Silver, gold, ivory, coconut shell, mother of pearl and nautilus shell; these are some of the materials used in the huge range of objects in the Welby collection. Curator Matthew Winterbottom gave us a tour of the finely crafted, highly decorated and often strange and unusual objects in the collection, collected by Michael Welby during the last century when they were unfashionable. Some were surprising drinking cups or decorative ornaments and many combined natural materials with fine, sometimes gilded, silverwork.
We then had the huge privilege of meeting artist Deborah Thomas who explained the thinking behind her stunning glass sculpture which she was commissioned to create in response to the collection. She described the design of the swirling shape and the use of pieces of green glass which linked with the objects on display. We handled the materials she uses- broken glass and strong wire, and saw examples of her drawings and the processes she uses. She told us fascinating stories about some of the projects she has worked on and we saw her sketchbooks. It was clear how passionate and committed she is to her work. Thank you Matthew and Deborah for sharing your time and expertise with us!
agreed that we hadn’t realised how fascinating and revealing coins could be.
I have really loved being a part of the Ashmolean’s CREATIVES Youth Panel as I have met so many interesting people and gained a lot of insight into how the museum runs behind the scenes. The highlight of the Panel for me has been organising and coming up with ideas for Museum events as well as talking to the people who work at the Museum and learning about their different roles and jobs. Ellen
The Ashmolean Panel has given me an unique insight and perspective into how a museum as prestigious as ours works from within. I decided to become part of the panel as I have always been interested in history and art, especially when combined. The Panel has given me the opportunity to meet members of staff in the Museum, from curators and historic researchers, to co-ordinators of the gift shop. I have immensely enjoyed visiting exhibitions and collections, meeting new people on the panel and discovering a new case for historic artefacts within the Museum. Definitely an experience and worth missing a lie-in once a month on a Saturday morning! Anna G
The CREATIVES Panel is a great experience to meet new people and to see The Ashmolean from a different perspective. We get to organise and attend Live Friday event and organised one activity at the most recent Live Friday. This was a useful situation to learn about organisation, time management and social skills. Immie
Today’s meeting was a matter of organisation,organisation and organisation. We went to the gallery to figure out the layout of the spaces we are working with. We discussed which activity should go where and started deciding who should do what. We reached some good decisions and realised that although we have made plans we may also have to improvise on the night.