And then more…

Following from yesterday :

1. full metal weaving
2. scroll/poster hanging
3. cut and framed
4. free play and pinned
   ..
   
5. free play, pinned and adorned
   for the ‘Winter Brooches‘ exhibition at Studio 20/17 in 2010; I don’t consider these pieces very successful actually, though I quite like the bar brooch at the bottom of the image
   

   Time: group

   … the ‘Quotes’ group for that exhibition were better in my eyes, as they’re less ponderous and more whimsical

   

   Quotes

6. long weave neckpieces
   for ‘Winter Neckpieces‘ exhibition at Studio 20/17 in 2011; these I love!
   

   For William

   

   For Caroline

7. gem and bezel set
   for ‘Oh Opal!‘ at Redox Gallery (and then Studio 20/17) in 2012; this was the start of a series of experiments with bezel setting; these, being the first experiment, didn’t have perspex on the top … that was to change for future work (to make them more durable)
   

   ‘Oh Opal!’ group

   …which I then extended in the ‘My Australia’ exhibition in 2013

   

   My Australia group

8. simple bezel set
   for ‘The Love of Coffee‘ at Studio 20/17 in 2012
   

   Coffee group

   then for ‘Deck the Walls‘ at Studio 20/17 in 2012; I think they tired of my weaving (and that they didn’t sell; it’s labour intensive and therefore not inexpensive), so this was the last collection of work for this lovely gallery

   

   Summer group

   then cufflinks for Lord Coconut; including a platinum commission

   

   Platinum Commission

   … again though, the bezel setting is similar to the cut-and-frame work; I’m still not quite content with how it seems to be trapping the material, constraining it, making it ‘less’ somehow; pretty clearly I haven’t yet figured out what is actually my problem with it!

I wonder what will happen next.

[no photographs in this post to be reproduced without explicit permission of the author]

And then…

It seems I have a penchant for tracing things back to their origin … you know when a conversation has veered off on some kind of tangent, after we’ve exhausted that little escapade I then like to track back to how we got there.

So, I have a need to see how my weaving developed … and in the process hopefully uncover some hidden tangents that perhaps I could explore further.

After the initial weaving tests I posted about previously, I then tried out :

1. full metal weaving
   RMIT Yr1 project; not terribly successful, and I didn’t continue with it
   

   necklace; RMIT Yr1

2. scroll / poster hanging
   RMIT Yr1 project; oh dear, look at the kinky silk thread, how embarrassment! (blame first year keenness to get the photograph taken, and naivety in not knowing how to get the folds out); I may experiment with this format again
   

   scroll pendant; RMIT Yr1

3. cut and framed
   RMIT Yr1 project; I love this pendant; however the only thing that didn’t quite sit well with me with this format is that the weave is cut to a frame … somehow it made it just a disembodied material, instead of a whole; I’m unlikely to do this again (though, never say never)
   

   Machinery project; RMIT Yr1

4. free play and pinned
   RMIT Yr2 project; this was fun, I experimented a lot in this project with colour and widths and introducing new threads in the weave and taking them away … just joy; and this is where I left the weaving for a few years, I didn’t use it again during the remainder of my degree
   

   black fancy ring; RMIT Yr2

   …though I did return to it for the ‘Feast‘ exhibition at Studio 20/17 in 2009

   

   Nana’s Trifle Recipe

More tomorrow … this has turned out to be a longer trip down memory lane than I expected.

[no photographs in this post to be reproduced without explicit permission of the author]

Postscript to ‘Infinity’

A few hours after I published the post on Emma Fielden’s ‘Infinity‘ exhibition my vague subconscious ephemeral thoughts have continued to percolate and become a little more defined.

The thoughts are still near random, and most certainly nothing close to eloquent, though I think I’m seeing a pattern … and I’d like to write them down so I don’t misplace or forget them.

When thinking more about the essence that is pulling me so strongly towards Emma’s drawing work, I continue to gravitate towards the idea of repetition and dedication … and it’s almost a surprise to me, but it has turned me back towards my woven silver and paper work.

I miss doing it; I love the meditation of it; the repetitive movements that can never be done unthinkingly but require concentration at every moment to prevent error and maintain as much consistency as possible.

I feel a desire to take out my weaving equipment again … just for a play …
oooh, you have no idea how my heart has sung at this idea!

—-

Another few hours later …. and I’ve only just now realised how the grid is strikingly akin to the woven material I create (when I use paper the same thickness as the flat wire).

Dear Muse … is that you?

—-

What a waste

I’ve been thinking … I love drawing, though hardly seem to do any. I once loved making, though rarely made more than ‘real’ pieces (for exhibitions or commissions or the gallery I once stocked).

I’ve come to wonder if that’s because I’m worried about “waste” … wasting materials, paper, metals, consumables, etc.

It’s not a concern about wasting time; lordy no, for if I wasn’t doing lovely fun creative things there’s always the housework lurking and waiting for me. I think it’s more about wasting things that cost money.

The amateur psychologist in me thinks this may be due to quite a frugal childhood, when we weren’t strictly denied but taught to be careful and minimise waste. Genuine waste. However, perhaps over time my mind has somehow warped this helpful responsible attitude into something that means all creative acts that aren’t ‘final’ or ‘masterful’ are effectively a waste.

It’s not a good thought really is it?!
Not helpful to exploring and playing.
At all. Nope.
For I know very well the value of exploring and play.

I’ve read a bit about creativity, and haven’t yet seen anything about how to mitigate or counter this kind of worry (conscious or hidden).

Do you worry about waste?

I’d like to banish this worry about waste … in itself it is a waste of creativity, a waste of play, a waste of joy.