My happy place

A few recent snaps of my making space. 

Official opening to come... one day...

better late than never, right?!

Making space

 As I may have said, things are afoot, change is in the air and plans are under way.

My making space is on the move. Currently in a state of transition I am still in production at my Northcote Pottery studio but in the last couple of months a brand new studio space has been under construction... just for me. And I have to say I am pretty damn excited about it.

I shan't reveal too much at this stage as I prefer to present things in their completed state but just to give you some inkling as to why things have been a little quiet on the blogging front...

well, that would have something to do with a little bit of blackboard paint...

a fair amount of plywood and vinyl...

and a whole lotta fake grass!

More soon.

Studios I Like #8

Ahh - holidays. I have embraced relaxation in its many shapes and forms and am growing my fingernails just for the novelty of it. Although having a break from making, I find I can't completely stay away from pots. A trip down the Great Ocean Road is incomplete without a side excursion to Qdos.

Once again I admit I didn't actually see the studio in question here but experiencing the setting is enough to include it in this series of posts. And there are a few pictures on the website that make me fairly certain I would like the studio itself.

Qdos, located in the rainforest of The Great Otway National Park (Lorne, Vic), is a contemporary art gallery, restaurant, accommodation and home to the studio of woodfire master Graeme Wilkie. 

Each time I have visited, the gallery has been showing paintings rather than ceramics but there is a small retail outlet for pottery made on site, which is fun to have a nosey around.

I have an odd relationship with woodfired ceramics. With little experience of it, just some wonderful all night firings when I was a student, I feel somewhat removed from the passion of those who embrace this technique wholeheartedly. However I appreciate what is involved and the philosophy behind many of it's practitioners.  

I also appreciate change and getting out of industrial Brunswick East to spend a little time wandering around the "backyard" of a famous potter is definitely something I like.  

Studios I Like #7

Now I'm thinking perhaps I should have called this series Spaces I Like rather than studios per se, but.. oh well.. whatever... 

On a recent trip to Daylesford I visited A Day On Earth , a warehouse full of the material manifestations of the random thoughts and imaginings of artist David Bromley. 

I was told that David does, from time to time, work in one of the rooms off to the side so I can count this as a studio... of sorts.

I can't say I am a huge fan of Bromley's work but I do appreciate it's easy-on-the-eye nature. 

This was just such a great space to spend some chilled out weekend time. It had that kind of shabby-industrial-chic thing going for it.

Studios I Like #6

OK, so I think this might be all for the Studios I Like series for the time being. I will have to get out and about and visiting more! 

Before I move on I will mention this book...

Modern British Potters and their studios 
by David Whiting. 

The description from my place of purchase reads "An in-depth study of 24 artists, their work and studios. The book will look at the work, inspiration and the studio of each potter. Almost a mini biography on many of the most prominent and exciting artists around, the book looks at artists making everything from domestic ware to sculpture...Both a visual and informative book, showcasing work alongside professional shots of the artists studios, with a well-written summary of the artist. This book offers an ideal opportunity to review a variety of some of the most interesting potters together, throwing the book open to a wide audience of ceramic lovers."

And that it does, but I like it because it's got pretty pictures! The images are beautiful, the art is inspirational and the studios are spectacular. 

Hmmm... studios... it is the light that does it but also the textures and materials in old buildings - tiles or floorboards, stone walls, chunky wooden benches and shelving. Space and natural light are so important but I really like sturdy studios: heavy, anchored, workable fixtures and furnishings that allow movement, small and large, to take place without hesitation. 

Enough dreaming for now, still love my little space because it's mine, and personally I could be happy making pots in a submarine.

Studios I Like #5

Behind this door...

and this window...

lies the studio of Katie Jacobs.

I like it because it is smaller than mine (!) 

and yet Katie is capable of immensely creative things.

And because she has wallpapered her door...

!

(a temporary) Studio I like #4

Last night I went to see the theatre production Jack Charles V The Crown by the Ilbijerri Theatre Company at The Fairfax Studio in the Melbourne Arts Centre. Jack Charles is an aboriginal actor, now in his 60's and a few years back he was the subject of the documentary Bastardy. I had seen the documentary and was moved by the tragic nature of his life and his ability to persist and even positively engage with his reality. He is an incredibly charismatic character with an infectious humour and curiosity for life. 

One of the Stolen Generation, Jack spent his childhood in and out of foster and state care. He founded the first Aboriginal theatre company in 1970 and has had a successful career as an actor but has also succumbed to heroin addiction and crime, spending a large part of his life incarcerated. 

When he walked into Northcote Pottery a few months back, to have publicity shots taken for this production, I felt relieved to see him well and out of jail. It turns out Jack is a potter. He learnt to throw in Castlemaine jail and went on to become a teacher of ceramics, telling all his students "from clay we come and clay we shall be."

The play is his own telling of his life story and part of his continuing process to reclaim his identity and gain a sense of self. On stage he talked about living in the suburb in which I now live and having committed thefts to support his addiction from houses near to my childhood home. It feels odd (to say the least) to have lived such wildly different existences in such close proximity, treading the same land and having that commonality of passion for pottery. 

I feel glad to have been able to loan Jack my potter's wheel for the production and it was very special to be included at the indigenous community preview of his play.

Jack Charles V The Crown
12 - 17 October 2010
The Melbourne International Art Festival

Studios I Like #3

I admit I haven't visited this studio but I can't let it go unmentioned. The very thoughtful Kylie Johnson, of Paper Boat Press fame, sent me this photo because she may have had a small (!) inkling I might appreciate it. It's a happy snap she took of the recreation of part of the workshop of Dame Lucie Rie, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England. 

I like it because of the way the bench surrounds her wheel; because there are so many beautifully worn, wooden tools and brushes arranged in such a practical way; because the radios and lamp are so cool and because I don't know what the hell that green crystal-y thing is (always good to have some mystery). 

And, well, of course I just like it because it's Lucie Rie's.

Thanks Kylie.

The V&A...one day...

Studios I Like #2

Also in the Abbotsford Convent, 

in fact just next door to Cone 11, 

is a glass studio. 

I like it because it is big, neat, industrial and has a disco ball!

Unfortunately I have mislaid the details of the 'men in sunnies'.

 As soon as I find them I will update this post. 

When I visited the music was pumping, the kilns were glowing 

and the artists were demonstrating 

the spectacle that is glass blowing.

Glass artists - rock stars of the craft world, aren't they?!

Studios I Like #1

Earlier this year a new ceramic studio opened at The Abbotsford Convent. Ceramicists Ilona Topolcsanyi and Colin Hopkins have put much thought, consideration and hard work into establishing Cone11. 

The studio, designed and built by the artists, is just spectacular and helped, in no small part, by the beautiful buildings and surrounds of the convent.

Features that had me agog included a large granite workbench; an elevated area for four wheels drenched in beautiful, natural light; a shelving system that allows easy placement of work on boards and fancy upward-lifting cupboards doors on storage space below.

And to top it all off, a lovely wooden door slides open to reveal the kiln room behind.  

I look forward to seeing the work that emerges from this space and these talented artists.

Syohei Harada

I have been a little quiet on the blogging front of late. I am in the process of developing a new website and there is only so much time this duck can spend on the computer before going completely balmy. Think I may have passed the threshold.

But I would like to show a video I stumbled across as my  mind obviously wandered from the task at hand.

I have no translation but it's really not needed. This is a beautiful clip showcasing Syohei Harada, a ceramic artist of the Clover Studio in Aichi, Japan. First I was impressed by his neat, organised studio, then wow-ed by the state of his kiln (surely this is the first time it has been used!) and finally gobsmacked by his work.

He embraces traditions of  mashiko ware but I also see similarites with  Lucie Rie pottery and so much more. And as for the precision, detail and character in those robots... ... it's just ace, you have to see it for yourself.

Makers: Ceramic artist Syohei Harada - JAPAN | CLOVERSTUDIO from YoshNagata on Vimeo.