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and the whistles to fame. While Emma had been working with clay for some time, whistle making became part of her daily practice in response to a dare if you will. According to Emma this is how it all started:
On Wednesday, March 16, 2022, I had a go at making a clay whistle. I'd been thinking it for a while and I'd collected a Pinterest board full of inspiration, along with videos about how to make them.
Whilst they were a bit tricky at first, by the end of the evening I had six working whistles. The joy of hearing something you've made make a sound is brilliant. I've seen the shocked look of delight on the faces of people I've taught. By the end of the evening, I was hooked and joked that I was going to make 100 over the next 100
days. My friend laughed and suggested I make 365 over the next year.
The following morning, I decided to give it a go.
After her success at the Royal Academy and an exhibition at the Lewes based Meiklejohn Gallery that exhibited the remaining 270 whistles, calls for Emma to teach whistle making flooded in. Of these events Emma comments: “It is great to see the look of surprise and joy on people’s faces when that manage to get their whistles to toot!”
While Emma still finds joy in making whistles and teaching others to unleash their creative spirit, she designed a free whistle making magazine to spread the love of whistle making and to free her up to continue making. Let’s be clear: this woman’s creative spirit needs freedom to roam.
And roam it did. She and two fellow artists: Jo Lamb and Isobel Smith formulated a new creative challenge. They conceived of an imaginary Foundation – called the Fondamento Dello Scherzo, a fictitious funding body – to which they had applied and been awarded the imaginary opportunity to travel to Japan to study and create art inspired by the Asian island’s art and cultural traditions. At the end of their residency the trio would exhibit the work created during their “residency” in their hometown, Lewes.
Left:
Whistles
Right:
Whistles
Emma Carlow's
Submission to RAC
Summer Exhibition
Photos Courtesy of:
Graham Carlow