shellac

Stacking and shellacking in the studio.

Kako Katsumi- Japanese potter

I love this work by Japanese potter Kako Katsumi. Katsumi began his career making tableware in the kyo-yaki tradition of his forebears. The birth of his daughter led him to make an "itegoi "kiln- a one chambered wood fired kiln. The work that started coming out of the new kiln was a marked departure from the traditional tableware.
"One cannot talk of Kako without mentioning his "ittekoi" kiln. Fired with wood, it is small enough to fire alone, without the help of others. Thus in practicality it is similar to an electric kiln, or perhaps even closer to the small anagama kiln that the Tsujimura family uses. Since it is small yet high-powered, he can fire a load in approximately 20 hours. This allows Kako to fire once every two weeks, sometimes even less. It is this fast pace which allows for Kako to hone his skills to perfection, perhaps more quickly than his contemporaries. from an article on Robert Yellin's website
I love how these works combine monumental strength and form with warmth. There is a softnes and gentle sensitivity in the attraction of the surface that brings a push and pull response.
The form is saying"Don't touch...Serious Art" and the surface is saying "Come on...Just stroke me, just a little...."

Thirst

I'm working on the scribbly gum for the wallum project. Rebecca made me some metal plates etched with impressions taken from out photos of the wallum. After the yunomi were thrown I re-dampened them by the highly technical process of putting them in a plastic box with a wet plaster slab in the bottom of it overnight and then used the rounded end of a rolling pin to press the bases of the yunomi onto the etchings from the inside.
These are the second incarnation of this design and the third incarnation will be pared back further. I'll keep going until the pure essence of the bush is distilled into the drawing. Until picking up these yunomi captures first the smoky rays of sun touching the tops of the eucalyptus, the cool damp smell of the dew and the "wheeeeeeee- CRACK" of the whip bird's call.
As tea drinking vessels these pots will be handled a lot. From the setting of the table through to the washing up a drinking vessel constantly interacts with the body and brain of the user. It needs to be stimulating yet calming. Sometimes I feel like having a cup of tea is a tiny island of calm in the midst of a chaotic world. It is really important to me that the drinking vessel is the focus of this expanding circle of calm, yet leads the mind to wander in a creative direction. Having a cup of tea is not just for quenching physical thirst.

Mark- making - Minnie Pwerle Barbara Weir

The above image is by Aboriginal artist Barbara Weir. Barbara is one of the world famous "Utopia" artists from the Utopia region north East of Alice Springs. Her paintings are inspired by a small native grass called "munyeroo".

These paintings are by Barbara's mother Minnie Pwerle who died in 2006. Barbara and her mother were sadly separated when Barbara was 9 and took many years to find each other and become reconciled. (This is a very common story of Aboriginal children who were separated from their families and sent to orphanages or to work as indentured labourers for white people, in a systematic government sponsored kidnapping from 1869 -1969. These children are known as the "Stolen Generation") Barbara encouraged Minnie to paint and her beautiful paintings reflect some of the oldest designs in the world based on body painting used in women's ceremonies.

I love Barbara Weir's paintings for the rhythm they capture and the rippling effect of the grass that seems to spread beyond the canvas. Minnnie Pwerle's paintings are so joyful, the exuberant use of colour and repetition of shape deny that fact that Pwerle would have been in her late 70's or 80's when she painted these works. Both these women are an inspiration as artists and as people who have overcome terrible injustice and sadness in their lives.