From the mind map i feel that i want to branch of from topics that came up in my last project- It was pointed out that the ongoing themes that kept appearing were ‘care’, ‘nurture’, ‘growth’. i like these ideas, however, i think that they need to be explored alongside another theme to open up the options.
My approach for this project is to visually respond to these words as a starting point, so ive collected some images to take inspiration from.
I will likely continually add to this image bank so that i have something to refer to when lost.

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I chose clay to work with as there is something about the process that feels nurturing, looking at the imprint of my skin on the surface and the imperfect shapes you can create. Taking inspiration from the shells and cocoons as something that feels safe and nurturing, i created these first experiments.

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I like the first of these shapes but hate the last one, i need to be more relaxed and let the clay decide some of the shapes instead of recreating what i see.

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These next experiments felt more interesting as the clay took the imprint of my hand; this feels relevant and touch is a source of nurture. i painted some of them with a skin tone colour which brought out some of the marks. i like where this is going but im not really sure where i can take it.

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For this piece i started to just make what came naturally, ive seen lots of interesting ceramics recently and love the use of clay in a way you wouldnt see typically. Inspired by dave zackin and nell mitchell, i started to think about creating bowls that have purposes other than just holding something; i like how both artists bowls are used as a way of communication and remind me of the act of sharing. whilst making this bowl i was thinking about being young, having my adult teeth grow in and laughing till i was told to be quiet. i also explored some writing, imagining how a well-nurtured child would laugh.

Whilst creating these small objects i started to think about my own experiences, and realising a contrast between the nurturing (or perhaps lack of) i received from a complicated mother daughter relationship and the self nurturing existence i experience now. As i’ve grown older and began to ‘flee the nest’ i am noticing more how an unstable and difficult childhood has left me. I am going through a point in my life where i’m moving away from my family home (having received adequate therapy) and i am now able to take a step back and review. I don’t think i would be able to explore the topic of nurture and care without thinking about this experience so i need to decide whether to avoid or use to my advantage. i don’t enjoy getting too personal or dark because i like the relief art can provide, so perhaps if i kept things light by carefully choosing my approach, the experience could be beneficial? An interesting point that could come from this is new-found independence and looking at things with a fresh mind- i feel i have relearned what it means to be cared for. i like the idea of looking at things from a childlike perspective knowing what i know now. There are lots of related branches from this general line of topic so intend to keep it vague whilst i experiment.

I decided to refer back to my images and explore colour. i was getting frustrated most of the time because nothing looked right and i don’t really like painting when i don’t have an idea. i was trying to look at imagery like cocoons and soft caring spaces but i was lost when it came to composition. I ended up just doing what felt like doodling or colouring in which didn’t produce anything i liked that much.

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i found that pastel/pale colours reminded me of a childs bedroom and the greens reminded me of growth. i liked some of the textures i discovered and figuring out how paint looked when layered. i feel like it was the material holding me back so i decided to move on to something that felt more relevant.

i found my old loom that i used to play with as a child and thought it could be relevant to work with wool because of the feeling of it and its connotations.

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Although very messy and rushed i felt the material held quite a strong relevance. I remember being taught how to sew, knit, weave, crochet by my grannies and mother- when using wool it feels caring, often i would use it to make gift and through it received enrichment. it would be interesting to see how i could combine this material with others to explore an unstable experience of care in contrast.
i like the look of small windows/gaps in the weave it feels like something is missing.