Discussion with Jan Crombie

Some of the best ideas sketched on a .....

Jan has worked as a Fine art lecturer both at Fe and He level, most recently as an Associate lecturer at Oxford Brookes University. She is currently working as a freelance facilitator offering mentoring to graduates.

Currently she is vice Chair of OVADA, (Oxfordshire Visual Arts Development Agency), co director of The China Shop Gallery and Director of the Workshop Studios.

Jan is also a member of the ceramic studio I run and I arranged to discuss construction and theoretical ideas. Her first question was 'why clay' something which seemed more than obvious to me but it did raise the issue that it didn't have to be in clay but solidified my thinking into why it HAD to be clay. All of the things previously discussed in RIPU and in this unit point toward the use of clay.

We talked about practical forms and how the rings I had thought about to construct the column needed to be joined and that warping would be a significant issue on something this size, particularly if different clays might be used. We touched on obvious masculine references, which I think are not unfounded in exploring this idea and the context of workman, however as I mentioned to her , I do keep making referrals back to the feminine as a I am aware of the influence of both.