Craft Research

Craft Research is a really interesting blog by a group of researchers from the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, University of Dundee in the UK. It was put together to encourage and develop some discussion around a research project they are undertaking called "Past, Present & Future Craft Practice: exploration of the inter-relation between skill, intent and culture". Its full of interesting musings, ideas and debates on contemporary craft, and has just been updated with a summary by Mike Press of his impressions of the recent Neocraft Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Worth a read. I’m seriously wishing I could have gone (love a good conference i do!), but will have to make do with the book, the podcasts and reports from Carol at Musing About Mud, who attended the conference and chaired a panel on Global Craft. You can check out the program and find out a bit more about the conference here.

Barely There

These 3 little pieces are winging their way down to a beautiful new gallery and retail space on Oxford Street in Sydney called Pablo Fanque. They’re part of an exhibition called WHITE.

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to be invited to do a residency at the University of Massachussetts. I spent two (very cold) weeks working from a lovely studio space in the Star Store, New Bedford, hanging out with some old friends and making some new ones. While I was there I met Katie Parker, who makes really beautiful work that you can see here. Katie and I were both working with decals and she very very generously gave me the white decals that I ended up using on these pieces. I'd been wanting to play around with some white on white, but sourcing white decals at home had proven very difficult. Having them custom made had proven even more difficult, and outrageously expensive. But thanks to the generosity of that nice girl from Columbus, this little series will be glowing away at Pablo Fanque from December 11 until mid- January 2008.

Other artists included are: Anna Davern (who graced Brisvegas with her presence last week!), Elfrun Lach, Nina Oikawa, Emma Davies, Lisa Cahil, Pennie Jagiello, Melanie Katsalidis, Lucy Folk, Jane Bowring, Alice Whish (isn’t that a lovely name!), Joanna Levinson and more….

Granny Smith

Driving back from Toowoomba after visiting my nana a few years ago my sisters and I stopped in at one of the bargain fruit shops along the highway near Gatton. One of my sisters pulled this postcard out of the rack, and we all had a bit of a giggle as we scribbled a few words on the back and promptly posted it off to her. She kept it propped up on her kitchen bench for years, and when she died it found a new home on my mum's fridge. Everytime I see it, it still makes me giggle and think of her.

I’m playing around with some new work at the moment called 'short stories' (I think), about this very thing, that narrative aspect of objects, the way they can hold stories and evoke memories. Its an endlessly fascinating subject for me. It’s still in the early stages, and I’m not really sure where it’s going yet, but there are lots of spoons. Spoons and guns. Hmmmm. I’ll keep you posted!

Charles Eames at Artisan

Last night I went to the opening of “The gifted eye of Charles Eames”, a selection of 100 photographs taken by the American designer. His rather charming grandson, Eames Demetrios, gave a fantastic talk about life growing up in the Eames household and some really nice insights into the life and times of both Charles and his wife Ray. Their furniture is to die for, their films quirky, and some of the photographs were breathtaking. Three in particular really took my breath away (predicatably they were all of plates piled in the sink, breakfast settings and cups sitting on tables!) and had me standing mute, dazed and drooling in front of them, a most attractive look I’m sure. Oh but the lighting!! Stunning. So if you are in Brisvegas – GO!!! It’s on at Artisan (craft QLD), but only for two weeks until November 18th so hurry!

You can read about Charles and Ray Eames here (and on a kazillion other sites too).

The Pottery Liberation Front

Garth Johnson The Pit and the Pendulum 2002

I’ve just spent a large part of my day trawling through Garth Johnson’s farcical and fiery Pottery Liberation Front (PLF) website. If you’re involved in the world of ceramics it will probably give you a good giggle. Although, it could just as easily annoy or offend you! Whether you agree with him or not, its still worth a read! His approach is quite amusing, if not over-the-top! I particularly enjoyed trawling through the project section… take your time here, its worth it! (thanks for the link Laura, and for aiding and abetting a rainy day of procrastination).

And if you enjoy that you'll probably also get a giggle from these two clips - Apparatu (via Design Boom) and Ceramic bowl (via Extreme Craft)

Laugh a minute

I’ve become very clumsy (well, clumsier than usual!) in the studio lately, tripping over my own feet and breaking so many pieces I’m almost scared to go in there for fear of what will come crashing down next!! Yesterday I broke not one, but two of my favourite pieces, pieces I could have sold twenty times over but decided to keep for my own collection. Only the really super special pieces make it into this collection. Yep, major bummer. I sat on the floor feeling sorry for myself when suddenly two kookaburras let rip in my backyard. They laughed and screamed until I just had to see the funny side of it and join in with them. It was impossible to mope with their hysterical laughter ringing through the air! They were beauties!! They spent a good part of the day frollicking in our big poinciana tree, cackling away periodically just in case I started to sook again!