Some new workshop ideas explode into your mind, the excitement of the idea carries you along. Along the way they can become a bit of a monster. Thus it was with some trepidation that after 6
months of trials and development then parring down options to develop a workable multi-day workshop that I took a trip to Knebworth and to Art Van Go’s studios.
Here I was to give the (possibly) unsuspecting participants a whirlwind ride of painting,
spraying, dripping, burning, rusting, and more burning over 2 days with the
theme of ‘Rusty and other Gnarly Stuff’. I was also due to run a 3 day
version with my Taking Textile Further fabulous ladies the week after. I'd like to share with you some of the amazing
work they achieved.
Both groups dived in with enthusiasm and a degree of trust in both myself and the
process they were asked to follow. I often aim to divorce the process from the ‘end game’, allowing the
final works to grow through a connection with the papers and fabrics. To develop pieces with a few key words in mind based on images of rusted objects or peeling paint
or ‘other gnarly old stuff’ was the aim in this case.
I increasingly find that showing final outcome examples early in a session can create a narrow tunnel vision for some people, so withholding visuals until very late in the day frees the mind and allows for a more personal creative response to the ideas and techniques offered. However, I also know that this can be a hard journey for some, and am grateful of the trust that is placed in me to allow this to openness occur.
Both at Art
Van Go and Taking Textiles Further at Risley we began with a blank, clean workspace and ended
up with colour, texture, marks and ideas in paper, fabric, Tyvek, Lutradur, metal
and wire before bringing these yummy piles of materials together as responsive
works.
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Great piles of loveliness! Painted, rusted, dripped, sprayed, burnt and more papers and fabrics from Rusty and Gnarly workshop from Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Great piles of loveliness! Painted, rusted, dripped, sprayed, burnt and more papers and fabrics from Rusty and Gnarly workshop from Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Drying dyeing in the autumn sunshine at Art Van Go |
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Drying dyeing in the autumn sunshine at Art Van Go |
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Great piles of loveliness! Painted, rusted, dripped, sprayed, burnt and more papers and fabrics from Rusty and Gnarly workshop from Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Great piles of loveliness! Painted, rusted, dripped, sprayed, burnt and more papers and fabrics from Rusty and Gnarly workshop from Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
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Rusty and Gnarly with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
In the end, the course worked brilliantly as you can see above. We developed new approaches, new (to some) techniques and great results underway. I can now sleep in peace having achieved the desired outcome!
Among the added
benefits for me is participating and listening to the many supportive
conversations through the days and watching the development of new friendships which I know
will continue in the future for many of the special people I get to meet. Thank you all for giving your time and sharing with me and the others on your courses.
(I'm not going into details of the Wolverhampton contingent's evening excesses, except to say - why wasn't I invited?!!)
If you are excited by the idea of my workshops, please get in touch on the contact page, or fb for my 2019, 2020 (and beyond) availability anywhere in the world.
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