HOME ABOUT STUDENT LIFE STUDY WITH US OPEN DAYS CYMRAEG STAYING CREATIVE DURING LOCKDOWN WITH ARTIST DESIGNER: MAKER AT CARDIFF MET May 18, 2020 ABIGAIL JONES & GEORGIE GIBBONS BA ARTIST DESIGNER: MAKER ART & DESIGN After meeting each other within days of moving into halls and discovering we were both studying Artist Designer: Maker, Georgie and I have lived together ever since. This has allowed us to combine our skills, knowledge and creativity over the years, but even more so during the current restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Staying creative at home during lockdown isn’t easy, but it can be done Within our home we are fortunate enough to have been able to create a designated workspace which encourages focus, concentration and the ability to separate work and home life. During these uncertain times, we continued to use the facilities at university whilst we could, with the incredible support of the technical demonstrators and tutors, but when the university had to close due to government guidelines, we had to take the studio home. I took the opportunity to use my creativity in a different way Working from the makeshift studio we set up at home has given us the opportunity to adapt our way of working, collaborate and work intuitively to showcase our skills virtually to a wider audience. We work very differently in our practice, one of us having a more practical and tactile approach, and the other designing digitally to reach an outcome instead. Bringing these varied skills together seemed like a no-brainer, as did documenting the making process through a short film to exhibit online. Film has always been a passion of mine- to document and remember moments in time is a unique opportunity to have. It gives an insight to others on my perspective and how I see the world. I focus on the finer details of an environment and find elements that others may not have even noticed. I found it intriguing to film Georgie and her process of making, as her practice is focused on making itself and the relationship between her and the material agency. Georgie’s hand building work is very intuitive Georgie uses a variety of hand-building techniques combined with different mould-making methods, with her hands being the most important tool for her as a maker. Gestural making allows Georgie to work intuitively, using such an approach enables the realised form to come from sensory thought and material knowledge, rather than a preconceived idea. This enables the forms to be embodiments of her thinking through making. Our collaboration has allowed us to produce promotional material to expand our network through the university and further afield. With so many uncertainties at the moment, we feel this is a way of working that we could progress while not knowing how long it will be until things return to some kind of normal. Collaborating in this new way is helping us to stay creative until some sort of normality returns The current restrictions and having to finish our degree from home has kept us creative in alternative ways. This collaborative film has allowed me to expand my filming portfolio and given Georgie the opportunity to show the process behind her making. It has shown our creativity in a different light and made us realise the importance of making to us within our lives. 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