Lucy May Schofield:

On friday I had the pleasure of meeting Lucy.  Ahead of the workshop I had a sneaky peak at her website, and her work is simply gorgeous.  I really enjoyed exploring the website itself, I love the aesthetic and it feels very natural and personal.  The writing is beautiful too.  I recognised 'Roadkill' as one of the pieces of inspiration Hilary had shown me in the bookbinding workshop last year.  I love it when the book becomes its own object and not just a documentation.  It is a great way of marrying concept and format.

This was something that Lucy made us think about in the workshop as well as the way in which we have the ability to control the reader, to make them linger.  It is about the ability to dictate and pace (which comes from much editing and trial and error) and is also about creating the correct rhythm for the reader.  They need breathing space to take in and be impacted by the narrative, and you don't want to create a format which is repetitive and makes them lazy.  

The group shared our 'Silence' interpretations with each other, it was great for everyone to receive some excitement about their work and to start thinking freshly about the project.  My own discussion with Lucy has made me want to confront the experimental side of the brief.  My strengths probably lie in conformed issue/social briefs but I want some variety in my portfolio and something that proves I can push out of my comfort zone.  So I'm going to eliminate all panic (easier said than done) and face the brief (also easier said than done).  Hopefully for our meeting next friday I can have some visuals to share and gain feedback from.  I've already started to mock up formats that I feel might portray a silence to the reader, whilst also emphasising my concept.  This workshop was a turning point and I left thinking about my future practice.

I also want to share some findings from the day.  Lucy took us over to the Special Collections where we spent an hour or so absorbed in the Artist Books.  Here are two that I was intrigued by...

'Imprint'

I loved how it constructed a narrative and made me think about the silent projection of thoughts and sentiment attatched to possessions.  This is similar to my personal interpretation of the brief and has inspired me to think about the simplicity of presenting my objects.

Read (in past tense)

 A great use of resources!  A book on blushing produced on heat sensitive paper!! This speaks for itself, it's a great idea!  In future I will definitely be thinking about how material is also sensitive to concept.

I am looking forward to next friday!