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!!

And the Winner is...

Friday night was the opening of the 2010 South Australian Ceramics Award, which was judged by Gerry Wedd this year. The Award started back in 1986 and this is the ninth award since it began. The winning artist receives a prize of $2000 and the South Australian state gallery also chooses a piece for its collection.

Prue Gramp, Jeff Mincham and Gerry Wedd during the speeches
(ok not a great shot - but I was near the back!)

The show was opened with an interesting speech by Jeff Mincham about the history of the award and where ceramics is today. Then Gerry followed with the announcement of the prize winners. The Award this year went to Helen Fuller for her piece 3 Pot(s).

The winning piece '3 Pot(s)' by Helen Fuller

The state gallery chose a piece by Stephanie James-Manttan (Impressed Vessel) and a group of pieces by Maria Parmenter (Telling Tales). I went through the JamFactory design associateship with both of these talented women, so that was very exciting!

Steph James-Manttan and Maria Parmenter

There was a great turnout and it was a very enjoyable night with beautiful work and a chance to catch up with wonderful potters and artists!
Some of the other ceramists in the show include: Philip Hart, Silvia Stansfield, Leo Neuhofer, Angela Walford, John Ferguson, Jane Sabey, Merrilyn Stock, Jane Robertson, Kirsten Coelho, Gus Clutterbuck, Alison Arnold, Jane Burbidge and me!

Angela Walford with her wall pieces 'Journey'

Oh, I guess I should give you the details (in case you couldn't make it on the opening night):

South Australian Ceramic Award
2-24 July 2010

Adelaide Central Gallery
45 Osmond Terrace, Norwood
Ph: 08) 8364 2809
Open: M-F 9am - 5pm, Sat 11am - 4pm

'A Parliament of Owls' by Merrilyn Stock.

Teawares

Prue Venables, White Cup and Saucer with tea infuser, 2010

The latest JamFactory exhibition Teawares is just beautiful! There are many artist/designers showing work from around Australia in the areas of furniture, ceramics and metal. Some of the artists include Prue Venables, Stephanie James-Manttan, Bruce Nuske, Jane Robertson, Sarah O'Sullivan, Sandra Black and Christian Hall. It was a great opening on Friday night. If you're in the area, I would definitely recommend having a look.

Steph James-Manttan with her work on the opening night.

There's also a couple of really good jewellery exhibitions on at the Jam.
In Gallery 2 : Dreams of Arcadia, new jewellery by Stephen Gallagher.
In the Atrium: Gray Street Workshop tenants.

The exhibitions run till 25th July.

Check out my friend Angela's blog for lots more photos.

The Frauleins at Urban Cow

Frauleins Orchard is an exhibition currently showing in the Urban Cow Studio upstairs gallery. I went on the opening night, but it was so crowded I couldn't see the work - so I went back in today. What a sweet show! There is a variety of jewellery, painting and illustration from some very talented South Australian artists. It's definitely worth a look, but you better be quick - it concludes on the 28th June.

The artists include: Georgia Gabrielle, Naomi Murrell, Elisa Mazzone, Katrina Weber, Anna Creasy, Ruby Chew, Peta Alannah Chigwidden and Joelie Croser.

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!

MIFSA Art Exhibition Opening Night

My sister Kylie and I attended the opening of the MIFSA art exhibition tonight as part of Schizophrenia Awareness Week. It was a really good show, with 260 pieces on display! Lots of variety and talent to see. I wish I could have bought something. Some of the paintings were hung in an interesting way, which I have never seen done before. They were hung from rafters and the display itself looked like a piece of art work.




Jane Doyle (patron of MIFSA) officially opened the show with a very encouraging speech. Congratulations to all the prize winners. Kylie and I had so much fun doing this collaborative piece - we look forward to working together in the future!

Invisible Red Threads opening night!

The much anticipated 'Invisible Red Threads' exhibition opened on Wednesday night (18 months in the making) as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2010! I had such a great night with friends and family.

In September and October 2008, Sarah Rothe, Prue Gramp, Peter Johnson and I were selected by the Helpmann Academy to attend an artist residency in Jingdezhen, China for 6 weeks. This exhibition is a reflection of that incredible experience. We also invited 4 artists from Jingdezhen to sent work over to be included in the show - Lingling Yu, Chenchen Shen, Derek Au and Wang Hao.

Thanks for everyone who made it.

If you couldn't make it on the opening night, you can still catch the show till 11th March.
Here are the details:

Event: Invisible Red Threads
Open from 17th February - 11th March
Gallery: Light Square Gallery
Address: 39 Light Square, Adelaide
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm.

Some articles about Invisible Red Threads

Well, tonight's the night!
Here are some articles about the exhibition. Take a look:


Glam Adelaide

Arts SA bulletin


Hope to see you there!