forming words

words are the basis for my mark making on ceramics and so
when i was asked to be apart of the exhibition forming words
i was thrilled, not only be be able to be part of a show
curated by Ingrid Tufts and Sophie Milne, but to also
be able to exhibit my work beside potters that i have long admired

the exhibition runs from 4-25 march
Pan Gallery
142-144 Weston Street Brunswick East

if you are in melbourne town and are interested please pop along
to support this show and the wonderful team at Pan Gallery

below is the exhibition info
and then i thought i would share my artist statement also...

FORMING WORDS

Text on ceramics has a long and rich history, from ancient pictograms scratched on clay tablets to provocative works from the conceptual art movement of the 60s and 70s. Forming Words is an exhibition designed to explore and articulate ideas within this popular movement in ceramic practice.

Ceramic art has the ability to communicate without words, through touch, sight and use, making the decision to incorporate text a deliberate and potentially provocative choice. Eight Australian ceramicists exhibit works that explore how the written word furthers our appreciation of a three dimensional artwork, merging text and form to convey a cohesive idea.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My ceramic art practice has always started and ended with words and poetry. Words are to my ceramic work like any mark, decoration, or design.

As well as being a ceramic artist I am also a poet, and in my current practice it is these words that are used in the creation of my ceramic vessels.

It is important that in both mediums (on paper and on clay) the words are pared back, spaced, and laid out in a way that is both deliberate and happenstance at the same time. Each letter stamped into the clay is applied in a similar way to the organic nature of the vessel, creating work that in its mark and shape, hopefully harmonise.

It is also a deliberate act to colour the text to look inky and brown, occasionally having another colour enter the mix highlighting a word or phrase.

More often than not the poems (although most already existing) find their own rhythm on each pot, swirling, climbing, hiding amongst and along the simple hand built and draped vessels.

A strange thing has happened along the way also… I have found putting the words from the pages of my poetry books to a ceramic vessel has allowed the poems to have a different audience. Someone who wouldn’t normally like poetry in the form of lines on a page are led into it by means of clay. Some vessels need to be moved and turned to read the poem, some people touch to feel the indentation of words. The poem becomes an object that can be held… a keepsake, a message, a story… just in different clothes.

yesterday

the printer delivered . . .

and we wasted no time in putting the packs together
to see how they looked as a finished product . . .
and we were mighty happy

within the next week
hopefully there'll be some in the online store . . .
5 packs of little ornaments
a long time in the making
but hopefully worth the wait . . .

beauty abounds in the broken spaces . . .

nearly ready . . .

these little beauties are nearly ready to be packed up
in little families of five . . .
the backing card should be back from the printer in the next
day or two . . .

i'll be sending out a newsletter soon
with a little sale to celebrate their arrival,
a competition for the anthropologie vessels,
and many varied other bits and pieces . . .

my stockists are already ordering these packs fast,
so that is a great sign that i was on
some sort of right track to make them work !

and thanks to the amazing help of a dear friend,
hopefully, very soon, my website will be up
and not just a 'coming soon' page . . .
phew

some words from a friend . . .

it may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
the mind that is not baffled is not employed.
the impeded stream is the one that sings.

- wendell berry

a lovely friend of mine emailed me this quote today
probably because she knew i would like it . . .
but little did she know it arrived just on the right day,
the right minute . . .
life is strange that way, and then again,
not at all strange that way . . .

( photo: driving through the clouds on a mountain top on chrsitmas day last )

from italy with love . . .

although i've had my contracted samples for a while now
my personal order of the anthropologie vessels
arrived this week . . .

i was able to get some sent so i can pass them on
to friends/family/studio gal helper/lawyer etc
as they will be only available online
and in store at anthropologie

i am looking forward to properly
sharing images of them with you all soon

they release in spring in the US
so only a few sleeps away now . . .

AND i am about to release some new work
and when i send out the email newsletter
about all of that
i thought i would give
a piece of the anthropologie collection
away in a competition . . .

if you aren't on the paper boat mailing list
click on the 'join our mailing list' link
on this webpage and i'll be sure to keep you up to date . . .

prototypes

. . . just out of the kiln

finding the coolest spot

we had to escape the heat today,

and, so we didn't abandon work altogether
miss jen rolled the clay in the semi-outdoor studio
and then bought the work into the kitchen
where i am lucky enough to have air conditioning

it reminded me that many years ago
this is where jen and i did a lot of the work
( in another house i used to live in . . . )
paper boat press wasn't making the amount
of pieces each year then as we are now . . .
so our needs for work space were different

but it is sometimes good
to be reminded, out of the blue,
where you have come from, how you've grown . . .

and that in the end if i really want to . . .
i can still make things
in corners and spaces that i thought i'd outgrown
or didn't need anymore

cooking up something new . . .

my mum always said the only thing that is 'normal'
is the dial on the washing machine !

so, i don't want to say things are back
to normal . . .
or even on their way to getting back to normal
around here . . .
yes, what is normal really . . .

i suppose we are starting to
feel like we are back in a little bit more of a routine . . .

we are creating a new range of tags
( or should i say extension of some other work )

it has taken me a long time to commit to making
this part of my range available for
wholesale and also as a year round product . . .

but we are on our way . . .
i won't say too much about what we are making
but i will say -

it is so you can add something to your
making or giving . . .