Teaching Creativity in Schools

The UK is renowned worldwide for its creativity.  This innovation enriches our lives but also enriches the economy; creative industries are contributing almost 10 million pounds an hour to the UK economy, according to a recent press release from the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), and they're growing -  by 8.9% in 2014 You can read more here.

The last couple of years saw the Crafts Council succssfully lobby for the inclusion of craft within the DCMS creative industries definition used to produce their economic estimates.  You can read more in the report; "Measuring the Craft Economy" found here.  The same report concludes that craft industries and occupations generated nearly £3.4bn for the UK economy.

The Crafts Council have published other reports too, dating back to 2010.  Some of the research relates to the craft economy, others to innovation, technology and education. The Crafts Council are persistant advocates for craft and run programmes such as 'Firing Up', which saw dormant ceramic kilns in UK schools fired up and teachers inspired to teach ceramics again.  You can see a short film about the programme here...

Photo: Sophie Mutevelian.

We need to ensure we have a future generation of 'creatives' to build on the current growth of this industry through an excellent and broad education in schools.  Richard M Wilson has created a petition lobbying for the inclusion of 'expressive arts' in the English Baccalaureate.  "Creativity must be at the heart of our schools."  If you feel passionately about the subject, you can find more information and sign the petition here...

Finding beauty in decay

There’s something fascinating about decay.   Something about nature taking over, something that reminds us that there’s something more powerful than the perceived control we have over our everyday lives.

Talking about the pleasures of specifics..... “ the wonderful peculiarity that accrues from dilapidation; what we build gets differentiated as it comes apart - boards loosen to crazy angles, windowpanes fall out, and rain and snow streak white clapboards”  “People too become marked and thus individualized as they age”.
Robert Adams in Why we photograph. p79

The photos of derelict London mansions in this Guardian article highlight this fine balance between order and chaos,  'Inside London's derelict mansions' article

I’m not alone in my love of the derelict… “Strand, like Cartier Breton was attracted to the picturesque desolations and damages of urban life” Susan Sontag, On Photography  p101

One of my most inspirational trips was to Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, USA.  The most wonderful thing is that the site hasn't been tidied up, cleaned, renovated....  which led to some fantastic photographs. There's a sense of authenticity with a site like this; its uncompromised, and this leads visitors to a deeper connection with the building.

All of this got me to thinking about the preservation of buildings.  I came across an article written by Rowan Moore, about the difficulties of choosing which buildings to assign heritage status to.  The article really highlights the challenge; how do we decide which buildings are culturally and historically significant?

You can read Moore’s article here:  Architectural heritage article

Richard Serra at the Guggenheim, Bilbao

A recent visit to see Serra's monumental sculptures at the Guggenheim in Bilbao led me to think about the scale of my own metalwork and inspired me to think on more ambitious and industrial scales. 

A walk through Industrial Bristol

Last weekend, I took a sunny walk along the harbourside in Bristol with enamel jeweller Jessica Turrell.  The journey took us from Cumberland basin to Centrespace studios, where we both work.  We're working on concurrent projects for a 'Make & Think' research group project with the Univeristy of the West of England.

The highlight for me was exploring the working boat yard; Underfall Yard.  I was in industrial heaven.  Functional details often have a life, or character to them, which, for me, stems from their imagined use. 

 

 

And of course I found plenty of rusty metal joy at the dockyard.

Industry often works its way in to my own metalwork:

Leith Docks 2014 made for INDUSTRIAL SHIFT solo exhibition at Edinburgh Printmakers

Tinsmith Template Series 2012

Find more industrial work here.

You can see Jessica's photos of our walk on her facebook page.

Come and Meet the Makers....

Rebecca Gouldson
Meet the Makers at Contemporary Applied Arts, London

  

I'd love it if you can join me on Thursday, 20 August, 3-5pm for an informal Meet the Makers afternoon at Contemporary Applied Arts Gallery, at 89 Southwark Street.

Refreshments will be served.

  

The event is part of the current New Members Showcase which includes new work and rarely seen pieces by:

Jilly Edwards

Rebecca Gouldson

Akiko Hirai

Tony Laverick

Agalis Manessi

  

Admission is free. If you would like to join me, please email  rsvp@caa.org.uk by Wednesday 19 August.

Metal reflecting light in Interiors

I wanted to pay homage this week to Amanda Celeste, who earlier this year wrote a fantastic article about the role of texture and light in interiors, with reference to colour theory.

Her article is particularly poignant for me, working with both texture and light.

"Light-reflective textures such as silk, paints with a sheen, glazed, or glossy finish and as mentioned mirrors and metals bounce light around the room."

Interior from Amanda's article

Interior from Amanda's article

Installation of metal wall pieces by Rebecca Gouldson for Private Client, Park Ave, New York.

"Colours can look brighter, stronger and possibly even lighter when seen on reflective surfaces such as glass, mirror and metals. Our perception of a colour’s temperature can also alter under different lighting, at different times of day and when seen in relation to other colours"

Installation of abstract metal wall pieces by Rebecca Gouldson, Private Client, London; Silver plated gilding metal

 These examples show how metal can reflect light and brighten dull walls.  The metal surfaces transform throughout the day with the changing light, which has the added benefit of creating a different mood and atmoshpere with each change in light.

Installation of abstract metal wall pieces by Rebecca Gouldson, Private Client,Winchester; Silver plated gilding metal

See Amanda's excellent article here:  http://amandaceleste.com/2015/01/25/colour-theory-what-effect-does-texture-have-on-light-colour/