In Vogue (living)

A fancy little page in the latest Vogue Living - Margie Fraser has written a lovely article on both mine and Andrea Higgin's work. We've both been dabbling with crystal and glass platters of late - Andrea photographing it and me casting it. Andrea makes beautiful images of domestic objects called photograms - no camera involved, just the object, a dark room and sensitised paper. We're about to embark on a collaborative piece which I am very excited about - crystal guns and photograms...can't WAIT to see the results. Hopefully not too far away.

This Coat of Arms piece featured in the article is part of my upcoming solo show Keep Calm and Carry On (as in the World War 2 poster) in July at Jan Manton Art.

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!

Diem Chau

I came across the work of Diem Chau (via bloesem) today. This is a woman after my own heart, combining ceramics and textiles the way she does - embroidering on to ceramic plates and cups. I'm really not quite sure how she does it, but its working for me! You can check out more of her work here.

Race against time

It's a race against time in my studio at the moment - but I think I'm winning! I've just put the final finishing touches on the Ipswich Houses Project and it is all ready to rock! I haven't had a chance to photograph it properly yet though, just a few dodgy home shots, but will post images of the final work once it's all been photographed (by someone who knows what they're doing!!) In the meantime, here's a few little sneak peaks (above).

One of my favourite pieces is a vessel that has an excerpt from the memoirs of Tom Welsby, the son of the original owner and builder of the house. His memoirs begin in 1863 with a vivid (and sensitive) recollection of the local indigenous people, who would congregate for days at a time on a field out the front of the house (now the Ipswich Grammar School). As a four year old child the scenes left a vivid and lasting impression on him. I was riveted by his recollections of life as a young boy in Ipswich in the 1860s, and pored over them for hours, all beautifully handwritten in a big old book in the collection of the Royal Historical Society of QLD.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the other artists involved in this project - jewellers, photographers, painters - have responded to their houses. A little bit of a wait though - the works won't be exhibited until 2009!

Kenji Uranishi at Spiral

If you happen to be living in or passing through Tokyo in the next couple of weeks (and I know some of you are!) make sure you hunt down Kenji Uranishi’s show at Spiral Market from March 31st to April 13th. It is sure to be a beautiful exhibition - they always are! And if you can read Japanese there’s a little bit more info here!

Two Fat Ladies

Our latest batch of little people have just come out of the kiln. Looks like they’ve been getting up to a bit of mischief while our backs were turned huh!! Actually, the one on the right looks remarkably like me at the moment, with only a couple of weeks to go before having my very own (real life) little person! Yikes! So it might go a little quiet on the blogging front for a while....!!

You can check out a few recent updates of the Little People's adventures here.

Juicy Debate

I jumped on the computer this morning to have a quick look at some blogs, and two and a half hours later I am still glued to the screen by a discussion I found (via Extreme Craft) on alternative craft and the indie craft movement. It all began with a lecture presented by Bruce Metcalfe and Andrew Wagner (editor-in-chief of American Craft Magazine) at the recent SNAG conference in America. A post on this blog led to a much larger discussion, which has since been picked up and fuelled further by Extreme Craft and American Craft , with all kinds of interesting folks weighing in on the discussion. It’s choc-full of interesting observations, arguments and debates - my brain is a-whizzing!

Sew Sophisticated!

My friend Alex (maker of my all time favourite cups) just sent me the best little package from the U.S. of A containing (among other things) this hilarious picture from an old womens magazine...

I bet that little cardigan she’s knitting will smell real nice when she’s done smoking those ciggies!! And don’t you think she looks more like she should be out milking a cow rather than knitting cardigans?? And this little picture below was on the back in the “Pick of the month in smart, artistic needlework” section….this smart little collar and cuff set is really something, and that woman…so sophisticated!!

White Pigeons

A couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of a white porcelain pigeon I made (and here's another little one above). There’s quite a lot of pigeons, in various forms, in this upcoming show of mine. My nana’s second husband was a pigeon fancier, and during the Second World War he served in New Guinea in the Australian Corps of Signals Pigeon Service looking after the messenger pigeons. There are some incredible stories surrounding the feats of these little birds in World War Two, some of them even being awarded medals of bravery after surviving against incredible odds (exhaustion, tropical storms, being shot down by snipers, attacks by hawks and falcons) to deliver messages that sometimes resulted in saving the lives of hundreds of people. Clever little birds.

As kids we used to climb up the wonky narrow steps to his huge pigeon loft and peer in at the cooing (and stinky) birds, and a shelf in my nana's lounge room was packed high with shiny golden pigeon racing trophies that he had won over the years! We always thought his obsession with them was just a little bit strange, but the more I read about these little critters, the more I can understand his fascination!

Kamenendo and I were having a cuppa at Bum Crane’s house a couple of weeks ago when in flew this little beauty.

I’ve never seen a white pigeon before, and it was kind of spooky she flew in just after I’d made one. I’m thinking I might make a big porcelain pot of gold next…you never know what might turn up!!

Australian Ceramic Stories

I’ve just sent off some work to the upcoming exhibition Australian Ceramic Stories that is being held at the Western Plains Cultural Centre (Dubbo Regional Gallery). That’s a nice big red line through my things-to-do list. I’m really excited about being part of this show, not only because of the amazing line up of ceramic artists I’m exhibiting with, but because the whole theme of the show is right up my alley. The curatorial premise was inspired by Matthius Ostermann’s book “The Ceramic Narrative” and looks at the ways in which Australian ceramic artists are using clay to tell their stories. Love a good yarn I do! And Australians really do have such a distinctive and unique way of story telling. Here’s the fancy official blurb:

Australian Ceramic Stories explores the use of narrative in contemporary Australian ceramics. Surveying the work of artists from across the country, the exhibition will include many new works by some of Australia’s most highly regarded ceramic artists. Dubbo Regional Gallery - The Armati Bequest is staging the exhibition from 5 April - 18 May 2008 at Western Plains Cultural Centre. Curated by Dr Julia Jones, the exhibition brings together the work of artists from all parts of Australia, offering a unique view of contemporary ceramic practice. The curatorial concept is inspired by international ceramicist Matthias Ostermann’s research which resulted in the book The Ceramic Narrative in 2006. The exhibition will explore how “stories” are told in Australian ceramics, highlighting the various ways that clay is used to express them. All of the ceramicists tell stories about Australia in ways that stretch the narrative capabilities of clay, and draw our attention to the versatility of the medium. The exhibition will seek to engage with contemporary themes and ideas in the broader visual arts and ceramic practices and examine the various ways in which narrative is a crucial element in their work.

Participating artists are Stephen Benwell, Louise Boscacci, Kris Coad, Patrick Collins, Bern Emmerichs, Gudrun Klix, Pip McManus, Fleur Schell, Vipoo Srivilasa, Thanakupi, Gerry Wedd, and me! There's also a great forum being held in conjunction with the show, and you can read all about that here.

(images above: From left - Gerry Wedd, Pip McManus, Mel Robson)

Sifting and Sorting

home-ing pigeon, slipcast porcelain, 21cm

All this new work I keep rambling on about is for a solo show I am having later this year (July) at Jan Manton Art, here in Brisvegas. I am way ahead of myself and for once am not going to be pulling hot pieces out of the kiln a day before the opening. In fact, I am MONTHS ahead of myself and have almost finished the whole show! There is a very good reason for my weird and miraculous state of organisation, but I will tell you about that another time.

I am lucky enough to have the super duper freelance writer and art critic for The Australian, Louise Martin-Chew, writing the essay for my catalogue, and spent a lovely morning with her yesterday looking at and talking about the work. It’s the first time I’ve really shown anyone outside of my immediate circle, so I must admit I was a little nervous! It’s always a little scary when you first put new things out there. I was also curious to see what would come out of my mouth in talking about the work, because although I’ve chatted to oodles of people about bits and pieces of it, this was the first time I had really sat down and comprehensively spoken about what was behind it all – which to be honest has only really just started to become clear. It was fantastic to sit down with someone for a few hours and just mull it all over, having someone fire questions at me, inquiring about this, giving their own interpretations and readings about that. I find that process of talking (or sometimes writing) about my work incredibly useful in sifting through the myriad influences and ideas that float around while you’re making it all. It really helps me to clarify things, and also raises lots of new questions to pursue. In my bygone days of shared studios these kinds of conversations happened a lot more in the natural course of the studio environment, but working from home, and mostly alone (violins playing in the background now) they are fewer and farther between. So opportunities like yesterday, especially with people like Louise, are damn great!

Then I spent the rest of the afternoon in a mad frenzy of inspired decal design! I’m rolling with this inspired phase while it lasts!

Mistaken Identity

Some of the new work I’m making at the moment is based on some research I’ve been doing into the Second World War (thus the guns), and some of the experiences of my family during that time. I was talking to my Dad about it recently and he told me a great story that is too good not to share.

My grandfather was shot in the leg during the Milne Bay campaign in Papua New Guinea and was sent home for a few months to recuperate, during which time my dear old dad was conceived. Unfortunately, just before he was due to be born they sent my Grandfather right back there. A telegram was sent off not long after to let him know that his son had arrived and mum and baby were A-OK. However, along with our own Lieutenant Colonel Robson, there happened to also be a Captain Robson serving in PNG at the time, and the telegram was mistakenly sent to him! He was a bit surprised to receive a telegram telling him his wife had just given birth to a healthy baby boy… especially when he hadn't actually been home in over a year!!! Apparently he requested leave immediately and hightailed it home before they realised it had been sent to the wrong man! Oops!

(That handsome fella above is my Grandad! )

Trouble

Ky Curran , slipcast beakers, decals

I recieved a very nice present from local ceramicist and girl-about-town Ky Curran over the weekend. I'd been eyeing these little babies off in at Artisan recently (gun love), and now they're mine....aaaallllll mine.....woohoohaaaahaaaa. Thanks Ky!!

The real trouble is that I'm starting to run out of shelf space in my house!

Patsy Hely

Those of you lucky enough to be in Sydney over the next month best pop along to see Patsy Hely's show at Helen Stephens Gallery, which opened last week. Alas and alack I was stuck up here in Brisvegas and missed all the fun! Patsy is one of Australia's finest if you ask me, so make sure you get over and have a look. It's on until March 31st. A good excuse to also have a look at the new Helen Stephens (All Handmade) Gallery.

(image above: Patsy Hely, 'Noisy Miner Jug', slipcast porcelain, china paint, photo by Michel Brouet)

On The Trail

Well I’ve been on the research trail today. It’s the first bright sunny day we’ve had in a while, and I went and spent it all in dark rooms with artificial lighting! I’m knee deep in research for the Ipswich Houses Project at the moment (which is coming along swimmingly) and with the help of the poet Thomas Shapcott himself, I have just unearthed a minefield of material.

I arrived at the Fryer Library at the University of QLD (after negotiating a course through a 2km stream of medical students in very bizarre theatre attire) to find a stack of archive boxes ready and waiting for me. I tell ya, librarians are the BEST! The first box I went through was filled with Thomas Shapcott’s beautiful poetry, original typed copies on old thin typing paper with lovely handwritten scribbles all over them, some very poignant poems, a selection of amusing personal correspondences, and some hilarious parodies hidden away in the back!

One box down, 56 to go…..geez!! Hopefully those helpful librarians will be able to track down the one other thing I’m looking for without me having to pore through ALL those boxes!!