August 3rd 2017
The creative path is so often a multifaceted one. In the last year, this blog was named as one of the world's Top 40 leading ceramic bloggers on Feedspot, quite an honour. Nestled next to the V&A in the list is a very exciting place to be! And one I once could have only dreamt of, so thank you, Feedspot.
It's also very encouraging to read how people like my work when they write about it. The writing process is very much part of the creative process overall, for me. As makers and creative people, we noodle and doodle and play until things have meaning, don't we?
All this has got me thinking about trains of association, because of how the creative process works and because of the particular experience of how my [Alter Pieces] came into being.
Communicating about change is something I've done all my life. Spurred by those experiences, I was determined to promote the idea, the nature and the challenges of adopting altered states, by making shapes that could be built to last.
I wanted to create something of permanence, as well as words that jump off a page or slide decks off a screen. And that is when I drew this sketch.
Its design was intended to represent a human form that could be universally applicable to everyone, devoid of gender or race.
I wanted it to have something of how we are in a digital age, in terms of how it's made, so that in the process of creating it, I wanted to convey we are all makers as an implicit message, as well as to create an icon that could stand the test of time, made of clay, for our ephemeral world.
In June 2014 I was on my way to Paris on the Eurotunnel. Sitting there in the car in the tunnel somewhere under the sea was the moment I drew it, during the 25 minutes or so it took for me to cross the channel.
Thoughts into actions, from intentions of moving away to writing reports that I wanted to do at the time, to something fashioned.
While in Paris I visited the Musée du quai Branly, a place jam-packed full of anthropomorphic images and ancient cultural history.
It was fascinating to see all the totems on display there, shapes of all sizes and descriptions, shapes reflecting cultures long-lost and yet, somehow, shapes of permanent value, and all recognizably human.
I realized there's something quintessentially constant in how we relate to our humanity, no matter what else changes all around us.
And that's what I seek to convey and depict in the [Alter Piece] figure. It is a figure designed for today and tomorrow. A slightly jaunty figure that feels good to hold in the hand. A figure that defies gravity and convention and yet speaks to people; a universal symbol, whatever moment in time we're in.
I'll write more about the original process of making the first prototype figures using 3D technology, the design registration process and what I've learned from the journey of making them.
I'm keen to continue the process of bringing things into being - on the page, in real life and, most of all, by exercising and actualising the imagination about what the human condition might become.
I'll be a speaker at the fantastic Digital Plymouth conference next month, where I'll be talking about 'Digital Civilization from an Artisan Perspective'. There's only a little more than a month to go, so grab a very reasonably-priced ticket while you can. It would be great to see you if you're in the area.