Ms Polly Macpherson

Biography

Role

Polly Macpherson is an Associate Professor in 3D Design in the School of Art, Architecture and Design, Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Plymouth University.

As award leader of Designer Maker she leads a group of internationally acclaimed practitioners who teach the thinking, inventing, designing, creating,manufacturing, constructing, building, producing, making and selling of objects and artefacts. She is interested in how things are made, how things can be made ethically and sustainably, how this can be taught; and the nurturing individuals so to develop original creative voices.

With an extensive career working in Design Higher Education Polly’s experience covers the delivery, development, validation and examination of courses and students at local, national and international level through to research activity and dissemination and creative industry lead projects.

Polly is a strong advocate for knowledge transfer and works as a conduit between academia and the creative industries. This is achieved via the development of live briefs, strengthening employability and enhancing opportunities for collaborations with external organisations.
Recent outcomes include lead academic for:
- Hole and Corner Magazine collaboration London Craft Week 2016
https://vimeo.com/169845176 Marvellous Mechanica at The House of St Barnabas
- Hole and Corner Magazine and Port Eliot Festival 2016 Maker tent collaboration: -Benchmark, Golden Bear Belts, Bill Amberg Studio etc. https://vimeo.com/183234760
- LINLEY Summer School Selector
- Coordinator for ‘Journeys and Transmission’, Plymouth Universities Land/Water and the Visual Arts Research Group’s, Summer Symposium.

As an active member of staff Polly’s current wider University responsibilities include School of Art, Design & Architecture’s elected staff member of the Plymouth University’s Senate and member of Faculty of Arts & Humanities Advisory Board.

www.linkedin.com/in/pollymacpherson

Qualifications

MA Ceramics - University of Wales
BA (Hons) 3D Design - University of Wolverhampton
Deans Honours List for Excellence - California State University Long Beach

Dynamics of Leadership Performance Coach - Cultural Leadership Prog. - Arts Council England, CCSkills & MLA funded.

CG7307/02 Teaching Cert. SDC/Plymouth University
Preparing for business N.V.Q. 3

Awards
Winner of 2010 Conference Prize, Drawing Research Network, University of Brighton.
The Watt Memorial Trust Award for Travel & Academic studies

Professional membership

SFHEA - Senior Fellow, Higher Education Academy
FRSA - Fellow Royal Society of the Arts

NACHE - National Association of Ceramics in Higher Education
CHEAD - Council Higher Education in Art & Design

Roles on external bodies

ExternalExpert / Engagement 2010 - Present:

2016
-The Movement Issue no.9 Hole & Corner magazine contributed to The Makers’Manifesto. Expert Panel.
- Port EliotFestival –Creative collaboration Hole & Corner, Benchmark + https://vimeo.com/183234760
- LINLEY Summer School - Negotiated & selected a Designer Maker student for a scholarship to take part in this inaugural opportunity (1 of 8nationally). http://www.davidlinley.com/linley-summer-school-about/
- London Crafts Week ‘Piano Craft’ staff collaboration with Hole &Corner Magazine & Steinway & co.
- London Crafts Week – ‘Marvellous Mechanica’ student/staff collaboration with Hole & Corner Magazine. https://vimeo.com/169845176

2015
- Port Eliot Festival –Creative collaboration Hole & Corner, Benchmark +

2009-15
- Board of Trustees - The Devon Guild of Craftsmen.

2014
- All Makers Now conference Reviewer Falmouth University.

2013+
- Creative &Cultural Skills -Expert Advisor http://ccskills.org.uk/careers/advice

2012
- Craft Council Hothouse 3, South West coordinator.
- Invited selectorfor 2013‘Get Fresh’ Exhibition, Emerging Designer- Makers from the SouthWest. Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Arts Council.

2011
- Invited attendee of ‘Craft+ STEM in the 21st century’, CraftsCouncil, Associate Parliamentary Design & Innovation Group, House ofCommons
- Contributor to Design Commission, Restarting Britain, Design Ed.& Growth.
- Invited attendee of The Internet of Things Ideas Lab, Presented bythe Crafts Council and Watershed
- Judge, Contemporary Craft Fair, http://craftsatboveytracey.co.uk/

2010
- Invited Selector for 2011 Contemporary Craft Fair.
- Clore Leadership Programme: Board development day. http://www.cloreleadership.org/
-Consultant – CraftsCouncils Higher Value: Redefining Best Practice in Crafts Graduate Support
- External Expert/Assessor Quinquennial Review: Hereford College ofArt, Uni. Of Wales B.A.(Hons)Blacksmithing & BA (Hons) Cont.Applied Arts.

Teaching

Teaching interests

Polly is interested in how things are made, how things can be made ethically and sustainably, how this can be taught; and the nurturing individuals so to develop original creative voices.

The Designer Maker course has a national reputation for producing graduates who are individual, informed and understand how to be successful in business. It offers the opportunity for individuals to be the authors of their own artefacts whether for the one-off or multiple batch production.

The Designer Maker training and practice is taught through a number of methods including:

• through the development of skills directly related to material processing,

• extending individual knowledge and understanding of materials by analysis, manipulation and experimentation,

• using an individual interpretation of material qualities as a basis for resolving design ideas.

Graduating students have achieved a wide range of progression opportunities including exhibitions, awards and employment: RSACeramics Future Design, Best Young Designer – Wallpaper, Lighting Association Design Award and Independent's Top 10 Sustainable Seating.

Graduates of theDesigner Maker award include...
James Otter - http://www.ottersurfboards.co.uk/
Yvette Cox - http://www.annekyyroquinn.com/
Henry Williams - http://www.henrywilliamsdesign.co.uk/
Laura Lane - http://www.lauralane.co.uk/
Barnaby Barford - http://www.barnabybarford.co.uk/
Steve Brown - http://www.steveroystonbrown.com/
James Tooze - https://www.rca.ac.uk/more/staff/james-tooze/
Nick Fraser - http://www.nickfraser.co.uk/

Staff serving as external examiners

2014+ External Examiner, Cardiff Metropolitan University: BA (Hon) Artist Designer Maker

2012+ External Examiner, University of Ulster: MFA Multidisciplinary Design

2012+ ExternalExaminer, Liverpool Hope University: Design BDes (Hons)

2013 External Examiner, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts - Singapore: BA (hons) Fine Art, Graphic Design and 3D Design New Practice Validated by Loughborough University.

2011-13 External Examiner, Loughborough University: BA (hons)3D Design New Practice
2009 External Expert/Assessor Quinquennial Review: Hereford College of Art, University of Wales B.A.(Hons)Blacksmithing & BA (Hons) Contemporary Applied Arts

Jan.-March 2011
Guest Professor in the Industrial Design Department, Faculty of Architecture at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. http://www.chula.ac.th/

Research

Research interests

As a strong supporter of collaboration and sharing of ideas and knowledge Polly’s research and teaching is closely connected.
Her interests align with research thinking about archaeology, materiality, place and space with additional categories of Mapping, Journey and Movement; exploring the different ways in which these themes can be presented,organised and structured.
As a visual cartographer and maker she is interested in materials, in the processes of making, objects and new outcomes and how artefacts could/can be made/used to enhance and or change perceptions in or of environments and situations.
There are a variety of different ways in which she has successfully executed these ideas through the mixing of materials (concrete, clay, wood,combustibles) sound investigation & film/stills to produce objects, drawings and images.

Other research

www.pollymacpherson.co.uk

Creative practice & artistic projects

Current& Recent Exhibitions / Creative / Research Outputs:

2016
- Co-coordinator ‘Journeys and Transmission’ Summer Symposium, Land/Waterandthe Visual Arts Research Group, Plymouth.
- BucklandAbbey,Yelverton ‘things-meaning’/Practice research project.

2015
-'Trajectories - Future Pathways in Design'. Exhibition Dutch Design Week, Netherlands
- Can things be good tour guides2? Making Futures 4, PCA Academic paper.
-'New Economies New Ecologies', Exhibition Salone InternazionaleDel Mobile, Milan, Italy.
- Can things be good tour guides? IRFGT ESHTE Portugal, Academic paper.
- ‘Envelope’ Exhibition Peninsular Arts Gallery, Plymouth.

2012/5
-Things-MeaningsCastle Drogo – Research project with National Trust.

2011
- ‘Cabinet:Connection and Collection’ Peninsular Arts Gallery Plymouth.
- ‘Cupola’ FilmPresentation, Pairing conference Manchester Met. Uni.

2010
- Presenting 'THE BACKS', Exhibition at The Devon & Exeter Institution.
- Land/Water Exhibition, Northampton University.
-“Observation, Mapping, Dialogue” Poster/Paper, DrawingResearch NetworkAnnual Conference University of Brighton.
-‘Ambulation’Selected Exhibition, Plymouth Arts Centre.
-‘Renewal &Regeneration’ Exhibition, Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton.

2007/8/9
-MobileMachinoeki’ Commissioned Art works, Arts Council funded
- ‘A Light Walk’Film, Sound and Film-Peninsula Arts Contemporary Music Festival, Plymouth
- Roots ofLearning,Schumacher College
- ‘A LightWalk’Film Spacex Contemporary Art Gallery, Exeter

Additional CreativeWorks Information:
http://www.pollymacpherson.co.uk

Research groups

Design Knowledge

Publications

Personal

Other academic activities

Plymouth University Complaint& Appeals Board

Chair Peninsular Arts Gallery Programming andAdvisory Group
Peninsula Arts operates from within the Faculty of Arts and Humanities andserves as the Arts and Culture programming organisation for the University ofPlymouth. The year-round public programme includes exhibitions, music, film,talks and performing arts. Its aim is to provide a prestigious and wide-rangingseries of events that opens up the arts and university to the people ofPlymouth, the South West and visitors to the region.

Plymouth Award Management Group
This scheme recognises the extra-curricular achievements of students graduatingfrom the University of Plymouth.

3D Design Visiting Lecturing Programmer
The programme bringing to Plymouth national & international speakersincluding sculptor Peter Randall-Page, Jolyn Brewis (Partner of Sir Nicolas GrimshawAss.), Alastair Fuad-Luke (sustainable design facilitator), Karoline Newman(Articulate Communication), Andrea Stemmer(Designer to HEALS), and Janet Stoyle MBE (Textile Artist).
-Peter Randall-Page“…It was an innovative idea to invite us both to talktogether, the event was extremely well organised with a full house ofinterested students who asked intelligent and pertinent questions. A totalsuccess from my point of view.”,
-Jolyn Brewis (Eden Project, Managing Partner of Sir Nicolas Grimshaw As’tes.)
“I have given talks in many academic and public institutions both in the UK andabroad; my visit to Plymouth was amongst the most enjoyable, and the mostinformative for me. I am grateful to Polly for making it so."

Previous

Chair of Peninsular Arts Galleries Programming Advisory Group
Complaint & Appeals Board
Academic Lead for 3D Workshops
Plymouth Award Management Group
3D Design Visiting Lecturer Programmer
UPC/University Link Academic Advisor to theFDA Ceramics, Cornwall College and FDA Petroc College
UPC/University Link Academic Advisor to FDA/BA Silversmithing &Jewellery, Truro College.
Senior Management Team - School of Architecture & Design
Academic Promotions Board – Faculty of Arts (2007-2009)
University Staff Survey (Capita)Committee member
MSc Paediatric Dietetics validation
MA CAP validation
Graduate Committee member
TQA Faculty of Arts & Learning, Teaching & Research Forum
Interview panels

UPC/University Link Academic Advisor
The University of Plymouth Colleges (UPC) network is a partnership between the University of Plymouth and local colleges that brings degrees to local doorsteps. Academics working at the University work as critical friends for validation and assessment.

Additional information

CreativeWorks:
http://www.pollymacpherson.co.uk

Coaching:
Accredited Coach - PerformanceCoach Training/The Cultural Leadership Programme, Coaching Skills forLeadership Foundation Course
I coach people from all spheres and at all stages in their lives, working tohelp them to find clarity on a single area or to shape future developments. Thework is about helping individuals to find their own solutions and could be aone off session or a series of sessions depending on the depth and clarityneeded.
My clients include artists, designers, educators, charity and local authorityworkers to name a few. Coaching areas include goal setting, clarifying areas,working though an stumbling point, finding time/putting a plan together foryou/your creative practice/family, working on limited beliefs, head clearing,
preparing for a particular event and learning how to have none confrontationalconversations.