Well that was busy… At the start of the year I vowed to take a step back and concentrate on getting a new body of work together. I seem to have an addiction to saying yes to exhibitions and during this year it has lead to some creative shipping manoeuvres to say the least. I’m going to try and track my 2011 exhibition list.
In March I was awarded with a Creative Scotland grant to support a new body of research. This has enabled me to move into a bigger studio with Coburg House Studios that allows for both the digital and the handmade prototype. Also in March I was delighted to announce that the Craft Council of England acquired the pieces currently on tour with Lab Craft.
April took me to New York for SoFA New York with Joanna Bird Pottery, this was the first time I had both shown at SoFA and being represented by Joanna. I was invited to give a talk about my practice titled ‘The Hand that Rocks the Cradle’ which was received well mainly due is inclusive nature. I focused on the narrative of my work investigating the notion of the intangible rather than the tech utilised as such terms as RP, Laser scanning etc are becoming everyday vocabulary. Also great to finally meet Craig Appelbaum of Industry Gallery after a good few months of email conversations. Quick Fact: my first ever RP object was 10 years ago so you can see why the ‘tech’ discussion is no longer primary in my practice. I’ve always believed it should be the application of technology not the process alone.
During May I was exhibiting (whilst flying my Saltire) with Craft Scotland at COLLECT. I showcased my first silver pieces in the form of the Crossfire Cutlery. Later in the year I was delighted to announce that The Cincinnati Art Museum had acquired the Crossfire Collection. I’m still loving my hallmark…
July brought the exciting Talk to Me exhibition at MoMA in New York. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the exhibition but via Twitter and #ttmcrossfire, I received some very interesting comments. Something I hadn’t expected was the amount of tweets that thought the animation was stop-frame and the presented artefacts where single movements. One-day I would love to do this however making 2700 teapots might push my patients to a new level…
The wonderful Lab Craft exhibition continued its UK tour stopping such places as Lemmington Spa, Barnsley however I’m still awaiting a Scottish date? Sticking with the Craft Council for the time, The Crossfire teapot Bone China was selected for their excellent Online exhibition titles 40/40. This platform celebrates 40 years of the Craft Council with 40 pieces from their collection. Also thank you Crafts Council for the invitation, in May, to the launch of the anniversary at the House of Commons. The website has embraced social media and allows you to comment via a tweet, #4040CrossFire.
September brought a double header with Shine being exhibited at the record breaking V&A/Craft Council exhibition Power of Making. Whilst Flight & Dogfight where being shown in Cardiff at the beautifully curated Momentum exhibition. The PoM exhibition, curated by Daniel Charney, had 320,703 visitors in 117 days (I’ll let someone else to do the math) making it the most popular free exhibition since the 1950′s.
Almost there… The end of October brought my first opportunity to exhibit in Japan. Through invitation by Max Fraser, I showed selected pieces from Crossfire in a exhibition called Mark-ing alongside other UK designers Moritz Waldemeyer, Paul Cocksedge, Max Lamb, Ismini Samanidou (we both shared the Jerwood Contemporary Makers prize in 2009), Helen Amy Murray, Hanah Martin and Benjamin Hubert. The most exciting aspect of this was that I asked to supply a ‘fragment’ that was instrumental in shaping our careers. Perhaps obvious, I choose an image of my Dad racing his beloved Hillman Imp.
December brought an amazing opportunity to exhibit in Jerusalem at The Israel Museum. The exhibition curated by fellow Scot Alex Ward titled Curious Minds: New Approaches in Design featured some of the heavyweights in contemporary design including Troika Studio, Studio Glithero and Raw Edges. Once I receive images of the exhibition I’ll post them in the new exhibition section (coming soon).
So 2012… I’m currently working on a new body of work titled ‘The Secret Life of Shadows’ which investigates the unseen affects of an objects purpose/function on its perceived form. Sounds cryptic I know however I will be debuting the pieces in Milan during the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in April. In May, Joanna Bird will be showing a selection of pieces at COLLECT. Finally I will have an edition of 10 Blown cups & saucers plus new silver blown cutlery.
2011 was about getting the international exposure my practice needed, 2012 on the other hand is making sure I live up to the expectations… no pressure.