Lots of Little Uns

Lots of Little Uns from my recent firing. I got a bit carried away photographing these pieces - stacking and unstacking, rearranging and playing with colour combinations... 

                                

Most of these are making their way down to Victoria for an exhibition with Kenji Uranishi and Shannon Garson at the very beautiful Pomme. The show is called (funnily enough) Little Uns - small pots for a small space, and runs from April 4th to 24th. 


So if you're lucky enough to be in the Mornington Peninsula around then please drop by!  And if you haven't already, have a browse around Pomme's website.  The home page alone will make you want to pack your bags and head on down!  A beautiful gallery full of beautiful objects. 

Lots of good ideas

As part of Brisbane's super fantastic upcoming Ideas Festival (a veritable smorgasboard of lectures, discussions, debates and events on all things inventive and innovative in science, art, culture, ethics and the environment) Artisan is hosting a studio tour to give the curious an insight into the workings of some of Brisbane's best studios. Its not everyday you get to have a peek at jeweller Barbara Heath doing her thing, or stick your nose into the work spaces of those super ceramicists Pru Morrison, Virginia Jones and Sharon Muir, or gawk at the intriguing processes and public art-works-in-progress at Urban Art Projects. The best bit is that you apparently get to drink champagne while you're doing it (careful in the ceramics studio). Details on where, when and why here.

And while you're at it you may as well check out the rest of the program for the Ideas Festival. Even if you're not in Brisbane there's all kinds of links to lots of interesting people and podcasts. It's well worth a scout around. One of this year's speakers is (well, was...they got him in early) Australian philosopher Peter Singer. Man of the moment. And with good reason. Really worth listening to his lecture. You gotta love Radio National. No really, you do. 

Patience

I am very impatiently waiting for my kiln to cool. I'm not very good at this and mostly end up juggling steaming hot pots in my gloved hands, so impatient am I to see them. I never get over the excitement and anticipation (and anxiety) of opening up a kiln, no matter how many times I do it. But this firing I am forcing myself to wait until its stone cold - and its killing me!! I've been having a curious problem with one of my trusty glazes and this is an experiment to try and narrow down the cause. I've been prowling around the house and studio like a restless tiger all day, sitting on my hands, gardening like a woman possessed as I try to distract myself from the unbearable temptation of taking a peek! Just one quick peek!! But as torturous as it is, I'm kind of enjoying the challenge!

Bad Blogger...

Aaaaah well it seems I've lost my blogging mojo of late! I've been roused on by a few of you the last couple of weeks for my long lapse! But it's been a hectic start to the year as I try to juggle making work for some upcoming shows with chasing around after a crawling and curious 11 month old. Faster than a speeding bullet she is too! So I'm afraid blogging just slipped down the list of priorities. But its been two posts in two weeks now, so lets see how we go. I might just be back on the wagon! 

I've just finished packing my kiln, Big Red. I love the process of packing, the journey from a messy studio full of pots to a neatly stacked, shiny and humming red box!  This firing is jam packed with goodies so there was a lot of packing and unpacking, rearranging, and packing again, trying to squeeze it all in. Oh but such a feeling of satisfaction when I finally got the last pot to fit snuggly into the last little bit of remaining space! 

So its simmering away now, doing its thing. I've always wished there was such a thing as a see-through kiln. Imagine a kiln with transparent heat-resistant walls that would enable you to watch as the pots got hotter and redder and glowing and molten! Alas for now I can only peek through the spy hole and watch as my cones slowly bend and the little glittering dots sparkle on the rims of my bowls. So purty.