Physical traces of making through language

Week 3: Thinking about where I was last week with new compositions and objects. Since then I've had a couple of conversations that have led me to begin to look at language. 

Our understanding of particular words and how those words translate into an action, motion or movement. 

Below I've included the written verb list by Richard Serra to which this enquiry completely hinges on and my own list of important words that have relevance either within my making process or my practice as a whole. 

Looking at some of these words more carefully I would say that they definately have a link to the material I'm using. 
CLAY

For example: WEIGHT, DENSITY, MASS, SOLID

I wonder whether this is a case of my material knowledge and understanding or whether I'm making assumptions about the material. If I asked someone to describe clay I wonder whether any of the words I have just used would be included within their own description. 

I think that has to be my next step forward. 

This is an example of a very simply process through the action of pushing using a rolling pin by pressing down using my own body weight and applying pressure. So what we have in this one simple action is the involvement of two to three other words listed above. 

PUSH, PRESS, PRESSURE, WEIGHT, 

Is there a way that these words and the way we engage with the clay can simply be made by one action through interpretation of the selected word. 

Initially I thought that I was going to strip all tools away. I'm convinced that the hand held pieces of clay can be made through the use of hands and a surface such as a table. 

With regards to scaling the work up, on reflection I think tools will have to be incorporated but again it's very much about how they are being used and this will have to be carefully documented in the same way the smaller works have been. 

Chalk 10days Winchester 2015 work in progress

This is a quick update about the work I'm currently making for 10days Winchester opening in October.

Since my last post I've managed to move it along slightly with one of the three large canvas panels almost finished. 

After a conversation with Sasha this morning I'm still undecided about how the smaller test pieces will be hung in the space. I started photographing them outside in natural sunlight this afternoon and there are some interesting elements beginning to unfold, which has now made me think about lighting and possibly positioning them away from the wall in order to be able to see these details more clearly.

Chalk in three stages some of the process work will be on display along with some photography taken in  Sombourne chalk quarry.

As for the larger panels these are going to be hanging from the red brick wall but I can experiment with spot lights once the work in installed. It's something to consider and will give the white expanse a little more depth as the marks made through making will have a stronger resonance. 

Sombourne Chalk Quarry: Hampshire

Last weekend I visited Sombourne chalk quarry in Hampshire to choose the chalk I need for my next exhibition. After several conversations with Mark Yorke who owns and runs the quarry single handily.

 Ben and I drove down with plastic boxes in the boot and began selecting the chalk from the various different shapes and sizes from large boulders to dust.

Throughout the quarry, the chalk is divided into different sizes according to it's use. 

The dust to 20 is used for agriculture to line the flooring for cow sheds. 

Chalk is also used within the building trade for construction work such as building or lining river banks.

The larger blocks some weighing up to a tonne are often used for larger projects or art works. It's interesting to find out how this material is utilised but also the handling processes involved in the quarry itself. It's removed from the landscape in metre levels according to the natural seam lines.  

The quarry is normally only in working order during the summer months as it's an impossible task to work with such a dusty material during the wet winter. In many ways it's fairly similar to the way clay pits function.

Where industry is very much dependant upon the weather conditions and seasonal cycles.

Image taken by Ben Winkley 2015

Whilst I was there we filled two boxes of dust to 20 and a further two boxes of the larger chunks which can be seen in the forth image here. 

When we arrived brilliant sunshine was beaming down into the quarry. 
This was a new experience! 

I had never been into such a space that was saturated by the colour white before. 
With the addition of sunshine it becomes blinding but also quite invigorating. 
You realise how powerful it is and the spiritual connections white carries with it. 

It's something I've been interested in for a while now and White ultimately plays a huge part in this current piece of work but it's so rare that you find yourself immersed within a natural landscape surrounded by one solid colour. 

Flint is embedded within the chalk and has to be removed by hand this type of flint is quite rare with the white skin and dark black interior and is only found within this locality. When you visit Winchester flint has been used in many of the older buildings some of the interior walls within the theatre have been lined with it.

I brought one piece away with me which I intend to include in the final process display in October.

Please follow the link to take a look at the quarry as there are very few chalk quarries left in the country anymore and it's quite a special place and a big thank you to Mark for all his help.

http://www.hampshirechalk.co.uk

Physical traces of making

This exploratory work has been sitting in my sketch book for a while now. I'm revisiting it as I think I've finally formulated my thinking enough to begin to develop it further.

I'm looking at the process of making and the importance of that direct contact or handling of a material through making. In this case I'm using three different clays. 

With a simple set of instructions such as: pushing, squeezing, folding, opening I've been interpreting and responding to these words through the movement and manipulation of the clay itself.

 The initial idea came from looking at Richard Serra's verb list. There is a rhythm to this list in much the same way there is a rhythm to many making processes. 

http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2011/10/20/to-collect

Each piece of clay begins in the shape of a ball. The idea is to work quickly without over thinking each instruction meaning you are left with an object that hasn't been overworked. All tools have been removed from this process. Every mark, trace and indentation has been made through my hands or contact with the work bench.

I will be posting more images as this begins to unfold. 

All images taken by Ben Winkley 2015