Feedback for the negotiated brief from artist Claire Brewster

Having talked to Claire at Origins and been in contact with her via email she very kindly agreed to look at my work for the negotiated brief and give her opinion . Below is her feedback.


I’ve had a look at your work and my comments are as follows (which is only my opinion so feel free to take from it what you will).

Its good to try new subject matter but don’t discount the bunnies because birds seem popular at the moment, bunnies will be back and you can work with several animals as your subject. I think it would interesting to use some other animals and give them hats in the way you have with the birds, there’s no need to limit your possibilities.

For me when I look at the work you showed, there is a mismatch between the paper work and the fabric work. I would like to see the fabric work pushed a bit further, maybe you could interpret the pictures you have found in fabric, using the collage technique, but making more complex images. I would also suggest working on a larger scale, its important to be bold.

How would you make this a sustainable practice once you have left college, i.e. Where do you take this work next?

Regarding being neat and tidy, you shouldn’t hide the hand made nature of the work, that’s what makes it different and unique, but it is important to make sure when you present your work that it looks immaculate, the frame and surrounds everything. People will judge you on that and that will be the first thing they notice, if its not done well. If its done well they will notice the work first which is the important thing.

I hope you some of this is useful to you but feel free to ignore anything that’s not relevant or you don’t agree with, its only my opinion after all.

Lastly a couple of people’s work you should look at

Donna Wilson, I just read this great blog post about her, she has her own vision and style, which is now very fashionable but only because its her own and so different, its interesting to see all the different things she has turned her hand to without losing her overall vision.

http://www.sightunseen.com/2010/12/donna-wilson-textile-designer/

Also Julie Cockburn, she has done a lot of work with embroidery on found postcards and photographs, she has also done a lot of work with birds, google her and you find a lot of images, her website mostly has newer stuff.

http://www.juliecockburn.com/

Well best of luck with your course and what ever you do after it.

Best wishes

Claire

Claire Brewster

Artist

www.clairebrewster.co.uk

07940 818781

mail@clairebrewster.co.uk



Thank you very much Claire for taking time out of your busy schedule to comment .

Manchester Craft and Design centre

This is the place to get handmade, bespoke, one off craft and design items . There are two floors with 18 contemporary studios housed in a Victorian market building. The designers here produce a range of goods which includes ceramics , textiles, jewellery and baby wear.There are regular exhibitons of art and design and this craft centre is very much a social enterprice which is supported by the national lottery and Manchester City council amongst others. I would love to have a studio in this building and have scheduled a visit in the new year to look at the studio space available as part of my long term plan.
Manchester Craft and Design Centre
17 Oak St
Northern Quater
Manchester
M4 9JD
0161 832 4274
http://www.craftanddesign.com/

Feedback for negotiated brief from retailer Claire Worthington

Claire is a retailer who used to have a shop and now trades through a website, she specialises in children's wear and gifts, she has a design background. I asked her for her opinion re my negotiated brief results, these are her comments;

I think you are aiming at a niche market so need to pitch your sale area accordingly, I like what you have produced, they are amusing and quirky.
I have seen similar types of work at trade shows which is good news because you will be able sell your work.
The selling point is the hand crafted and uniqueness of your work, you could may be afford to work on a larger scale and develop the subject matter to include other animals.I think you need to find specialist shops or galleries to sell through in order to make the best profit you can.
http://www.worthybobs.com/

thanks a million Claire , much appreciated.

Janet Bell Gallery (possible outlet for work)

Janet Bell's shop , gallery and website features the work of 32 artists and designers , the gallery is in Anglesey and was opened in Nov 2007 the work on offer includes textiles, art, jewellery and ceramics. Janet states on her website that she only sells handmade items that she loves .Its very much a family run business and its location is the seaside resort of Beaumaris. This is another place i feel that my work may fit, so again i have emailed Janet in the hope that she has time to comment on what i have produced for this project.I hope to visit Janet with my work in the new year.
www.janetbellgallery.com

frank

Frank is "a space for British designers and makers selling handmade products, craft, decorative pieces and artworks" there is a shop in Whitstable Kent and a website. Franks sells work that is grouped under six headings on its web site from "art" to " treasure" and features work from artists such as Rob Ryan and Julie Arkell the products range in price from £4 to £360 and above for limited edition prints.I feel that this is the kind off outlet that i could possibly sell my work from and i have sent an email with photos of my work attached and asked for feedback from the Frank team.....watch this space!
www.frankworks.eu

uni exhibition ( negotiated brief results)

This is the end product , i feel i have created two very different results which may not necessarily work well together , i am happier with the found images in paper as i feel that have an odd quality that's a bit different.I do feel that my presentation skills are in proving with each project and i am beginning to see that there may be a market for what i produce all be it niche !

Negotiated brief the results so far !

I was aware that we were asked to create at least two projects for this brief and so introduced fabric collage and initially made a cushion. This items had a very different feel to the framed paper collages and so after discussion with my tutor i decided to stay with all framed pieces, I acknowledge that the fabric work is a bit twee and not in the same vein as the other work and probably needs more work!