Two Make - A Collaborative Project

About

Two Make plots the shared output of ten pairs of established designer / makers who have created new work together. The partnerships are diverse, ranging from life-long friends who live in different parts of the country, makers working together for the first time, makers who wanted to learn new skills, and a couple working together over the pregnancy and birth of their daughter. Two Make explores the process of collaboration: sharing ideas, working through problems, encountering risk, and exploring uncertainty.  The project responds in diverse ways to the emotional connections between the makers, and their shared engagement with their creative worlds. 

The shared creative journeys are plotted by their drawings, photographs, recorded conversations, samples and maquettes and are shown in this touring exhibition as part of a wider project that explores cooperation within craft communities of practice, particularly drawing on the role of regional craft guilds and associations in supporting craft practitioner’s livelihoods.  

Two Make emerged from The Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen as a way to celebrate the spirit of cooperation, and as a way of stimulating and enhancing the practice of its current members.  Curated by Miranda Leonard in partnership with Dr. Nicola Thomas, University of Exeter and the Gloucestershire Guild of Craftsmen. The exhibition is supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Arts Council.

Makers Partnerships

Bella Peralta - weaver and Jenny Bicât - textile designer/printer

Matthew Tradgett - furniture maker and Sarah Pearson Cooke - textile artist

Valerie Michael - leather worker and Tim Blades- jeweler

Karen Hansen – furniture maker and Rowan McOnegal – stained glass artist

Susan Early - basket maker and Sarah Cant – milliner

Derek Elliott – furniture maker and Faith Ristic – performer and musician

Trevor Lillistone – ceramicist and Su Trindle – jeweler

Stephanie Kemp – weaver and clothing designer and Alison Dupernex – knitted textile maker

Nicholas Ozanne - weaver and Gemma Sangwine – accessory designer

Tessa Wakeling – designer in paper and Kristian Pettifor – furniture maker