‘What makes the body present in this world is the doorway that is too small to fit through without having to make a shift’. Iris Eichenberg
Over four days at the end of January 2020, we 12 Handshake6 participants came together for the first time to take part in a masterclass with Iris Eichenberg.
Some personal trepidation at Ms Eichenberg’s impressive credentials were quickly overcome by her generous curiosity to get to know us all and what makes us tick. Insightful pearlers were lobbed into the room of rapidly bonding peers to catch as needed.
‘Where is the sweet spot between something finished and nearly finished? Don’t fill in all the potential.‘
‘Think about work in terms of perfume, something rotten in it creates context for the beauty.’
‘Think about what interrupts your flow of process and eliminate that – a constant slow force is stronger than a hard resistant’.
Day one saw us introducing our work to each other via presentations, getting the lowdown on the format for the Handshake6 programme over the next two years with Peter and Hilda Deckers and Renee Bevan describing the Push/Pull ethos which will inform our process throughout.
Over the following three days Iris Eichenberg conducted vigorous discussions, sparked by our presentations on Trends in Contemporary Jewellery. Interspersing these talks, we worked on a revealing, playful categorising and editing exercise.
Each of us was asked to bring along 5 unfinished works, one piece that we could be identified by, and a shoebox with materials from our respective workshops. We laid the work out side by side on tables. On an adjacent table we spilled out the boxes of workshop materials, a plethora of collected treasure, junk and detritus.
For 45 minutes in silence we circled the tables, invited to interfere with everyone else’s work, using anyone’s materials; sorting, grouping, adding, subtracting. Hesitation gave way to action; constructive, destructive… eyes, mind and hands focussed and present. I noticed myself standing up flat things, balancing, leaning, creating relationships and spaces, noticing shadow and making space for it. Spontaneous actions and a lack of authorship created a sense of freedom. People added to my tangles and weaves, filling spaces. Delicate things were wrapped or supported. Kauri gum was revered, rubber was playful. Solid elements stacked, linear elements entwined. Silence spliced with grunts and giggles.
Having edited the cacophony of materials now on the object table down to a more cohesive and manageable selection, we collaboratively curated categories.This happened fluidly, moving in and amongst areas and discussions in constantly evolving groupings, we work well together. The categories were interesting, especially following our discussions on trends and genres in contemporary jewellery.