in forming my work.

One of my original motivations was to capture something of the qualities of traditional rural buildings that (very naturally) meet essential needs through building by hand with local materials.

The character of my work is now well established, new ideas are inspired by the materials I find or client needs and from sketches and scaled drawings I make the work entirely myself in a small garden workshop.”

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All finished pieces are marked (usually centrally on the underside of the bottom) with a 2 digit date stamp e.g. 93 and a separate stamp in the form of a leaf. Most pieces are in private homes and collections in the UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand but examples are also in the possession of the British Council, Arts Council of Great Britain, Usher Gallery Lincoln, UK.

You can read more about Edward on his site here.

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Jeff Soan – Wooden Creatures

14 July 2012

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I couldn’t make it to see wood sculptor Jeff Soan’s latest exhibitions, and so he very kindly sent me this little fish, to give me more of an idea of how his work moves in the flesh. As he said, it is “part of the pleasure”.

I know that I am always getting very excitable about the work that I feature here – that’s not only because I only choose to write about things that do genuinely interest me, but also because these really are, in my opinion, something very special.

Made from ash, this little fish sits lightly in my palm, and with each movement of my hand, it bends and moves as if it is alive. Each little cut into the wood is so precise, the design so perfect and true. The finish is truly lovely, a mix of scarred and darkened wood, bright shimmering greens and polished amber hues.

Jeff says that he prefers to use spray paint to decorate these fish – applied through, of all things, fishnet tights – a happy discovery one day when looking for a perfect way to mimic the texture of fish scales.

He follows the arrangement of the annual rings in the wood, finding beautiful curves and circles which form part of the design.

“I go with the wood, I want to enhance what it is saying already”

Patterns and natural forms are then brought to life by tried and tested combinations of torching, digging in, spraying and sanding, until the desired effects are reached. Torching the wood not only gives a beautiful dark sheen, but lends the piece an extra special sensory value, as it smells so beautifully of wood smoke! Jeff also says that as the wood is torched, it naturally forms into scales, the pattern deepens in.

This little fish sparkles like real scales do, in the light.

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By cutting the wood into narrow sections, and securing it to canvas, Jeff enables the most amazing movement into his creatures.

These beautiful seals, one of his most popular creations, will curl and move to your touch, gazing up at you in such a soft eyed, lifelike way that it’s almost unnerving!

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I have to smile a little that this Border Terrier is made of Douglas Fir. Jeff has made crocodiles from this wood too, as he likes the “reptilian texture”. Hammered, scraped and gouged, it certainly gives a pleasingly furry impression to this little dog, with a really “muzzley” muzzle. (Yes I made up that word.)

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“I love O-Matic’s!”, says Jeff, describing this dear little automata. It puts me in mind of some of the inventions finding their way out of Wallace and Gromit’s workshop. He cites Heath Robinson, “..although my mechanisms are rather the opposite of complex.”

As you move the handle, the dog moves and wiggles, wagging its tail. It was, as Jeff describes, “a bit of a disaster really.. I am rubbish at automata”. But I think that its clunky nature and slight aura of embarrassment is totally part of the charm.

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Jeff prefers to work with reclaimed wood. He tries to use every part of it, so that for example, he says “the offcut portion of a fishes tail may form the breast of a bird.”  He says that he particularly enjoys working with partially rotted wood, which, once microwaved and cleaned to stop the rot and remove any hidden residents, gives way to wonderful naturally formed raised areas, textures, and colours.

He rarely uses traditional tools, preferring to make use of many usual and unusual implements in his self titled pursuit of “wood butchery”. Rotary carving tools, blowtorches, wire brushes and even meat tenderisers are some of his preferred items to hand.

“I’ve got used to power” he says, talking of his tools, and, with a certain mix of both guilt and pride, “I abuse wood horribly”.

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Recently, Jeff was given some of the original timber from the Cutty Sark, and asked to make creatures that would have been found on and around the ship.

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The lovely Collie above is made from oak, and the collar made from the original hull planking. He is modelled on the dog kept by the aptly named Captain Woodget, who sailed the Cutty Sark during her most successful period of service in 1885. Captain Woodget sounds like a fascinating character, who Jeff tells me was known for his habit of roller skating on deck!

The powdery, matt black finish is achieved by painting with an iron solution, which creates a really natural looking colour that is actually created in the fibres of the wood, rather than sitting on top. This is painted or sprayed in. I love the effect.

This, other animals, and even a small automata of the ship, made from offcuts from a mixture of timbers, will be on display at the re-launch.

I asked him what inspires him to continue to work in wood in this way. He answered, “I don’t really know why I keep doing this..sometimes I just think, what’s the point, so what?” But then he tumbles into an excited run of sentences about this experiment and that, new techniques he has learned, new things that fascinate him, and it is obvious that this is still a love to him, these are not just run of the mill offerings..I think this is immediately evident in the objects themselves, which fizz with energy and life – this is true passion, and true, grown skill, from a real craftsman.

You can find Jeff’s website and blog here.

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Holly Berry – Woven Code

12 July 2012

4 Comments

I was really taken by these little squares of woven morse code when I first came across them. As a child I remember being fascinated by this secret language. Weaver Holly Berry has managed to capture some of this quiet mystery, and woven it into something very lovely indeed. Different on each side of the cloth, her blankets and scarves hide secret messages, stories and memories, that can be passed down for generations.

Holly’s larger blankets are woven in a 250 year old mill in Scotland and spell the word ‘LOVE’ throughout them in Morse-code. Her scarves and wraps are woven by hand in her South London studio. Holly can also make something to a bespoke design – tell her the message or story that you want to be hidden in the blanket, and she will make it for you.

I think this is such a fascinating idea – I love the thought of creating something which contains maybe an important family story, or a private message of love, to be kept and remembered.

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This mix of art and function makes these blankets really special I feel. There is a celebration of craft and traditional practice, but which also encompasses the new world, and our love for storytelling and a sense of value.

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“My luxury woven cloths, accessories and blankets are to be used everywhere and anywhere, inside and out, providing the warmth of wrapping yourself up in a protective and decorative layer, and enriching your experience with colour, warmth and love. I wish to create heirlooms that capture memories and stories and encourage an emotive connection between textile and owner.

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I’m always fascinated by where people get their inspiration – Holly seems to find it all over the place – the inspirations gallery on her blog shows a wide variety of sources and starting points, from chalk drawn pavements to note book sketches and piles of old fish crates – colours of skies, slates, and powdery sweets..acidic yellows and oranges adding an edge..there’s a sense of both the urban and the natural world, woven into one..and still that great feeling that always inspires me, of something that has taken time, thought, and a human hand to create.

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You can read more about Holly and her work on her website and blog –

www.hollyberryprojects.com.

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Emily Sutton

1 July 2012

4 Comments

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This week, I thought I’d share some of the great work created at the hand of illustrator and maker Emily Sutton.

Emily’s printed work incorporates lino cut and screen printing to create memorable images using a bold, “then and now” type of colouring, filled with incredible detail and a lively imagination.

Inspired by folk art of all kinds, Emily is also influenced by 20th century illustrators such as Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious, and the American lithographed children’s books of a similar era.

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Emily uses her illustrative eye in 3D form too, incorporating her love for pattern and detail into these quirky and unusual wooden objects, inspired in part by the weird and the wonderful found in museums and antique shops.

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How about a shoal of fish?

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And how about these fabric birds? I love how she has managed to apply an illustrative effect here, giving some wonderful detail.

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Emily is currently working on illustrations for her own children’s book as well as producing work for various exhibitions- see the “Shows etc” link on her site for details.

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Sandra Crisp

28 June 2012

6 Comments

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 Sandra Crisp was born in Cheshire, UK and studied at Chester College of Art.  She earned a BA (Hons) Graphic Design from Leeds Polytechnic graduating in 1989 and received her MA Fine art printmaking from Wimbledon School of Art in 1993.  She has exhibited widely, both nationally and internationally, and taught printmaking and digital media in various London colleges.

Through Sandra’s work, you are taken on an almost breathtaking ride of memory, information, design, print and line, captured in fantastic layered detail. Exciting, fresh and invigorating, with a beguiling dark edge..

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Cloudseeders (The Bigger Picture) 2007, etching and chine colle, 56 cm x 72 cm

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In Sandra’s words..

 “The printmaking techniques I use include photo etching, chine colle (collage) and aquatint with some hard ground drawing in some of the prints. In order to make a photo etching, the artwork has to be transferred onto clear film or acetate (images on paper can also be made transparent using ordinary vegetable oil)  I use a photocopier to do this and increase the darkness of the copies so that the dark areas will block out the light effectively, ready for when the image is later transferred to etching plate using light sensitive emulsion and an ultra violet (UV) exposure unit or light box. The artwork is designed using collage techniques and drawing (using just a mouse) within graphics software before transferring the images to zinc plate.

By making the black and mid-tones of an image darker with the copier a lot of the detail is intentionally lost thus creating a version of the image that automatically appears aged or archival. This is further developed by fairly random biting techniques such as open biting when the plate is left in the acid to bite textures into the image. Also, I think the process of etching is very seductive and a bit retro-looking as it is historically a pretty old technique dating back several centuries. There is something very human about the way this technique can record traces or decisions made over time, permanently etched into the surface of the metal plate. My intention for the Cloudseeder and Zipper series being that the prints appear to be eroded found fragments or historic records, but really the imagery is entirely contemporary in terms of subject matter; connecting it to the ‘here and now’

It is really not my idea to create a sense of nostalgia in terms of yearning for the past in the prints, I am far too fascinated by the present tense for that. But the image of the crowd moving around in Xerocodes (‘Xero’ refers to ‘Xerox’ in terms of the photocopy process described above) has a slightly nostalgic feel, like an old movie. I chose to use it because it sets up an odd narrative: Where are the people going/have just arrived from, and why?

I always have quite specific reasons for selecting images, I hope to raise a questioning within this but don’t expect the viewer to decipher all my clues in order to understand the image! For example, a ‘Cloudseeder’ is a futuristic prototype from a BBC TV documentary Five Ways to Save the World’ . The film examines engineering design prototypes designed to deal with climate change, such as Cloudseeders; ocean-going craft spraying fine water particles into the atmosphere –  creating artificial clouds to protect the Earth from the fierce heat of the Sun’s rays.  Recycled and redrawn visuals from the film have resurfaced repeatedly across several series of work including a large format digital print entitled 5Ways to Save…,  and Diagram of an Artificial Tree 2009-11. Also previous etching series Cloudseeder and Zipper Series 2006. Most of the other imagery is based upon an article about a zip factory in China…

The multi-plate prints in the Cloudseeder and Zipper series are loosely based on the look of a newspaper page, or webpage where different images or text appear close to one another, lined up in sequences to give the look of an organic page layout- but they do not really make any sense, like disjointed stories, columns and paragraphs  broken away.”

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Cloudseeders (5 Ways to Save the World) 2007, etching and chine colle, 28 cm x 28 cm

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Xerocodes iiv, 2001, 56 cm x 76 cm

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 “Today, information continually bombards us – we spend a lot of time in an ‘information cloud’ via the Internet, smart phones, social networking, blogs etc. Everything is digital and fast, demanding equal attention but most of the time all we can really do is scan all this detail briefly and hope that nothing important gets missed: So much information scrolling by, but which to choose?

“I find, collect, redraw and archive visuals from different sources such as the Internet and scanned media cuttings then recycle and combine these with my own materials such as photos and drawings. Visuals elements from both sources are layered together often over long periods of time. This contemplative process intends to slow down the rapid stream of information – to discover what is meaningful; I sift, collate and edit until new connections between different materials emerge. Visuals are captured from the information deluge ‘out there’ which are then processed subjectively through my own thought process, transforming them into something new.  I suppose I am questioning in what ways we are unavoidably affected by this sea of information and how such complexity may be represented or processed in order to create something meaningful or even personal from all this….”

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Soft Terrain3

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“The digital piece ‘ SoftTerrain3’ continues the digital work started around 2001; this became a natural progression as I was already processing a lot of my printmaking visuals through digital techniques; I now found that I could concentrate purely on the digital work to develop my ideas in entirely new directions. Soft Terrain 3 is created using many layers which were recombined repeatedly until I arrived at the look I wanted. It is a very large image file: 110 cm x 100 cm at 300 dpi resolution so a lot of embedded detail only really appears when the piece finally emerges from the large format printer (This detail is not really visible on a webpage unfortunately). The density and saturation of complex detail contained within the image is also determined by this huge file size. The idea being to create a subtle sense of visual overload using many layers which appear to be in a constant state of flux; a map that is constantly transforming over time.”

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Diagram of an Artifical Tree 2009-2011

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Slowboat with Lines

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Cutout Map

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“pile-up, thumbnail images & map fragments

(thinking about) cascading / compression of information, transient

one reading rapidly obscured by the next…

disrupted

becoming like noise, but urban visuals still there (just)”

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There is a wealth of further work and ideas, including Sandra’s recent project which creates a 3d map elevation of the city of London, set to an audio track – for this and more visit her website and blog here.
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Rupert Blanchard – Salvager, Designer, Maker

24 June 2012

2 Comments

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I’ve been following designer/maker Rupert Blanchard’s work since first seeing a cabinet of his at Elemental in London.

Rupert spends many of his days salvaging hundreds of drawers, doors, fittings and fixtures from second-hand furniture dealers, car boot sellers, market stall holders and waste clearance companies, before finding the right combination to construct a new piece of furniture. He works and lives in his London studio –  originally part of the Shoreditch Police Station, and more recently a furniture factory.

What I like particularly is the warm way that he describes the items that he finds and makes new homes for..

“I’ve collected cardboard boxes for many years now, nicely worn warm brown cardboard with bright graphic prints. mostly from dusty attic spaces via car boot sales, stuffed with unwanted possessions.”

I can relate in some small way to his collecting obsession. In my second year at art college I found myself filling an entire old wardrobe shelf with old matchboxes, just because I liked how they looked, and thought I may use them some day. I’ve collected old bike chains, cogs, and rusty metal in the same way.

But Rupert takes it to a whole new level..and makes such new beauty from these old things.

I have no idea where he keeps them all…

 “A small selection from my collection of over 300 boxes have made their way into the new furniture collection.” 

Where does a person store over 300 cardboard boxes??

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Apart from simply loving the look, and admiring the artful way that Rupert has reconstructed each piece, the whole idea completely appeals to my romantic and nostalgic tendencies. It’s impossible not to let your mind run about when looking at these collections. Where have those drawers been, touched by whose hands? What made that mark, that scratch? Every drawer and tiny lock has its own story to tell. They are like little lost children, found a new home, and given a long hot bath and a new pair of shoes.

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The colours and shapes are well chosen too. I love the contrast between the handles here –  flat and thin, soft and round, and the long, lippy ones – mouths with an overbite. You get the feeling that this is a very considered collection, but it doesn’t feel too precious either. I’d love to see this kind of approach used on a larger scale, in a kitchen design for example.

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“I select items that would often be disposed of without a second thought.  Every item has its own tale to tell as I prolong its history and preserve its future.”

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Here Rupert makes use of vintage enamelled advertising signs, damaged and no longer appealing to collectors. I think of the streets these signs graced; the lives passing them by, the designs giving hints of their era. On the top sit reclaimed school laboratory work tops, refinished but still visibly used. Quietly holding a stolen moment in history. Who knows which bored or inspired student has leaned their arms on top of them, with their test tubes and bottles of acid..it could even have been me or you.

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You get the feeling that these pieces have a little giggle to themselves every now and then when no-one is looking.

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I can see why Rupert is compelled to make these things sing again.

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You can read and see more about him on his website –

www.stylingandsalvage.com.

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Fabulous Folk from The Contemporary Craft Festival, Bovey Tracey

20 June 2012

9 Comments

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I only had a few hours last Saturday to visit the Contemporary Craft Festival at Bovey Tracey, but what a fantastic few hours it was. The work and people that I met there exceeded my expectations; originality, commitment and skill on every corner.

My visit further confirmed to me a love for work made by hand. Work that takes time. A spoon carved through the hours from a single piece of wood, a pot formed with clay collected on the hillsides, a lampshade decorated with wrap after wrap of a single piece of thread, tucked gently into the other side. These skills and actions have value, meaning and feel..

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JULIA JOWETT

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Julia was one of the first people that I met on Saturday, in the “one year on” tent, showcasing artists and craftspeople who were one year into their new businesses.

Julia works dense hand embroidery into metal gauzes and figuratively manipulated wire lines, before combining them with drawing and screen printing onto fabric and paper. This combination of sculpture and drawn elements, sometimes also incorporating words and phrases, made for a really engaging series of work that I was really drawn into. Each one feels a little like a keepsake box, a collection of memories or stories.

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ADAM BUICK

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 Something wonderfully quiet, natural and peaceful sang out from Adam’s space in the corner of the tent, through the surrounding crowds. I felt a strong sense of the sea and the landscape, something very close to nature. I later learned that Adam lives and works by the coast in West Wales.

 “I incorporate stone and locally dug clay into my work to create a narrative, one that conveys a unique sense of place.. Landscapes have inspired artists for generations but for me a landscape has to be felt.”

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Adam has been recently involved in a self directed project entitled “Earth to Earth” . He placed an unfired clay jar onto a coastal hill at Carn Treliwyd, Pembrokeshire, Wales, and recorded its gradual weathering away to the environment as a series of photographs, one taken every 33 seconds. On his blog he makes comparisons to his process of firing in the studio, to the effects of the weather on his work. As he says “I am still committing the jar to the elements, air and water instead of fire, and there is still a transformation.”

The end result is a moving and dreamlike time lapse film, showing not only the gradual disintegration of the jar, but the changing wild landscape, sea, movement of animals, and the sky and stars.

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JANE BLEASE

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A warm and Autumnal hued space welcomed me in to Jane’s beautifully arranged collection of handmade lampshades, framed pictures, bookmarks and jewellery.

I was really taken by the absolute precision and care it must take to wrap each single piece of thread round and through the wood burned holes that decorate each handcrafted piece that she works on. The shades give a beautifully warm light, and are totally unique.

Jane is based in her studio/shop at The Manchester Craft and Design Centre. You can also see more and buy her work from her website here.

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CLAIRE ARMITAGE

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Claire’s fantastic energy buzzed all about her space as I stepped in to admire her collection of handmade silk scarves. She was dressed beautifully in her own handmade dress from her own line. Once I looked more closely at the designs on each scarf, I was struck by their intricacy and individuality. Each piece of work is finished with delicately layered edgings and hand-embroidered details, and each one seems to tell some story, of the sea, the landscape and environment. They are truly original and stunningly beautiful – you really have to see them in real life to truly appreciate them.

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Claire designs and hand prints her scarves and dresses, plus undertakes work as a costume designer and illustrator from her birthplace in Cornwall. You can visit her site here.

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NIC WEBB

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I really enjoyed the feeling of slow moving time and focus that seemed to fall from the displays of Nic’s hand carved pieces. There was a quiet honour to the space, filled with carefully arranged displays of hand carved, traditionally made spoons, ladles and bowls.

I love that each spoon, each bowl that he creates is slightly different, and is worked with the wood not against it, enhancing each grain and knot and forming it into something original and full of spirit and life.

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You can visit Nic’s site here.

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I hope that I have shared with you a little of the warmth and originality that I found at Bovey Tracey. I very much encourage you to visit – you can read more about upcoming festivals here.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to let me into their space and take photographs.

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Colour Bright

15 June 2012

6 Comments

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Well, if your weather has been anything like it has been here for the past two weeks, you might be growing a little sick of the colour Grey..I certainly am, and so have been comforting myself with a search for something brighter.

Here are some of my visual cures for the “Supposed to be Summer but Feels like Winter” Blues..and if you’re having a beautiful hot sunny day where you are, enjoy!

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The creation of textile designer Lorna Syson, these fabric wall flowers would add interest and colour to any room. Lorna says that her inspiration comes from the British countryside, particularly in the Springtime. Her original flowers were based on Dahlia’s that she saw growing at the Eden project in Cornwall, and all of the designs since have their roots in countryside walks and being outside. These flowers can be bought ready made, or bespoke from 20cm upwards in a huge variety of colours, and are easily nailed to the wall using the back petals. Add a little Spring to your wall!

The cushions are fabulous too, and made from a really interesting fabric, being 75% wool and 25% stinging nettles, all sourced and manufactured organically. Huggable, bright, and cheerily good.

Visit Lorna’s site here.

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I found it really difficult to pick which pieces to feature from the work of Ceramic artist Myung Nam An (above). I find these, from her “Eyes” collection, completely unique and fascinating. I like the fact that they reference certain forms, but still remain totally open to individual interpretation. Some are a little like alien life forms, or strange wonders found in the deep seas, giving you a peep before crawling away on suckered feet..some are fun, like childhood sweets, or quirky ladies hats at the races. Working individually or as a group, it would be hard to choose.

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Hello! Such a cute little owl print from Peris & Corr – an organic textile printing company from North Wales.

Peris & Corr offer a water-based screen-printing service and can print onto t-Shirts, tote bags, babies clothes and more. They also design and make their own range of handmade textile products and greeting cards. You can read a little more about their printing processes and see the prints being made on their blog too.

I also particularly liked these Welsh blanket lampshade designs. Bright and lovely.

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Lastly, but by no means leastly, these fantastic coat hooks, made from vintage 1930s wooden shoe lasts really brought a smile to my face..

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I found these at White Dove & Wonder, a company run by art and antiques dealer Susan Gaston and her husband Jimmy.

Grown from an impulse purchase of a collection of vintage Northamptonshire made shoe lasts, Susan and Jimmy began to see many interesting and attractive uses for these discarded items.

They both come up with the designs together, and then Jimmy painstakingly restores each shoe last before hand-making each piece using natural wood.

(I don’t think the doggy comes with the coat hook, but I’d take him home happily too 🙂 )

That’s it for now, I hope you have a bright and sunny day, wherever you are.

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Joseph Cornell

1 June 2012

8 Comments

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Assemblage boxes by American artist, collagist, and filmmaker Joseph Cornell.

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Tilly Losch
c. 1935

 Construction, 10 x 9 1/4 x 2 1/8 in; Collection Mr. and Mrs. E. A. Bergman, Chicago

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Object (Roses des Vents)
1942-53

 Construction, 2 5/8 x 21 1/4 x 10 3/8 in; The Museum of Modern Art, New York

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Untitled (The Hotel Eden)
c. 1945

 Construction, 15 1/8 x 15 3/4 x 4 3/4 in; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

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Untitled (Medici Prince)
c. 1952

Construction, 15 1/2 x 11 1/2 x 5 in; Collection Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Shapiro, Oak Park, IL

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Toward the Blue Peninsula
1951-52

Construction, 10 5/8 x 14 15/16 x 3 15/16 in; Collection Daniel Varenne, Geneva

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I find Joseph Cornell such an intriguing character.  Self taught, he was one of the pioneers and most celebrated exponents of assemblage. I am in love with his sense of symmetry, both in design and colour. There is something very calming about the exactness of these boxes. Everything just fits, it works. Each square is where it is born to be, each shape leads you to the next, creating a great journey for the eye to dream upon. There are stories and surprises in every box, offering small places of contemplation and inspiration that celebrate the unique in the commonplace.

I have always been fascinated by miniature worlds, looking into something and finding a million other little scenes and universes. These give me that feeling, like gazing into a deep rockpool and imagining yourself grown tiny and swimming inside. You cannot help but try to formulate connections between the objects here, to uncover meaning and create stories.

Cornell was a passionate collector – books, prints, postcards, and printed and three-dimensional ephemera all found their way into his life and work. He was also continually keeping notes and diaries, exploring ideas and carrying out “explorations” where he would conduct research, collect material and compile extensive files on individuals or topics of interest to him. These became thought of as artworks in themselves.

There is a fascinating collection of his papers, correspondance and diaries, along with a biography, at the Archives of American Art website here. See some more of his works here.

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Alison Britton

24 May 2012

2 Comments

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Alison Britton, ‘Influx’ (2012)

photo © Philip Sayer courtesy of Marsden Woo Gallery

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Alison Britton, ‘Tall Scrawl’ (2009) ceramic

photo © Philip Sayer courtesy of Marsden Woo Gallery

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Alison Britton, ‘Cave’ (2012)

photo © Philip Sayer courtesy of Marsden Woo Gallery

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Alison Britton, ‘Runnell’ (2012)

photo © Philip Sayer courtesy of Marsden Woo Gallery

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Alison Britton, ‘Standing and Running’, installation shot 2012

© Philip Sayer courtesy of Marsden Woo Gallery

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Alison Britton is part of the generation of innovative British ceramicists that emerged during the 1970s, whose work laid the foundations for what became known as ‘The New Ceramics’. She studied at the Central School of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art, and is highly regarded as a writer, curator and lecturer, as well as a ceramicist. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and can be seen in major public and private collections worldwide,including the V&A, London, Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, and Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. She was awarded an OBE in 1990 for her services to the applied arts, and is a senior tutor at the RCA.

Confidently standing as part sculpture, part painting, part domestic vessel, this work states its presence in a firm tone in Alison’s most recent show, “Standing and Running”, at The Marsden Woo Gallery in London.

Alison works in an interesting way, by rolling out the clay and working on it as if it were a painting, applying various slip colours and designs, before using that design to suggest a final form. To me this helps to lend an unrestrained energy  – they are freed from the wheel. There’s an almost jazz-like sense of an improvised, “lets see what happens” spirit, within the framework of something structured and considered, and slightly hard to get inside of.

On reading some of the many words that have been written about Alison Britton’s work, the constantly returning theme is the vain attempt to be able to classify it. This is perhaps the mark of a true original, authoritatively embracing both art and craft, function and form, the abstract and the actual.

The Frank Lloyd Gallery leaves its final words on Alison’s work to Quentin Blake, who says, “the work may begin as a jug, but it becomes a free-standing story, a poem, a situation. Put in the position of reader, the viewer comes back again and again, each time finding a new word, line, or verse to fall in love with.”

Perfect.

There are some interesting discussions on a piece of Alison’s work in the V&A video archives, here. 

Find out about new exhibitions and other artists represented at the Marsden Woo Gallery site here.

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