My name is Tasmin Williams and I’m currently in my final
year of a Three Dimensional Design Degree at Manchester School of Art. I specialise
in ceramics, exploring clays tactile qualities through hand built forms created
to be held and touched.
Last week I attended the North West Craft Network event,
‘Making it: Building your craft future’ at The Whitworth Art Gallery. I was
given the opportunity to respond to the day’s events through the medium of
clay.
The talks and 1:1 surgeries delivered by established crafts people covered so much insightful information and facilitated the opportunity to network with these experienced practitioners along with like-minded individuals who all have a passion for crafts. The artist talk that really inspired me was that given by Halima Cassell. It was fascinating to see how her work has progressed from when she was a University graduate and continues to develop throughout her career as a practicing artist.
The talks and 1:1 surgeries delivered by established crafts people covered so much insightful information and facilitated the opportunity to network with these experienced practitioners along with like-minded individuals who all have a passion for crafts. The artist talk that really inspired me was that given by Halima Cassell. It was fascinating to see how her work has progressed from when she was a University graduate and continues to develop throughout her career as a practicing artist.
Being in a room with all of these incredibly creative people
was a great opportunity for me to further explore the relationship between the
clay material and human touch.I decided to document the day through a series of objects made by the participants taking part in the day’s activities. Giving each person a ball of clay, I asked them to play with the clay and create anything they wanted to. The series of objects made were fantastic.
There was
such a wide variety of shapes and textures and almost every participant that
had a go enjoyed the experience with one lady describing it as therapeutic.
Most people were tentative in the way they picked up the clay at first but once
they had rolled it around in their hands for a while they became more
comfortable and familiar with its malleable properties. I feel the area in
which each person practices affected the way they interacted with the clay. For
example, a lady who purely works in two dimensions spent most of her time
adding patterns to her object using the fine metal tools.
I found the event incredibly helpful and it has provided
struggling and up and coming craft practitioners with tools they can use to
move their practice onto its next stages and I am very privileged to have been
part of such a fantastic opportunity.
Check out Tasmin's Blog
Check out Tasmin's Blog
