Experimenting with hand making the bowl of a spoon from copper.
Mama's little helper.
A free gift with each order in the shop this week as we wait for baby.
Does a creative idea ever take hold of you and then it's all you can think about? Even dream about? It grows like a seed, and eventually the first tentative steps are taken. The idea continues to grow, the steps gather momentum, and the many elements are brought in to play. This has been my experience lately. An idea to make a handmade spoon has evolved and grown in to a bigger idea for a solo exhibition, and a collaborative exhibition. There is a strong tradition of jewellers and silversmiths making spoons. Beautiful objects forged and beaten by hand, sawn and filed, cast and polished. Not only do I want to create a collection of unique pieces, I want to involve other makers in different mediums in order to explore the possibilities of a simple, yet endlessly beautiful, utilitarian object. From ceramic artists to embroiders, photographers to painters, I see an intersection of craft and fine art where beauty and practicality are blurred.
There has been a weaving of threads from my past - elements from my days spent working in an art gallery, forging spoons at the Goldsmiths school, lectures in curating and lessons in pottery from my Uni days - weaving together to form a picture of a collection of table ware that I can see so vividly in my head and feel so compelled to make. I have been sketching, researching, discussing, buying. I've sourced wood off cuts. I've ordered specialised tools from America and Australia. I've investigated techniques and tutorials and plans to further my skills with workshops. I've researched funding, gallery spaces, curatorial roles, artists call outs.
The idea feels urgent, pressing, as I wait out the last week and a half until baby's due date. I feel so aware of the deadline, yet relaxed at the possibility of a long term project. I can't wait to start experimenting with new tools and materials, and start realising these ideas and sketches as objects. Just as I can't wait to hold our new baby in my arms.
