A reflection on the masterclass & our first collaboration as HANDSHAKE 6
I have a feeling that the masterclass with Iris Eichenberg was one of those critical moments in my practice as a contemporary jeweller. I left with a greater understanding of what is important in my work, and what I’m trying to find and communicate in what I make. The masterclass was a 3-day conversation. It was critical, intelligent, and often very personal. It was organic; ideas flowed from our individual presentations on jewellery trends and practical and collaborative exercises in material play, placement and categorisation. It was our first collaboration as HANDSHAKE6ers.
We each brought with us: materials lying around our studio, unfinished work and one finished piece that represents our current practice. As a group, we were given the task of using the materials and objects to create dialogues between the things we had available to us. We were then asked to reduce what was there, taking away what was unimportant or unfinished. Finally, we had the task of creating meaningful categories for the objects.
Photo (above): Jewellery Trend necklace from my presentation on trends in contemporary jewellery. Trying to communicate my research in a familiar form to a group of contemporary jewellers!
The presentations and group exercises were the starting points for the conversations we had. Following are some of the key things that I will be taking away from the masterclass. (I have used italics to acknowledge where I have paraphrased our conversation. I was furiously scribbling notes all weekend wanting to get everything down! The flow of the conversation was such that I can’t accredit any idea to one person but Iris Eichenberg was the driver of many (most) of the ideas we discussed.)
We talked about: the ideas within objects and what objects are trying to say, the sincerity of objects; their tenderness, their aliveness, their just-enoughness and how objects can convey a message. We discussed the idea that the process is important in conveying the message. We agreed in the value of craft and that the act of making can turn anything into something precious. We also acknowledged that sometimes in the process you can totally leave behind what is important. By telling what is important through formal representation it becomes the antithesis. You kill the message.
We talked about ways of navigating this in our own practice. Questions came up: What are our circumstances of creating and conditions of making? Our ways of working and flows of making? How do you know when a piece is finished? When do you stop making?
Iris gave us some ideas and answers:
“Sometimes something will become something later… give it time.”
“What do you see in what? How do you un-see to then see again?”
“Think about the other angle, the nonobvious way to talk about something.”
“Come through the back door and then you can be literal. Don’t overexplain. Don’t be afraid of being misunderstood.”
“How do you take your work out of the realm of comfort?”
“How do you leave questions hovering in the space?”
“Put rules in your work and follow them. The object/thing never forgets that there was a system.”
“Work within clear limitations but push the boundaries of those limitations.”
We were encouraged to write our own studio manifesto, to help establish our ways of working and conditions of making, of which mine includes:
- Have the materials that I’m interested in working with visible. Don’t put the things I want to work with away.
- If stuck, repeat elements of past work to get to new work.
- Always leave my work to sit for a few days before I make a judgement about it.
- Have more fun, let go, play, while at the same time taking my practice just seriously enough.
We reflected on how the objects we make come across to the viewer and how the message is perceived. An object will be different for different people and the meaning and messages contained within an object will vary. This is very much related to how the object is displayed. Iris asked us to think about what we do to best support our work in the exhibition display. We talked about the inter and co-dependency of objects; What are the key objects and what are the objects that hold the other objects up? How do objects live in the world and how do objects talk to each other? Does the display make sense and does it help to convey the message?
The Masterclass gave me a better understanding of my own practice and where to go next with my making and research. I left with many ideas (a lot that I’m still processing) and new friends (who I feel like I’ve known a lot longer than 4 days!). I feel enthusiastic to be back in the studio and excited about the next two years being a part of HANDSHAKE 6.
Thank you to Iris Eichenberg, Peter Deckers and Hilda Gascard. Also thank you to Renee Bevan for the terrific Push/Pull workshop which I have already started using in the studio as a way to develop ideas.
A blog post on the Push/Pull workshop as well as my first mentor-mentee catch up with Lisa Walker to come soon!