University of Wolverhampton   2008/2009

Sian Hindle

When I attended for interview prior to being offered a place on the scheme, the panel suggested that my proposal didn’t take me out my comfort zone. Taking this as a challenge, I moved from the home territory of the metalwork area down to the glass department and fell in with two technicians who helped translate my ideas into a medium of which I had no previous experience. Definitely out of my comfort zone here, I experimented with new materials and working processes, but also with a variety of ways of expressive mark making, using brushes, combs, clay modeling tools, sticks, hands. This resulted in a number of experimental pieces and in a freeing up of my approach. Calligraphy is still at the heart of this work, but the quality of mark making has changed, bringing a very different textural quality to the words and letters. I have settled on a process that involves enamelling, sandblasting, shaping and slumping glass to create a glass installation, the abstract shapes of which evoke both brush strokes and the freedom of bird flight.

The AA2A scheme has been a great opportunity for me, allowing me a shift of perspective that has reinvigorated my practice, extended my knowledge of other craft disciplines and brought me into contact with some fantastic artists. Advice for subsequent applicants? Be bold.