Sculpture by the Sea wants ME!

I have had exciting news. My proposal for Sculpture by the Sea has been accepted! I'll be exhibiting my Gokko-Neko and Gokko-Inu sculptures around the cliff face of The Boot as you approach the Icebergs. This means I'll be a busy bee but there's nothing like an imminent deadline for motivation. I'll also be making a small inflatable piece for the SxS indoor exhibition. In the mean time I have managed to squeeze in time to complete Gokko-Uma (Make Believe Pony). This piece is based on the timeless kids character "My Little Pony", hope you can tell!. My first pony is being exhibited down in Melbourne at the Toorak Village Sculpture Exhibition at Weideman by Douglas Clarke, 474 Toorak Rd. The show runs till the 31st May. I'm still juggling work with teaching and I am very excited to be one of the first guest teachers to run at workshop at Jane Sawyer's Slow Clay ceramic studio in Melbourne. I've had so many enquiries from Victoria that I've decided to finally make it happen. The printing on clay workshop will run on Sat 14th & Sun 15th of July, 2012. Feel free to get in touch with Jane if you're interested!. 

Another great event scheduled for this year is the Keane's Open Day. This year they are raising money for Lymphoma in the memory of their sister who fought a hard battle with it last year. There's always a diverse range of demonstrations at the event and this year it will be held at Brookvale T.A.F.E. My gig is surface design which will include printing, slip decorating, and under glaze decorating. It's on Saturday 30th June from 10 - 2pm and best of all it's FREE!. I haven't scheduled my regular workshops at The Workshop Arts Centre yet but I'm sure I'll be running a Printing on Clay and Mould Making Workshop in the July holidays. Keep your eye on my FB page for details.

Workshops for 2012

Another year has gone....whoosh...
A great year of change for me. A new job, a new horse (sculpture), and a new place to live (coming soon!). I still teach at The Workshop Arts Centre in Willoughby though and its actually an exciting time there because the ceramic studio is getting a face lift. So if you'd like to come and check out the new facilities come and do a Summer Workshop!. I'll be running a Printing on Clay wknd and a Mould Making & Casting workshop in Jan 2012. www.workshoparts.org.au

Sculpture 2011

A little bit of promotion goes a long way! Now that this dog has become a celebrity, I'll be in the studio making more!

stART

Lots and lots of AstroTurf!!!

Gokko-Neko and Gokko-Inu enjoyed ART SYDNEY 2010. They have gone back into their kennels for a rest. They'll be making their next appearance for Christmas at Kerrie Lowe Gallery in Newtown.

Scribble Cat & Dog drawn with ceramic pencil.

Awesome Clay at Eveleigh!

Eveleigh Artisan Market will be showcasing some of the finest in ceramic art on Sunday, 7 November 2010 as part of the Awesome Clay at Eveleigh! event. Market goers will be able to purchase unique pieces by some of the most talented ceramic artists in Australia and will be treated to demonstrations including wheel throwing, hand-building and decorating. Vicki Grima from The Australian Ceramics Association is excited about the event saying, “There will be 24 talented ceramic artists showcasing their work at the Artisan Market. This is a fantastic opportunity for Sydneysiders to be able to view and purchase some beautiful handmade ceramic art.” Arian Aljinovic, Eveleigh Market Manager, added: “Along with the usual Artisans stalls showcasing the best in independent art and design, this event will show off some of the fabulous works being produced in ceramics; there will also be ceramic workshops for people, both young and old, to learn more about the craft. It should be lots of fun!” One of the ceramists showcasing their work is John Tuckwell who works mostly with porcelain, using up to four different clays depending on the piece. Another artist is Petra Svoboda who creates pieces using ceramic materials and mixed media. Her work is inspired by pop surrealism, animation and street art. The Artisans’ Market is held on the first Sunday of the Month (except January) and showcases the very best in independent art, design and crafts including painting, sculpture, furniture, photography, glass, homewares, designer clothing, and jewellery. The market runs from 10am-3pm at the heritage listed Blacksmith’s Workshop at 248 Wilson St, Darlington. The Eveleigh Artisans’ Market is proudly supported by Australian Technology Park. Come by and see Mr Poophead and Pigs CAN fly!

Sculpture in the Vineyards

Concurrent to the chaos of preparing for Art Sydney 2010 I'm also exhibiting in Sculpture in the Vineyards. It's held along the Wollombi Valley Wine Trail and with all this rain we've been having lately it's awfully pretty up there at the moment. Wollombi is also a historic village and home to Dr Jurd's Jungle Juice. So get away for the day or the weekend and enjoy the creative combination of art and wine!. You can check out my installation at Wollombi Wines. It's on for ages so there's no excuse! 3 October 2010 - 2 January 2011.

ART SYDNEY 2010

While waiting an hour and a half for my Friday night pizza I have decided to start updating my blog. It's hard to concentrate though will a rumbling tummy!. Every spare moment of my time is being spent in the studio at the moment. I'll be launching my limited edition sculptures Gokko-Neko and Gokko-Inu at Art Sydney 2010. A hundred sculptures will be made in total and they will make an appearance in sexy metallic black, bronze, dark silver, gunmetal, and bumblebee. I'm part of an exciting new initiative called stART that gives self-represented emerging artists an opportunity to run their own exhibitions and sell direct to the public. Opening night is on Thursday 11th November from 5pm - 9pm. It then runs from Friday - Sunday.

New Work

My new work Gokko-Inu has been a long time in the making but he's finally arrived. Must say, he's been the quietest pet and very well behaved!. I'm finally returning to my studio in Mascot after 2 wonderfully indulgent years at SCA. I've still to put some finishing touches on my Masters paper but I'm hoping to graduate by the end of the year!. In the meantime I need to focus on setting up my studio again so I can start producing work for Art Sydney 2010. I've decided to bite the bullet and take a leap of faith by exhibiting in the stART (emerging artists) area of the fair. No guts, no glory right? So between casual teaching, attending a website design course, and working for David Edmonds Ceramics, I'm not sure how I'm going to be creative, but one thing I do know is that I won't be seeing much of my friends on the weekends anymore! Bah Humbug!!!

Sydney College of the Arts Postgraduate Degree Show 2009

My installation titled Gokko Rando (Make Believe Land) Part I, exhibited in the SCA Postgraduate Degree Show 2009. I technically finish my MVA in March (due to an extension) but luckily got to test run the install and set up at the end of year show. It was a great experience and I received a lot of feedback. Thanks to everyone that came to see it, and many thanks to Mark Scott Johnson for taking the time to help me with the lights and photography.

Gokko Neko (Make Believe Cat), Ceramic, 2009.

RED: The Lure of the Huldra: A Norwegian Nightmare, Ceramic, Mixed Media, LED lights, 2009.

Once upon a time there lived an alluringly amorous young wood nymph. She lived on a small island off the coast of Japan and drank red wine with adzuki beans every day. She also had an appetite for inquisitive young men. So much so that the adventurous sailors that dared to visit her island to view her beauty were often eaten up after their encounter with the Huldra and their body parts lay strewn across the island as evidence of her passionate hunger.

One day a Spacecat from an other universe landed on her island and found himself strangely attracted to the Huldra. The Huldra knew that she could not mate with this hybrid creature from outer space. Her salacious nature got the better of her and their relationship was consummated resulting in the birth of the Spacecat Spirit.

This tablaeu titled BLUE: Forbidden Love - Banished to the Blu Land, references the Norwegian myth of the Blu Man. In my scene the mutant cats that have evolved from the space cat and Huldra's encounter, have been banished to the harsh cold Blu Land of frost and ice. Frozen to the core, they no longer pose a threat to the wood land creatures.

Entrance view to Gokko Rando (Make Believe Land) Part I






Mr Poop with Exploding Flower, Ceramic, 2009.

RED: The Lure of the Huldra - A Norwegian Nightmare

GREEN: The Woods Have Eyes

The Tree Spirits witness this travesty and banish the Spacecat Spirits to an icy cold island situated at the top of the world.

BLUE: Forbidden Love - Banished to the Blu Land

This is a little vid of the installation. The project titled Gokko Rando (Make Believe Land) Part I is a living sculpture that morphs and grows throughout the exhibition period. Porous ceramic elements are installed in wet diorama habitats. The ceramic pieces slowly absorb the coloured dye that they sit in, slowly moving up the body of the piece. The dye not only colours the pieces but also reacts with the ceramic material to form coloured crystals that sit on the surface.

I love bad things: the dark side of creativity

Stumbled upon this site while researching the work of Michael Doolan. Worth a look if you are attracted to the darker side of life. www.ilovebadthings.com

Unbearable Sydney Design 09

I managed to piece together the fragments that survived the long trip from Norway for a display in this years Sydney Design Utility Exhibition titled 'Unbearable'. I also began work on a new display shelf made out of acrylic to hold liquids. I wanted to experiment with the porosity of the ceramic pieces and the contrast in textures. The piece is titled 'The Lust of the Huldra: a norwegian nightmare' and is based on the Norwegian myth of the woodland temptress, the Huldra, who lures men out of their homesteads with her beauty to steal their sheep and milk.

Thank you Mark for taking all the lovely photos.

Residency @ Guldagergaard, Denmark

Myself, Brian, and Malin posing infront of Malin's Raku fired wall installations.

Malin, Brian, and I exhibited our work in the Apple tree Gallery in Guldagergaard. We added a bit of glamour to the event by dressing in our finest and serving chocolate dipped strawberries. Mmm Mmm.

We spent a full day Raku firing our decal and lustre printed pieces.

Yes, it's Danish flags in dog Poop, a sweet but unusual Danish tradition.

This piece was donated to the ceramic collection at Guldagergaard. It is made up of readymades, fake snow, raw clay mountains, and a raku fired decal printed Moose.

We also experimented with lustre in the Raku firing.

Images for decals were collected from fairytale books, the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Krone Circus, and various street signs around Denmark.

These pieces were inspired by the Danish childrens story writer, Hans Christian Andersen.

Fused together with a few things from my own childhood, signifying the dawn of the computer game era.

Had a fabulous time at the International Ceramic Research Center, Denmark. Spent the month of June working with another ceramic friend of mine, Malin Jansson, www.malinjansson.com. We spent most of the weeks gathering images to make decals with, had a lot of fun in the process, as most of our research was conducted at the circus and the fair!

Oslo Ceramics @ Galleri FORMAT

Work by Stine Walderhaug

Jim Darbu, Who wants to live forever, 2009.

Jim Darbu and his work Same old day, different shit, 2008.

Professor Ole Lislerud giving a lively speech at the Opening of Oslo Ceramics. I have no idea what he said, as it was all in Norwegian, but I heard later that he was mainly praising the artists for their unique approach to the medium of ceramics.

On the 20th Jan I attended an exhibition opening titled Oslo Ceramics including KHIO talent Jim Darbu http://www.jimdarbu.com/. Now here is the work of someone with a great imagination! Gotta love that room temperature glaze. Jim has a unique way of working with acrylic spray on paints and car paint. A great way to push the boundaries of ceramics.

The group Oslo Ceramics comprises of 5 artists working in the ceramic medium. They are all recent graduates that share a passion for expressing themselves with the ceramic medium but not afraid to incorporate unconventional techniques.

The exhibition was held @ Galleri Format http://www.format.no/

This is a gallery that specialises in showcasing the best from the arts & crafts scene. It is funded by the Norwegian Association of Arts and Crafts (NK) that is in turn supported by the Ministry of Culture. The NK organisation supports professional experience within the areas of ceramics, textiles, metal, wood, glass, and leather.