Connected Threads: an exhibition celebrating the importance and reward of teaching and learning.
Exhibition statement:
‘Connected
Threads’ brings together five mixed media textile artists connected through
education, whose practice is all rooted in the principle of manipulating
threads to diverse outcomes. Laura
Thomas, a woven textile designer and artist, also co-leads the BA Textiles: knit, weave & mixed media degree
programme in Carmarthen School of Art, Coleg Sir Gar. Having been invited to exhibit at TenbyMuseum & Art Gallery, Laura decided to take the opportunity to invite two
of her former tutors Julia Griffiths Jones and Ann Sutton, and two of her
former students Sian O’Doherty and Debbie Smyth to exhibit alongside her.
Teaching is
a common accompaniment to the professional life of an artist or
designer-maker. An otherwise often
solitary practice is greatly enriched by the joy of sharing expertise and
inspiring keen learners. Laura is
particularly passionate about passing on the skill of weaving in a country
where the manufacture of cloth is so fundamental. Carmarthen School of Art offers the only
remaining degree programme in Wales with the option to specialise in weave.
Having
always known that a career in art and design was where her future lay, Laura
was still uncertain about what to specialise in when she began her Foundation
Diploma in Art and Design in Carmarthen School of Art in 1995. Typography had been an obsession throughout
school, so graphic design seemed inevitable.
However textiles tutor Julia Griffiths Jones introduced the idea that
textiles could be something quite unexpected and truly exciting and so the path
shifted. Working with wire and other untypical
materials and processes were a revelation, and so a degree specialising in
mixed media textiles was selected in Birmingham City University (formally
University of Central England). However,
here once again the path changed. The
four week introductory taster to weaving was a life changing ‘light-bulb’
moment. Having never given a second
thought to the construction of cloth, the weave room, with its floor-to-ceiling
shelves full of yarn, encasing rows of table looms was a welcome onslaught to
the senses. The opportunity to explore
the key passions of colour, composition and line, and fundamentally, to make
cloth proved irresistible and thus became Laura’s chosen specialism.
One the
foremost draws to subsequently undertake an MA in Woven Textiles at the RoyalCollege of Art, was that Ann Sutton was one of the visiting tutors. Prolific artist, designer, maker, curator,
speaker and writer, Ann Sutton’s energetic, rule-breaking and pioneering approach
to weave was inspirational. Treasured
tutorials challenged Laura to see the ingenuity in overlooked structures and to
recognise that weaving is ‘soft engineering’.
The possibilities for woven textile application in unexpected arenas,
such as public art set the die for Laura’s future career. Good fortune also meant that Laura was due to
graduate in 2001, the year that Ann Sutton was recruiting for her first tranche
of three Weave Design Research Fellows for The Ann Sutton Foundation in
Arundel, West Sussex. Thrilled to be
awarded one of the Fellowships, the two years spent at the Foundation were
entirely fundamental in Laura developing the confidence to establish her multifaceted
studio practice in Cardiff in early 2004.
Soon after
arriving back in Wales, Laura wrote to the textile department in Carmarthen
School of Art to introduce herself and offer her services as a visiting
speaker. An informal meeting and talk to
the students led to a one-day a week appointment as weave tutor. Laura has
taught there ever since, and has been co-leading the course since January 2013.
Carmarthen
School of Art is a joy to be a part of. It
is a true art college, in that it’s purely art and design courses undertaken on
the campus. It’s uniquely small, meaning
that class sizes are a fraction of those in the ‘big’ universities and so has a
nurturing, family atmosphere, where tutors really get to know their
students. Its size also means there is
plenty of scope for inter-departmental working, something that both Sian O’Doherty
and Debbie Smyth embraced throughout their studies.
The biggest reward
in teaching, is to watch already talented students develop over their three
years of study into something exceptional; to observe their ‘light-bulb’
moments; to suggest a creative direction that proves to be their personal
revelation; to celebrate their recognition in the wider world of art and
design. Both Sian and Debbie were
outstanding students from the outset, but what set them apart was their
unstinting work ethic, creative risk taking and thirst for
experimentation. Both students were
multi-talented and could have easily specialised in any textiles discipline,
but both took a mixed media approach comfortably exploring different techniques
and processes as per aesthetic and practical demands. Underpinning their work throughout was their
high level of drawing ability, comfortably taken into cloth, paper or thread
manipulation.
Debbie
graduated in 2008 and achieved instant recognition at New Designers, the annual
graduate showcase exhibition in London.
Work was sold, exhibitions arranged and commissions won. Debbie has worked consistently since
graduation for a stellar list of clients achieving international recognition
for her trademark ‘pins and threads’ drawings and large scale
installations. Recent commissions have
taken her to Shanghai and Las Vegas to create spectacular installations.
Sian
graduated in 2012 and likewise achieved immediate success at New Designers
winning the prestigious Lucienne Day Award for her final collection of woven
quadruple cloth and digitally printed textiles. Throughout her studies Sian demonstrated an
exceptional technical ability for making fabric in all disciplines, so the
final degree exhibition showcased only a fraction of her talents. Subsequently the focus of Sian flourishing practice
based here in Tenby, has primarily been knit for both fashion accessories and
homewares, but she also makes mixed media artworks as showcased here in this
exhibition. Sian is also now the knit
tutor and co course leader for the BA Textiles course in Carmarthen School of
Art.
