A very nice cup of tea

A cup of tea never tasted so good....from my new Kirsten Coelho cup (and bowl). Thank you Kirsten!

8th International Ceramics Competition, Mino, Japan

I’ve just had some work selected for the 8th International Ceramics Competition in Mino, Japan. I have been meaning to enter work in that show for a while now, and kept missing the deadlines. This year I made it with just a couple of hours to spare (thank god for online applications!). I’ve had 2 of my translucent bowls selected for the ceramic art section, one with a recipe for my nana’s pumpkin, pineapple and prune cake on it - I know, sounds kind of gross doesn’t it??! What was it with that generation and prunes? - the other a letter written by my grandmother to my father relaying a story about my uncle almost shooting himself in the foot when he was a kid (image above). Its my favourite letter of my grandmother’s – it just oozes with the characteristic sense of humour and mischief and larrikinism of that side of the family, as well as their knack for story telling. I also had a group of 4 of my patchwork beakers cast in Southern Ice porcelain (below) selected for the ceramic design section. All packed up and posted off today.

In Situ

A few install shots of two of my works in the Australian Ceramic Stories exhibition, compliments of the documenter extraordinaire Vipoo! You can see a clip of a walk-thru of the whole show at Vipoo's Blog.

My latest work....

Australian Ceramic Stories Opening

Just a little reminder that the Australian Ceramic Stories exhibition that I am a part of opens this Friday (April 11th ) at the Western Plains Cultural Centre in Dubbo. The forum is on Saturday 12th of April and is choc full of interesting speakers such as Canadian-based ceramicist and author Matthius Ostermann, Janet Mansfield, Janet DeBoos, Julia Jones (the curator), and Megan Martin (curator of the Caroline Simpson Library and Research Collection of the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales, which just so happens to be my ALL TIME FAVOURITE Library in which I could happily lose myself - and have done - for days on end)! Some of the exhibiting artists are also speaking – Gerry Wedd, Vipoo Srivilasa, Gudrun Klix and Louise Boscacci. Should be a fine shindig if you can get yourself out to Dubbo.

Vipoo Srivilasa

Vipoo Srivilasa is a Thai-born ceramicist who is now based in Melbourne. He draws on his Thai heritage and his Australian experiences to create work that explores the commonalities of the two cultures. I’m a fan. If you’re in Melbourne you can catch his upcoming show For the FUTURE at Uber Gallery. This new work has evolved from Vipoo’s concern for the coral reefs of both Australia and Thailand and the damage that is being done to them as a result of greed and over consumption. Despite the serious subject matter it looks like Vipoo has brought his usual sense of humour to this work!! The show runs from April 30 - June 1. Vipoo also has a very comprehensive website with lots of great images of his work, as well as a new blog!