SCOTLAND
INTERVIEWS BY STUART RUSSELL B.E.M.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH ARTS IN BRITAIN.
PROJECT SUPPORTED BY NATALIE WOOD.
CARMEL WILKINSON-AYRE
GREGOR WITTRICK
NATALIE WOOD
HANNAH MORRISON
INTERVIEWS BY
STUART RUSSELL B.E.M
01. Tell me a bit about your practice. My practice involves a sense of play. Whether this is through the function or presentation of the objects I create or the materials I use. I have a growing fondness for human-object interaction. I’m interested in making enticing, playful environments, settings and compositions that draw attention. 02. Why 3D design, what is 3D design to you? 3D Design always posed challenges for me. I had a very sparing knowledge of the practices involved, however I knew that the range of facilities and materials available to us would test my design abilities. 3D Design has so far provided a complex yet stimulating journey. 03. What are your influences and where do they derive? I’m largely inspired by society, our lifestyles and how we present and represent ourselves. This could be through the objects we own, clothing we wear or through our behaviours. Challenging the familiar by creating unfamiliar associations and contexts is a recurring theme in my work. 04. Where do you find the inspiration to create? From observing people, actions and trends around me. I’m a keen contemporary art reader and researcher so often find key inspiration from present fine artists. 05. 3D design encompasses many materials, what materials do you like to work in most and why? I have always enjoyed combining malleable materials like rubber or fabric with more fragile, rigid structures, like porcelain. I find the juxtaposition of this very interesting, as we are encouraged to touch but are wary of the precious and fragile. I ultimately like to challenge what one material may ‘say’ when placed against another. 06. Where do you see 3D design taking you? 3D Design encourages me to thoroughly investigate form. I have always perceived these forms in a presented space so I hope to apply my skills to curation in the near future. 07. Can you describe a favourite piece of individual work or a favourite technique you have? I can’t choose just a single technique or piece, it’s too difficult. I have always enjoyed composing marks on fabric and using it as an alternative to paper. By applying freehand drawing techniques to textiles it loosens my practice and allows me to play with and further develop my designs. This technique is then translated onto ceramics, creating very surprising pieces. 08. Describe your work in three words… Playful, Contemporary, Versatile. 09. What do you hope people take away from your work? The confidence to use, play and style colour in their home and on themselves. 10. Where can people find out more about you? www.instagram.com/cswa_
01. Tell me a bit about your practice. I’m looking into interchanging materials within processes. Looking into the properties of certain food materials and craft materials in order to use them together in one way or another. Though I’m beginning to have an idea, I’m not entirely sure where it is going yet. 02. Why 3D design, what is 3D design to you? Originally I had intended to study product design, so after school I applied and got into product design. Our first year was much more art based than design based, which was unexpected but lots of fun. I soon discovered materials I wouldn’t have thought about using otherwise, such as clay. Clay and the fun in first year are the main reasons for the move from product design to 3D design, I wanted to study ceramics. 3D design is the more sculptural side of design and it allows much more freedom of expression than other, more stringent, subjects in design. 03. What are your influences and where do they derive? My main influence – The materials I work with. I’m interested to see how they can (or refuse to) become interchangeable within certain processes. How their properties differ or resemble one another. How they can be used in conjunction or reject one another. 04. Where do you find the inspiration to create? I have always made or built objects. Lego was a massive part of my childhood and it never really stopped after that. 05. 3D design encompasses many materials, what materials do you like to work in most and why? As above: clay! It’s quite amazing. You can work it in a completely malleable form, make any shape you can imagine, and after applying heat it becomes completely solid. I find the permanence very interesting, too. The idea that anything you create now, using ceramic materials, could be present in hundreds of years. 06. Where do you see 3D design taking you? I feel I have a broad enough skillset that I could do many different things, though I haven’t thought too far ahead yet. I’d like to keep learning about materials and keep up the creative process. 07. Can you describe a favourite piece of individual work or a favourite technique you have? Throwing is nice. It can be relaxing (if things are going your way) and it’s a very traditional process. It’s nice to go back to basics every now and then. 08. Describe your work in three words… Material, Process, Raw. 09. What do you hope people take away from your work? I’ve tried to give my work a simple form and aesthetic, so the textures gained from the process is emphasized. Because of the food materials I’m using, the pieces have a very raw, rugged texture. I’d like for people to be inquisitive and open-minded, and to think about the qualities of day-to-day materials. 10. Where can people find out more about you? www.gregorwittrick.tumblr.com
01. Tell me a bit about your practice. My practice focuses heavily on concept. I usually begin projects with a base in research and think about what I want to convey to the viewer. I then choose the best materials in which to accomplish that. Currently I am focusing on ceramics with a mix of new technologies where appropriate. 02. Why 3D design, what is 3D design to you? 3D design to me, means freedom. As a subject it is vast, which is good and bad in various aspects. It can be difficult to pin down exactly what you want to be as a designer but it does give you the freedom to play, the freedom to be hybrid between art and design. 03. What are your influences and where do they derive? I am influenced by society and by all aspects of our lives that go unnoticed. Design tends to be unchallenged outside of the creative sector so trying to design in a way that engages a consumer is always an interesting challenge. 04. Where do you find the inspiration to create? I have a design blog and it is a constant stream of inspiration. To see the new ideas people are always coming up with gives me hope. Sometimes when I come up with an idea it seems like everything has been done, but I never let that stop me because ideas always develop. Ideas build upon other ideas. 05. 3D design encompasses many materials, what materials do you like to work in most and why? The material I always come back to is ceramics. It has fragility and strength. It is sensitive and can be unforgiving. When I have a bad day in the studio I wonder why I ever choose it, yet there’s no better pleasure than getting your work out of the kiln on the last firing. Seeing all the elements come together into one piece is magical. 06. Where do you see 3D design taking you? I feel I’m part of a fairly new movement of designers. There are new roads to take. At the moment I’m looking at artist residencies, both in the UK and internationally. I hope to be showing in exhibitions and at some point would like to set up my own business. 07. Can you describe a favourite piece of individual work or a favourite technique you have? One of my favourite is a series of whisky cups I made entitled ‘The Angles Share’. They each have a texture covering a percentage of the body of the cup, which signifies the percentage of whisky lost in the barrel to the angles share. To create these pieces I took advantage of digital technologies to get very precise measurements. This mix of craft and new technology is something I’ve started to focus on frequently in my work. 08. Describe your work in three words… Minimal, Functional, Idealist. 09. What do you hope people take away from your work? With the ‘Angles Share’ piece, it was a modern take on something historically Scottish. It really depends on the context of the project and what I want to achieve at the time. Right now I’m working on several ceramic pieces that integrate digital glitch like patterns and what I hope people take from it is a subtle look into how the digital is integrating into every aspect of our lives. 10. Where can people find out more about you? www.nataliejwood.com
Hand Thrown Cup & Slip Cast Tray. By Natalie Wood
01. Tell me a bit about your practice. I explore what we find ‘beautiful’ and why. I’m inspired by the beauty of the natural world, particularly the landscapes in the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland. The beach is my main source of inspiration this year. I aim to create pieces which have a function, but it is up to the owner whether they are used to be functional or simply as decorative objects. 02. Why 3D design, what is 3D design to you? 3D Design is a combination of product design, interior design and sculpture. We have the freedom to create pieces which can be functional yet beautiful, or be a lot more concept driven. It’s less specific than other creative subjects. 03. What are your influences and where do they derive? *see below* 04. Where do you find the inspiration to create? Growing up in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland, I’ve always had a great affinity with nature and all things within nature. Inspiration can spring from anywhere but for me it’s the places I visit that give me the greatest inspiration, places I feel a strong emotional connection with. 05. 3D design encompasses many materials, what materials do you like to work in most and why? I predominantly work with glass. I also love to work with ceramics and I suppose within our processes we can crossover quite a lot but I am focused on making a set of glass collections. I love the unpredictability and endless possibilities with glass. It’s a material that surrounds us in our every day, yet there are so much more creative possibilities locked within it. Trying to understand glass and playing with it allows you to release these incredible possibilities. 06. Where do you see 3D design taking you? I would love to work with established glass professionals across the country. I also hope to open my own studio where I can make and sell my own work. 07. Can you describe a favourite piece of individual work or a favourite technique you have? I have a few favourite techniques. The one I use most often is glass fusing. It’s such a versatile technique and allows you to create so many different effects and aesthetics. 08. Describe your work in three words… Current, Beautiful, Serene. 09. What do you hope people take away from your work? I hope people can relate to my pieces and feel a sense of connection with nature when they see/hold my work. I want people to want the objects I create because of their beauty, rather than for their function. 10. Where can people find out more about you? www.hannahmorrison.weebly.com
CREATED BY STUART RUSSELL B.E.M
TWITTER @ STUIEARTWORK