Robin Paris - Recent News and Events

October 2006

It was an inspiring summer with Peninsula Art's "Challenging the Margins of Time - Everything is One" exhibition and lecture series in May and June, RANE's Artful Ecologies conference in July, and Australian Aborigine storyteller Francis Firebrace's residency in Camelford in September.

At Peninsula Arts, New Zealanders Barry Brailsford and Gavin Britt talked about Waitaha and Maori wisdom, culture and arts. The Waitaha lived in New Zealand for a thousand years before the Maori arrived, having a deep relationship with the land and understanding of earth rhythms. I highly recommend Barry's books, especially Song of the Old Tides, and In Search of the Southern Serpent co-authored with Hamish Miller (of Cornwall), who I also had the pleasure to meet at these lectures. Both in the accompanying exhibition and in his talk, Gavin showed us fantastic carvings by his school students. Maori art, they were inspired by traditional stories, nature and wisdom, with a quality as amazing as their aura. I will return to this in a future musing, because they enabled me to understand something about the difference between traditional art and western art (in its current guise).

Their spiritual approach to talking ("giving lectures") was enlightening. They began with an incantation in Maori (a karakia), acknowledging the room we were in and the Ancestors. It didn't seem at all weird, on the contrary it drew us all in and focused us. Somehow, I can't imagine a European speaker doing this without some parts of an audience smirking, which in turn puzzles me.

Francis Firebrace's evening at Camelford was both entertaining and enlightening. He talked about the traditional Aboriginal way of life, including a demonstration of a kangaroo hunt. For this he enlisted 'men' from the audience including 'boys' of an age that as Aboriginals would have been initiated. As they emulated grazing, head rubbing, and hands-as-ear wiggling after smothering themselves with virtual roo dung I wondered whether this kind of hunting - raw, gunless - is a skill that all humans will again need within those children's - or my - lifetime.

The Artful Ecologies conference at Falmouth had inspiring speakers, art and atmosphere. I was really chuffed to receive an artist bursary from RANE to attend. Especially motivating for me were Stacy Levy's and Alan Sonfist's work, and of the RANE projects themselves, Dave Pritchard's research into trees' relationships with introduced objects (eg barbed wire), and Martin Protheroe's experiential discovery of place and survival skills. His passion for this other way of living, away from western entrapments, reminded me of my time travelling. I clearly recall the moment in backcountry Australia some 18 years ago when I realised nothing I had learned at school or from books could teach me how to survive in that harsh environment. I was on my own if the worst came to the worst (sun, no-water, snakes). Emptying my head was unexpectedly refreshing - I became free!

In June I spent a wonderful day learning about indigo dyeing with Abi Evans. Abi's studio is inspirational - yarns and cloths of many hues from - it seems - any flower, leaf, bark etc she can find. It made me realise how much there is to learn about natural dyeing. Unlike Procion dyes where once you've got the hang of mixing colours the dyeing is straightforward, with each plant dye there's a different procedure, timing, temperature, mordant etc. A lifetime's work. I'm going to stick with indigo for now! As a child and teenager I would only happily wear blue, so there may be a future in indigo for me.

In my final PGCE assignment I was looking at how (and whether) sustainability is learned (or learnable) through teaching by comparing theory (David Orr's ecoliteracy) with practice (mine) and vice versa. This sounds pretty long-winded when the subject is art but as Orr indicated, it's the holistic experience, the educational surroundings, atmosphere and attitude that give the ambience for learning about sustainability rather than it being the core subject. I could rattle on for a while but let's just say my findings were mixed and have also given me a lot to think about including new directions.

My own artwork pretty well came to a halt over the last year of the PGCE course (I'd been warned of this when I started). I'd get going on something only to have to break off to apply myself mentally and academically. Meanwhile, the dyes would start going off and by the time I got back to the batik my emotional connection would be as far gone as the dyes. I consciously stopped - chucking virtually unused dyes got too much!

Naturally (I guess) I left college with a debt and some effort is being put to paying that off, as well as the financial repercussion of lingering computer problems. These have been pinpointed as far as they probably will be, and I can once more access 10-month-old work files! I have learned more than I ever wished about the innards of a computer (or three). I am so glad to be getting back to batik/real world and limiting my tech-savvyness to updating this website!

The Batik Guild's 20th anniversary touring exhibition Batik Transitions: from classic to contemporary began a few weeks ago. My (large) piece will be included in the Gloucester and Birkenhead shows over the winter. I believe it is the highest profile batik exhibition there's been in this country, with contemporary work displaying diverse styles, techniques and approaches, and a complementary show of traditional batik from around the world. The accompanying book is gorgeous - as well as the contemporary and world batik sections it also includes one on batik techniques by leading batikers. My contribution to the show was to proof read the book and exhibition text (I worked part-time proof reading scientific journals for four years in the mid-1990s. So all the eye-ache was worth it after all!).

April 2006

Last weekend was the Batik Guild's first AGM gathering, at Westhope College in the Shropshire Hills. It was great to indulge in batik with so many others over two days, and to meet up with old friends and those only known previously by art, email, phone or name, and to meet new artists. Spectacular location - dedicated crafts college, sculpture gardens, and hill walking (but didn't get enough done). Five demonstrations/workshops were given on the Saturday, including mine (Wired Batik - batik using self-made wire stamps). Others were pysanky - decorated eggs (Sue Cowell), paper batik (Angela Lenman), water effects with dye (Gillian Recordon), and - my favourite - combining machine stitch with batik (Jane Brunning). My mother banned me from her sewing machine in my teens after I broke two needles, leaving me with a lifelong dread of sewing. Jane was very patient and soon I had the hang of it - and her machine survived! Essentially sewing through wax then dyeing either leaves a dyed remnant cotton line/zigzag etc when wax is removed, or if 'sewn' without cotton, a row of punctures with slightly dyed edges. Unusual effects... and very good fun.

In late February I joined Phil Smith and others for a scuttle in Newton Abbot (Devon). It's interesting to drift with a group, looking at things that interest you and discussing them with others, and seeing what they notice but you miss. Some things jog your memory of another time or place, which others can have a very different take on. Once in observant mood, you can find wonderful gems - a remnant, abandoned section of sunken lane lost between new housing; an old oak treetrunk with scores of nails in twos and threes - presumed to be folklore remedy for toothache; traces of a former kitchen garden in the leisure centre carpark. Phil and co (Wrights & Sites) have just published their latest book - A MisGuide to Anywhere - inspired thinking for looking at the world around us and recommended!

I haven't quite finished my PGCE - just a day's work away. I'm looking forward to more time for batik and less for writing about it! The plan is to resurrect my Mekong series (half was already made when I started the PGCE), finish it and get a touring show organised for 2008. On the educational side I'm planning new slide-talk/lectures including batik from leading artists, and a new series of school workshops.

Currently I'm showing with Gwynngala (local art group) at Camelford Gallery in North Cornwall, including a mixed media piece I made a few years ago for Voicing Dissent, an exhibition about the war in Iraq. It's sad that it's still so relevant. I lament the opportunities artists have to make and show political work here in Cornwall - our art market is too geared to tourism and the legacy of 'light'.

News 2005