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From both sides of the fence - The Open College of the Arts

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From both sides of the fence thumb

From both sides of the fence

Three art students in Barnsley, Melvyn Robinson, 1954

Some time has passed since my travels around the country last month, which coincidentally, made me look at Textiles from both sides of the fence, and here I’m reflecting on those experiences.  First stop,  Barnsley for  the OCA Textile Tutors Development Day, very stimulating and helpful plus lovely to meet not only other tutors, but OCA staff as well. An unexpected highlight for us all  (following the non delivery of the lunch) was our decanting in cars to the nearest pub for a meal instead. If you’ll remember, late March we were in the middle of a heat wave and so we sweltered in the front garden adjoining the car park, but some very productive conversations took place there. Back at HQ we engaged in a number of exercises, one of which was grading a range of students work for assessment (it had in fact already been formally assessed).  Interesting to see how closely our marks echoed the “real” assessment scores. What really stood out was how some well some students displayed work and some not so. Given a limited amount of time, it was important to make sense of things quickly – why was this here, where was the student going with this train of thought? What did this drawing or set of samples relate too? Anything that simplifies or clarifies means more time to examine the quality of the work itself. A big thanks to Jane and Alison and everyone else involved for making the day such a success, also thanks to Melvyn Robinson, local artist for the image.
A few days sojourn in Hebden Bridge followed that (very arty and alternative),   home to artist and weaver Sue Lawty, and again, some exemporay Northern hospitality. Then across to Stroud, home of the annual Textiles Festival  to attend a Development Weekend for Textile/Mixed Media Artists with Hilary Bower (below) whose work I’ve long admired. This was not technique based, but rather a chance to develop and extend ourselves as artists and designers. Hilary from the first made us all feel relaxed,  she emphasised this was our weekend, and we could use the time in any number of ways; come and go freely, walk in the park, draw, read, write notes or just think.  At the  core were a series of group discussions and one to one mentoring sessions with Hilary. We were a mixed bunch, mostly with first or second degrees in Textiles or associated Fine Art skills, some moving or wanting to move between the two, but all seeking to develop in some way.  I’d also consider it suitable for good level 3 students,  particularly distance ones wanting some group contact. Hilary couldn’t be a better mentor, her  sensitive support,  depth of knowledge and innate intelligence nurtured us safely into new ground and new ideas.
One of the participants, Jilly Morris is exhibiting in the current Pairings exhibition as part of the annual Stroud Textiles Festival. Deborah Roberts, a felt maker  had also been on the MA course at Birmingham as had her friend Diane Cooke,  a few years on from me, so it was great to be able to catch up with all the gossip and hear about what our tutors had been up to.
Felt vessels, drawings and work in progress, Deborah Roberts

As with OCA students work, was struck was the range of both subject matter and technique spread over  this small group of artists. What it worth doing? Without a doubt; this was a chance  to reflect, not always possible in everyday life.  Heartfelt thanks to Hilary for making it such a wonderful weekend.


Posted by author: Trisha Goodwin

One thought on “From both sides of the fence

  • Thanks for posting this Trisha. We had a good day at the photography tutor’s day about a month ago – unfortunately without a visit to the pub though!
    I love the painting by Melvyn Robinson, but the link from his name doesn’t connect – could the URL be posted here please?
    Thanks,
    Derek

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