My current work .... to be continued

Someone asked me recently what I am making these days - um, apart from a big mess - and the above photos are of works in progress, currently drying slowly prior to bisque firing.

I am making double walled vessels for my ANU final project (Independent Work Proposal), they are large enough to hold in both arms, and they just barely fit into my larger electric kiln. The plan is to decorate them with multiple techniques and layers of colour, image and text using the print on clay techniques I learnt at ANU in the last few years. The red and white 'stuff' on the lower image is a tissue transfer I had just applied and was about to peel off leaving the red pattern on the clay surface. I like to print my own transfers from my own drawings or sources. Photoshop is my friend!

The overall theme is viewing the vessel as a metaphor for a nest or a home, a place of sanctuary, safety, launch, domesticity - you name it.

Distant pals

I got a 'buzz' this morning when I found that Carole Epp at her Musing About Mud blog gave me a bit of a mention early last month. Thank you Carole. Carole's work was one of the first pieces I ever bought for my small 'collection'. A set of stacking cups - so gorgeous I just couldn't believe I was going to be able to take them home (photo Stuart Hay, ANU Photographics).

Read about that series here http://www.avicam.com/profile/hanson.php

Actually http://www.avicam.com/ is well worth tuning into if you are clay oriented. Avi Amesbury maintains this site, www.avicam.com, representing national and international ceramic artists. She edits and publishes the electronic newsletter, Ceramics this month.

Carole was one of the 'helpers' at ANU Canberra on one of my earlier stints there on the distance diploma course, which I'll complete in June 2010 all going well. She was lots of fun, frank and humble about how her work and skills developed and I didn't only admire her work enormously, which is pretty diverse in style if you go have a look .... you may have seen it in Journal of Australian Ceramics in last few years a few times. How does she get it all done, on top of being a newish Mummy? Time management is one of life's biggest mysteries to me.

Carole's blog is as 'finger on the pulse' of ceramics as it gets overall look here .... mud.blogspot.com or at her her website if you'd like to see her own work www.caroleepp.com and her etsy shop is CaroleEpp.etsy.com see what I mean?? I bet you feel your finger is on the pulse too, what did we do without the Net?

STEWART SCAMBLER, NEW CERAMIC FORMS, GALLERY EAST, NORTH FREMANTLE

It's a funny old world, earlier this week I spent 45 minutes at the local shops chatting to a potter friend, Trish Scambler, of Bohemian Ceramics, "as ye do". Friday night rolls around, and I am dashing between the supermarket and collecting junior Hip Hop stars from their dance class and suddenly remember - HEY - Trish's husband Stewart Scambler, until recently President of CAAWA (Ceramics Arts Assoc. of Western Australia) is having the opening of his exhibition NEW CERAMIC FORMS at Gallery East in North Fremantle this evening, along with new paintings by DRAGICA MILUNOVIC, runs Friday 28 August-Sunday 20 September 2009. www.galleryeast.com.au/exhibit/current/main.htm
That gallery is a favourite of mine along with the rascally in-house dog who loves to sneak up on patrons and snatch their catalogues as they sip their vino and 'peruse'. So I rang Henry, as he bussed home from work, told him I was 'OUT' and dashed off to see Stewart's wood fired work. Rich, Rich, Rich - no that isn't what you have to be to collect Stewart's work, http://www.galleryeast.com.au/exhibit/current/main2.htm
it is so RICH in surface texture. He really understands his kiln at their property in York and is happy to fire and refire a piece till it achieves sufficient textural interest for him to let it go. I had been reading the latest Ceramic Review the British ceramics publication and about W.A.Ismay's collection - a librarian with a strong appreciation of ceramics, and I was inspired to become a collector.

I knew a large number of the folk at the opening, and the wine was good, got to chat with Stewart, Trish and her daughter among others ....... yes you guessed I bought a piece. The piece pictured is now mine, mine, mine. Click this to see the work from Gallery http://www.galleryeast.com.au/exhibit/current/main2.htm
An hour later as I rolled on home, the short drive from North to East Freo across the Stirling Bridge, I hoped my man and three lads had taken the initiative to feed themselves at home ............. I was of course, dreaming.

I have a lot of catching up to do here, if I try to do it all here, it will end up too long and wordy and I will lose your attention.
Most recently I taught my Print On Clay workshop (Mark I, Mark II is under development) again, this time at Julie Drury's shop in O'Connor, WA, The Potter's Market. I covered ...
INKJET TRANSFER
UNDER GLAZE TISSUE TRANSFER
UNDER GLAZE/SLIP TRANSFER
SILK-SCREENED UNDER GLAZE TISSUE TRANSFERS
ON-GLAZE WATERSLIDE DECALS
LASER DECALS
I demonstrated and explained how the techniques work and how to access the necessary materials. I had an audience of 22 and was surprised to learn that many of them were high school teachers. How good is that, for teachers to give up a fair part of their weekend in order to make their ceramics teaching more interesting to their students. I was very impressed with them. A large group came from Pinjarra, others from Bindoon and Mandurah. I was flattered that potters felt what I had to teach merited having them travel quite far to gain skills. It made me reflect on how lucky those of us close to cities are in having access to workshop. The demise of ceramics in tertiary level education is often discussed and fought for but maybe the answer is to get in there earlier and make ceramics in high schools more prominent. I feel that clayworkers outside the metro area should invite tutors they are interested in, to present workshops in country areas. This could provide teaching and networking opportunities that otherwise might never happen.

Perfect pecs er, I mean pics

This is my style, sitting with my laptop and one of my boys, on the couch, watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, while I blog. I know as soon as the childcatcher appears in the movie, Gaelan will disappear and I can switch to VideoHits. My man is sleeping off his flight home from Singapore and the other children are either snoozing or playstationing.

I'm kiln sitting a kilnload of work destined for the Clay Feet exhibition at the Inner City Clayworkers Gallery in Glebe, Sydney next week

I have some of my slab built hanging boxes toasting in there, multifired with various print transfer images and, hopefully the decals I applied in the last few days will be fusing perfectly onto the glaze surface. Most of the decals are those I made last week, screenprinting line drawings with china paint onto decal paper. It is glorious owning a Riso Thermal Printer to make my own Riso screens - no more fretting over the cost of Gocco bulbs. It is great to be able to custom make my own decals but this was a lesson in materials for me. The laquer I used as covercoat on the decals went on perfectly but took so long to dry, I had to take the hairdryer to them, and even then, I felt they could have done with couple of days to cure into a firmer more stable plastic state. I am including a snap of what I think will be the most successful of the lot just before I fired them for the last time.

Quite a few West Australians are heading over to the Sydney Ceramics Trienniale and I am sharing an apartment there with a group of them. Apart from having work in two shows there, I should have time to do some serious catching up and networking and the conference sounds like it will be amazing. I will keep you posted.

And now .... back to the laundry ....