Elements Opening

Oh dear! It's already been a week since the opening of Elements and I haven't posted anything yet! Sorry, life's been really crazy lately!

The three artists

Elements is an exhibition by three artists; Humna Mustafa, Nick Graalman and myself. Humna came up with the concept and approached Nick and myself to get involved. We have been working on the show for about 5 months. Humna painted her closest friends with henna (body art) and capture it on camera, Nick has been filming constantly and I've been making ceramic pieces as a collaboration with Humna. The whole process has been about intertwining our crafts and making pieces that could never have been made on our own - with each artist bringing their own unique skills.

Diya Studios on opening night

The opening was last Saturday in Diya Studios as part of the SALA festival (South Australian Living Artist). Humna and her husband Mustafa transformed more than half of their home into a gallery space and shop! I have to start by saying a big thank you to both of them, especially Mustafa who has been so supportive of this show. The house has been set up with a ceramics exhibition space in the first room (work by Humna and me)...



The main room has Humna's photographs and also a screen where Nick shows his time lapse video. The video was shown a few times on the opening night and will be shown throughout the open days and the closing night.


The opening was such a great night! We had so much fun celebrating all the hard work we put into the show. It was wonderful that so many people turned up. Here's some photos from the night:

Opening speech from Annette Tripodi (Operations and Program Manager, WOMADelaide)

During the opening speech

Bollywood Dancers

Everyone got up and danced

After the speeches

Thank you everyone who made it on the night and to the helpers - you guys are wonderful!

Some of the helpers doing a great job!

The gorgeous girls taking sales.

The retail shop (some of Humna's and my work)

Retail shop.

We set up a retail shop in one of the side rooms. You can purchase all sorts of pieces by Humna, ceramics by me and even a DVD of Nick's video that is in the show.

All the photos used in this blog were provided by Tanti Lovell. Thanks Tanti for capturing the night on camera for us!!

Clay Day

My demo

A few weekends ago I had a really nice afternoon hanging out with Humna and some of her closest friends. We had a beautiful lunch, followed by some fun with clay. I gave a quick demo and then everyone had a go. Mandi Whitten captured the day on camera. I thought I would share some of her photos with you...

Guiding Sarah

Love that smile (the joy of pottery)!

Guiding

We've all made one of these at some stage!

Humna's creation.

Nick

Pinch pot

Lots of pinch pots!

The other task for the day was to make as many of these pinch pots as possible for the opening night of Elements. You will have to come along to find out their significance!

Elements Promo Video

It's not long now till the launch of our SALA exhibition 'Elements'! Nick Graalman has put together a promo video to give you a taste of what's been happening and what's to come! You can view the video here on youtube.

The excitement is definitely rising. The exhibition will be in Humna Mustafa's home studio. On the opening night you can expect to see great art (ceramic and video), try some delicious food and wine, watch Humna painting her henna body art, I will be doing some wheel throwing and there will be many surprises too! I so hope you can make it! The details are:

Elements

Dates:
Opening night: 7 August 5-8pm
Open studio days: 13-15 August, 5-9pm
Closing night + artist talks: 21 August, 5-9pm

Venue:
Diya Studio
91 Sydenham Road, Norwood, SA 5067

Artists:
Humna Mustafa, Nick Graalman & Erin Lykos

Opening Speaker:
Annette Tripodi
(Operations and Program Manager, WOMADelaide)

More pieces

Here are a couple of the pieces I finished trimming ready for Humna to decorate.




Below is the latest piece for our SALA exhibition, Elements. With this freezing weather, everything is taking so long to dry. This piece was left uncovered for 3 days to be firm enough to trim.

Still on the Wheel

Elements exhibition piece, still wet on the wheel.

SALA is fast approaching and the excitement is rising for our exhibition 'Elements' . Humna, Nick and I met on Thursday to work on the show. Nick is a video artist and filmed Humna painting my hands with henna. I then threw some tiny bowls with my hands painted. It was all captured on film! I haven't seen the results yet, but I can't wait. We are going to use the tiny bowls for a very special Pakistani treat on the opening night. You will have to come along to try it! We had a very entertaining day, which ended with Nick having a go on the pottery wheel (image below). And yes - we did do the wheel throwing in Humna's living room!!! And no - we didn't cover her house with terracotta (which was a surprise)!

Nick having a go at throwing.

Today I've been working on some very special pieces for Humna to paint. They are all made out of Bennett's Terracotta, which is dug from the Adelaide Hills. It is such a nice clay to throw with. After using MFQ for so long, it felt so easy! I really love Humna's idea behind the work. Each piece will represent a person in her family. The shapes are based on traditional pottery from the Pakistani culture. Most of the shapes are quite new to me and I am really enjoying the challenge.

Elements, the first piece.

This second piece is married to the first and is smaller.

Tomorrow I will trim these pieces and finish them off (hopefully they'll dry enough in this weather). I can't wait to see how they look once Humna's decorated them!

The Week Just Been

What a great week! I feel like I haven't done a lot, but achieved heaps somehow. I received my acceptance letter for the 2010 South Australian Ceramic Award! Gerry Wedd is the judge this year. What an honour, to be showing my work along side some of South Australia's most prominent ceramists.


I also met Susie Chapmann from the Murray Bridge Regional Gallery and they have taken on two of my production ranges to sell through their gift shop! It is a newly renovated gallery and shop and I've been told by quite a few people how impressive it is. Susie gave me a copy of their latest exhibition catalogue for 'Blokes and their BBQ's' - and I have to say it was one of the best and most creative catalogues I've seen. The state gallery even kept a copy to archive. There is also an exhibition of work from some of the JamFactory associates. Many of my friends have been included. It seems like a great time to take a trip to Murray Bridge!



I attended the Frauleins Orchard exhibition opening at Urban Cow on Wednesday night. It was so crowded that I didn't actually get to see any of the art work! But next time I'm in, I'll have a better look and hopefully post some images. There are some very talented artists showing in this exhibition, which runs for the month of June.



SALA (South Australian Living Artist) month is almost here! I'm in an exhibition with the very talented artist and wonderful friend Humna Mustafa and video artist Nick Graalman. The show is called 'Elements' and it will be presented in Humna's studio and home. Humna and I are collaborating on some ceramic pieces, which I will share with you over the next few weeks leading up to big fortnight!! She is also experimenting with body art, photogaphy, video and performance. This is going to be huge and looks like it will be a really beautiful and unique exhibition! Will tell you more details soon...

Above is an image of the first terracotta bowls I made this week. Humna will be decorating them with her beautiful henna patterns. I've used Bennett's terracotta, which is dug from the Adelaide Hills.