Talk for 3rd year Sculpture and Environmental Art students at Glasgow School of Art

A while ago, Justin Carter (3rd year co-ordinator) for Sculpture and Environmental Art invited me to give an artist talk to the 3rd year students.

I discussed how I approaches making work in different contexts, and illustrated this with examples of work made over the past 5 years. Initially, I talked about 'my quest to find a Shaddock', a public artwork that took place at the Barras market, Glasgow in 2007, and how it was presented in an exhibition at the Newbery Gallery, Glasgow School of Art. I then discussed 'Helter Skelter', a performance which was developed specifically for the 3 hour duration of Not Your Average Evening Event exhibition, McLellan Galleries, Glasgow in 2008. I also addressed making art in a more conventional gallery setting, by referring to my recent exhibition 'Strength in numbers', at the Briggait, Glasgow in October 2011. There was time at the end for questions, and I was pleased that students were engaged enough to ask some excellent questions.

I spent a lot of time planning what works I would talk to them about, and how I could make it most useful and pertinent to the students. It does not seem long ago since I was sitting in the audience of the Barnes Lecture Theatre and a Visiting Lecturer was stood behind the podium. I vividly remember my anxiety about doing the Public Art Project in 3rd year, and so tried to raise some of these thoughts and feelings with the students, and shared my successes, mistakes and what I learned with them.

Looking back at the work I made when I was in 3rd year was a very useful exercise, and it helped me see how my work has developed.

I thoroughly enjoyed giving the talk, and the positive responses from students and staff afterwards suggested that they found it most interesting and useful. I would really like to do more talks and would like to become more involved in teaching, so let me know if you (or someone you know) could provide such opportunities!