Professional Practice 1-6 Talks
Professional Practice Talk
Talk 1 - Tom Hackett
It was really interesting how Tom took us on a journey through his work. The first thing up on the screen was his CV, which started off as a list format and then spiralled on a journey of organised chaos that he navigated us through. I found Tom's work and journey really inspiring. Like the huge hand-knitted coloured net that covered the building above.
"You have to go to the world.... The world won't go to you"
I really like this quote above from Tom because as a working artist, you have to push hard and grow a thick skin to get your work out there. Along the way, you will hear a lot of no's. Tom is a successful artist, not just from his skill as a creator alone but because of his can do attitude and his likeable personality.
An example of how Tom goes above and beyond was when he stayed awake on a small rowing boat for 24 hours. He collected water samples from along the river Severn in Worcester to then create this beautiful installation below. The test tubes were placed in the Worcester City Art Gallery in a time sequence of when they were collected. Tom is a very creative individual, it's interesting to see that if you had several other artists standing alongside Tom in the gallery stairway space, it's a low possibility that they would produce something like Tom's. The journey of Tom's idea fascinates me, it makes me think that the journey of creating your work is just as important as the work itself. Was the journey just as important to Annabael Lucas who commissioned Tom's work that led on from this piece?
Above left Vertical River Vertical River Worcester City Art Gallery. Above right Tom Hackett on the River Severn
Talk 2 - Tristram Aver
Tristram is a practising artist whilst he works as curator full-time. His message was that many graduates drop off making art and if you are still creating your own work after twenty years you are never going to stop, so no matter how difficult it is do keep pushing forward with your own work. Tristram emphasised peer support and networking.
As a curator Tristram has to be extremely knowledgeable about artists and to keep up with the art world. There will be artists that may not be ready for a project at that time but he keeps up with their work as in the future they will be right for the project or exhibition, whether this will be ten years down the line.
During his most prolific period he won quite a few awards and sold a lot of books and became quite high profile as many galleries were interested in him.
Native British Trees is his ongoing series of paintings which reflect on the consequences of the actions of Britain in other countries and how we are destroying the environment. The outline of mature oak, lime and elm trees resemble the shape of explosions from artillery, nuclear explosions and air strikes all of which can be traced back to starting in Britain. The resulting images which set tranquillity against aggression create unsettling but beautiful images.
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| Native British Trees- 3rd Space Open Studios |
When he went to take some photos of the trees on the Rolls Royce site he was asked to move on. Rolls Royce are linked to mass production of weaponry as they make engines and weapons for aircraft.
Circumstances meant that Tristram had to move his studio and the space was smaller so this impacted on the work he could produce. He made a screen printing studio in his new small shed which can produce many prints which are very cost effective. Tristram likes to layer his work so will print on top of his print work. He talks about how he likes to portray how humanity seems to enjoy destroying nature. The recent conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza led to him breaking from painting about other countries and shifted from protesting about arms and arms dealing .
His work is now looking at how the wars and human intervention can affect the flowers and soil and how humanity thinks genetic modification is a moral way to act. Atomic gardening is irradiating crops to encourage growth which sounded unreal and horrific. He looked at how tomatoes have been made to be square to ease their transportation. Devasting events change the landscape for example, Chernobyl and Hiroshima but trees now grow there and the landscape has been changed.
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| The Chase (Part 1) Cornerhouse Gallery Manchester |
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| The Chase (part 2) Cornerhouse Gallery Manchester |
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| A Clear Day, Shooter & Dogs |
Now his multimedia work is totally made up and he aims for a fantastical, evolving and abstract image but he wants them to be beautiful. Coexisting on the canvas is the mythical and the real.
I really like the way Tristram layers his work with different media. Filling the whole canvas in bright and bold colours. The abstract pieces are something that I would like to hang at home but what changes my mind is what they are about, as they may look beautiful but do not tell a beautiful story. I thought he spoke so much about himself as a curator which overshadowed his work as an artist.
Talk 3 - Graham Elstone
Graham Elstone works performatively and likes to explore and be experimental in his work. Technology plays an important part in his creative process. He demonstrated the use of the touch board technology- audio and video which he had used during Covid he wanted to keep busy and be creative. He would download audio pieces and link it to a touch board system so that when you pressed a certain part it would play a certain sound. He spoke about the sculptural piece that was commissioned for a gallery which when you touched areas it played you a bit of poetry. This was used to go around in spaces but due to COVID this didn't happen.
He talked about the roller coaster of workflow, which he
calls the snakes and ladders of an artists work and you have to get through the
lows as well as enjoy the highs. This was a common thread through all the talks
by the artists. To get through this he spoke about developing an armour for
yourself. He asked the group to write the skills and attributes which we would
need in our creative future and then we made a common list which he called the
ideal person for the future.
He had plans for artists he would like to collaborate with in
the future, in particular to recycle products to create flooring and furniture.
The projects would be sustainable and reuse everyday materials. Graham passed
round a coaster made of recycled plastic and spoke about the processes he had
to learn to do this. He seems to be both a functional and creative artist.
The environment is important he said, working in different places and with different people. He spoke about a project in Care settings which were interactive wall displays which was a simple interactive piece of tech which when the residents touched them music was played. The residents created their own visual piece that went on the board based around music and then by touching the symbol pictures it would play a piece of music.
Graham gave useful advice about things that can be helpful
as developing artists for example, ‘Developing your creative practice’, an Arts
Council Fund which is a grant that you can apply for when you start working.
Graham came across as full of creativity and was keen to try
out new things to keep fresh and up to date.
Talk 4 - Kerry Dilks
Illustrator of books listed below
1st Book the greatest cake
2nd The peg people
3rd Bonies ball
4th Winglefog
Kerry has
always enjoyed drawing since being a child before being able to write. She used
to make up little stories on the blank spaces of colouring books which showed
she has always been into creating a narrative in her work.
Kerry
continued with her art through school as it always came naturally to her and she
never had to try too hard to create something. Continuing her education through
to 6th Form she decided to do English Literature, Art and Media
studies as there weren’t many options from the advice of tutors. Becoming an
illustrator was not a job Kerry knew about at this time. She decided to continue
with Media studies at the Royal Holloway University of London as this closely
connected to creating a narrative and she saw a wider horizon for job
opportunities in the field of work she wanted to be in. As soon as Kerry got
there she said it didn’t feel right and was the wrong path for her. Kerry
realised that this was a big choice to make and she hadn’t got any life
experience to make such a big career choice, she stuck with it for a few
depressing months but ultimately decided that it was best to leave. Kerry found
it hard to trust her gut instinct because she believed she had made that big
decision to study Media studies and got it so wrong.
19 year old
Kerry then got a Job at the American Adventure Theme Park in Ilkinston as she
thought it would be a fun place to work and a stepping stone to getting her out
of the house and sorting her head out. During this time an ad popped up for her
to do a foundation art course to prep her for Uni which was local to her. She
was excited about getting back into education but started the course late. Once
she started, she said everything just fell into place. When Kerry started to
speak about the Foundation Art course, I felt like I could resonate with her on
this experience of trying new things. Using ceramics, woodwork and all
different types of media to play and experiment with. Here is where Kerry found
her love for illustration, creating children's books. This is the route she went
down when creating her own brief.
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| The Peg People |
Kerry's style of drawing is really comforting and makes me feel happy to look at it. I like the the way she plays with the composition of her sketches for example the pathway to the shed in the above image from the book called The Peg People.
Talk 5 - Mik Godley
Mik Godley emphasised that he let the work take as long as it needed to take. He tried not to time limit himself. Godley is interested in exploring his German heritage through the way we now see digitally. He uses his iPad and mobile phone to create his work. Godley uses a modern technique to reflect and interpret history as he sees it. I was surprised to hear that his work is digitally created as it looks hand drawn. I think it's mind blowing how Godley has worked on 'Considering Silesia' for almost two decades. The work I create on Pro Create is a disaster but after 18 years of drawing the same thing, I think most people would be a master at it.
Talk 6 - Rachel Carter
Rachel Carter likes to use the lost wax technique to create bronze work. The lost wax process allows Carter to get intricate detail. She is interested in the process and materials including weaving, knotting and crochet and repetition features heavily in her work. Like 'Standing in this Place' highlights the connection between white mill workers and black enslaved women showing the connection between cotton, sorrow, strength and resilience. I like how Carter highlights the women's story instead of the men and the plight, as this normally happens.
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| Standing in this place, The National Justice Museum |
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