looking with soft eyes: 2016

Friday, 16 December 2016

Survey 2016 @ SoCA

Survey 2016 is a selection of ceramics and drawing by students, teachers and guest artists created at SoCA in 2016, curated by the directors Shane Kent and Kate Jones within the spacious walls of the SoCA school.

An exhibition 'infrastructure' utilised the industrial archaeology of the building and carefully selected found objects that highlight worn, natural surfaces. Ceramic work and drawing is displayed to create vignettes of aesthetic experience rather than representative presentations of individual work. This approach highlights the palette of materials offered by SoCA and the school's ethos of expressing material quality with innate individual touch with clay.

Survey 2016 was indeed a treat for my love of a 'soft eye' experience.

Works were unlabeled, adding to the desire for a 'whole school' experience.

SCHOOL of CLAY AND ART
Thursday 15-Sunday 18 December 2016 11am-5pm

26-28 Ovens Street Brunswick

Monday, 5 December 2016

Ramesh & Richard - Discuss 'In the Beginning'

Themes

Monumentalism
The context of the museum and cultural value of collected objects
Use of religious & cultural imagery

Listen Richard Watt on RRR's show Smartarts Thursday 24th November 2016 link here:
ondemand

Go to the 49 minute mark for the interview or start at 44 minutes and hear my favourite Courtney Barnett song.

Thursday, 1 December 2016

Jane Sawyer: Rain Shadows

It's a pleasure to watch the trajectory of a maker who continues to surprise and inspire. Jane responds to the important issue of climate change and our human need to address the collection, storage and consumption of water.

Jane's fluid technique of throwing, altering and slip application reflects the qualities of captured water and her fingertips apply slip in rainy-streaks and splashes.

Excitingly, Jane has also moved 'off' the vessel (bucket & watering can) to the shadow cast by these water carriers. Clay silhouette's become cloud forms, sitting on the wall like a brooding storm on the horizon.

Expanding the phenomenon from which this exhibition takes it's name (1), the shadow becomes a surface on which Jane let's loose with gestural slip and sgraffitto, 'drawing in' the object of her attention. These marks are wonderfully confident and expressive. I suspect years of drawing alongside many other accomplishments!

(1)

Rain Shadow explanation from Jane Sawyer's exhibition brochure

A rain shadow is a dry area on the leeward side of tha mountainous area (away from the wind). The mountains block the passage of rainproducing weather systems and cast a "shadow" of dryness behind them.