I love loose organic forms. I like detailed moments. I like to cut and fold.
Attending Estela’s workshop was such a gift and a wild journey.
I with both feet did the assignments with full commitment and reckless abandon. The outcomes were not all good, but they were informative. It was a complete whirlwind of emotions.
I would sum up the process as: make.draw.edit.stay uncomfortable
I loved the 10-minute self-portrait pictured to the right, packing tape ripped off a styrofoam cooler.
On the left is a series of paper models done based on a drawing. The only one I really disliked was a failed sewing experiment on the bottom right.
I am going to call it the tassel camel. That was the work that Estela assigned me to progress and develop further.
Here is an example of what came from that camel – re-interpreted in paper and a 15-minute wood necklace.
I loved watching all the participants show their colours over the weeks.
In the quick, structured exercises, I loved/hated/loved being pushed to unconfutable places. I chose wood for my alternative material. Wood was exciting because it was natural, yet intimidating for me, as I felt that I didn’t have the tools, workshop, and experience to deal with this new material
Rapidly swapping between material didn’t bother me too much, but I really struggled when I was assigned a ‘form’ that I didn’t like.
My son was making me laugh so hard, he didn’t appreciate his role as model and was trying to flick me the bird before I could snap this picture). I think he succeeded.
Despite my challenge with the assigned forms, there was a lot of great moments of reflection. It really helped me to clarify my process, my style of making and my attitude and approach toward my work.
This is the bulbous vase form. Another form that I quickly drew and didn’t love.
This workshop and the process of holding up a mirror to my practice was wonderful, challenging, frustrating, messy, soul destroying, delightful … doubt inducing, showing me glimpses of my practice I was embarrassed about and surprised by. But I could see my patterns and preferences very clearly.
Cutting folding, piercing, Pattern
The feedback that kept coming back to my work were words like A Lightness, musical and lyrical.
The last assignment was to make 5 rings. I fell back into the sweet arms of metal, a material I had been shunning for several years. I was set free from the tassel camels and jug forms. It was pure joy. I am not sure why I started to do this, but I used fast sketches, and started cutting all the rings out as one piece, a flat form, like a bishop’s ring or a spoon ring.
I am eternally grateful for the joy generosity of spirit of Estela Saez, and for the support of all my co-participants in this group on calls and offline; the community feedback was pivotal. And thank you to Peter and Hilde for this opportunity. I really loved this mentorship format.