Daily Rituals at Gaffa Gallery

If you are in Sydney over the next couple of weeks, why not drop into the gaffa gallery on Clarence St (just around the corner from the Queen Victoria Building) and experience my latest joint exhibition with Sarah Walker.

Whilst you are there you can enjoy some of the best coffee Sydney has to offer at Klink, and browse their delightful gift store.

Our exhibition, Daily Rituals, was inspired by 

"Familiar domestic rituals that we perform each day without much thought can serve us well. They can be a sole companion, or shared with others, they may even conjure that which has long passed. More often than not domestic rituals can fulfill oneself with a certain sense of pride.

Like stepping stones through the currents of daily commitments and busy lives, familiar domestic rituals might ground us as we take a pause, and notice, we are here.

The objective of the work is to illustrate how one might enjoy the moment and appreciate its fragility, however frequently it has been done before"

and the exhibition consists of etchings, ceramics and a large image of my lounge room painted directly onto the wall!

Next week Ill post some detailed images from the exhibition.

Beauty and the Sublime

A wise man once said "Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finished an activity, but in doing it".*

I always seem to rush from one project to the next, focusing on the future and leaving little time to stop and enjoy my surroundings. 

I travel a lot and see many beautiful scenes out the window. 

So I thought I would focus on the moment and capture some of the moods of winter.

I have been learning about the sublime, developed in A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, written by Edmund Burke in 1756 which inspired William Turner's paintings. The sublime is the quality of greatness (moral, intellectual, metaphysical, aesthetical, spiritual and artistic).

The beautiful, according to Burke, is well-formed and aesthetically pleasing whereas the sublime is what has the power to compel and destroy.

Light and atmosphere, colour and dramatic movement, capture the sublime in its rawest form. 

* this quote has been attributed to Don Williams Jr, American Novelist and Poet. 

Snapshot Exhibition at Goulburn Regional Art Gallery

Vignette Series: fabric repeat and porcelain pieces

This week I had the pleasure of talking to an audience at the Goulburn Regional Art Gallery about my work and inspiration to coincide with a Snapshot exhibition of my work in the foyer of the gallery.

Vignette: Kitchen series. Porcelain dimensions variable

As well as being a great way to reflect on all the different things I have created over the past couple of years through exploring imagery using different mediums, it was a great opportunity to discuss different approaches to making with the group.

We shared great ideas with suggestions for further works. I must investigate stiffening using a sugar syrup (the old fashioned way) and explore Tumbarumba Pioneers Women's hut. I left with my mind full of new ideas and inspiration.

Its great to see that Goulburn has such a strong and supportive arts scene.
Thank you GRAG x