Sculpture with Glen
my art - 4 Comments » - Posted on August, 28 at 11:48 am
This term at Tafe I have been working with Glen Dunn in sculpture which has been fabulous as I haven’t worked with anyone in 3D form before and Glen is a fountain of advice and experience that I’m happy to tap into. The first project was to create to scale a bust of a model in clay which was an interesting process that allowed a close investigation of the human head with all its intricate folds and structures. The form is now deteriorating as it dries over the wire frame we worked on, which is also an interesting process to watch!
Next we worked in cardboard to create an installation in the hallway of the Tafe building. I selected the high windows that let in streams of light through the day, especially in the afternoon.
I started by taking some photos of people walking along the hallway and creating a prototype of the project in small scale. Then I created cardboard cuts of the figures.
We needed an extension ladder to reach the windows and it was a good workout going up and down to place the forms! So the idea is that the shadows of the figures will cast onto the ceiling creating a shadowy memory of movement in the Tafe hallway. But as always there are variables in these events, and the angle of the sun created some gorgeous images across walls and surfaces and sprung to life as reflections in opposite windows in ways that I hadn’t anticipated!
So next term we are working with developing our ideas with Glen and I’m looking forward to stretching out beyond the barriers of the known in my art practice again. Thanks Glen!
Trajectories
exhibitions, my art - No Comments » - Posted on August, 23 at 4:50 am
Trajectories opening night was on Friday at the Long Gallery in the Salamanca Arts Centre. Noel Frankham did the opening speech and there was a busy crowd filling the gallery space which warmed the historic walls and made for a pleasant evening.
In my work Gloss (slip cast and hand built forms) I attempt to connect conscious thought between the product and the source that enables its existence. Passing through the earth’s crust, the manufacturing process hides the source with colour and shine. The two prints Xanthorroea and Xanthorroea Flower Spike are etchings created using copper plates. Xanthorroea was built up by adding detail to the single etched plate for each new layer and has five layers of colour to create the depth of tone in the image. Xanthorroea Flower Spike is 4 repeated layers of a single etched plate.
The exhibition runs until August 31 and more information about the artists involved can be found on the Trajectories website.
Leatherwood Bowl
ceramics, my art - 2 Comments » - Posted on August, 12 at 12:07 pm
Today I picked up a bowl from the kiln which will be my first ceramic piece to enter the public arena! The Ceramic Association of Tasmania are holding an exhibition of works at the Rosny Schoolhouse Gallery and as a new member I thought I had better be brave and put something in. The theme is the seven deadly sins.
My artist statement will hopefully reveal the thoughts behind the piece!
“As the sun rose above the dense temperate forest of the west coast the hive warmed and a mass of golden yellow and black rose out of the clearing with the pride of the swarm in every flash of their wings. The aroma of the leatherwood blossom invigorated the bees into a frenzy of lust as they danced from stamen to stamen, their small bodies weighed down with pollen until they are on the verge of succumbing to gluttony.
Back at the hive the hand of man reaches in to satisfy a greedy desire for the fragrant honey, the wrath of the bees subdued by intoxicating smoke. In this, a moment of sloth, a portion of the hives resources and countless hours of labour are lost.
The fragile balance between forest and forestry is poised between the delicate flower of the leatherwood trees and the superb honey it produces, much to the envy of the chipper.”
