Output details
34 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
University of Edinburgh
Drawing with Objects
‘Drawing with Objects’ comprises experimental research through practice into the relationship between drawing and making in the context of jewellery. It addresses this issue as follows:
- Drawing as an inspirational tool in design development. Drawings were developed from primary research gathered on a trip to Korea in 2008. Diverse techniques were employed to interpret forms, textures and qualities sensed in the landscapes and places.
- Ways in which drawing can be translated into making. This was done by selecting elements from the drawings and re-making them out of paper, card and crin (millinery material). Ink and paint were applied to surfaces for colour and texture; and materials were glued and sewn together into a variety of 3D constructed forms.
- For the next stage Cross experimented with enamelling, employing the sgraffito technique to transfer aspects of these initial drawings onto enamel surfaces, blurring the boundaries between drawing and jewellery. Construction methods for the pieces related directly to those used for the drawn models.
- The exhibition was also an act of drawing with objects, challenging the way contemporary jewellery is viewed in the public arena, and experimentally arranging pieces to expose and de-mystify the design process. Jewellery and drawings were shown together as one cohesive body of work.
The resulting work was invited for exhibition at:
‘Drawing with Objects’, Contemporary Applied Arts, London 07.07-12.06.10
‘Drawing, Permanence & Place’ Kunstverein, Coburg, Germany. 1.9.11-9.10.11
‘Crafts in the Bay’, Cardiff, Wales 3.3.12 - 22.4.12
‘Kulturhaus Kroenbacken’, Erfurt, Germany 30.6.12 - 12.08.12
Museum voor Vlakglasen Emaillekunst, Ravenstein, Holland 19.08.12 - 07.10.12
The work was discussed at a symposium held at Edinburgh College of Art in 2012 entitled ‘Drawing and Making: Elements of Creativity’ co-organised by Cross and Dr Cat Rossi, in which makers and theorists interrogated the drawing practice of five invited artists.
