MAYO Arts Festival 2016 Artists

Barbara Heath creates contemporary objects imbued with histories, narratives, and symbolism.

Whether commissioned or © Bh brand jewellery, major public artwork or bespoke architectural detailing the work of Barbara Heath describes her distinctive approach to creating contemporary objects imbued with histories, narratives, and symbolism.

With a national and international exhibiting career spanning over 30 years demonstrating her skills as an artist, jeweller and designer, Heath has practised in Brisbane for more than two decades and is represented in numerous public collections.

Barbara describes her studio practice as ‘Jeweller to the Lost’, its a title that hints at the intimate collaborative nature of making meaningful objects that articulate personal stories at a human scale. ‘I work in a medium that is both precious and symbolic, in effect a sign language carried on the body; expressing style, wit, humour and sometimes our deepest emotion.

Fiona Kurnadi creates functional ceramics which embody the sim and colour of her chosen materials. Each piece, a small expressio

mplicity, form on of her art.

I want to create pieces where colour embodies the pot, rather than being surface decoration.

Essence of form, simplicity and colour remain my trademark. They are objects to be used everyday.

Having studied Fine Arts and worked as a textile designer, I went on to explore jewellery making and ceramics in my pursuit to become a ‘maker’. My interest in functional ceramics led me to enrol in classes taught by Ray Cavill at Clayschool.

I predominately work with stoneware and porcelain clays. My pieces are all wheel thrown and rely on trimming and polishing to achieve their fineness.

Growing up in the country, my source of inspiration stems from my memory: the dramatic and distinctive landscape of my childhood. My second series relies on line and circle motifs as representations of stark landforms, paddocks, cultivation and water channels. Using black and white emphasises the masculine/feminine; strength/delicacy; positive/negative; vast skies and black soil.

My pieces are small expressions of art.

Carolyn Barker works with Australian and/or recycled materials: metals re-refined rather than newly mined, and Australian stone.

My collections are primarily inspired by Australia’s diverse landscapes. As far as possible I work with Australian and/or recycled materials. I use both precious and non-precious materials: sterling silver, yellow/white/pink gold, platinum, shibuichi (silver and copper), shakudo (gold and copper), copper, gems and stones. Every piece is handmade in my workshop currently based on the Sunshine Coast.

I have a particular interest in Japanese alloys and their traditional patina (colouring) processes. These are the black,

brown and grey metals you see through the collections. The methodical techniques used to create these colours require time and patience but their depth of beauty make the effort worthwhile.

In addition to my artistic practice I do much bespoke work, making pieces for a diverse range of clients in styles and materials that best suit them. I love making keepsakes that remind their owners of their places, people and feelings most special.

Anna Leyshon designs and hand-makes her own silver pieces from scratch, ensuring each component is unique and hand crafted.

Anna is a practicing architect and jewellery designer. She began silversmithing in 2006 and works mainly in sterling silver, which she mixes with semi-precious gemstones, jade, pearls and other textural natural pieces. The joyful use of colour is of particular interest to Anna and is used to great effect in many of the pieces.

Anna has lived and worked in Japan, India, London, Hong Kong, Sydney and Brisbane. She is married and has two daughters.

She has a Bachelor of Design Studies and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Queensland and balances her jewellery design and manufacture with small architectural projects and family life.

Carly Scoufos is a sculptor and installation artist currently based in Brisbane.

Carly studied at the Santa Rosa Junior College in California, before completing a Bachelor of Fine Art with First Class Honours from the QCA, Griffith University.

After graduating, Carly was awarded the 2008 Melville Haysom Memorial Art Scholarship and exhibited in QAG’s Watermall CafÊ as part of the Starter Space program. In 2009, following the receipt of the Siganto Travel Scholarship, Carly undertook a studio residency at Youkobo Art Space in Tokyo where she presented her first solo exhibition, Seam. Since then, she has exhibited regularly and completed a large number of public and private commissions both in Australia and overseas.

During 2013, Carly made and exhibited a new body of sculptural and video work as a result of receiving an Australia Council for the Arts New Work Grant. She recently completed fabrication of a large suspended work for the Macquarie Centre in North Ryde, Sydney, unveiled at the opening of the new centre in October 2014.

Last year, Carly was completing two more major commissions: the first in Brisbane for the foyer of 1 William Street, a 45-storey office and retail tower set to be the new home of the Queensland Government; and the second, in Western Australia, for the new Domestic Terminal at Perth Airport.

Clairy Laurence is a Brisbane-based ceramicist whose sculptural forms often depict otherworldly children and their environment.

Clairy is a ceramicist who works using both hand building and wheel throwing techniques to create sculptural forms.

In1988 she graduated from TAFE in studio ceramics and went on to study art therapy at MIECAT in 2003 and worked as supervisor at a ceramic studio at a community-based organization for almost 10 years.

Clairy’s sculptural forms are often figurative, depicting otherworldly naivety and its environment to create her own myth and folklore. Influences include Bloomfield, Antoni Clairy has been working as a full-time Gaudi, Charles Blackman and Rex Ray. freelance ceramicist since leaving her longterm supervisor role in 2013.

Clairy has been working as a ceramicist and potter since 1983, when she undertook an apprenticeship with Locust Pottery.

c.k.d. is independent bespoke jewellery designer Caroline Kelly, who specialises in handmade silver and gemstone pieces.

There is a strong architectural element to the work coming out of Caroline Kelly’s Brisbane studio. A contemporary jeweller, she shows assured confidence in creating handcrafted pieces, merging ancient elements of silversmithing with clean, modern design. Jewellery is personal, yet it publicly reveals something about the private. She works mostly on commission, incorporating her creativity and imagination, and self-expression of clients. Now, she incorporates semi-precious stones – chosen, cut and polished herself so no two pieces are the same. Often a rough edge

is left to remind the wearer of the stone’s ancient elemental birth. Her work is all about minimalist functionality and beauty of form, whether oxidised and texturized sterling silver, found pebbles, resin, crystals or semi-precious stones. From her strong cube rings to silver and river stone pendants, c.k.d. proves luxury doesn’t have to mean bling. It reveals itself in thoughtfully designed and beautifully made pieces.

Carly Kotynski’s graceful scu the natural world and resona

Holding a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Queensland College of Art, Carly has an extensive exhibition profile and has been selected as a finalist in numerous prestigious awards. Her works feature in many public and private collections with permanent and temporary public art installations throughout Queensland and Victoria.

Inspired by the interconnectedness of all living things, her artworks feature botanical and nautical motifs and the crossing over of each. Her intricate hand-woven pieces evolve slowly and demonstrate a sensitivity to the delicate balance of life, combining qualities of resilience with a sense of loss. Careful use of light casts delicate shadows that become extensions of the forms and adds a deeper metaphysical component to the aesthetic to evoke metaphors of vulnerability.

ulptural forms are poetic allusions to ate its beauty, strength and fragility.

Rock & Gold endeavours to delight with what may at first glance appear to be peculiar and incongruous. Designs are tailored for modern day women and men who value quality, simplicity, understated elegance and a dose of quirkiness.

Rock and Gold was founded by Alice Yeung – a trained Industrial Designer who has worked at a design consultancy in Brisbane and a furniture maker in Sydney. Alice has been professionally involved in the entire product design process from sketch to finished artifact and witnessed innovative products being moulded before her eyes.

She has also travelled throughout Australasia as a designer and helped influence products that have seen international release. These experiences fascinated her but this also made her appreciate handcrafted products where each and every item is created with the utmost attention.

Alice launched Rock & Gold in her backyard workshop when she made her move back to Brisbane to rebuild her then new home after the 2011 Queensland

floods. Handcrafting jewellery proves to be a very good fit for her as it is a combination of art and science, which allows her to use both sides of her brain. She has resided in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Melbourne and Sydney and her designs are mostly influenced by the cosmopolitan nature of these cities, though Alice is drawn to the Japanese style of simplicity and sophistication with a twist.

She is also inspired by industrial design, photography, graphic design and microscopic details that can be construed as mundane by most. In case you haven’t noticed by now, she is also extremely passionate about food, which is a recurring theme in some of her jewellery and textile designs.

Deb Mostert’s series is a light-hearted, whimsical look at birds interacting with manmade objects.

Deb’s art practice is 25 years young and involves drawing, painting and, lately, some small sculpture. In her paintings, humble objects of both play and service sit in gentle, quirky arrangements, exploring triviality and holiness. These artless, anonymous relics of childhood and household are collected and arranged to hint at shifting memory, collections, service and sacredness.

Deb’s work is built around the search for personal objects which can become metaphors for these ideas.

Deb lives and works in a home studio on the Ipswich-Brisbane border. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Queensland College of Art and has had 14 solo shows and been involved in more than 50 group shows in both regional and commercial galleries. Deb has over 10 years teaching experience and runs workshops and artist -in-residencies.

Leigh Schoenheimer is a painter, sculptor and jewellery-maker whose work investigates notions of perception and meaning.

Leigh Schoenheimer is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Brisbane. A painter, sculptor and jewellerymaker, her work investigates notions of perception and meaning. Her ongoing environmental concerns often inform her subject matter as well as her choice of materials.

Schoenheimer’s sculptural works embrace whimsy. Small in scale, these engaging pieces make use of scrap and repurposed materials and evoke the collages and assemblages of the Dada and Surrealist movements. These constructions celebrate unexpected possibilities, giving a cheerful nod to the many 20th century artists who re-wrote the rulebook on image-making.

Karl De Waal’s work presents quirky and humorous insights into everyday life.

Using a clever combination of collage, words and imagery, the work is thought-provoking and original. Influenced by Dada and sculpture, the pieces created are simple, stark and visually arresting.

Adrienne Shaw draws inspiration from the story of Krisha Gotami and the Mustard Seed, as told from ‘The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying’.

Krisha Gotami was a young woman who had the good fortune to live at the time of the Buddha. When her first born child was about a year old, it fell ill and died.

Grief stricken and clutching its little body, Krisha Gotami roamed the streets, begging anyone she met for a medicine that could restore her child to life. Some ignored her, some laughed at her, some thought she was mad, but finally she met a wise man who told her that the only person in the world who could perform the miracle she was looking for was the Buddha.

So she went to the Buddha, laid the body of her child at his feet, and told him her story. The Buddha listened with infinite compassion. Then he said gently, “There is only one way to heal your affliction.

Go down to the city and bring me back

a mustard seed from any house in which there has never been a death.”

Krisha Gotami felt elated and set off at once for the city. She stopped at the first house she saw and said “I have been told by the Buddha to fetch a mustard seed from a house that has never known death.”

“Many people have died in this house,” she was told. She went on to the next house. “There have been countless deaths in our family,” they said. And so to a third and a fourth house, until she had been all around the city and realised the Buddha’s condition could not be fulfilled.

Clare Poppi arrives at her designs by experimenting with placement and juxtaposition, and using her sense of materiality to determine a resolved piece.

Clare Poppi is an artist living and working in Brisbane, Australia. After achieving first class honours in her Fine Art degree, she received an ArtStart grant from the Australia Council for the Arts and has continued to make art, establishing a studio space with three other jewellers from which to create her work.

Her primary practice is in jewellery and metalsmithing, focusing on sustainable design and wearable art.

Her pieces range from jewellery that grows live grass to minimalist-inspired designs using recycled metals and biodegradable components. Clare arrives

at her designs by experimenting with placement and juxtaposition, and using her sense of materiality to determine a resolved piece. However, this spontaneous approach is always tempered with a strict adherence to sustainable and ethical work practices, including ‘green’ studio techniques and Cradle-to Cradle design practices.

Clare continues to expand and refine her practice through further study and participation in local, national and international exhibitions. Her growing pieces can be seen online at: www.growingjewellery.wordpress.com

Peter Biddulph’s ceramics have received international awards and have been exhibited and published internationally. Peter is currently teaching ceramics in Brisbane.

My work is informed by both ancient and contemporary techniques and materials and I conduct extensive research in a broad range of disciplines in an endeavour to produce work that takes account of the history of ceramics, while developing techniques and a vocabulary which realise a more 21st century aesthetic.

Forms combine the hard edged precision and symmetry of architectural geometry with curvilinear organic forms. In addition to developing original design and construction techniques, I also formulate and create my own glazes.

The flask to the right is the result of such research into techniques, materials and information unavailable or inaccessible to preInternet ceramicists: the form was created in a digital 3D space prior to rapid prototyping; the formulation of the porcelain body was adapted to support the processes to which

it was subjected and the research into minerals revealed that this single colourant, dark red iron oxide will only produce this transparent ice blue, in the reducing atmosphere of a gas kiln and in the absence of titanium in the other minerals in the glaze. A qingbai (blue white) glaze was first produced in the imperial ‘dragon’ kilns of 11th century China, where porcelain was first discovered.

Thus, this flask represents a synthesis of past practices and knowledge with contemporary materials and 21st century technology.

Matt Dwyer’s portfilio is graced by a diverse mix of the decorative and functional. Firstly setting out to become a sculptor, Dwyer fell in love with jewellery making.

In three letters, the word fio (meaning ‘to be made’ in Latin) concisely sums up Matt Dwyer’s passion: making things.

His father – a sculptor, painter and art teacher – exposed Dwyer early on to the world of art and the joy of making things by hand – whether a beautifully sculpted bronze bust, or useful objects for the home or studio.

While firstly setting out to become a sculptor himself, Dwyer fell in love with jewellery making and still considers the medium similar – only at a smaller scale.

He completed a Bachelor of Fine Art – Gold and Silversmithing in Queensland and his 15year journey since has taken him from Brisbane to Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Bangkok and beyond.

During this time Dwyer has exhibited in more than 40 shows in Australia and overseas, on top of selling his work commercially, guest lecturing and honing his skills in jewellery, lighting and object making.

Conceptually, the designer draws strongly on the themes of memory and the value of

jewellery. Evident across all his work is a drive and ability to constantly push the boundaries in design, take on new creative challenges and embrace innovative techniques in a variety of mediums.

A diverse mix of decorative and functional work grace Dwyer’s impressive portfolio today, from quirky lighting, playful objects, opulent jewellery to teapots with a twist.

Highlights across the award-winning designer’s career include being named as one of Australia’s hot young designers in 2005, exhibiting at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in 2008, and in 2010 designing street lighting for Woolloongabba’s antique precinct in Brisbane.

Kate is born into a family of artists. Her sister and grandmother are painters and her brother an ornamental blacksmith. Her mother, Anne Everingham, is also a well known jeweller. This environment has played a formative influence on her creativity.

At Kate Warby Designs you will find a veritable treasure chest – overflowing with resin, semi-precious stones such as coral, jade and turquoise, carved bones and stone, glass and crystals and other costume beads. It may be a colour or shape in these raw materials that form the beginning of a piece of jewellery and influence her final design.

Established in 2009, Kate Warby Designs has quickly established a following in South-East Queensland. Her jewellery can be purchased by ordering online or from selected retail outlets.

Hand-made and individual, Kate’s designs are a refreshing antidote to mass produced costume jewellery.

Peter Stellar enjoys the creative challenge of using the inherent beauty of the natural lines in the wood to enhance and transform each piece into a unique creation.

I started out as a wood turner in 1997, however after several years I found that the mechanical processes imposed by the lathe restricted my creativity. As a result my turnings became more embellished with carvings, to the point now that I have sold my lathe and found my passion in sculpting.

I enjoy the creative challenge to use the lines in the grain inherent in the natural beauty of the wood to enhance and transform each piece into a unique creation, while at the same time elevating the viewer’s experience by the sensation imbued by the wood when touched. My sculptures explore form and shape using the grain to enhance this form. As an experienced physiotherapist, I have a unique appreciation of form and movement, which I apply to my contemporary pieces; juggling the balance between the sensitivity of the grain and form so that I capture both emotion and movement in each of my sculptures.

My philosophy is that my art should aspire to not only capture the emotion at that instant in time, but also the moments before and after, thereby allowing the viewer to develop a sense and feeling of ‘being there’. I have a deep love of the sea and the beauty it holds, both above and below and it is the source for many of my inspirations as is the beauty in the wood. I want people to appreciate our trees and not take them for granted. I hope that my sculptures and paintings evoke an emotion that uplifts and inspires you; to look upon our world as a place we need to cherish and preserve for future generations.

I have exhibited extensively over the years and my sculptures now grace many homes around the world. My work can be viewed online at www.psart.com.au

Kuninjku artist Owen Yalandja is a senior member of the Dangkorlo clan, the custodians of an important Yawkyawk site.

Yawkyawk is a word in the Kunwinjku language of Western Arnhem Land meaning ‘young woman spirit being’. The female water spirits are perhaps the most enigmatic of mythological themes.

Sometimes compared to the European notion of mermaids, they exist as spiritual beings living in freshwater streams and rock pools, particularly those in the stone country. The spirit Yawkyawk is usually depicted with the tail of a fish. They have long hair, which is associated with trailing blooms of green algae (called man-bak in Kuninjku). At times they leave their aquatic homes to walk about on dry land, particularly at night. Owen Yalandja is Maningrida’s most senior artist authorised to depict this figure, which he does in both bark paintings and in 3D forms. This new suite has been prepared in limited edition polished bronze relief and animates both 2D and 3D imagery.

Represented by Fireworks Gallery.

Michael Eather’s new series The Endless Sea features previous photographic imagery combined with new drawing and graphic material blended into mixed media works on paper and canvas.

When I left Tasmania in 1984, the notion of severing my island links remained a strong emotive decision. I travelled north and lived on the coast of the Arafura Sea, in an Aboriginal community on and off for seven years, and these geographical polarities, notwithstanding the numerous island mentalities within Australia, pervaded many ideas and images that I took into my art practice.

In many ways this melancholic dilemna is still residual and remains at the heart of my work. A new series,

The Endless Sea, features previous photographic imagery combined with new drawing and graphic material blended into mixed media works on paper and canvas that whilst self-referential are intended for a wider, universal interpretation.

It continues themes of the voyager (or voyeur?) positioned in the cabin of his ‘Fathership’‌ navigating psychological sea-scapes that are potentially fraught with obstacles and/or the allure of (cross-cultural) destinations.

Represented by Fireworks Gallery (Director).

Joanna Bone is an English born Artist. She has a 1st class honours glass design and has a masters degree from the Royal College of A

s degree in Art in London.

Joanna immigrated in 2002 with her husband David to Brisbane to be nearer the environments that most inspire her work.

Since living in Australia, Joanna has won major national awards and her work can be found in many collections around the world and particularly the Asia Pacific Region, as she has for the past nine years been making special awards for the coveted Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Pattern: random yet repetitive, complex and subtle makes up our natural environment.

From the vibrant skins of insects to the rich textures under the seas and the rhythms of the landscape, pattern pulsates through our everyday.

I like the relationship between the complexities of the techniques that are employed in each piece and how it is expressed in the intricacy of the surface patterns. The end result draws one into the piece, losing oneself in the multi layers of colour.

Mas & Miek is a creative collaboration by mother daughter duo Charlie and Mieke Proost - De Deyne.

Charlie obtained a Bachelor of Fine Art at Queensland College of Art in Brisbane, with an interdisciplinary study of Jewellery & Small Objects whilst Mieke studied her Masters in Fine Arts, Ceramics at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Mas & Miek arose through many days spent in the hinterland studio working together, and the shared excitement of utilising our handmade objects within our home.

Through endless experimenting, throwing, firing and glazing, Mas & Miek strives to bring unique handmade objects back on the table in every home. Â

Michael Nelson Jagamara is a significant Aboriginal Artist with works held in numerous private, corporate and national public collections.

Michael Nelson Jagamara began painting some 25 years ago in Papunya, Central Australia, in the classic dot and circle tradition of desert sand painting. Much of his work centres on the country in the Mt Singleton area and tells of traditional Dreaming stories including Possum, Kangaroo, Emu and Lightning. Michael Nelson was recognised nationally and internationally in the late 1980s through numerous public art commissions and awards, including the 1984 Telstra National Aboriginal Art Award.

During the late 1990s, he reinvented his approach to painting with a more

expressionistic style. He continues to make the salient point that although his choice of colours, materials and appearance of works are continually being reformatted, his stories have never changed.

Michael Nelson’s significant contribution to Aboriginal Art was recognised in 2008, when he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of New South Wales. His works are held in numerous private, corporate and most public collections in Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia and the National Museum of Australia.

Represented by Fireworks Gallery.

Lisa Roet has won acclaim in Australia and internationally for her powerful investigations into the complex interface between humans and our simian relatives.

Drawing inspiration from a myriad of sources including residencies at major international zoos, field studies of apes living in the forests of Borneo and most recently through her own heart surgery, which was the subject of an exhibition at the White Night Festival in Melbourne in 2014, Lisa’s multidisciplinary approach to her work has challenged, and continues to challenge, fundamental scientific and behavioural theories relating to human evolution and creationism, language and communication, science and art and the relationship between humans and ‘other’ primates. Notwithstanding the potentially political nature of her subject, Roet never indulges in heavy-handed dacticism. To the contrary, her art practice is infused with refreshing vigour, candour and an inescapable sense of mystery, poignantly highlighting how inextricably linked humans and primates are amid the messy uncertainty of biology, nature and culture.

With the ape as her muse, Roet encourages us to reflect upon prevailing attitudes towards these relatives with whom we share in excess of 98% of our DNA, the lingering anxiety with our evolutionary past, our use of apes for scientific and entertainment purposes and the way in which we project onto apes our own fantasies and culture, while at the same time assuming they are somehow ‘inferior’ to us.

Represented by Heiser Gallery.

Kenji Uranishi’s work focuses on ceramic sculpture and installation, through which he explores ideas of nature and the built environment, place and belonging, and their interplay.

Kenji Uranishi is a Japanese-born, Australian-based artist whose work draws upon the longstanding traditions of ceramics in Japanese art and culture.

Kenji studied at the Nara College of Fine Arts and upon graduation, worked mostly with stoneware clay, exhibiting throughout Japan—from small gallery spaces to large municipal museums.

Since mving to Australia in 2004, Kenji’s interest in tradition has increasingly worked in dialogue with the contemporary.

The move also signalled a critical shift in his practice as he began working predominantly with porcelain, hand building translucent white, often architecturally inspired objects.

“In some ways, moving to Australia represented a fresh phase in my life that provided me with the energy to explore new materials, without cultural expectations.”

From his Australian base, Kenji has exhibited widely. He’s delivered workshops and presentations to arts organisations, universities, galleries and conferences, and participated as an artist-in-residence with hosts including the Australian National University in Canberra.

Kenji’s work also features in public spaces including the redeveloped Ipswich Courthouse and 400 George Street, both in Queensland.

In 2014, Kenji was a recipient of Asialink’s Artist Residency program (supported

by Arts Queensland) and spent 12 weeks in Arita, Kyushu, widely considered to be the birthplace of porcelain in Japan.

“I’m interested in, and influenced by, architecture and nature, and how people interact with both. Simple insights into everyday life become an inspiration for my work—people, time, relationships and actions.”

Represented by Andrew Baker.

Alick Sweet is a Brisbane based artist who has won several major awards for painting, sculpture and drawing whose works are included in private and public collections in Australia and overseas.

Sweet works in a variety of materials but maintains a fascination with wood and paint. Timber, stone, steel, bronze and paint are used to create free standing objects, wall reliefs and installations.

With the installation process the compositions grow and become site specific where the realms of sculpture, drawing, painting, design and carpentry cohabit and converge. This method of

working allows the artist’s keen interest in construction and composition to develop.

Colour adds a dramatic element to the work and helps amplify the dynamics of the form. Colour sometimes occurs incidentally, through the addition of component parts, or by the application of paint.

Represented by Fireworks Gallery.

The Spirit Cast series celebrates Serena Bonson’s iconic imagery of the Wangarra Spirit figure, as taught to her by her grandfather.

Serena Bonson lives in Maningrida, North Central Arnhem Land and is of the Djowinge moiety and Djinang language group. Her skin name is Gamandjan. Wangarras are said to inhabit the Anmujolkuwa clan waterhole, and are often reborn as new members of the clan. They are responsible for conveying important messages, particularly with the birth of a new child, which is announced in a dream, when the spirit of the new child makes itself known to the child’s father. Serena is still considered an emerging artist and for seven years has carved Wangarra spirit figures out of stringy bark collected on her country, and decorates them with white ochre mixed with a PVC fixative.

The Spirit Cast series (conducted with FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane) involves working directly with the artist to make a series of moulds from these original carved forms; enhancing some of the prominent features in 3D relief, then re-casting this new form for editions cast in aluminium and painted with a two-pac finish.

Represented by Fireworks Gallery.

Ian Waldron pays tribute to the story of the Kurtjar people in his homeland of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Ian Waldron worked in various industries before studying Visual Arts at the Northern Territory University in the mid-1990s.

Throughout his art practice he pays tribute to the story of the Kurtjar people in his homeland of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Ian has worked prolifically in his studio in Far North Queensland over the past years and developed a number of series, focusing on paintings and installations.

Recurring subject matter in his works comprises characters, sites and memories, which are important to the artist, such as Bloodwood totem and black cockatoo. Ian was the winner of the 2010 Glover Prize, Tasmania, and has been selected as a finalist three times in The Wynne Prize at the AGNSW. His works are held in numerous private and public collections nationally.

Represented by Fireworks Gallery.

Kirstin Farr is a Brisbane-based artist who specialises in organic forms of ceramics.

Her work is contrasted with fine translucent porcelain to rough recycled mixed clays. She loves to use alternative firing methods, such as Raku to produce a distinctive style relying on the randomness of the smoke markings.

Her saggar pots gained her the overall winner in the Gold Coast Potters Members Exhibition for 2015.

Contemporary Australian artist Georgina Hooper is inspired by global artistic exchange, nature and her extensive travels throughout Asia.

Georgina’s ongoing artistic and scholarly research of traditional Chinese art practices and technique is visible in her work. Passionate about passing on her knowledge, Georgina lectures at the University of Canberra and also makes written contributions to publications about her experiences and observations as an artist and researcher working in Asia.

Symbolic meaning and storytelling is deeply embedded in the artist’s visual language. In Georgina’s art, her images of nature are laden with meaning about human existence, emotion and

experience. Passionate about preserving the natural world, Georgina’s work seeks to ask questions and challenge her viewers. Through her large scale installations, she seeks to inspire audiences to consider the contribution we make to the natural world and what we take from it as consumers.

“Visual art is a language with which artists can use to ‘speak’ with each other.Through my work I want to inspire people, to notice the beauty and value of the natural world, the traditions and cultures of its people and recognise the richness of all of this. It is in these things that true wealth exists and we are just so lucky to have so much.” (Hooper – 2014)

John Morris challenges the observer’s perception of one of the most primitive materials – wood – through his sculptural works. His intensively researched subjects are captured in minute detail with incredible skill.

The works of John Morris spring from exhaustive sketching and illustration, drawing on intensive research. Subjects include skeletal bone, muscular structure and the imagery of fashion photography.

Often, prosthetic limbs and superaccentuated body part proportions tie the pieces together, bringing to mind the surreal imagery of anime and the comic strip

depictions of superheroes and heroines.

He skilfully uses leather, brass and stainless steel to provide stark contrasts with the warm texture of the wood.

John studied at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University.

Represented by Lethbridge Gallery.

ttmade are two creatives from Brisbane working together to produce beautiful ceramic pieces.

The Potter:Tracy Dickason

The Painter:Tiel Seivl-Keevers

“Through the years I have explored many creative paths as a way of finding time to create peace and quiet in a busy life full of control and order. I have found that working with clay allows me to relinquish control, embrace the unpredictable and become the child full of mud and wander.

A career as an artist, graphic designer, illustrator, and teacher.

Making ceramics is a slow process that requires care and attention at every stage.

Each piece I make is either hand-built or wheel thrown so no two pieces will ever be the same. Whilst I mould, throw or turn clay to reflect an idea I have in my mind, I always allow myself to be guided by the clay allowing each piece to be unique and expressive in its own way. I am never completely sure of how a piece will look until it reveals itself in its final firing, leaving me with a sense of anticipation every time I open the kiln door.”

“My work evolves from my natural surroundings. Texture, line and colour are elements that echo as I work through the passage of developing a blank surface to finished image. Usually I make marks on paper, wood or canvas and now I paint on clay. Being a different surface and painting with glazes has been an interesting challenge, allowing me to think and work in new ways.

I feel that ceramics is the perfect surface to work on in order to combine my interest in flora and seasonal change.

I feel grounded, connected, stitched to the intricacies of the natural world and compelled to create its expression.”

Megan Campbell’s current work captures the relationship of mixed media and clay.

Megan Campbell is a ceramicist/artist with extensive experience in education and the arts.

The focus of the work centres on the colours, textures and informality of Queensland’s summer. The pieces compliment and celebrate this lifestyle.

Jane James has a lifelong involvement with the sea and marine conservation. Her work encompasses drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking and is held in private collections internationally. Jane has won many awards for her work both in Australia and overseas.

I am a visual artist based in Brisbane, Australia.

The natural environment and marine conservation are central to my work which is representational in media including drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking.

I travel to marine environments in the Asia Pacific region to collect material for my art projects and to conduct teaching residencies in Marine Art.

New directions are emerging in my sculptural work, I recently built a sculptural furniture piece from data provided by weather scientists during an artist’s residency in Brisbane’s EcoSciences Precinct.

My current project is to create two site specific marine installations underwater in Tasmania, and produce a body of painted work for exhibition in 2016 entitled Tidewrack.