We started Phase II of the Aural Textiles project with the slightly daunting prospect of doubling our small unit of six textile makers, to include an additional six non-textile makers.
We needed have worried as, after a nervous start, we quickly realized we were all enthusiastic and excited by the challenges and possibilities of what could be achieved by working collaboratively, sharing ideas and processes. Bolstered by plenty of laughter and supportive comments we gelled as a group of like-minded people working towards a common goal and left with high expectations of what could be achieved.
Of the six ‘new’ makers we each had to find a collaborator, so I arranged to meet up with as many as I could at their studios to look at practices and explore ideas. My first visit was to see Carol Sinclair - a camera-shy ceramist, based in Forfar. We had much to talk about as our processes, and techniques are very different, so there was a lot to learn. It’s fascinating to see how other people work and it has encouraged me to push myself to look at different ways of working with structure. The visit resulted in numerous ideas and the promise of a ‘play’ day with hands-on experimentation.
Next up was Isabelle, the Edinburgh furniture-maker. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see much of Isabelle’s work as she was packing up her studio before heading off on some exciting residencies in the USA but she did provide some delicious homemade cake for us to indulge in while we explored options! I was in awe of her pack-up-and-go attitude and resolved to take a leaf out of her book in the future. We surmised that my poor technological abilities (I must learn how to skype!) would go against us this time.
Finally - I realised logistically I could only meet three out of six - I met up with Naomi. As her studio is in Braemar, we met half way in Dunkeld (and have since decided all our meetings should be in excellent cafes/coffee shops)! We’d had longer to think about the project by now and soon realised we’d both been looking at the same approach to sounds and shapes. After a highly productive couple of hours discussing our shared methodical and repetitive processes, we agreed to start with three recordings of sounds of our making processes. For our next meet up we hope to have some 3D models and I’m looking forward to exploring how our sounds will inform our collaborative piece. As we weren’t in a studio, I forgot to take a photo of us together…so here is one of the café instead… We would both highly recommend it for vegans and non-vegans alike!
What an excellent reason to meet for more cake!
Everything is better with cake!