Konstfack
Visit: LM Ericssons väg 14, Stockholm
Post: Box 3601, 126 27 Hägersten, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 450 41 00
Subway: Telefonplan
Konstfack Visit: LM Ericssons väg 14, Stockholm
Post: Box 3601, 126 27 Hägersten, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 450 41 00
Subway: Telefonplan

Konstfack Degree Exhibition 2016 / Vårutställning 2016

Konstfack
Visit: LM Ericssons väg 14, Stockholm
Post: Box 3601, 126 27 Hägersten, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 450 41 00
Subway: Telefonplan
Konstfack Visit: LM Ericssons väg 14, Stockholm
Post: Box 3601, 126 27 Hägersten, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 450 41 00
Subway: Telefonplan
Master / CRAFT! - Textiles / Kay Williamson

Kay Williamson


White Road Residency. January 2016.


‘Correspondence’. Knitting project – Cynthia and Kay Williamson.


Pickled Boobs and Pickled Bums Workshop at Konstfack. May 2015.


‘Thank You Nan’. Installation view. French knitted synthetic yarn and wire.


White Road Residency. January 2016.

Kay Williamson
b. 1986, United Kingdom

Being In Touch - The Important Thing For Folks To Be

Being in Touch
The important thing for folks to be,
Is really ‘in touch’ like you and me,
We’re close in our thoughts,
‘cause we care a lot,
Whether we’re seeing each
other or not….
It’s that heartfelt bond that,
means so much,
And keeps us knowing,
that we’re “in touch” *

How often has a sentence to the effect of, “I have always loved making things. My grandmother taught me to knit when I was five” been said? Quite often. Often enough. Rarely, I suggest, is it a sentence expanded on. You’ll meet my own grandmother a lot in this project; her name is Cynthia Williamson. Many of the mini-projects leading to this exhibition are spurred by her home-based textile craft; whether in collaboration with her, about her, for her or to consider her more generally as an example of this overlooked informal and often familial source of craft knowledge. It is also informed by the three week ‘artist residency’ I spent with her this winter.

So I wonder, how might the knowledge and teaching effort of oft-overlooked home-based hobby makers be reappraised in relation to the continued learning of the formally educated maker?

You are very welcome to join me and (hopefully) Cynthia, for a masterclass in the quintessentially (probably) British craft of “Pickled Bum and Pickled Boob making” during the exhibition period.

*Greetings poem taken from a gift plaque in Cynthia’s home.

Being In Touch - The Important Thing For Folks To Be

Being in Touch
The important thing for folks to be,
Is really ‘in touch’ like you and me,
We’re close in our thoughts,
‘cause we care a lot,
Whether we’re seeing each
other or not….
It’s that heartfelt bond that,
means so much,
And keeps us knowing,
that we’re “in touch” *

Hur ofta har en mening i stil med “Jag har alltid älskat att tillverka saker. Min farmor lärde mig sticka när jag var fem” uttalats? Ganska ofta. Ofta nog. Sällan, skulle jag påstå, är det en mening som utvecklas längre. Du kommer att stöta på min egen farmor en hel del i det här projektet; hon heter Cynthia Williamson. Flera av miniprojekten som lett till den här utställningen har sporrats av hennes hemmagjorda textilkonst, i samarbete med henne, om henne, för henne eller genom att använda henne som ett mer allmänt exempel på denna förbisedda, informella och ofta familjära källa till konsthantverkskunskap. Utställningen är också baserad på den tre veckor långa ”specialistutbildning” jag gick hos henne i vintras.

Jag undrar hur man skulle kunna omvärdera den kunskap och lärarinsats som dessa ofta förbisedda, hemmabaserade hobbyskapare bidrar med i relation till fortbildningen av formellt utbildade skapare?

Du är välkommen att tillsammans med mig och (förhoppningsvis) Cynthia delta i en mästarklass i det (troligen) genuint brittiska hantverket “Pickled Bum and Pickled Boob making” [tillverkning av inlagda rumpor och inlagda bröst] under utställningsperioden.

*Välkomstdikt tagen från en minnestavla i Cynthias hem.