Happy Easter

Good Friday Sky

No matter what date Good Friday falls on the sky backdrop never disappoints. Big and dramatic,sombre, wistful.A good thinking sky.

 

Last Supper

 

I sure as heck hope not!     Take care out on the roads this Easter and come back safe and sound.

Maybe This Is Where It All Began

 

When I was a child this cabinet contained all the worldly goods and assets that could be redeemed for money. It took pride of place in our living room and every special cup and saucer had a story connected to it about its mythical value. The cabinet had a special aroma from the mahogany timber and collected staleness which added to the awe and reverence as incense does in a church.

I don’t think it is entirely why I began ceramics but my exploration over the last few years has definitely hearkened back to these objects. They represented beauty and aspiration in an impoverished household and now the image seems so pathetic because you do not see the stories and dreams there. I heard Waleed Ali today discussing the haute couture of the fifties in Melbourne after the War and Depression years as a way of re stratifying the social classes. Maybe that is what acquisition of fine objects also represented to our parents but for me they were eye candy that made my fingers itchy to handle.

They were not objects that were handled frequently and as visitors were infrequent, there never seemed an appropriate time to use them. In the end the kitchen objects were imbued with the greatest nostalgia through their frequent and favoured use.

 Beautiful objects teach our senses something. They grow on us through muscle memory and their memory can be recalled long after the objects are gone. What are our children going to look back on with fondness-plastic cutlery, polystyrene and cardboard upsized food and drink buckets? Whoever thought to use the word bucket and food in the same sentence?

Nifty Photo Booth

I always seem to be walking around the place with something in one hand because I can't let go of one idea before latching onto another. I was in such a state the other day while holding  and contemplating a couple of pieces in my studio when I remembered that I was going to take toilet paper to the upstairs bathroom. Before I forgot for the 10th time I opened the linen cupboard (where we keep the toilet paper stash) put the beakers on a higher shelf and grabbed a couple of toilet rolls to leave on the stairs for my next trip up there. I saw my camera on the stairs which is where I left it when I came in from the garden and proceded back to the studio camera in hand but had to shut the linen closet door which I had failed to do before. There were the beakers and the idea for a photo booth. I had a roll of muslin in there from a sewing project and simply shoved stuff aside on one shelf and covered the bulges with the muslin which made a lovely backdrop.
Lighting changes can be made in Picasa or Photoshop or Gimp as you please. So while some people like to work with one complete idea before the next is started I kind of move in a fluid that sometimes threatens to drown me!
Now I really ought to tidy that closet a bit.

Blue Banded bees

Amegilla  is a solitary native bee with the most audacious turquoise stripes. It puts its whole heart and soul into buzzing so that the vibrating movement of the plant is what draws the eye to the buzz. That is why it is of interest to tomato farmers who might be able to take advantage of its very vigorous movement to pollinate more of the tomatoes in greenhouses.

 I however am interested in it because one has taken up residence in my garden and shares my enthusiasm for a constantly changing blue and mauve landscape scheme so I know it has good taste! Its hearty little buzz makes me laugh with joy when I hear it and it likes clay! What better omen for a potter?! Maybe I should be more concerned that our Melbourne climate has become more like Sydney’s which is why it has found a home in my garden?!!

Blue Striped (bee)kersBlue striped bee

 

Herring Island Ceramics Exhibition

The little gallery at Herring Island in the Yarra River at Sth Yarra, was all a buzz on Friday as participants in the Ceramics Victoria exhibition  “Haven” all arrived to unpack their works. A one minute free ferry ride from the landing in Sth Yarra takes you across to the island which has various sculptural works scattered around the pathways. The island hosts various artisans shows throughout the summer including basket weavers, photographers and sculptors. This is the last for the summer and will have a little cash and carry sale as well. It starts on Easter Saturday.

 

Mirta Ouro arranges her fragile porcelain pieces

Sharyn Masson's reef corals

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Gone to a Good Home

The natural cycle of making artwork is that it will go out into the world at some stage and start a new life. It contains some of the artist's mental DNA and sometimes it is sad to part with a piece, which of course is better than being glad to ged rid of it!

 

This piece went to a good home on the weekend after The Warranwood Steiner Art Show and I am very grateful for that. It was a great show with a high clearance rate and a vibrant buzz. Beautiful afternoon tea and room for families to mingle. I love seeing children exposed to art exhibitions. They develop a vocabulary specific to art and become more competent in discussing their responses which in turn helps them to develop their own higher concepts.

Leap of Faith

How does any project get started? You just have to get past the chicken stage and stop thinking about flight.
You know you have the skills ... check
You know you have the ideas....check
You have the audience but it's the peanuts gallery making the running commentary that you have to shut up.


Stalled...

Just dive in!