The Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre Introduces: Western Suburbs Clayworkers Newsletter October 2016 A word from our president Hi all, We have now been out of the studio while it is being renovated for 3 weeks with another week in the wilderness to come before we can return. Hopefully quicker than the Redcliffe railway line! The Studio Extension No word yet on the progress of the work on the studio - new kiln room etc. Karen from the Neighbourhood Centre assures us we will be back in our studio as early as possible. Fingers crossed! The studio in exile We have had some fantastic times visiting with some of our members in their homes/studios while in exile. Thanks to Julie Stuart and Sandy Edwards; those visits were very educational and gave us time to chat about pottery, glazes, firing etc. Next Week Liz Newman has offered her place next Tuesday - 12 October for our weekly get-together. The following week we have been informed we will be back in the studio - looking forward to that! BVAC Pop-up-Shop The BVAC Pop-up-Shop is on in November. We have a number of members participating again. Hope your work is ready! Foundry visit Judy has committed to having one of her pieces cast in bronze (an expensive exercise) and we have been invited along to witness the process toward the end of October, getting close now! Should be fascinating! Xmas Party and AGM Will be held in the back hall at the Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre on 7 December from 10am. We will have access to the kitchen for food prep, fridge etc. The AGM will precede the party. Don't feel any pressure to go on the committee - come along anyway! What Have You Done This fun competition is on again for 2016 - select up to 3 of your best pieces that you've made this year and send us a photo of each. Can be groups or individual pieces. As usual there will be prizes - Pottery Supplies vouchers for $50, $30 and $20 - or let us know if you have any other suggestions? All members will vote for their preference, which will be tallied and awarded at the Xmas Party. More details very soon. See you in the studio, or somewhere, soon. David This month's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpfS_OWDcIY Not for the faint hearted!. contacts President David Bartholomew Secretary Rachael Torepe Western Suburbs Clayworkers 38 Thallon Street Sherwood 4075 Newsletter Angie Archibald [email protected]Newsletter Production [email protected]Email [email protected]
Transcript
The Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre Introduces:
Western Suburbs Clayworkers Newsletter October 2016
A word from our presidentHi all,We have now been out of the studio while it is being renovated for 3 weeks with another week in the wilderness to come before we can return. Hopefully quicker than the Redcliffe railway line!
The Studio ExtensionNo word yet on the progress of the work on the studio - new kiln room etc.
Karen from the Neighbourhood Centre assures us we will be back in our studio as early as possible. Fingers crossed!
The studio in exileWe have had some fantastic times visiting with some of our members in their homes/studios while in exile.
Thanks to Julie Stuart and Sandy Edwards; those visits were very educational and gave us time to chat about pottery, glazes, firing etc.
Next Week
Liz Newman has offered her place next Tuesday - 12 October for our weekly get-together.
The following week we have been informed we will be back in the studio - looking forward to that!
BVAC Pop-up-ShopThe BVAC Pop-up-Shop is on in November. We have a number of members participating again. Hope your work is ready!
Foundry visitJudy has committed to having one of her pieces cast in bronze (an expensive exercise) and we have been invited along to witness the process toward the end of October, getting close now! Should be fascinating!
Xmas Party and AGMWill be held in the back hall at the Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre on 7 December from 10am.
We will have access to the kitchen for food prep, fridge etc.
The AGM will precede the party.
Don't feel any pressure to go on the committee - come along anyway!
What Have You DoneThis fun competition is on again for 2016 - select up to 3 of your best pieces that you've made this year and send us a photo of each. Can be groups or individual pieces.
As usual there will be prizes - Pottery Supplies vouchers for $50, $30 and $20 - or let us know if you have any other suggestions?
All members will vote for their preference, which will be tallied and awarded at the Xmas Party.
More details very soon.
See you in the studio, or somewhere, soon.
David
This month's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpfS_OWDcIY Not for the faint hearted!.
contactsPresident David Bartholomew Secretary Rachael Torepe
Western Suburbs Clayworkers 38 Thallon Street Sherwood 4075 Newsletter Angie Archibald [email protected]
gsWestern Suburbs Clayworkers in exileWe have been out of the studio as renovations are carried out for 3 weeks now with 1 more week to go before we return - fingers crossed.
The first 2 weeks were spent with Julie Stuart at her Coorparoo studio.
The first week was spent looking at terra sigillata - how to make it and how to use it.
The second week Julie showed us her airbrush and spray gun and her homemade spray booth with a vacuum cleaner for extraction - very effective and fairly easy to set up.
Attendees brought along examples of some their work to discuss and some morning tea to share.
Julie had a number of recipes for terra sigillata but here are 2 simple ones.
They both start with a plastic clay eg. JB1, MFQ or Bennett's Terra Cotta, not a pouring slip clay.
Recipe #1500g dry clay
1.5L rain or demineralised water
1tsp dispex
Recipe #2500g dry clay
2L rain or demineralised water
3mL dispex
1.5mL sodium silicate
The methodMix well and leave for at least 3 days, preferably longer.
The mix will settle out into 3 basic levels - the water at top, then the terra sigillata fine particles and the rougher heavier particles at the bottom.
The trick is to siphon off the water and then the fine layer separately.
Keep the water for spraying and mixing - it still retains some very fine particles in suspension.
1 water
2 fine particles - terra sigillata
3 heavy grit at bottom
Julie with her airbrush and spray booth.
Some samples of terra sigillata on pinch pot eggs!
Terra sigillata is applied to greenware and burnished - spraying ensures thin even coats.
Bisque no higher than 800°C or you will lose the burnish.
Of course there is more to it but this is a start.
Gai’s clay samples dug from the ground at the Narayen, CSIRO Pastoral Research Station near Mundubbera
Sandy presented her artworks at her home at the last meeting.
The work to the left based on her experiences in the Amazon.
The large work represents the history of the world or man with all the layers of history
David’s agateware and painted plate.
Marelle's 2 Raku pieces, the second with horsehair.
The piece to the right demonstrating crystals formed by firing down and holding the temperature at 1100°C for 4 hours.
WSC in exile continued…
Brisbane Visual Artists Community presents the
Pop-Up ShopNovember 12-13th, 2016
at the Auditorium, Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens
Mt Coot-tha, QldSaturday & Sunday 9am—4pm,
Looking For That Unique Gift
Our November Pop Up Shop is packed with a huge variety of Hand Crafted items for sale.
Meet the artists and discover unique, handmade artworks.
On sale will be exclusive handmade gifts from our member groups, including textile works, porcelain, glass, leather goods, pottery,
watercolours, jewellery and other craft items. You’re bound to find the perfect gift.
Light refreshments will be availableEfptos available
For more information:bvac.org.au email: [email protected] or join us on
Whats On In & Around Brissy:FireWorks Gallery52a Doggett Street, Newstead 4006. (07) 3216-1250. [email protected] www.fireworksgallery.com.au Tues-Fri 10.00 to 6.00, Sat 10.00 to 4.00. To Oct 22 Pat Hoffie & Paul Bong. Oct 20 to Nov 26 She Walks the Line.
grahame galleries + editions1 Fernberg Road, Paddington 4064. 0412-286-264. [email protected] www.grahamegalleries.com.au By appointment. Prints and artist books on-line. Through Oct figures.
Jan Murphy Gallery486 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley 4006. (07) 3254-1855. [email protected] www.janmurphygallery.com.au Director: Jan Murphy. Tues-Sat 10.00 to 5.00 or by appt. Oct 8 to 29 You are here; right here, right now by Juz Kitson.
Mitchell Fine Art86 Arthur Street, Fortitude Valley 4006. (07) 3254-2297. [email protected] www.mitchellfineartgallery.com Mon-Fri 10.00 to 5.30, Sat 10.00 to 5.00. To Oct 15 Wasteland by Johnny Romeo.
Museum of BrisbaneLevel 3, Brisbane City Hall (Adelaide and Ann streets) King George Square, Brisbane 4000. (07) 3339-0800. [email protected] museumofbrisbane.com.au Free entry. Daily 10.00 to 5.00.
Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) | Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA)Stanley Place, Cultural Precinct, South Bank Brisbane 4101. (07) 3840-7303 Fax 3844-8865. www.qagoma.qld.gov.au Free entry, unless otherwise stated. Daily 10.00 to 5.00. GOMA: To Oct 3 Cindy Sherman. Ticketed. Children’s Art Centre: Ah Xian: Naturephysica. To Nov 13 Line + Form. To Feb 12, 2017 Children’s Art Centre: The Gabori Sisters: Gathering by the Sea. To April 16, 2017 A World View: The Tim Fairfax Gift. To May 14, 2017 Untitled by Anish Kapoor.
QAG:Oct 15 to Jan 29, 2017 Neighbour: Art in Papua New Guinea 1966-2016.
QUT Art Museum2 George Street, QUT Gardens Point Campus (next to the City Botanic Gardens), Brisbane 4000. (07) 3138-5370. [email protected] www.artmuseum.qut.edu.au Free entry. Tues-Fri 10.00 to 4.00, Sat-Sun 12.00 to 4.00. Visit website for programs and events. To Nov 13 the churchie national emerging art prize. Nov 19 to March, 2017 Glass: Art Design Architecture.
Redland Art GalleryCapalabaCapalaba Place, Noeleen Street, Capalaba 4157. (07) 3829-8899. [email protected] artgallery.redland.qld.gov.au Free admission. Mon-Wed, Fri 8.30 to 5.00, Thurs 8.30 to 7.30, Sat 9.00 to 4.00 to Oct 8 Dwight Ricketts: Ancient Greece. Oct 15 to Nov 26 Denise Piva: One Tree.
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Liquid Metal FinishesFor those of our members who work in sculpture, this may provide an alternative to glazed effects especially on figurative sculptures. Possibly not available in shops at the moment but it looks interesting. http://www.lmt.net.au/main/page_gallery_sculpture.html.Liquid Metal Technologies, LMT, sell a unique range of Decorative Metal Finishes when applied to almost any surface to leave it looking like metal – apply with brush, roller or spray A range of 16 metals, 13 textures and can be custom made allows us to offer approximately 800 finishes which create stunning effects to sculptural and architectural projects. Australian invented and manufactured.
Redland Art GalleryClevelandCnr Middle and Bloomfield streets, Cleveland 4163. (07) 3829-8899. [email protected] artgallery.redland.qld.gov.au Free admission. Mon-Fri 9.00 to 4.00, Sun 9.00 to 2.00. To Oct 9 Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art. Oct 16 to Nov 27 Redland Art Awards 2016.
The University of Queensland Art MuseumJames and Mary Emelia Mayne Centre (Building 11), University Drive, The University of Queensland, St Lucia 4067. (07) 3365-3046. [email protected] www.artmuseum.uq.edu.au Daily 10.00 to 4.00. To Nov 13 beyond the Tower celebrates UQ Art Museum’s 40th anniversary. To Oct 30 Over the fence: Contemporary Indigenous photography from the Corrigan Collection – features the work of 18 Indigenous artists engaged in the field of photography, drawn from the private collection of art patron and philanthropist Patrick Corrigan AM.
Gold Coast City GalleryThe Arts Centre Gold Coast, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise 4217. (07) 5588-4021. [email protected] www.theartscentregc.com.au/gallery Free entry. Mon-Fri 10.00 to 5.00, Sat and public hols 11.00 to 5.00, Sun 8.30 to 5.00. To Oct 23, 30th Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award. Also, Dreamliner by Damien O’Mara. To Oct 30 Energies. Oct 29 to Nov 20, 2016 QCA Undercurrents.
Noosa Regional GalleryLevel 1, 9 Pelican Street (PO Box 141), Riverside, Tewantin 4565. (07) 5329-6145. [email protected] www.noosaregionalgallery.com Director: Nina Shadforth. Tue-Fri 10.00 to 4.00, Sat-Sun 10.00 to 3.00. Closed Mondays, public holidays and during exhibition changeovers. To Nov 20 The Making of Midnight Oil – showcases rare and iconic items including stage props, instruments, protest banners, hand written lyrics, photographs and posters as well as rare and exclusive footage and unreleased music. Free entry.
AWARDS:Contemporary Art Awards 2017Winner’s prize, $5,510 worth of cash and prizes, plus additional prizes for finalists. Entries close Tues Nov 29. Apply online or through the supplied hard-copy application forms. Visit website for details.
Koorie Art Show – Koorie Heritage TrustCall for Entries open now. Creative Victoria Award for Excellence in any Media $5,000. Kane Construction Award $500. Koorie Heritage Trust Moogji Club People’s Choice $500. Entries close 10 October, 5pm.
Magic – Mansfield Art Glass incorporating CeramicsArts Council Mansfield presents the Mansfield Art Glass Exhibition.
Entries close Fri Oct 28. Also, the Klytie Pate Award for Ceramics. Entries close Fri Nov 4. Visit the website for details and entry. Poppe Davis 0437-775-776.
Montalto Sculpture Prize 2017(03) 5989-8412. Acquisitive prize. Entries close Mon Oct 31. Exhibition Feb 26 to Oct 29, 2017. Download entry form and details from website.
Montalto Sculpture Prize 2017(03) 5989-8412. Acquisitive prize. Entries close Mon Oct 31. Exhibition Feb 26 to Oct 29, 2017. Download entry form and details from website.
Creative Sparks Program 2016-17 RoundThe Creative Sparks Program is a joint initiative of Brisbane City Council and Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. The Grant Program aims to invest in creative projects within a community context which deliver artistic, cultural, social and economic returns, support artists, artsworkers and producers, and foster creative entrepreneurial and commercial approaches and invest in new partnerships between the arts, community and business. Funding amounts of up to $20,000 per application are available. Applications close midnight Monday 24 October.
Quadrant Gallery(03) 9079-0943. [email protected] Call for expressions of interest by artists to exhibit in 2017, situated in Hawthorn, Victoria. All mediums welcome; painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography etc. Contact the gallery for application form. Applications close Mon Oct 31.
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Previews of Exhibition:Churchie National Emerging Art PrizeEvent: 20/08/2016 - 13/11/2016 Experimental ArtIf you happen to be near George Street, pop into the QUT Art Gallery. If you work in the city grab a sandwich and wander down for an educational lunch hour.
Known as “The Churchie” it was an initiative of the Anglican Church Grammar School and ‘dedicated to supporting a new generation of artists.’
Admission is free, so what do have to lose. Even if the artworks are not particularly to your taste you’ll have a lovely walk return via the Gardens. The exhibition runs from 20th August to 13th November 2016.
If you are travelling to the gallery by bus the stop you want is Alice Street approaching George Street, Stop 95A. Or you can catch a train to Central and walk down.
NellNell is an artist at play. Paradoxical and engaging, she has a diverse practice fuelled by sincere questioning of the paradigms that make up the world around her. The result is a curious culmination of influences that hold meaning for Nell – from Zen Buddhism to AC/DC and Japanese religious iconography to name a few. Ahead of her first major survey exhibition at the Shepparton Art Museum, Nell spoke with Art Almanac about finding the ‘in-between’.
In your practice you reconstitute everyday objects for different purposes. What does this life cycle of reinvention mean for you – is it spiritually informed?
I use everything available to me materially, spiritually, physically or mentally. Whatever it is I try to stay open to all its possibilities. It was important for me that The Wake (2014-2016) was made of a combination of materials I’d transformed through my own hand-making with natural materials like pearls, branches and feathers with the aged character of the stools. As an artist, all I really do is channel the inherent histories and magic of materials into objects that give my life meaning. And I figure if it means something to me then there is a chance it might be meaningful to others too.
There is a dark violence that echoes in The Wake – the orifices on the forms are crudely cut, or punctured. What attracts you to create forms that blend paradoxes of light and dark, humour and violence?
My experience of life is that it is pretty fragile, and brutal, and mysterious. We have all these holes in our bodies where stuff is going in or going out – we are very porous, very leaky and very temporary. A lot of my work uses binary opposites that we easily recognise, like black/white, night/day, male/female, quiet/loud, and contained/uncontained. I use them to show that their absoluteness is
bullshit. While they seem like opposites they are, like us, just a stream of relativity, change and impermanence. Everything is ‘in-between’ and that is where
the gold is for me. Also, I’m a mega fan of Lucio Fontana’s egg-shaped series called Le Fine de Dio (The end of God), 1963/64. They are simultaneously a painting and a sculpture, violent and serene, kitsch and magnificent and that all turns me on!
What informed your use of the stools?
It was a happy studio accident. And a perfect solution for a ‘plinth’ for this body of work as the legs on the stools give the spirit creatures more personality and anthropomorphism. I had inherited a stool that I used in the studio from Lindy Lee and it was pretty beaten up and paint splattered when she gave it to me nearly 20 years ago. I had made one of the ceramic works on this stool and after the work was fired I just put it back on the stool – they belonged together.
How did your single-name ‘Nell’ come about? Was it inspired by hip-hop?
It had nothing to do with hip-hop or with being cool. I was christened Nell and I lost my last name in an unexpected confluence of happenstance where everyone at art school just knew me as Nell, and a severing of family karma. Having just one name can be really annoying for paper work and computer systems. However, having no last name is like having everyone’s last name, like being part of everyone’s family and I like that feeling very much.
Shepparton Art Museum (SAM)8 October to 27 November, 2016, Victoria
‘Art in the Park’ - Half Dozen Group of Artists Open DayEvent: 22/10/2016Half Dozen Group of Artists (HDGA) is proudly hosting an ‘Art in the Park’ Open Day at their studio in Hives Park in Sherwood.HDGA is an established artists group, which has been exhibiting in Brisbane since 1940. The group consists of over 100 professional and hobby artists from all walks of life.
The ‘Art in the Park’ Open Day will be held on Saturday 22nd October 2016 from 10am-4pm. All are welcome and entry is FREE.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk will open the studio at midday and unveil a stunning mural, which was painted as part of an anti-graffiti initiative.
The mural, which is located in Hives Park, saw the usually genteel painters of HDGA take to the streets. The artists donned overalls and worked on a design by local artist and illustrator, Kim Woolley, as a way of enhancing the area, and preventing crime.
The unveiling of the completed mural is just one highlight of the Open Day program! During the day HDGA members will also display a wide range of art styles in the studio, including portraits, landscapes and abstract works. There will also be art and craft stalls, with a wide range of locally designed and crafted wares.
Adding to the vibrant community atmosphere will be ‘play with clay’ for the kids and cool dinosaurs for sale (why dinosaurs? All will be clear when you see the mural!)
Event-goers can also enjoy coffee and cake and a delicious sausage sizzle. Come and spend a day in the company of this friendly artists’ group. It is a great opportunity it to purchase unique artwork and crafts and also support the local community.
HDGA is a well established and welcoming community arts group where artists enjoy regular workshops, mentoring, exhibiting opportunities, self-development, socialising and much more. They offer workshops five days a week at their well-equipped studio at Sherwood. There are easels and tables to work on, and paper is available to buy. Workshops run for 3 hours and are $15 for non-members and $12 for members.
Come and discover all that HDGA has to offer by attending the ‘Art in the Park’ Open Day on Saturday 22nd October 2016.For more information on this event or HDGA, please visit www.hdg-artists.com
Art show, marketscake stall, coffee
Saturday, Oct 22nd, from 10 am
HDG Art Studio, Hives Park,
37 Quarry Rd, Sherwood Play with clay for kids,Art showOfficial Studio Opening and muralunveiling by Lord Mayor GrahamQuirk at 12 noonSupport your local art groupweekday and evening workshopsAND, THERE WILL BE DINOSAURS
Half Dozen Group of Artists, hdgartists.com.au. More information 0401997099
Great Advice on Starting a Pottery BusinessProbably every artist who has fallen in love with clay has thought the following at one time or another: How do I open a pottery business? There are many things to consider when pondering that question from whether you just want to make and sell your own pottery to whether it makes sense to teach ceramics classes. And going into such an endeavor without a good ceramics business plan is not a good idea.So today I am sharing some advice from a couple who took on this challenge and now have a thriving pottery studio. In this excerpt from the September 2016 issue of Ceramics Monthly, Kris Vagner shares the lessons Sutter and Samantha Stremmel learned when they started their ceramics business in Reno, Nevada. – Jennifer Harnetty, editor.P.S. For more specifics on the Stremmel’s journey to success, which includes a number of useful tips, open up the September 2016 issue of Ceramics Monthly to read the article in its entirety.
Starting a Ceramics Business with Staying Powerby Kris VagnerSutter Stremmel wanted to get his hands dirty. It was 2010, and he and his wife, Samantha, had both just earned English literature degrees from the University of Montana. He’d been studying pottery off and on since age 7, and he was ready to take up a serious studio practice and become part of a ceramics community.The couple moved back to their hometown of Reno, Nevada, and bought a retail business, a specialty garden-supply store in a quiet, industrial neighborhood near downtown. They moved into a small house adjacent to the store and started looking for a clay studio to rent space in. The local university and community college each offer ceramics classes, but Sutter explained that unless you enrolled as a student, “There was no place to play with clay in Reno.”Samantha remembered, “One of the units across street came up for rent. We hemmed and hawed too long, and someone rented it.”Four months later, the same unit, a two-story warehouse with a roll-up door and a small, street-front parking lot, came up for rent again. This time, it seemed like a sign.The Stremmels calculated their projected income versus the cost of a year’s worth of rent and equipment. They wouldn’t profit enough to justify a business loan, or even a maxed out credit card, but they figured if they invested their first-year profits from the garden store, lived beneath their means, and bought supplies at a discount, it might work. They knew it would be a gamble, but reasoned that, since they were young, they’d have the time and energy to recover from a loss. “We felt like it was now or never,” Samantha said. Friends and family were skeptical. “We were both pretty terrified,” she confessed, but their
drive eclipsed their doubt, and they signed a lease. In October 2011, the couple opened the Wedge Ceramics Studio as their second business.
Learning CurveIt took time to establish enough momentum to be sure the studio could stay in business, especially during the first two years. Samantha and Sutter had a lot to learn, and one of the first things was how to balance their ideals of cooperation and community spirit with the realities of running a business. “I consider myself more of a business guy that owns an art studio, as opposed to an artist who’s trying to be in business,” Sutter said.Samantha credits the clientele with some of the Wedge’s success. She explained, “We’re not a co-op but it feels like we are, the way people take responsibility and have pride in it.” The attitude in the studio is exactly the mix of self-sufficiency and collaboration that the couple had hoped to achieve.Samantha said, “Every member brings something unique to the studio and offers something special by being there.” And it doesn’t hurt at all, she said, that “sometimes people clean up before they’re even asked.”
7 Expert Tips on How to Start a Ceramics Business
1 Take things one step at a time. If something doesn’t work, change it.
2 Get an intern. They’re invaluable. (Check your local college for intern programs.)
3 Get an extra mop bucket and a good shop vac. “We didn’t know we’d be cleaning so much!”
4 Get a Peter Pugger or other pug mill. It’s a game changer. “We’ve always provided free, recycled clay for members, and now we can do it efficiently.”
5 Keep in touch. Make friends with other artists in your community, and work together.
6 Keep a high profile. Use social media to its fullest.
7 Ask for help when you need it. The Wedge owners were shy about that at first, but asking friends, fam-ily, and colleagues for help and advice turned out to be the best thing they’ve ever done.
