Potier- distinctive objects made by hand

I'm so excited to be part of a new store/gallery that has just opened in Melbourne. Lovers of handmade ceramics feast your eyes on this......


Potier is the inspiration of Melbourne ceramics collector Judith Buckridge and represents many of Australia's most exciting makers. Artists Judith has collected in her store include, Bridget Bodenham, Phil Elson, Jane Sawyer, Christopher Plumridge, Sandy Lockwood, Chris Coad and Sophie Milne. I think the motto says it all
"distinctive objects - made by hand."

Here is Judith's statement of intent
"From individually crafted domestic ware to exquisite one-off sculptural pieces, Potier provides the perfect space to experience and buy beautiful and important works of local and national significance.Marianne Huhn

Potier was created to promote the importance of ceramic practice and develop a broader understanding of, and desire to acquire, handmade one-off pieces for everyday use and as collectors' items."

Christopher Plumridge

Revolutionary words in a retail environment. Viva la Revolution!

Inidgo Kingdom- Vipoo Srivilasa's latest work

Melbournites do yourselves a favour and pop in to
Anna Pappas Gallery.
3-23 December 2009
Opening Wednesday 2 December 6 pm. All welcome!

This show is the latest imaginative musings from the brain of Australian ceramicist Vipoo Srivilasa.

"Indigo Kingdom tells a theatrical story of the contemporary human impact upon coral reefs. Using a traditional Thai narrative of an imagined kingdom as a foundation from which to create his own personal kingdom, Srivilasa turns ceramic sculpture into a storytelling device - in this exhibition the installation becomes the reinterpretation of an ancient Thai temple plan.

In the same vein, he uses his work to write his own biography. To guide us through the play of references in this complex commentary, Srivilasa calls upon the help of his mermaid alter-ego. The mermaid, like the coral, is the canary in the mine, an indicator of imminent threat. In all, Indigo Kingdom is as much high-camp globalist fantasy as it is a sober reminder of the environmental crisis of the present day."

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.

Modern Classics

I've been in Melbourne for the past 2 weeks. When you live in the country sometimes you just have to get out and see people you don't know and stuff you can buy. (Although my little country town has changed a lot since I grew up here and now it is a very civilized blend of bookshops, cafes and galleries.)

Gertrude St, Fitzroy is one of the most exciting streets in Melbourne for me. After a hot chocolate at Bridget Hafner's Enoteca I stumbled across Vixen Australia.



Vixen is an opulent brand of fashion, textiles and homewares created by Georgia Chapman. The shop is a textural wonderland ranging from the rich red wool of a rug created through a collaboration with Designer Rugs through to whispery, soft silk dresses and skirts.



Vixen Australia's clothes reference the past. This seasons range "Metro Oriental" puts me in mind of tea dances in 1930's Shanghai. The fabrics are beautifully designed with layers of subtle colour and amazing patterns with influences ranging from Hokusai prints through to paisley and tattoos.



Taking fashion out of the immediate trends and into the realm of the collectable is a wonderful goal and I think all craftspeople should be inspired by Chapman's uncompromising attitude to this aspect of a fickle industry. I also love how she balances retail design with artistic projects. This is a tightrope that all practitioners walk as they try to create sustainable businesses within an artistic practice.



Georgia Chapman makes all her fabrics and clothes in Australia and it takes 12-14 craftspeople to create each piece. The clothes are handmade, exquisite. Chapman says

"We want to create a collection that is a
considered response to a particular time and
place, with investment pieces that do not date.
Our concern is for craftsmanship - handmade,
timeless simplicity that is beautiful, to keep
forever."

being human

I've been watching a documentary called "The Choir of Hard Knocks" . It follows the work of an opera singer, Jonathan Welch as he forms and records a cd of songs with a choir of homeless and disadvantaged people in Melbourne. Jonathan saw the idea in a Readers Digest magazine, secured sponsorship and donated his time and expertise to this wonderful program. Apart from being a great philanthropic venture "The Choir of Hard Knocks" is a documentary about the power of art.

The documentary follows some of the singers, exploring their home lives (what little some of them have) and following the difficulties they face through illness, poverty and struggles with drugs and alcohol getting to rehearsal. When these people arrive and begin to sing it's as if their secret, inner selves are coming out through their voices. If you closed your eyes and just listened you wouldn't know that the beautiful, innocent young girl was a single mother, battling addiction, with a care worn face and nervous manner, some of the old ladies sound just like they are singing along to the church organ ( You know those voices that carry the whole congregation and pick the mumblers up to a higher level?) and will go on to scones and tea afterwards. This alchemy captures the power and vulnerability of being human.

I think this glimpse of the human condition is one of the most valuable things an artist can bring to the world. Great artists manage to capture this vulnerability and passion in every genre. The drawings of Cy Twombly....


food of Thomas Keller....


The rough delicacy of a Simon Reece teabowl...

beads, babychinos and blood oranges

f
The Queen Victoria Markets, Melbourne. Boreks, fresh, flopppy yeast pastry wrapped around a sour, salty feta, parsley and spinach filling. Sausages, goats cheese and blood oranges.



Craft Victoria. A warm welcome from the staff for an out- of-towner. Counter, the retail space is stuffed with treasures from Sandra Bowketts wonderfully spotty wares.




..to Hammer and Daisy owls and Dani M beads so matt and tactile I feel like eating them- hmmm back to the Queen Vic Markets....


Books For Cooks. Two huge rooms of cookbooks and food writing, big wooden tables make it easy to pull out a dozen flick through deliscious pictures. Next door Enoteca is really a wine shop with a bar in the front- their hot chocolate took me back to Les Deux Maggots in Paris, an experience I am always chasing. Fizzy D approved thouroughly of the Babychino and even though I half feel it's unbearably prententious she has so much fun eating them I can't stop sharing the coffee shop experience with her.

When I first moved to Brisbane from my small country town at the age of 17 I remember thinking "If I have to live in the city I'm going to be right in the middle of it and gulp up all it has to offer." It was a hard but great experience and developed my lifelong love of bookshops, movies, and meeting friends at cafes.

off to Melbourne

This will be the last blog for a few days as we are going to Melbourne- there will be heaps of exciting things when I get back!

I have been in the studio glazing and firing trying to get work finished to take down with me- Deadlines are so presssing and ceramics don't respond to speed. Over the years I've learnt to slow down at the expense of many a cracked pot. Luckily they find a second life in the garden.


This firing I've made a tangle of "nest" bowls which are headed for Salmon Galleries in Sydney. Another tangle of little nests can be seen in the Gold Coast Ceramic Art Awards which open on the 7th of October. A few years ago I won a prize at these awards and I was so suprised that when I went up to the judge I started crying! He was so suprised that he started crying too! I resisted the impulse to make an Oscar style "I'd like to thank my agent..." type speach and slunk back to Trevor who had a good position outside the door where the food came out.


Some poppies are part of the "Flowering Art" exhibtion at Pomme in Mt Martha. I'm really looking forward to visiting Sue and her wonderful regional gallery. As a fellow country mouse I love seeing contemporary craft get a showing in the regions.

signing off for now....
Shannon