Craft Bursary project

Since the end of September I have been working on a new project at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee, after receiving the Craft Bursary Award along with two other craftspeople- Gilly Langton and Louise Kirby. This project offers the exciting opportunity to have access to facilities, equipment and the college staff, and is in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council (Creative Scotland). Workspace is provided; mine is based in the sculpture department.

For me the project is an opportunity to re-evaluate and redefine my practice, explore drawing, printing and other processes, and develop a new body of ceramic work. After over 15 years of making ceramics it is essential to 'take stock', evaluate, offer myself some challenges and think about what direction I could go in. It is about implementing change, experimenting with ideas and processes, and build upon what I learned during my research degree (MPhil) completed earlier this year. Alongside this I am working on some written work, which will assist in the ongoing development of the project and potentially lead into something to be submitted for publication.

So to date; it has been a creative, exciting and focused couple of months. I made the concious effort to move away from tourism as source material (temporarily anyway!) which was the focus of my research for the last four years. My new project investigates the theme of collecting; specifically the portrayal of animals in formal collections.

more to follow...