Who I make for - beholder and carer
"We are made of the same things as the natural world: we are not only altered by it, we also alter it, every time we interact with it. It returns us to ourselves by reminding us that we are networked in to it - that we are not alone in many of the ways we fear we are."
"Relationships based on mutual care sounds strange when applied to nature, but it needs the same care that we do."
I have found the above sentiments echoed in much of the research I have carried out over this past year. In the writing of Tim Ingold (Ingold, 2016) and Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing (Tsing, 2015), the bioregional design practices of Atelier Luma (Atelier Luma, 2023), and particularly in the explanation of regenerative design by Tobias Revell,
“Regenerative design, no matter which stripe you subscribe to, would argue that it’s about better noticing. Less of an orientation to the future and more of a situation in the present. It suggests noticing and strengthening relationships between people and other beings and things. Rather than disruption and innovation, it’s care and maintenance.”
As I started working with natural materials, and thinking about regenerative design, I was conscious of the fact that I was taking the plants out of their usual ecosystem. Although we might describe them as waste, in nature, they are part of a cycle, they feed back into the soil so that the whole process can start again. I began to enjoy the idea of my pieces being ephemeral, of them being able to be placed back within the cycle again at the end of their use. In this way I have endeavoured to use dyeing and joining methods that would not cause harm as they de-compose within the natural environment.
I also began to enjoy the idea that viewers/wearers of my pieces would have to engage with them, have an input into their care and maintenance. This put me in mind of the Japanese concept of Wabi-sabi where “Greatness consists in the overlooked details” (Koren, 1994 quoted in John, 2007, p.87) and how the beholder is expected to interact with the piece and add to its patina.
"While a modern work of art is a finished result, wabi-sabi is incomplete and imperfect. We are forced to realize that it is a work in progress - not just a finished product for us to look at, but something that we can engage in ourselves."
Thinking about the pieces I make as ephemeral and one-offs has helped achieve my flow and keep it simple. Often, I get stuck in my making when I start to think about the wearability of a piece. Being able to send my pieces off into the world as they are has added to the sense of calm I feel.
However, this does not mean that I am not considering where my pieces could be exhibited or sold. As mentioned before, the decision to focus on one material, plants, came from looking at the work exhibited at Collect and the Sarah Myerscough Gallery. The way the Sarah Myerscough Gallery presents their artists’ work for exhibition has influenced the way I present mine (fig.27). They give great consideration for the colours of the walls that the work is placed against, using the colour choice to create a mood for each exhibition.
I used this presentation style for my submissions within the CMF module, presenting the day and night side of my colour palette against different coloured backgrounds (fig.28). For the Synthesis presentation I have also considered what colour my pieces will be presented against.
Good quality photography is also a key aspect of presenting my work to others. This is backed up by the years I spent making and selling textiles jewellery through contemporary jewellery galleries and also by researching other makers and galleries and how they present their work. I had ignored the obvious idea for photographing these pieces, place them against a natural background. However, a photography test in the local woods made me wonder about the potential in this idea (fig.29). I loved the light in the woods and how the pieces moved in the breeze.
However, on reflection I can see that some of the minute detail, and magic, of my pieces gets lost in the backdrop of the woods. I remembered my mantra, ‘keep it simple’ and went back to presenting them in front of a plain, but strongly coloured, background (fig.30). After a few tests, I chose a rich dark blue/green called ‘Market Garden’ from the paint company Mylands (Mylands, no date). This dark colour really made the pieces sing and is more akin to colours you would see in a gallery exhibition. I booked the daylight studio at the university and got advice from the technicians to ensure I had good quality photographs of my work for my website (fig. 31).
For the written submission for the Synthesis project, I have embedded it as a password protected section on my public facing website, with my website also forming part of my submission. I wanted to present my work in this way so that I would be ready, upon graduation, to present my practice to potential galleries, exhibitors, funders and buyers. This website uses the brand name of my previous jewellery business, Elinor Voytal, in order to build on any previous recognition. Also, aesthetically, it looks good and is unusual, so stands out.
But what are my next steps and how can I build a practice of exhibiting and selling my work when it is ephemeral, has an extended time frame to production and a cycle? For the answers to this I have looked to the way Andy Goldsworthy (fig.32) works and to a story I heard whilst working as a gallery assistant in a contemporary jewellery gallery.
"Andy Goldsworthy has chosen nature as his subject. But he doesn't describe nature or celebrate it. He joins it and collaborates with it.”
I enjoy the collaborative and ephemeral nature of Goldsworthy’s art. In terms of how he presents his work to the public, I like the simple sketchbook like quality of the way he presents photographs of a new artwork on his website every month. As his art is ephemeral, these photographs are often the only record he has. They are also a good way of capturing the change in the seasons and the cycle of the natural world. For the future, this could be a way of keeping my momentum going. I had already planned to release aspects of my Synthesis written submission as future blog posts on my website. Maybe I could also set myself the task of creating monthly or seasonal jewellery pieces from the plants and flowers I collect.
Another inspiration for a way of working is from one of the jewellers we exhibited when I worked as a gallery assistant. He created stunning and distinct pieces, using gorgeous gems. He would spend half the year making jewellery, send it off to his various stockists and then spend the next six months on a yoga retreat. He couldn’t be contacted for alterations or commissions, what he sent was what he had and that was it. This meant every new delivery of his work was coveted and snapped up by staff and customers alike. I don’t know how true this story is, but it was marketing genius and great way to get a good life/work balance. I think a similar way of working (making un-repeatable batches of jewellery pieces) could be good for the one-off nature of my work and how it will need to fit in with the cycle of nature. Therefore, following my MA, and referencing the instructions to myself, I have a plan for my making, selling and work/life balance.
Gathering: make an effort to gather plants every month, recording what they are, when and where they were gathered. Plants could come from my own garden or other businesses that I’ve contacted. Or even collaborations with famous gardens, such as RHS Bridgewater.
Often the plants will need to be dried, some months there might not be much to gather. However, I feel I will have enough to carry me over the less abundant times. The lack of material may also push me to think of other ideas.
Making: initially, set myself a deadline to have created pieces by a certain time. This could be monthly or it could fit with the seasons.
I will regularly change my making ‘altar’. Changing the background colour according to the collection or season.
I will research different ways of displaying the pieces I make. For example, is there a way the more ephemeral necklaces could be displayed on a wall, so they work as art, as well as jewellery? I feel the mechanism of display requires as much development work as the necklaces themselves.
Recording: keep writing in a reflective journal, recording what I’m reading, watching, seeing, doing and thinking. Develop elements of the journal into monthly blog posts on my website. Look at other ways of sharing my reflective writing.
Pricing: from experience of selling my textiles jewellery, I know that this is one of the hardest things to get right. It is a balance between the actual cost to make a piece, the perceived value and what the customer is willing to spend. I will use my previous experience, market research and advice from galleries in order to get this right for my work.
Selling: Contact galleries I would like to sell my work through. In London, Flow Gallery, Jagged Art, The Cold Press and Sarah Myerscough Gallery. In the Netherlands, Gallerie Marzee. I already have a contact for the Sarah Myerscough Gallery who is interested in seeing my work upon finishing my MA.
I will apply to exhibitions and competitions that I aspire to have my work in, for example, Collect Open, Loewe Craft Prize and the John Ruskin Prize.
I am not a natural user of social media. I will find a way of using it to get my name out there that works for me. Maybe this could be linking it to my monthly blog entries or making short videos of my gathering and making.
Residencies: I would love to go on an artist’s residency. However, it is difficult to do at the moment with a child in school. Therefore. I will look for residencies that are more accommodating to family life, maybe those that only last for a couple of weeks or are not very far away.
Money: knowing that I am someone who is unable to thrive on the stress of not knowing where my next pay cheque is coming from, I will look for a part-time job to enable me to carry on my making practice whilst covering the basics. I will also apply to any funding opportunities I find.