Author Archives: Bridget Macklin

I am an artist working in the field of ceramics creating fragile porcelain pieces which are inspired by the environment or by peoples relationships with the environment and with each other and which often incorporate finds to support their narrative.

Is this Working?

I am new to visiting schools as an artist but, as an ex teacher, I have firm ideas about how I organise a classroom and what to expect in terms of outcomes from a lesson. Clearly workshops are different – better and more challenging in equal measure. If I am going to make a habit of engaging with schools, now is the time for a bit of a wash-up session.

I think that the artist need to be entirely self sufficient in terms of having all equipment to hand, even though this requires financial outlay in the first instance. If you need the school to provide anything, that needs spelling out beforehand. Teachers are busy people. It isn’t fair to bounce them with requests for things five minutes before a session begins! At the same time, if they say they can provide something which you are going to rely on, you need confidence that it will be there.

How can you ensure that the outcomes will be as satisfactory as possible for all parties? The artist needs to be unambiguous about what the school can expect and firm about what is sensible: don’t let the teacher expect their class entry to the Turner Prize after a two hour session!

One slightly thorny issue is who is responsible for the children’s conduct. Teachers know what to expect from the children in their charge. It is entirely fair to expect a member of staff to be in attendance to facilitate willing, successful and happy engagement. I don’t think the artist should ever be in the position of having to tell a child off for inappropriate behaviour.

I absolutely don’t want to miss the child who needs thing explained in a different way before they can engage with the task. It isn’t fair on them.

This term I have only charged for materials and firing costs. There were good reasons for this but it was a mistake. There is a risk of workshops being undervalued if you don’t put a value on them. Plus the time involved in preparation and in processing the work and returning it after firing and glazing is considerable. I have done my last ‘workshop for love’!

Perhaps the answer is to have a proper, formal contract. Casual emails tend to get lost in a teacher’s ever growing inbox so something which sets out expectations and responsibilities on both sides seems sensible. I am wondering if this should be printed and mailed to the school on real paper. Would that make it more official? Would it be more or less likely to get lost? Answers on a postcard, please!

Packing Day

It is always an exciting day when I pack for an exhibition. It is also pretty daunting! There is so much to fit in and all of it is incredibly fragile so I need to think very carefully about what combination goes in which box and how the boxes themselves will be packed together to reduce the risk of movement during the journey. Add into the mix the fact that I refuse to buy new packaging materials and the difficulties multiply.

This time I have to get from Cornwall to Hampshire. I have to remember the clothes for the PV and for doing a couple of workshops whilst I am there plus the materials for the aforementioned workshops and many other bits and pieces. All I can say is thank Heavens for recycled packaging! I have not bought bubble wrap for years. Instead, I exist on reusing the wrap and paper packaging from deliveries to my house but the prize goes to some amazing sheep’s wool insulated packaging which my son saves for me from around his dog’s food deliveries. It comes sealed in compostable ‘plastic’, is thick and soft so cushions the ceramics really well and, if I ever think it has had its day, I can just chuck it into the compost bin.

And the winner is the sheep’s wool packaging!

Re:Connecting is an exhibition which has been a long time in the making and I can hardly believe that we are at this point at last. On Friday I will be spending the day with one of the two primary schools in the parish in which Blacknest Fields sits. We will be exploring the fields and, hopefully, discovering some amazing wildlife. Then we will go back to the school to create artwork based on our experiences in the morning. I can’t wait.