Creative Strategies

The range of ceramic ware that Feen produced for the exhibition had varied surface and use which she demonstrated by grouping according to colour, form and function. The shelves are kept minimal except for the exception of a small kitchen side-table and a slate tray to put the viewer in mind of their own home. The effect is eclectic but clear in intension.

Clear Visual Access When setting up an exhibition it is incredibly important not to underestimate the importance of simply making it easy for viewers to ‘see’ the artworks. The meaning behind work can easily be confused or lost behind too much information or too complex an arrangement. The exhibition needs to support the qualities it displays, not take it over. Clear Visual Access is not so much a strategy in the development of ideas, as the other approaches, but rather a careful consideration once the work has been produced. This is not so easy a task, it is often difficult to remain objective and put yourself in the position of the viewer but that is exactly what you must attempt to do. There are still a number of possibilities at your disposal, the exhibition is almost another artwork comprised of your pieces so needs to be considered in terms of composition, groupings, sequence or theme. This is difficult to do before you enter the exhibition space but you can begin to map out possibilities two dimensionally or in the studio according to the type of work you are producing and what would best show its qualities. The delicate qualities of Angela’s porcelain work requires close examination to see, so fine is the detail. Images such as the hairs on dandelion clocks or the thread of a spiders web are almost invisible to the eye the exhibition space needed to be as clean and simple as possible so as not to detract from their experience.

Making for display Artworks are made for display it is logical therefore that display become a part of the overall design idea. This can often be a greater consideration when working with multiples rather than singularly. This approach is quite different from ‘space as an aesthetic property’ as it is not necessarily concerned with performative, dramatic installation but rather simply dictating the particular order a work be shown according to surface values, negative space, sequential stages etc. As a developmental strategy making for display should be considered carefully as it is often a dictate to a viewer. Consideration needs to be in terms of how appropriate the dictate of order is to the overriding theme or qualities of the work. Wall display Surface was of particular importance to nisha as she had examined qualities in many different ways throughout the development of her ideas and wanted to demonstrate a variety of outcomes in her exhibition. She developed an image she could enlarge across several pieces to compliment her single pieces of table-ware. .

Final decisions Alex often worked through ideas in a series of pieces so the of final pieces display needed to mirror that format. The final decisions however could not be made until the objects were in the actual space.

Small Worlds of Experience Jenna’s exhibition displays multiple narratives rather than a single collaborative theme. The works have common traits using found objects and altered perspective but each work is independent of the others. This format suited the subject of her work creating imaginary, secret worlds of fantasy. When each of these scenes is bought together it is almost as if we are entering different dreamscapes or being told a range of enchanting fairytales.

Space as an Aesthetic Property The physical activity of walking around an artwork can have a dramatic impact on a viewers experience of it. The role of ‘space’ can act almost as another aesthetic property in the development and final creation of an artwork. This is of course often the jurisdiction of installation art however, as an aesthetic property, space, can also be used to extend the meaning of singular or grouped pieces of artwork. As a creative strategy in the development of ideas, space as an aesthetic property prompts you to consider how the meaning of an artwork or works can be reinforced or dramatically altered by changing objects placement, proximity and order. Begin by asking yourself what it is you want the work to communicate, then physically explore the impact of moving the artwork into different configurations and note how this builds toward your intension or indeed if other possibilities arise as a consequence of their new composition. Physical interaction Juliana was interested in how the attributes of a vessel are often referred to as having bodily properties such as foot, belly, neck and rim. She began to make those particular aspects of a vessel according to the proportions of her own body. She then took those singular, disjointed pieces and explored how their position in space could encourage a viewer to physically move around them and connect each part to build understanding of the vessel as a whole. This strategy became an integral part of her future practice.

Theatre Anna was interested in creating an atmosphere around her works to evoke thoughts and feelings that would enhance appreciation of her individual pieces. Displaying her work almost as if in a theatre-set, within an alcove, using floor, ceiling and the space in-between offered a dramatic and animated scene to showcase her work.

Permeations on a theme A body of work often presents a range of subtly different ways of exploring a single or similar theme. Each work will display similar aesthetic values but perhaps with differing proportions or emphasis. Within an exhibition this format can lead a viewer through the work, the repetition of certain motifs becoming quickly familiar and allowing new information, subtle differences between each piece to be easily noticed and appreciated. As a creative strategy in the development of ideas, permeations on a theme allows a clear structure in which to explore and organize ideas and to reach a depth of understanding sometimes lost or confused in single pieces. There is liberation from one piece having to carry all your ideas at once instead, possibilities can be spread out across several pieces or small bodies of work each concentrating on subtly different aspects of an idea. This approach is most affective once initial work has begun as it is often from realization that others possibilities arise, consider your ideas as developing thematically, one thing building on the results of the previous. You should then be in a position to be selective as to which pieces or groups give greatest emphasis to your ideas for exhibition. Narrative Jess was interested how many things she touched in a day and building a visual diary of those often forgotten and fleeting moments. As a theme, this idea lent itself naturally to different groupings such as objects touched in the morning, at lunch, on a walk etc. However, she was also interested in the tactility of those experiences. She found ways of drawing and constructing in clay that conveyed a sense of physicality and immediacy and created three bodies of work 1) a book to show the relationship between the objects and her physical exploration of them as if through her fingertips 2), a panorama of small objects to account for the frequency of these experiences throughout a day 3), single larger objects to demonstrate actual size and act as a textural and visual account of her experiences.