Duncan Hooson of Clayground Collective, led a Masterclass in clay-modelling for the York College Art&Design Saturday Club. At the start of the session, Duncan gave a short introduction to his personal practice and then encouraged the members to think about the materiality of clay, asking them ‘what is the first thing you can remember making in any material?’.
Members then made four quick maquettes to describe the narrative of the protest projects they had been working on at their Club, thinking about the details of the forms and surfaces. Following this, the members then each explored forms and surfaces with the clay.
Duncan encouraged the group to think of personal manifestos which might help them to communicate their beliefs to a larger audience. He also encouraged them to be and to keep curious. By the end of the session the members had each experimented with making small sculptures, thinking about protest and how to develop their ideas further.