Sunday, March 1, 2009

Anne Linneman Workshop at SODA

I had a good time yesterday! I attended Ann Linneman's workshop http://annlinnemann-english.blogspot.com/ at Fleur Schell's place SODA in North Fremantle.

It is always restful but exciting to observe an artist at work, and Ann demonstrated her method of teapot making - note the handle of willow pieces, her bowl sets, her cups in addition to some of her sculptural forms. On an unfamiliar wheel (a Venco) and with unfamiliar clay (Walkers SWP) she took a while to adjust to her new set up and there was no shortage of helpers who share the SODA studio space to find whatever was needed. Almost everyone I know has an older model Venco or a Shimpo wheel. Ann doesn't need a car in Copenhagen, but cycles around instead, instead, and, as all of her work starts on a wheel, she invested in, as she put it, the "Rolls Royce" of potter's wheels made in Denmark and has never regretted it. She is very body aware and careful not to incur injuries from inappropriate posture etc. especially as it impacts her ability to make a living. As a potter held back by long term elbow damage, it seems to me this message can't be stressed enough.

How nice it is to look at just thrown porclelain, the cool off-white smooth surfaces just beg to be stroked. I was impressed with how few tools Ann needed, mainly just a simple small rectangular metal rib for cleaning up the outer surfaces, the throwing lines and spirals are left on her interiors, and the rib's corner cuts in and cleans up under the foot of the work. She trained as a production thrower then later as a ceramic designer and it shows. Her designs are very spare and elegant, simple and clean. She explained that many Scandinavian ceramists get their work produced in slipcasting factories in China and that the old formal ways of training in ceramics are petering out. Sounds familiar, just like everywhere else!

I considered how many handmade pots are in use in my home, and how much Chinese produced stuff we own. I was glad to conclude it was about half and half. Irish people tend to buy wedding presents that would set up a couple in their kitchen and dining room, especially the formal dining room. You'd get Waterford or Galway Crystal and a good China dinner service, in my case Wedgwood. You might score some lovely Shanagarry Pottery or Jerpoint Glassware, which, because of their value, just sit in a china cabinet for 'best' use. Henry and I decided to use our handmade stuff for day to day and it makes the day nicer to sip your soda water from a mouthblown fat sensous beaker. I've just discovered Shanagarry Pottery has closed it's doors, another gem bites the dust.

I serve up my spuds in a Richard Batterham faceted bowl, salad in Simon Pearce bowls and coffee in Mary Wandrausch cups, my own salad bowl and the macadamia nuts from a friends tree sit in a beautiful turned wooden bowl my own son Emmet made for me. It is a special moment when someone lovely like Em hands over his work and says 'I made this for you'. PURE magic.

Now, like my mate Anna Chicos, (and someday soon I'll feature her work here), I CRAVE one of Ann's cups from her collaboration with Paul Scott. A winter or summer cup, with the platinum or gold rim. I may have to sell a child first though : >]

At the Ann Linneman SODA The lunch was big tasty gourmet pies and salads, on handmade plates and bowls and that salad dressing was to die for. Later, we were invited to a slideshow and curry dinner and what a range of dishes! Pippin Drysdale with whom Ann was staying joined us, and many of the attendees partners turned up. At one point I thought Fleur's youngest rogue Harry, was about to knock over a large wood fired Stewart Scambler piece.

Pippin work here and Stewart's website here http://www.pippindrysdale.com/


and http://www.ceramicartswa.asn.au/membersgallery/stewartscambler/index.php and http://sidestoke.com/Scambler/index.html


I live in East Fremantle, across the Swan River five minutes drive from Fleur in North Freo. She teased me later that night that I should stay later for more wine and walk home rather than drive. If I'd stayed later I wouldn't have been able to walk if I'd followed Fleur's suggestion, so any left over vino will have to go into her next boef bourgignon.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Look what I got

The piece of porcelain shown above and made by Trudy Golley (Canada) is mine, mine, mine.

I went to a meeting of the Ceramics Study Group of Western Australia (CAAWA) Study Group tonight for a talk and slideshow by Trudy Golley and her husband Paul Leathers. They are staying at SODA (Fleur Schell's artist residential venue) in North Fremantle, Western Oz http://www.sodaresidency.com/and preparing work for a show "LUSUS ARTEFACTAE: Playful Making"at Perth Galleries - link , just a few doors away down the road. The images of the work for the show are available on their website Alluvium .......http://www.alluvium.ca/ ..and click on the link under Lusus Artefactae. Find out more about these two great artists and how they collaborate.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Clay Porn

When we get 'lost' online we refer to my husband's interests as 'Bike Porn' and mine as 'Clay Porn', you know, an image of something you really admire or desire very, very much. It just thrills and intrigues you. There is no real porn element, just that it is something you like to browse and look at - a lot. He will lust after Alan bike frames or, of late, Moultons, Lord help me, and when I can wean him from that, it's old Citroen cars.

Burt Street Gallery the front area of Perth Studio Potters Premises

I was delivering posters for the forthcoming workshops at Perth Studio Potters, in Cottesloe, Perth. The ceramic year in my part of Western Australia is off to a whooping start. As mentioned recently Fleur Schell is hosting events at her North Fremantle studio SODA and in Hamelin Bay with Trudy Golley (Canada), Paul Leathers (Canada) and also Anne Linneman (Denmark).

At PERTH STUDIO POTTERS I will teach a one day class in Print On Clay Techniques on 7th March, I am so looking forward to that! Then, in May we'll be hosting Thai born potter Somechai Charoen coming from Sydney to teach a workshop in mouldmaking techniques. In 2007 we had Vipoo Srivala http://www.vipoo.com/ for an awesome workshop. Vipoo felt a workshop from Somechai at PSP would be a hit.

Below some of Vipoo's work.....
While dropping the Somchai posters off at the Fremantle Arts Centre, one of my favourite places in Freo, http://www.fac.org.au/ I popped into their newly revamped, renamed shop FOUND. Fatal move! There, waiting to be found, are oodles of beautiful handmade items by WA artists, plus, a great selection of art books. I bought 'Porcelain Masters - major works by leading ceramists' by Lark Books and full of delicious seductive images of work by the creme de la creme of international ceramics.... and that is what I mean by ClayPorn!

Fremantle Arts Centre














Photo with permission http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoff-inoz

Thursday, January 22, 2009

A TESTING LESSON


I am back from the ANU residential school in Canberra and had such a blast. Technically I wasn't participating as a student in the actual workshops (mentioned in a recent posting) by Trudy Golley (Canada) on slab built vase forms in paperclay and Anne Linneman (Denmark) on throwing and altered forms, but I got to be present for as much as I could. I was floating around as an Interim Work Proposal (IWP) Student and learning of the requirements and implications. The work I presented for assessment was for a previous unit on Image and Text on Clay taught by Professor Suzanne Wolfe of Hawaii

I was embarassed to have to show work on which the clay surface had flaked spectacularly from the clay surface, due to a process I'd squeezed in at the last minute, untested. To quote Homer - 'Duh!' Not the Greek Homer! :>D I'd wanted to create whiter surfaces with an engobe on my paperclay box forms to make my coloured glazes, imagery and text to be appear brighter. I'd taken a risk and it didn't work.

In fact, and typically of the staff in the Ceramics Department of ANU, they glossed over my 'learning experience', (I'm usually so into my testing and line blends etc.), and they latched onto the fragmented appearance that'd been formed instead. The surfaces had become like layers of wallpapers on a very old wall - or, as I described it to a friend, Colefax and Fowler wallpaper meets Mortar Bomb Attack.

So I don't hate the failed work, it will hang in my studio as a jumping off point for one of my next projects, I got some great results and learned a valuable lesson again, test, test, test!

Additionally, I met all the old pals (well not so much old as long standing) and many new ones, including Shannon Garson http://www.shannongarson.com whose work (these delicious Magnolia vessels) and blog I'd long admired http://strangefragments.blogspot.com/ as well as Jackie Gasson of The Clay Shed on the Sunshine Coast http://www.clayshed.com.au