Lecture Series: Anna Glasbrook

Notes

Lecture given Friday, 8th April 2016

Art for Architecture

• Anna is a textile artist using 21st century materials and processes. 
• Her work crosses lots of boundaries between art, craft and design. 
• She is inspired by colour and form, she uses a camera with a big zoom instead of a sketchbook, capturing ‘details’ (something I can definitely relate to, as that's what I do too!). 
• She gets better results if she doesn't think too hard when designing and making work. She suggested this may be related to her dyslexia which also gives her difficulty with ‘process’ and 'processing'. For example, she has problems trying to work things out and plan ahead. As a result, she has her own way of doing things - and is happy to break accepted rules.  This seems to work very well for her!

Again, this lecture was hugely informative and these are just a few of the key pieces of information that I felt relevant to my own practice and development.

• Don’t assume anything about colour, especially when talking to clients if you have a commission.  Anna cited Rob and Nick Carter’s revealing “Public Perception of Colour” experiment, showing how the public see colours and demonstrates how our interpretations differ so much. 

• Anna has recently becoming interested in adding light into her work and began to explore the use of edge reflective materials and LED sheets.  She mentioned that she really likes 'edges' and discovered that many of her own captured images are of the edges of objects rather than the object as a whole. Again I can relate to this and have discovered that I've taken quite a few of photographs myself of my work just from the edge perspective.

From Anna's lecture slides

• Anna has learnt, over time, the value of collaboration with other artists, makers and practitioners – in particular she mentioned how essential this is in order to get frames and boxes made for supporting her work.
• It was amusing to hear how talking about what a ‘last minute’ person she is. (I'm saying nothing... !!) Her lecture included a number of great cartoons describing the anguish of creative process deadlines. This kind of sums it up:

(no date) Available at: http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/index.php?date=103012 (Accessed: 1 May 2016).

• Anna explained how her ‘defined role’ keeps changing; she considers this part of the natural evolution of an artist.  She has called herself many things over the years: designer, craftsperson, artist, textile artist...  She currently uses the title Art for Architecture to describe her and her work.
• In relation to the commercial aspects of practice, Anna mentioned the importance of finding your USP (unique selling point) and said it can be useful to find 3 words that describe you and your work.  I'll have to think about that one!
• At the beginning, Anna was not good at asking for money for her work, but she says she always asks now, if only to cover the expensive running costs of her business. She has applied for and has received several financial awards. She encouraged us students to do this from day one, i.e. don't be afraid to ask for appropriate payment even if you've just (or not quite) graduated. This reluctance to ask for money seems to be a common issue with artists - and I would surmise that it stems from the lack of value that the UK currently seems to assign to all but a few top artists!  And it is especially difficult with ceramics as these seem the least valuable of all of the arts to me...
• Anna takes part in a lot of design shows and events, and she advised that is important to allocate time, after these, to spend time doing ‘follow up’ with potential clients.

Anna’s unique approach to her practice was very inspiring. Her work is very original and I really admire her use of bold, fluorescent colours which are not necessarily the 'fashion' at present - but which work incredibly well.  For various reasons (she mentioned her dyslexia as one of those) she is operating within her own set of rules, both in terms of her making and the way she conducts her business. This freedom allows her to develop her products to suit her own aesthetic, helping her maintain her own style and approach when completing commissions.

I can really empathise with her lack of orderliness and frequent ‘last minute’ completion of work, being of similar nature.  It is good to see that, despite this, she is producing work of excellent quality and, on the surface at least, swimming calmly and professionally through her creative career.  Anna's talk inspired and encouraged me.  I'm very grateful to her for sharing so much valuable material in a very well planned lecture.