Kate Ward

Thursday, 20 September 2012

Award winning Tea Towel designs

Ive been keeping these designs a secret (which is jolly hard to do) for the past couple of months.

Thankfully they were launched a couple of weeks ago as part of the Canberra100 launch at the Canberra Theatre a week or so ago.

Yay! Now I can finally share them with you :)

Canberra Icons 1 (360 view of Lake Burley Griffen)
Photography by Art Atelier

Canberra Icons 2 (360 view of Lake Burley Griffen)
Photography by Art Atelier

The Canberra Icons tea towel is designed so that you can display them side by side, the design being continuous across the two tea towels.

I heart Canberra
Photography by Art Atelier

And the cheeky I heart Canberra with a love heart coming out of Parliament House. Some of you may remember my I heart Canberra that has a love heart sitting on top of Telstra Tower which was the predecessor to this current design.

Although they are not available until the end of October, you can place your orders now and to see the other winning designs by visiting the Craft ACT website or by emailing project [at] craftact.org.au.

Thursday, 13 September 2012

CarveSketchPress Ceramics

Images by Art Atelier

carvesketchpress is a series of works that explores different mark-making techniques on ceramics.

Hand thrown clay carve pots are dipped into a coloured slip which dries leatherhard before being decorated using scraffitto (carved) techniques. A glaze finishes these works, ensuring the pots are functional as well as decorative.

An image is sketched directly onto the hand thrown porcelain pot and then subtly shaded using water colour techniques. sketch pots are glazed with celedon on the inside creating a beautiful green hue which offsets the blue imagery on the outside.

Inspired by prehistoric potmaking methods of pressing soft clay into reed baskets, press pots retain the highly textured negative space left by the weave. A variety of coloured glazes celebrate the tactile qualities of the pot.

Each pot designed and made by me is organic in shape, and being hand built each one has its individual and totally unique characteristics.

Available exclusively at Evie Presents.

75 1/2 George Street, The Rocks, Sydney

August 30th to November 2012

Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Centenary of Canberra - Legacy of Good design article

Yesterday the program was launched for next year's celebrations of Canberra's 100th birthday at the Canberra Theatre.

Behind a large plywood 100 structure resting on the steps of the theatre, amidst the song and dance routines, the Canberra memorabilia products were launched.

To coincide with the launch a double page spread appeared in September's Art Monthly magazine. The five designs, which until now have been kept secret, have been revealed.

Double click on the image for a readable version

The products will be available from a number of places within Canberra including the National Gallery of Australia, War Memorial and National Museum of Australia to name a few.

Keep an eye on the Craft ACT website which will have a list of all the places, as well as the opportunity to buy the product online.

Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Flashes of my past in the future exhibition

Come along and see my latest creations working collaboratively with fabulous photographer Jocelyn Rosen.

Saturday, 18 August 2012

Sydney Biennale highlights

Whilst I was in Sydney for my latest exhibition Daily Rituals, I was lucky enough to squeeze in some time for the Sydney Biennale.

Some of the highlights were Yuken Teruya's Notice - Forest series at the NSW Art Gallery, a collection of paper bags which had tree silhouettes cut into them. The bags were displayed lying down, encouraging the viewer to look inside and see a three dimensional paper tree.

View looking inside a paper bag

Looking down onto a Chanel paper bag

Installation of the artworks - a clever way to engage the viewer

I was also impressed by Lee Mingwei's installation at the Museum of Contemporary Arts. Thousands of colourful cotton reels were attached to the gallery walls. A thread from each reel was attached to the clothing piled on the table.

Lee's participatory installations, explore issues of trust, intimacy and self-awareness as the artist invites the viewer to engage with his work on a one-to-one basis.

Lee Mingwei says "In The Mending Project, my interactive conceptual installation, I use very simple elements – thread, color, sewing – as points of departure for gaining insights into the relationships among self, other and immediate surroundings. It also constitutes an act of sharing between a stranger and myself. Visitors initially see a long table, two chairs and a wall of colorful cone-shaped spools of thread. During gallery hours, I am seated at that table, to which visitors can bring various damaged textile articles, choose the color of thread they wish, and watch as I mend the article. The mended article, with thread ends still attached, is then placed on the table along with previously mended items. Owners are asked to return to the gallery to collect their mended articles on the last day of the exhibition. The act of mending takes on emotional value as well, depending on how personal the damaged item is – a favourite shirt versus an old but little-used tablecloth."

Along with NSWAG and the MCA, the Biennale is also staged at Cockatoo Island, Pier 2/3 and the Carriage Works and runs until 16 September 2012.

Sunday, 12 August 2012

Daily Rituals - movie magic

Perhaps you might be wondering how Sarah and I installed our exhibition at gaffa gallery in Sydney a couple of weeks ago. Particularly the painting that I painted directly onto the wall.

It always takes longer than you think, and it was lucky that we had dedicated an entire day to the set up (and pack down that happened earlier this week).

I wanted to document the magic of the installation and have put it together in a short stop animation film. I hope you enjoy it as much I enjoyed putting it together.