….My personal mentor for this year, Katrin Spranger.
I couldn’t believe my luck when Katrin said yes to mentoring me for the 2nd year of Handshake 8. She was my first choice and is such an impressive artist and entrepreneur.
I clearly remember the day I stumbled upon Katrin. I’d just finished an (almost) all-nighter completing the Entrepreneurship Paper for my degree – it was by far the worst one we did. The next morning we started our Design Paper, which I’d been looking forward to all year. So, I’m brain dead but relieved and researching unusual casting techniques…when I came across the K2 Jewellery Academy in London, which Katrin co-founded. The school itself is cool, delivering refreshingly interesting jewellery making courses within a contemporary context.
When I looked further into the owners, Katrin’s practice stood out. Highly thoughtful and experimental – unafraid to explore different materials, scale and performance – I thought she would be perfect to bounce all my mad ideas off.
What I wanted was someone to be straight with me – to give kind but honest advice, and a fresh new perspective. I always put pressure on myself to ‘do my best’ and that can be stressful at times – it’s been wonderful to have Katrin along for this ride. She’s always calm and practical. I have so much respect for how she juggles teaching, running a school, raising a family and having an art practice. So far this year she has also been prepping for 2 exhibitions. It’s amazing to see that kind of creative role model in action.
I understand, from my fellow Handshakers that every mentored relationship is different. So here’s how it works for us… I prepare a presentation (on Canva) and aim to get it to her 3 or 4 days before we chat, so she has time to review. I include with that, pictures/ short video’s of any experiments I’ve been doing, an overview of any interesting research, inspirational exhibitions visited…basically its a bullet pointed visual diary, as concisely informative as I can make it – with questions at the end, on anything I’m struggling with and particular strains of advice I’m seeking. Its picture heavy (we’re visual people) and usually around 15 pages. Then, when we catch up online – its a fairly casual, free chat with those things in mind.
Towards the end of each session, I set my goals for the coming month and we go from there.
That doesn’t mean it’s always rosy – in the session before last I came away feeling a little deflated. I was challenged on a particular point and had to re-think a few things. Generally, in this situation, its always positive to be challenged, even if it just cements your resolve on an idea. In this case it started new trains of thought and ideas of Form. Which is great, but means I’m still pushing to find ‘the thing that makes my heart sing’..and thats a bit nerve wracking.
So, as we head into the final furlong of this year and gather for the final exhibition, I’m pausing for a moment of gratitude, to recognise all the support I’ve had along the way.
I hope to finish with a momentum that continues to carry me forward – because this creative path is a marathon and not a sprint. Fingers, firmly crossed.
Sculpty Brain Experiment
Random Thought Experiment – destructive fun with an old keyboard
Experimental Cloud Form with Basket (Cane??) Material Masking Tape and PVA glue.