Rapid Update: Hothouse, GNCCF, Shipley Art Gallery, Made By Hand

Crafts Council UK Hothouse 2011 was officially launched back in September.  It has been amazing so far and the other makers are incredibily talented.  I feel very fortunate to be part of this programme - a feeling which grows more and more with every session I attend.  I cannot recommend enough to other makers, to apply in the future if they get the chance.

Sound Wear Red Hat by Hanna Nielsen - Hothouse North Cohort

In October I exhibited at the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair 2011 (GNCCF) at Spinningfields, Manchester.  It was at a new venue this year at Quay House - the best aspect of this being the fabulous display in the reception area showcasing the Great Northern Graduate and One Year On makers.  This space was sponsored by Manchester based interior and design specialists Ferrious, curated by Kelda Savage (Ferrious), and it looked fantastic.

GNCCF 2011 - Great Northern Graduates and Ferrious

The GNCCF was a great chance to meet a new audience and talk with galleries and makers.  I was mighty pleased to be awarded a prize for Best Innovative Maker (sponsored by The Plantation Rug Company), which I will gaze at fondly when weeks worth of experiments have  all gone pear shaped.

Jane Dzisiewski - Best Innovative Maker

My work was also selected for the new Shipley Art Gallery exhibition 'Christmas Present', which showcases work from 11 artists, who were all nominated by craft experts from across the UK.  Therefore a big thank you goes to Kate Day, Director at Manchester Craft & Design Centre, for putting my name forward for this opportunity.  The show runs from now until 24th December 2011.

Jane Dzisiewski - Christmas Present / The Shipley Art Gallery 2011

Finally, this week I am off to South Wales for Made By Hand 2011 at Tredegar House, Newport and I will be one of 150 selected makers exhibiting.  The Fair runs from Friday 2nd December until Sunday 4th December.

Hothouse 2011 Crafts Council UK - via the Design Initiative

Design Initiative

It is now official, (see above), as opposed to when I blurted out the news at the end of the June - (please read here).

I am extremely grateful to have been offered this amazing opportunity, and very much looking forward to the induction day in London next week.

I have been selected for the Hothouse 2011 North cohort, but there is also a South West Textiles and a Goldsmiths' Institute Cohort.

Jane Dzisiewski - Crafts Council Hothouse 2011 North Cohort

Full list of all the Crafts Council UK Hohouse 2011 participants with links where applicable:

Amy Bear, Aimee Betts, Eleanor Bolton, Emma Bradbury, Kevin Brook, Hannah Felicity Dennis, Jane Dzisiewski, Amelia Fever, Lucy Jane Foakes, Helen Foot, Jasmin Giles, Anna Glasbrook, Mahtab Hanna, Zehava Hashai-Spellman, Tortie Hoare, Anna Collette Hunt, Zoe Lloyd, Hanna Nielsen, Elizabeth Peers, Carly Petit-Taylor, Helen Smith, Rhian Solomon, Thorody, Ellen Thomas, Victoria Walker, Sarah Warsop and Janice Zethraeus.
 

Moulds, Resin Blocks and Bangles

It was out with the silicone again this week to make a new mould based on drawings of the Jaume Plensa exhibit at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I also made new moulds from a couple of bangles and got started on pieces for both the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Designers Eclectic at Manchester Craft & Design Centre.

Masters fixed in place within plastic boxes

My able assistant, (my son Freddy), mixing the silicone and the catalyst together.

In goes the silicone and wait 24 hours for this to cure...

...leaving plenty of time to now walk Bonny, who was completely
underwhelmed with this whole process.

24 hours later, Freddy was given the task of choosing a painting on which to base the colours.

He selected a painting by Edouard Vuillard, and all the colours mixed to make the bangles
were inspired by the painting on the front cover of the book.

This is where my training as a textile designer comes in very handy, using the pastes
to make resin colours in a similar way one would as if they were paints.

The aftermath.

Hopefully we'll get some decent weather next week, so that I can get outside and sand and polish all of the above.