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Matthew Harris - From parts to a whole

“Nothing is a mistake. There is no win and no fail. There is only make.”
John Cage


A four day workshop to investigate the potential of materials and ideas to evolve and transform.

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In 2022 we are very excited to be welcoming artist Matthew Harris back to the InStitches studio.  A graduate of Goldsmiths College, Matthew has been working with textiles since 2000, having for the previous ten years made and exhibited drawings and works on paper. He has shown in a number of group and solo exhibitions throughout the U.K, Ireland and Japan.
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Matthew's work  employs dyeing, cutting and hand stitching and is concerned primarily with abstract imagery and the translation of drawn marks into cloth. By making work that is pieced, patched and assembled, he aims to create pieces that explore repetition, pattern and the disrupted or dissonant journey of line and image across and through the surface of cloth.
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Over this four-day workshop with Matthew you investigate the potential of materials and ideas to evolve and transform. 

By using the processes of indeterminacy, this workshop will offer an opportunity to embrace the unexpected in the pursuit of exciting new discoveries, whilst facilitating a much deeper reflection on current and future approaches to the making of work.
 
The use of chance operations facilitates a by-passing of overly conscious, aesthetic decision making, with the aim of investigating and discovering the un-tapped potential of found and given materials to change. 
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Working within the parameters of a set of rules that constrain and limited choices, in Part I we will  be exploring ways in which to stimulate new ideas through drawing and the process of making.

For this you need to bring  a
n object or series of objects which you are prepared to take apart and deconstruct down to the tiniest constituent parts. This can be soft, hard, old or new but not a garment. Try to find something that contains a mix and range of materials, for example an old shoe, bag with clasps etc or a small suitcase and preferably something that has had a bit of a life. 
 
You will also need any tools that you think might help in this process. Tools for taking apart your object and for putting elements of it back together again with an emphasis on speed rather than perfection.

The second two days will be about a much more personal approach to the making of work. Using the work that has been made since Part I, Part II will offer the opportunity, through one to one mentoring, to reflect on ideas and approaches to making that might impact on the development and direction of work in the future.
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This workshop is especially suited to students who are already developing their own creative practice. ​
Stop Press! This workshop has 2 places available 
​Date: Tuesday 22nd – 25th November 2022 (4 days)

 ​The studio will be open from 9.15am and the workshop will start at 9.30am until  4.30pm (ish) each day.

Cost: £ 490 (this includes some materials)

A £245 deposit will secure your place. 
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Please note: Places are limited and are available on a first come, first served basis; to secure your place please ensure that your deposit is paid at the time of booking.

There will be home-made biscuits with morning coffee, a light seasonal lunch and an enticing cake with a pot of afternoon tea.  
To see more of Matthew's work visit his website 
book this workshop

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