Rural Fence Studies

Following on from my residency at Hill End in 2013 I continue to have a fascination with fences. I was interested in the decorative picket fences, many of which in the town were particularly old and were made using shapes and designs that are no longer in use. I photographed and shared some of them with you in a previous blog post. 

 

Since then, the structure of the fence has been appearing in my artworks. First as a ring design, then a brooch and finally a necklace. 

Over Christmas I had the opportunity to go home to Australia and one of the first things I did was to photograph the Australian landscape and admire the rural and rustic fences.

I particularly enjoy the details of how the wire is attached to the posts and the weathering that occurs from being exposed to the harsh Australian elements. 

These images are going to be the starting point for my MFA work for this semester. The theme is The Body as Landscape and I am looking to create jewellery that interacts with the body based on the idea of fences and gates. 

I love the golden tones of the setting sun against the tall grasses in the paddock. Interestingly this image serendipitously (accidentally) sums up my current interests: communication (telegraph pole and letter box), remote rural landscapes and fences. 

MFA exhibition: Progress in Work in Progress

Earlier this week, on a rainy Monday evening, was the opening for the MFA exhibition Progress in Work in Progress at the Anna Leonowens Gallery in Halifax. 

I chose to display a work that I had created earlier in the year Bush Telegraph. Made from a collection of vintage objects, manipulated domestic ware and machine embroidery embedded in resin, Bush Telegraph refers to my current interest in pioneering history and domestic spaces. I am particularly interested in exploring how many families were isolated, both in the sense of place (as both Canada and Australia were so far away from the mother country, England) and space as some families resided many miles from their nearest neighbour or town.

Bush Telegraph 2014

Thinking about this distance made me think about communication and how this occurred between countries. Often it would take 6 months for a letter to travel from one recipient and country to the other - and how it is this communication informs my work now. I am reading letters written in the 1800s by Elizabeth Moodie, British Canadian authoress, who wrote home to her mother in England about the trials and tribulations of living in a new land. 

Bush Telegraph 2014

The exhibition contains the work of the 17 current MFA students with works that range from a short documentary by Connie Littlefield, dying with and cataloguing local plants by Anna Haywood Jones to a performance piece about looking for a short term friend by Allyse Bowd. 

Bush Telegraph
photograph by Evan Rensch

Infront of my work at the opening

Gallery view of exhibition by Evan Rensch

For more information and pictures from the opening please visit the MFA blog. 

Animated kitchen utensils

Over the past couple of weeks I have been learning the basics of stop animation.

You may remember my post from last week about the vintage kitchen utensils, well, my sketches for them have become the basis for my very basic stop motion animation.

The fun thing is they have all developed personalities of their own. Cheeky things!

This one above / and below, is based on an egg cup I designed in metal. Im in the process of making it! When flipped on its side it turns into a squid. Neat huh!

Vintage kitchen utensils

Whilst hanging out in my favourite antique shop I found a delightfully old strainer with a painted green wooden handle.

I thought it would be perfect for my continuing exploration into pioneering history from a women's perspective. I have become interested in the ideas of isolation and communication and how location would have impacted on the early settlers.

My original idea was to build a house out of wire on top of the strainer.

But there was something nice about the movement of the wire when held with the house structure upside down.

Im not too sure of the direction this piece will take yet - but Im having fun exploring the possibilities!

More blue and white ceramics for Pozible

December has been spent making, delivering and sending out pozible gifts (lino prints, tea towels and ceramics) for my supporters. 

Left over bits of my lino prints for the gift tags.  

Notice my handy assistant, Kochira the cat, keeping an ever watchful eye on me (and the fish) in the background! 

I wanted to get the ceramic gifts out before Christmas, and consequently forgot to take nice pictures of them. I only have one of them lined up in my studio.

Thankfully I have received pictures from some of the recipients - and its lovely to see the ceramic vessels in their new homes.

Image: Bel and Shane

Image: Josie

Image: Liz 

Image: Murray

Im still collecting images of the gifts in their new homes. If you were one of my supporters Id love to see how your gift looks in its new home.

Blue and White Porcelain Ceramics

Some of you will know that I have been inspired by the writings of Australian author Miles Franklin who is well known for her novel My Brilliant Career, which for the most part is set in Goulburn, NSW. 

Crabapple Tree in Blossom

In April 2013 I partook in the self guided tour of Goulburn and observed many of the buildings she wrote about in her novels. 

Domestic Interior with Antiques

Indeed, it was her descriptions of pioneering Australia that set me on the path to further research Australia's history that led me to the Artist in Residence at the historic gold mining town of Hill End, and then internationally to explore pioneering history in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. 

"The two towers of the office rose like sentry boxes which in the long main street that ran empty in the moonlight to the south"  

Further images from my Hill End residency:

In the studio

Life in a slab hut

Textures

Fences and gates

Goulburn Post Office

So inspired I sketched imagery of Goulburn's historic buildings incorporating text from 'My Brilliant Career' that was published in 1901. 

"I bought a ticket at the Goulburn railway station"

 These sketches have recently been applied to porcelain ceramics using scraffito and mishima techniques.

Goulburn Railway Station

Earlier in the year I ran a crowd funding campaign to assist with my travel to Halifax, Nova Scotia to participate in the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design's Summer residency.

"I borrowed every book in the neighbourhood and stole hours from rest to read them"

 One of the rewards for my crowd funding supporters was a porcelain ceramic vessel an image relating to my residencies. 

The Music House 

"I love the organ music and the hush that pervades the building" 

So some very lucky people received these 'one of a kind' porcelain vessels.

St Saviours Cathedral

 The shapes are inspired by pioneering bushmen's mugs, which were fashioned from recycled tin (which would've originally contained food) with a wire handle added.

"I left the train and went to the Commercial for the remainder of the night"

The Commercial Pub, Goulburn.

Maud's House Tea Towel

Earlier in the year I ran a crowd funding campaign to assist with my travel to Halifax, Nova Scotia to participate in the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design's Summer residency.

One of the rewards for my crowd funding supporters was a tea towel hand printed by me with an image of Canadian artist Maud Lewis's tiny little cottage. 

The building is so tiny and amazingly decorated all over with her folk art that her entire house is now in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in Halifax! Her cottage was so basic that it did not have electricity or running water and consisted of one room and an attic. As such she fitted in with my concept of pioneering women and images of her house appeared in the artwork produced for the exhibition in Halifax.

Printing up a storm at Megalo Print Studio and Gallery 

You may have seen some images of her cottage on my blog if you had time to follow my adventures - here's a link if you would like to know more about her.

Printed on 100% linen tea towels measuring 50 x 70 cm using water based permanent ink, I got carried away and printed a few extra tea towels with the Maud Lewis design. If you would like one for your collection, or a Christmas gift, you can find them in my online store.

The Exhibition: Landscapes Ladies & Literature

Here are some images from my solo exhibition Landscapes Ladies & Literature at the Barometer Gallery in Paddington, Sydney.

It was a fabulous gallery space, with lots of natural light through two huge windows that faced onto the streets and high ceilings. The gallery was on the corner of two streets and had great street presence. 

Many people dropped in after driving past and seeing the artwork on the walls!

'Adrift in a Foreign Land' - created in Halifax, Nova Scotia

The exhibition displayed the work created on the two residencies I undertook this year: the old gold mining town of Hill End in June, and Halifax Nova Scotia in July and August 2013. All the work created was inspired by pioneering ladies in both countries.

Images inspired by Hill End onto cast porcelain bottles

If you would like to see some more images of the works created in both residencies visit my website, www.kateward.com.au 

Barometer Gallery was just around the corner from Five Ways, a well known area where five roads meet. This place has such a lovely village vibe, and reminded me a little of London. 

Great food, pubs and restaurants lined the streets. And the Jacaranda trees were in bloom. Quite delightful, creating lilac vistas and carpeting streets with purple blossoms!

And I was most taken by the Thomas Dux Grocer, a store that had a delightful assortment of delectable gourmet delights, and turns out to be an upmarket Woolworths supermarket (and much more enjoyable to shop in!)

I shopped daily at Sonoma bakery, which had a delicious assortment of sourdough breads. 

And I found the most wonderful cafe ever called Tiger Mottle. It made the best coffee and had such a great vibe.... if you are in the area I recommend checking all these places out.

Its such fun!