Pomme

I had a lovely visit the other day from Sue who owns and curates gallery Pomme on the Mornington Peninsula.

Our house was in more disarray than usual, as soon as Sue pulled up a huge truck full of furniture from my Grandmother (who is moving) arrived. A Genoa lounge, Art Deco table, with matching chairs and sideboard later we sat down with avocado on toast and talked about the beautiful Mornington Peninsula and Sue's plans for Pomme next year.

She has an idea for something exciting so I'll keep you posted. In the mean time have a look at her lovely website.

Pomme features jewellers such as Flick Pope



Contemporary craft artists such as Emma Davies



and ceramicist Sophie Milne


amongst many others.

Journal of Australian Ceramics

When I was in Sydney a few weeks ago I popped in to the offices of The Journal of Australian Ceramics. I can really recommend this magazine to all ceramicists ( not just Australians!) Vicki Grima, the editor, themes every issue and sources articles from the cream of Australian craft writers and working artists.

Vicki and the pottery dog at their office.

The latest issue is based around the theme of education and includes articles on-

"The Changing Face of Ceramics" how artists are interfacing with technology and mass production by Janet de Boos.

Woodfiring in an environmentally sustainable way by Ray Cavill,



and a lovely philosophical article on teapots by Phil Elson complete with detailed working photos of the creation of his classic, refined teapots.



Check it out online....

A Day in the Life.....

Sunrise
Hear kookaburras starting up before dawn...Lie in bed
What will I do today?
Fizzy D wanders in warm as a freshly laid egg and snuggles up
Bliss lasts for ten or so minutes.
Breakfast, milk, toast
"Not cut in three Mama! CUT IN TWO."
Think about pots, lovely sunny day good for throwing.



Get everyone in clothes, lunches- hope they look nutritious and children don't appear at kindy and childcare as homeless waifs who's selfish mother only provides cucumber and sultanas as "fun" snacks.
Say "Good morning" to husband.

Everyone out the door.
think about pots
"What does a full- blown flower signify?
Look at stomach wish I had time to do Pilates.

Go downstairs to studio. Think about pots, think about Lucie Rie in her architect designed apartment, making glazes.

Forgot to feed chooks
Try and kill two birds with one stone by thinking about pots and eggs-
'How is an egg like a pot? What is the special tactile appeal of an egg?
Can I find this in a bowl?
Thought is knocked from head by the discovery of human POO on shoe.
It is not mine.
Wonder despairingly if horrible POO is anywhere else.
Can't think of it now must do work in studio.

Plunge hands into cool wet clay
Throwing throwing.



Day is creeping away
What's for dinner?
Wonder how Janet de Boos learnt so much about glazes
Wonder if you can use iron as a colourant in my clear glaze.
Look at vessels. Head full of line, variation, colouring
Wonder why Sweet Pea doesn't like meatballs anymore?

On No! 2.30! Run up to bustop and look casual so I don't appear to be a BAD forgetful mother.

What could be nicer than a squeaky voice screaming "MAMA!" as a whirling dervish flies from the bus?

Get Sweet Pea from Childcare
Thank God for childcare.



Think about pots waiting in studio
Try and throw a couple more
Try to enjoy the fact that the children are watching
Say "Don't Touch!" fifty-three times
Give up
Feel bad knowing I must concentrate whole energy on children- they've had a big day.
Make dinner

Eat at 5.30 feel it is a bit uncivilized
Not helped by looking at Sweet Pea putting pasta on her head in excitement over nothing much.

Try to put studio out of mind for tomorrow

Clean children in pyjamas
Read "Za Za's Baby Brother"
Read "The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate"
Wish I was a pirate
Kiss sleepy heads
Talk to husband for a few seconds
Communicate our deep and abiding love to one another by giving each other a small pat on back and sitting on couch side by side.
Remind myself that this won't last forever....

But why won't it?
It's beautiful

Contemporary Ceramics in Planet

I went to Sydney last week and visited Planet and Planet Commonwealth. Ross has been stocking my work for a few years now and I LOVE being part of his vision and dealing with Planet.

Being an artist can be very demoralising, often you are forced to knock on doors that are politely (or rudely) slammed in your face. Ross has given me very sound advice over the years. He is clear about what he is looking for and the aesthetic he is building with Planet, and he has always been extremely kind with criticism.



Walking into Planet is such an aesthetically pleasurable experience. The colours are warm and the dedication to quality handmade products is obvious. Ross designs the furniture which is all one-off, simple clean lines made of Australian timber. The drawers are weighted so they almost close themselves with a gentle "click".

Planet represents some of the most exciting ceramicists in Australia, here is a sample....

Susan Hipgrave plates



Hermie Cornelisse and Szilvia Gyorgy lights



Liz Stops

Home Beautiful Product of the Year Award

Some of the Magnolia pots have been chosen as one of three finalists for the Home Beautiful Product of the Year Award. This is a strange place for the handmade, amidst the factory manufactured "Designer" works, but I am always advocating that art can and should be part of life, that the handmade, individual can have a voice and a presence amidst the mass-produced.



Only when artists are willing to enter the surging river of consumer goods and navigate these tumbling rapids will "ordinary" people be exposed to the joy, individualism, warmth and tactility of the handmade..........

I wrote this in an essay about this very subject...
"The value that these pots bring into our lives has changed from being pure necessity, when the town potter was as essential as the baker or the farrier to handmade pots performing a spiritual function. The presence of handmade domestic ware has become a symbol of the link between artist and community, the importance of a skill that takes time to learn, a calm, individual voice amid the mass-produced. In this world of fast food, and corporate control of “good taste “ in everything from clothing to home wares the handmade pot represents an investment in individualism, an aesthetic that values patience and celebrates humanity in objects."

The exhibition of the these awards is showing at Bondi Junction Westfield Shopping Centre in Sydney!

"Toto, We're Not in Kansas Any More"

My dear friend Jane Sawyer sent me "A Divided Heart" in the mail.

Written by Rachel Power who is a writer herself "A Divided Heart" explores the relationship between art and motherhood through a series of interviews with artists from all different genre. There are famous people such a actor Rachel Griffith and all round amazing actor, writer, creative person Alice Garner and others who work in the obscure field of contemporary art or craft. All of these women speak about issues I grapple with every day........

Feeling guilty about dividing your time with your children and art, trying to adjust to loss of self, the joy and gifts of mothering. The constant pull of the creative away from your children into your art, the fear of being left behind in the harsh, reality of the art world. The frustration that mothering, the most important job you could ever do, is not recognized.

This is essential reading for artist mothers. I feel really strongly about this issue. It's like motherhood is a dirty word in art circles. Since I've had children there have been times, at conferences or openings that I've looked around and thought "What a waste of time", standing around with people I don't like talking about things that seem unreal and flimsy compared to smelling my babies heads and holding their little hands as I walk down the street. There have been other times when I've tried to convince myself that having boiled eggs for dinner is pretty healthy especially if you have organic bread and a few slices of cucumber "for greens" because I have to "get downstairs and finish off a few pots".

I am so proud that my children see me at work and how what I do to supports us and inspires us. Working from home as an artist is a gift to me and the children. I'm proud to be a mother. When I had children I felt as if I was in the movie of "The Wizard of OZ", my life in Kansas (before children) was black and white and now I can see in brilliant, sparkling technicolour.

" Toto,we're not in Kansas any more."

Things worth striving for

Pink shadow bowls- The Magnolia Project

Joan Chittister in her wonderful essay “Thirst For Beauty Thirst For Soul” speaks about the role of the artist in bringing beauty into our lives;
“Beauty, in other words, lifts life out of the anaesthetizing effects of the pedestrian and gives us reason for going on, for being, for ranging beyond our boundaries, for endeavouring always to be more than we are. It enables us to pause in time long enough to remember that some things are worth striving for, that some things are worth doing over and over again until they become their breathless selves...Beauty is a moment in time that must be captured so that the human heart can, in the midst of pain and despair, cling to the notion that that which is capable of bearing beauty is capable of bringing new life, is capable of pervading the world, is able by penetrating our own souls to penetrate the ugliness of a world awash in the cheap, the tawdry, the imitative, the excessive and the cruel.” (pp.11-12 Creation Out of Clay, Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1999)