August Craft Month 2010 | Craft Northern Ireland.

Taking Time coincides with August Craft Month in Northern Ireland. Follow the link for exhibitions and events.

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The exhibition opens at Millemium Court Arts Centre on the 5th August.

via August Craft Month 2010 | Craft Northern Ireland.

Here’s a really interesting film of five contemporary ceramicists working with clay in it’s most basic form. Neil Brownsword is featured in the Taking Time exhibition.

MMU – Contemporary Film & Video – Marl Hole (2009).

This documentary film shows the ‘epic’ and primordal work of international ceramic artists. The film uses references to ‘epic’ cinema through the music and cinematography, with little dialogue.

Neil Brownsword (UK) Alexandre Englefriet (Holland), Pekka Paikkari (Finland) and Torbjorn Kvasbo (Norway) spent five days during August 2009 in a marl pit at Ibstock Brick Ltd. (the largest brick clay quarry in Europe).

The range of their artistic responses to this post-industrial landscape of North Staffordshire generated new ideas and meaning. The Film ‘MARL HOLE’ is the only surviving component of the work.

The exhibition finishes at  the Worksop Gallery on Sunday.

Child of the 1940's by Elizabeth Turrell

For more information on the Gallery go to www.harleygallery.co.uk

Slow Club – from 22 May 2010 | slow down london.

Slow Down London are starting a Slow Club. Here’s some info:

Are you in pursuit of a slower pace that allows you to enjoy and appreciate your life and this great city? We at Slow Down London have been trying out an experiment called the Slow Club. Our aim is to give practical tips that can be incorporated into your everyday life and playful experiences that can help you slow down and enjoy London.

We are starting a new four week course on Saturday 22nd May. The cost is £20 (£10 concessions) and you can register below.

Read on for some information about what will happen over the four weeks and how to sign up for the course. If you would like to know more you can also visit our Slow Club page to find blogs from people who took part in the first club. And here are some quotes from our initial slow clubbers:

‘I am more aware of different ways of slowing down. And I look at art in a whole new way!’‘I have remembered to appreciate what I have here and now.’

‘I have remembered to appreciate what I have here and now.’

‘This made me smile because it helped me see that usually I’m rushing around when I don’t really need to.’

‘I can’t draw at all but what I did notice was that I really took the time to look at what I was drawing which seemed to slow everything down and really brought me into the moment.’

‘Awareness is increased. I am more consciously taking ’slow routes’ even if only to Tesco. “Be aware of your speed” was an eyeopener.’

‘Enjoyable, enlightening, empowering.’

Taking Time makers Dawn Youll and Ken Eastman are among the makers repersented at Collect this year.  If you would like to see more of their work, details of the event and how to book are below.

http://www.craftscouncil.org.uk/collect/

http://www.keithprowse.com/tickets/slink.buy/ccouncil/-/en/e.1IL8/crafts-council/london/saatchi-gallery/collect-2010.html

Justin’s Amazing World At Fenner Paper: Taking Time – Craft and the Slow Revolution.

Came across this interesting article from Justin Fenner about the design and print of the Taking Time exhibition catalogue. Justin works in the paper industry and worked with designers, Hyperkit on the project. Really nice blog. I will be following this.

via Justin’s Amazing World At Fenner Paper: Taking Time – Craft and the Slow Revolution.

Helen Carnac, who curated the Taking Time exhibition with us has been doing a good job of keeping the makingaslowrevolution.wordpress.com blog. There’s a linked twitter account for discussion on the issues in the exhibition http://twitter.com/makeaslowrevolt.

She is also working on another online project with Axis which looks interesting. It also includes work by Taking Time artist Amy Houghton. More here….

Catherine Bertola, Andrew Burton, Julie Cook, Shelly Goldsmith, Amy Houghton and Jill Townsley

Curated by Helen Carnac

Searching the Axis website, with the broad idea of finding innovative or contemporary approaches to craft and object making, has been an interesting process. The Crafts may be seen to be in a state of flux – the teaching of material based subjects is in upheaval, subject to budget cuts and in some places seen as an outmoded form of practice, and its need to be understood as a thinking process is somewhat denied. For me what cannot be denied is that making does offer both maker and viewer crucial ways of thinking, and that contemporary craft and object-making is acknowledged as important in the visual arts world and beyond.

http://www.axisweb.org/atSelection.aspx?AID=2418