Farewell.........

You will have seen in my last post that I am starting a Masters Degree. Writing is sometimes easy and sometimes like pulling teeth (the really hard wisdom teeth!) Having to concentrate on writing things such as "Reflective Journals" and "Study Plans" has made me see that I can't do this blog justice and do the hard thinking and writing needed for a Masters.

I've been writing "Strange Fragments" for over 6 years now and it has been a wonderful, wonderful experience. I've felt connected to a world of people that hopefully, over the next few years, I'll actually get to meet in the flesh. Being part of an international community of artists and people who love art has given me so much strength and inspiration and I am still part of that community...but in a different way.


I've just started a Facebook page called Shannon Garson Porcelain that will offer snippets from the studio and information about workshops exhibitions etc.

Please keep getting in touch and sending me your information and one day, at a conference, exhibition, workshop or maybe at my studio we will meet up and I'll get to see you in person!

Thank you all for the feedback, encouragement and just for reading the "strange fragments" of a potter's life.
Shannon

Touch makes reality

Home sweet home.

I've just been away for a week, it's so good to be back at home, with the family, sleeping in my own bed! I've started a Masters degree in ceramics at the ANU (Australian National University) in Canberra. Last week I spent every waking hour involved in an intensive masterclass with Belgium artist Anton Reijnders.
One of the first things he said to us was

"Touch makes reality. This is very essential. We tend not to look. We tend only to see what we know."

This is an essential thing to remind yourself of when you are in middle of a creative struggle to tease something new out the muddle of old stuff, ideas, things you have seen before and wondering what's for dinner. To truly look at our work is a time consuming and sometimes confronting task that gets pushed aside in favor of something easier (like making more objects) Looking is hard and valuable.

Latest News..........

LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION

For those of you who have seen my recent range on Designsponge. The spotty teawares and the other ranges featured in the photoshoot are stocked by the lovey Judith Bickridge at Potier in Melbourne. Sue Clement in her wonderful gallery "Pomme" in Mornington Victoria and Catherine Healy at "Aspects" in Kings Park Western Australia.

NOOSA TRAVELING SCHOLARSHIP

Work from the "Mapping" series has been won the Highly Commended prize at the Noosa Travlleing Scholarship. Awarded annually, the Scholarship provides funds of $2,500 for the purpose of undertaking travel and study that will support career development. The finalist exhibition will be held at the Noosa Regional Gallery from 27 July - 11 September 2011.

Photographing pots

I had the most fun a girl can have with
1. a load of pots

2. a beautiful house

3. a lovely garden

and
4. a stunning retro beauty.

I wanted to take photos of my pots in context as I'd noticed that I tended to use photos of the pots "gallery style" all by themselves on a totally white background. I love pots photographed in this way but it does tend to give them a more gallery feel. This isn't a great fit with interiors magazines or blogs.

I wanted a retro, slightly Australiana theme and to show how much darned fun handmade pots can be when you bunch them all together with your other bits and pieces. So here are some of the results - I'm absolutely thrilled. You can see more here.

Music

I've been listening to Gillian Welch's "The Harrow and the Harvest" in the studio. It is as beautiful as her previous album "The Revelator" which Trevor and I listened to everyday for a year when we first bought it.

There is some music that is only for certain times (like "How Bizarre" for the summer of 96) and other music that has kept me going through some very hard times. When the first measured, calm notes drawn across the cello strings of Bach's Cello Suites sound out I remember all the times I've listened to this music. I've listened when I'm upset, when I'm happy, I heard Trevor play it thousands of times on the trumpet as a warm up when he used to practice for gigs, I listened to this music single and now when I'm a mother. I love Bach's cello suites so much I hope I'm listening to them when I'm old.


Here is a list of some of the timeless, music that I carry with me for every occasion
"River" Joni Mitchell- for Christmas and anytime you need comforting

"Greetings to the New Brunette" Billy Bragg- for taking you back to the years of Doc Martins and vintage dresses.

"My Funny Valentine" Chet Baker- Reminds me of when I first saw Trev at a gig, singing his heart out with funny lyrics. Unfortunately as he is a mumbler no-one in the audience could understand them, but the band was laughing!

"Nadine " Chuck Berry- first heard the quintessentially American song when I was travelling around Europe.

"Gymnopedie -No 1" Eric Satie- this piece reminds me of water

37.2 Le Matin" Gabriel Yared

"I Dream a Highway" Gillian Welch

"Flamenco Sketches " Miles Davis

"Tracks of My Tears" The Miracles

"Sex" The Necks- for long summer afternoons just as good in bed as out.

"Heart of Gold" Neil Young- This is a song from my childhood . I love the yearning regret in Young's voice.

"My Baby Just Cares For Me" Nina Simone

"Only the Lonely" Roy Orbison

"Come on Up to the House" Tom Waits

"New Favourite" Alison Krauss

Vitrified Studio- Take a break........

Give yourself a big treat and check out Shelley Martin's blog Vitrified Studio. Shelley runs a small ceramics studio in Portland , Oregon and her blog is just the thing you need at lunchtime, when you have a lot of boring e-mails to reply to,or tax forms to fill out. DON'T DO IT!!!!! Take a break and browse through beautiful ceramics from around the world.
Shelley Martin's pots from Vitrified Studio

When the drawings stop

Working weekends and being a mother can just about make you want to drop where you are standing and not get up any more. I think the added thing on top of the physical hard work is that you have to remain calm so you are inspired. The minute you start to get that tight-at-the back-of-neck- frowny-feeling the drawings stop.

Is it a lesson in "letting-go" or holding on tightly and having everything going along to a highly sophisticated plan? ....a plan that involves a lot of last minute tweaking, and numerous unplanned addendum....and some hysterical hyperventilation style breathing.