May 2021 Raising the ambition of the work…..

Mud and Thread were able to apply for a small grant as part of Somerset Art Works  ‘Pair-up’ scheme - this required them to write a proposal that would firm up their ideas.  This came at a good time, as Joy and Gill were working well together and enjoying the challenges of the collaboration.  They realised this was an opportunity to raise the ambition of their work by formulating a more structured outline for the time including objectives , timeframe, plan of actions, expectations, funding requirements and so on)  (Link to proposal). 

Making good use of digital platforms to evidence and promote the work is a way of gaining a wider audience. An instagram page was already underway with regular postings. Joy and Gill decided to also set up a monthly blog as this seemed useful for documenting progress and communicating to others. Both have their individual sites, but using these digital tools in a fully collaborative way is part of the ongoing learning of the partnership.  

Engagement 5 

The overarching metaphor of ‘interconnectedness’ is noted to be ever present through the bringing together of materials and practices.  Using site specific materials from local environments (a continuation from the ‘Somerset Reacquainted” project   Link) is  a way of embedding personal authenticity. The inclusion or use of found objects or recycled elements is a further way of connecting to narrative and history.  Joy and Gill were determined not to ‘sit in a comfort zone’ of prior knowledge and began exploring ways of incorporating  personal materials.  

Gill:   ‘Working on the  clay cushions enabled me to experiment with surface qualities that allow the materials to show through .  Part of this was  using the local clay that I have dug up in the garden - a very sticky clay that needs a process of washing and sieving to get rid of impurities, but fires to a good terracotta colour.  I got some sawdust from a local farmer and tried smoke-firing.  I love the unpredictable nature of this finishing - there is an excitement in allowing ’ happy accidents’ to appear. 

 I have also spent time making growths that will emerge from the textile cushions. I am trying to express different qualities from sharp, aggressive eruptions to rounded, flowing protrusions.  Dipping garden plants into slip gives ghostly details of texture. If I use plants, seed pods, fruits and so on  from the garden to make textures in the clay, there will be evidence of the changing growing seasons’    

Joy: ‘I was out for a walk early one morning and found tufts of sheeps fleece caught in brambles and the hedgerow. I collected it not sure how I was going to use it but knowing that this was to be part of my found materials.

Foraging ground for snagged sheeps fleece

Washed and combed found fleece

After washing and carding, my stash was ready to use. Simplifying the leaf shape into an oval, I began to experiment with capturing the light though the fleece, as it was when I gathered it.  Using free stitch, dissolvable film and finely spread fleece, I was able to work a series of discs that could be assembled into a fabric or attached individually to the ceramic form.

Translucent ‘petals’ stitch and sheeps fleece  and inserted into the piercings in Gill’s cushion form

Alongside this, Gill had given me some of her small samples to respond to. Some were shell like and some have the appearance of holed pebbles or hag stones, magical and considered to be sacred objects. I was compelled to stitch across the hole in a whipped circle stitch and try different threads.’ 

Ceramic pieces with hand whipped circle stitches in plain and mercerised cotton