Sunday, April 29, 2007

More play

Kenji and I were talking earlier this year about wanting to become a little more playful with our work. It’s so easy to take it all too seriously. It all becomes about meeting deadlines and rushing things through kilns, and all the other million things we have to do to keep afloat, that sometimes you can forget about the importance of just playing with a material and playing with ideas. So we decided that this year we would try to make sure we get a bit more play in there, a bit of experimentation, without it having to be FOR anything other than our own indulgence. Often this is where the best new ideas come from anyway. This Little People Project has become an outcome of that discussion.

We worry a little that we are too easily amused, as we roll about laughing at a miniature porcelain figure trapped under a slab of butter (see below), but it’s surprising the number of offshoot ideas we have had as a result of these (seemingly frivolous and immature) exercises, and the number of interesting conversations that have arisen about perception and interpretation and scale and everyday objects. This week we took them to our local supermarket. Things got a bit hairy in the dairy aisle, but after a panadol and a quick lie down he was feeling much better.

5 comments:

simone said...

what a great way to get new ideas and inspirations... still laughing! You guys are funny!!
xoxoxo

Kenji Uranishi said...

Nice one Mel!!
New grope(little people) coming soon!!

Mel Robson said...

yeah, it keeps us amused!! And Kenji, does this mean the kiln is working now??? Hope so!

Kenji Uranishi said...

Yes! Kiln is working finally!
Thanks for Helping me!

Anonymous said...

I love these little people, and to have them out in the world having adventures is too wonderful.

If they'd like to visit the 'States, I'd be happy to show them a good time...