Tutorial Feedback from Geoff
After my tutorial with Geoff, I had a variety of ideas on what to do next to help benefit my project. This was helpful due to being stuck on where to take my project at this time. I found at this point I had a lot of information but not any definite direction on where to take my project going forward. However, after the tutorial, I found I had a variety of ideas to work from as shown in my written notes.
Artist research
Faig Ahmed
Faig Ahmed is a contemporary artist from Azerbaijan who takes traditional Islamic carpets and turns them into sculptural works of art. He does this by re-constructing the carpets and changing them into a new piece of art using traditional weaving methods.
I believe his work is powerful and intriguing as to why and how he takes a traditional craft so globally known and changes it in such a bold way. The simplicity in the change of something traditional is something I aspire to achieve in my way in my work.
Amir Sheikhvand
Amir's work is a combination of traditional craftsmanship, whilst using ancient techniques combined with modern processes. He is an Iranian-Canadian jewellery artist who focuses on traditional Iranian techniques whilst giving his spin on them in a modern way.
Throughout my research, I discovered that Amir was trained by a master craftsman. This is something I would love to have the opportunity to do. However, I am not sure how to go about this. I contacted Amir to ask how he came across this opportunity.
Email to me from Amir
Amir's response was lovely and I hope to achieve the level of mastery which has has in my career.
Robert Baines
Robert Baines is an Australian Goldsmith and Silversmith, as well as a researcher of archaeometallurgy and Bronze Age gold works. His work is based on historical jewellery as well as expressing the side of jewellery making and collecting that includes fake and copies.
He makes jewellery and larger pieces both made from wire, followed by plastic and powder coating.
I admire the personal spin he has on the filigree technique as well as the colour he has added. Colour is something I like within jewellery as this always captures my eye and it adds another level of personality to the work. Powder coating is a technique I haven't tried but is something I would like to experiment with.
Project Development
Iranian Architecture
Iran has a rich history of culture, including architecture. It is known for its incredible mosques around the country. These buildings to me are incredible and it blows my mind how people built them at the time they did. The colours, patterns and geometry are extremely inspiring. I would love to be able to visit these mosques one day and see them with my own eyes.
Nasir al-Mulk Mosque
Masjed-e Jāmé Mosque
Shah Abbasi Mosque
Buildings of Manchester
Since being stuck in my project and then speaking to tutors about this. I decided I wanted to combine both my newly discovered heritage with where I grew up and what I know which is Manchester. I decided to look at buildings around the city which either have a significant meaning to me or have geometric aesthetics to them or a combination of both of these.
Gorton Monestry
This is an important building in Manchester which has a lot of significance to the city and me. Growing up my uncle lived nearby and I used to see it when we visited him when I was a child and was mesmerised by its presence. In my adult life, I have been to a couple of gigs here and have paid more attention to the spiritual and sacred history of the building.
Sound Control
Sound Control was a club I used to go to a lot when I first started going to raves in Manchester. I have a lot of memories here and the demolishing of this building was sad news to me. The new building in its place is student accommodation. When looking at this I found it interesting that it now has geometric patterns all over it.
Tower of Light
This low-carbon energy tower is a newer addition to the city however I find it a great example of contemporary geometric architecture.
Central Library & St Peters Square
St Peters Square is in the very centre of Manchester and a key area of the city. The buildings I have taken photos of here are offices however I used to be here and sit in the square daily when I worked in the building with the geometric pattern on its surface.
Central Library is the main library of Manchester and is an iconic building in the city. I have a fond memory of this building from being a child. I was on the bus with my mother going past the library, as I saw the building I shouted at my mum in excitement telling her that it was The Whitehouse. This has been a good memory that has stuck with me.
John Rylands Library
This library is my favourite building in Manchester. It is incredible inside and I remember visiting as a child and comparing it to Hogwarts.
South
South was a nightclub in Manchester I used to go to when I first started going out in the city. I have key memories of my young adult years here which I will never forget. Unfortunately, the club was shut down and is now a derelict building.
Urbis & Manchester Cathedral
Urbis is an area in the centre of Manchester not too far from Victoria Train station. This is somewhere I would hang out with my friends as a teenager along with the gardens of Manchester Cathedral. Again this is significant to me as it brings back a lot of memories of my teenage years here.
This mosque is a building I have more recently discovered. I grew up in the South of Manchester however in conversation with a friend more recently they made me aware of this mosque due to its architecture.
NCP Car Parks
This building is a multistorey car park however when I have driven past this I have always enjoyed the geometric architecture of this building.
Tour of Gorton Monestry
Gill Harbach is a Franciscan & esoteric wisdom researcher, meditation teacher & spiritual mentor based at the Monastery.
Since researching geometry around Manchester I discovered that the monastery is built based on geometry. I found out there is a tour held to explain the history of the building and the spiritual and geometric significance it has.
As I have been trying to learn a little about geometry I found this incredibly interesting. I voice-recorded the tour listened back and made notes on key pieces of information.
Family Jewellery
Due to my work being based on my family heritage. I decided to ask my mum if I could look at my great gran’s jewellery my mother has. Growing up I didn’t have grandparents due to them unfortunately passing away before I was born from my mother’s side and I don’t know my dad’s side. Fortunately, I did grow up quite young with my great gran but then she passed when I was around 5 years old. I only have a couple of memories with her however my mum kept a lot of the jewellery she had. This is only costume jewellery and doesn’t have any financial value however I found the pieces extremely interesting to know my great gran wore them. I don’t have much information on them but the pieces are quite bold and glam which made me question what her personality was like and wish I could speak to her about them.
The pieces themselves I found interesting as some of them have geometric properties to them, along with a lot of colours, some with enamel which I found a coincidence as these are characteristics I have explored in my work. As well as this I found the mechanisms interesting, especially in the brooches and a pair of earrings with a screw back for if you don’t have your ears pierced.
MMU Persian Society
In semester one I joined the Persian Society at uni. I havent heard from them and havent met up with them. However, in the second semester, I want to do this and learn more about the culture of Iranians.
Visit to Movarid Alavifard's Studio
During my visit to Mo's studio, she was extremely welcoming and showed me around her space, as well as how she displayed her research and samples. She spoke to me about the narrative behind her work and how she translates her feelings and emotions into the metal. This was helpful as I struggled with it throughout my Unit X project. She gave me lots of ideas on how to visually display ideas to help me develop them. As well as this, we spoke about the business side and target markets and what I see for myself after university.
As Mo grew up in Iran, she was able to give me insight into what it is like there. She is of a similar age to me; we got on well, and we were able to open up to each other about our situations. It was nice for me to speak to someone who is Iranian.
Overall, the visit was beneficial for me. I am going to use a lot of the ideas in the future to help me visualise as this is a problem I have noticed that happens at a certain stage in the development process, which sets me back, and this is something I want to avoid in S&R. As well as this I have gained a friend in the industry.