Open Studios Dialogue

Audience Feedback - Maps, Paintings and Objects

Bucks Open Studios seemed the ideal opportunity to display my mapping pieces. As visitors were coming to see a working studio, this seemed an opportune time to reveal more about my process and thinking.

I was quite surprised at the positive response I received about this work. As it is very different to my current painting practice I considered that the audience might not consider it as a piece of work, however they not only drew links between the two but also appreciated the honesty of the maps. I explained the making process to them and then invited them to make comments and ask questions. Some of the feedback included...

·         We love these pieces – the intricacy and bright colours

·         Interesting use of local maps – could I have used different maps as the pieces moved further away from my studio, both physically and conceptually?

·         Impressive amount of work

·         Interested in the audience section – some were not particularly aware of the role they played as an audience and how I anticipated their response

·         They thought that I was brave to expose the process and felt that it was a good forum to share my ideas

·         The pieces had rhythm and flow, linking well

·         The fashioning and shaping of the text added to the flow

·         They felt that they could spend ages looking at them as there was so much to take in

·         They liked the combination of surfaces, imagery and text

·         Discussed the idea of incidental and deliberate audience

·         Observed contours in the work which created an artificial, landscape relief, linking back to the idea of mapping the territory.

There was another aspect to this dialogue in that when I made the maps I had anticipated what the audience response would be and how they would encounter my work. I recorded what visitors wrote and said in response to the paintings and objects in my studio, which may act as a post script to my project.

·         Very unusual collection of amazing objects and paintings

·         Fascinating and engaging

·         Beautiful work in a lovely space

·         Striking

·         Very lively works

·         Beautiful bright, fresh work

·         Very light, arresting and uplifting

·         You are in all the images, having met you I can tell they are yours - your eyes are everywhere

·         Attractive, wistful

·         The eyes say something

·         Powerful, in particular the painting with the girl with bows

·         Impressed by the scale

·         Soft, it just happens, you can see the working

·         Soft, but sharp like a needle

·         Very effective thin layers and surface created through dribbles

·         Multiple people commented on the likeness of some of the images to me

·         Earlier works seem more decorative, pairs seem more meaningful

·         Interested in the idea of working on multiple surfaces and on the wall rather than flat

·         Many read the material as watercolour, not oil because of its fluidity

·         Some visitors felt the work was playful

·         Very attracted to the child/childlike images

·         Owl and head sculptures very popular, often read as plaster or porcelain and were surprised to discover that these pieces are very light

·         Many loved the altered book and were keen to look through it

·         They recognised that I was exploring narrative in some way

The most valuable element I found was that I could engage every visitor to my studio in dialogue about different pieces of work. These conversations have created a platform for development for me and have addressed my current problem of the work only existing in my studio. There seemed to be a greater appreciation of the work when understanding something about the process and methods of selection.