In this month’s column, Suffolk-based Artist, Educator and Presenter, Grace Adam looks forward to her solo exhibition in Norwich next month – which explores her obsession with flint!
Flints. I have become obsessed. Last year, I made some huge hanging flints for a show in All Saints, Wighton. Making them was a walk in the park compared to hanging them high up over the altar. Since then, I’ve been seeking out, sorting and responding to flints for my upcoming show. Friends bring me small bags of beautiful flints from their gardens, some cracked open by nature, some skilfully knapped by people.
Formed millions of years ago, crafted and traded by humans as tools, scribes, weapons and building materials, (decorative and practical), they are wonderful things.
East Anglia is full of flint, in churches and homes, in walls and scattered on beaches. Their glistening forms appear through the plough of farm fields. Grime’s Graves, Framlingham Castle and the wild, unkempt St Benet’s Abbey provide peeks into other lives and worlds.
For my show, I started with observational studies, trying to understand the colours and contours of the objects. This has developed into more abstract forms in large-scale drawings and ceramic sculptures, gradually paring down and discarding all but the vital visual information – to communicate the essence of the thing. I keep looking back at cubist paintings which I love and note that I’m making objects and images that sit between natural forms and the sharp edges of cubism.
There’s something all-consuming about making art. I’ve never been tempted to do that marathon or climb those peaks, but when I hear people talk about ‘getting into the zone’, it makes sense. It’s not plain sailing, though. Things sometimes just don’t work. It can feel as if a drawing is fighting back, or what you have in your mind develops into something very different on the paper which can be exciting. From my perspective, it’s essential to allow room for exploration and surprises. Trying to control everything invariably leads to frustration and boring work. Selecting the right materials and tools, mixing and remixing to get the colour that works takes skill and patience but when it happens, just as thrilling as any marathon.
Pop into Mandell’s if you’re in the neighbourhood. Knap opens on Saturday 10th August.
Knap – An exhibition of ceramic sculptures, paintings and drawings, by Grace Adam, runs from August 10 to 31, at Mandell’s Gallery, Elm Hill, Norwich, NR3 1HN. Visit mandellsgallery.co.uk and graceadam.co.uk. Follow @artistgraceadam on Instagram and Facebook.
Featured image of Grace Adam – supplied
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