Well if
two major ceramics exhibitions aren't enough for those of you in Brisbane, then get thee back to
Artisan to check out the latest Ivory Street Window exhibition, a collaborative work called
The Colonisers by Lismore diva's
Liz Stops and Laura McEwan. Laura and Liz are both interested in aspects of the colonisation of Australia by Europeans and its impact on both the land and the people.
Stops' work
Fenceline, Defining a (white) Landscape is an undulating series of vessels that have been cast from old fence posts and represent the horizon line viewed from the windows of her house. It refers to the way "the landscape has been carved up and compartmentalised with little regard for sustainability or prior habitation". McEwan's work is made up of stylised porcelain flowers cast from a decorative iron cornice found in the 120 year old house in which she lives. The works are set on a backdrop of a hand drawn "wallpaper" pattern derived from an insidious creeper called mile-a-minute which McEwan says "is an apt metaphor for colonisation in its prolific growth and tendency to smother everything in its path". Thought provoking AND beautiful. Definitely worth a look. It's up until December 1st (and I'll post more pics shortly).
Image Left: Pru Morrison, Rodney, slipcast porcelain, Image Right: Immbolised, slipcast porcelain
The other night I was jolted awake at about 3 o'clock in the morning by an almighty crashing and smashing from under my house...my studio. My heart sank as my head filled with visions of collapsed kiln shelves and months of work smashed to pieces. I'd only just packed the kiln the day before, ready for a long-awaited firing. After a fitful sleep full of dreams of broken pots and tiles I finally dragged myself out of bed and down to the studio to check out the carnage. Oh the joy as I walked in and saw that a cute little second hand plate I'd hurriedly hung on the wall a few days before had slipped off its moorings and smashed to the floor! It must have been the quiet of 3am that made it sound more like twenty plates smashing! I checked the kiln just in case, and was still a little jumpy all day until the firing had finished! It all went swimmingly in the end. Here's a few pieces from it. A few new ranges of wall tiles (below) and some variations on an old range (above). Love a bird I do. 
Yesterday Kenji, Li'l chubba and I paid a visit to Pru Morrison and Virginia Jones' new studio. They've set up house at the (relatively) new Metro Arts studio, which is housed in a great old renovated substation. I love visiting people in their studios. There is always so much to look at and so many intriguing objects lying around. The studio was piled high with half unpacked boxes of materials and tools and pots and paraphernalia and works in progress. And despite the fact that they'd scoffed most of the lamingtons by the time we got there (we were very late after getting stuck in a traffic jam) it was all forgiven when we got a sneak peak at Pru's new work for her upcoming show at Marks and Gardner. Pretty spiffy stuff. Way better than a lamington. 
Well if two major ceramics exhibitions aren't enough for those of you in Brisbane, then get thee back to Artisan to check out the latest Ivory Street Window exhibition, a collaborative work called The Colonisers by Lismore diva's Liz Stops and Laura McEwan. Laura and Liz are both interested in aspects of the colonisation of Australia by Europeans and its impact on both the land and the people. 