Newfoundland

I am very lucky to have some time to do a bit of travel whilst undertaking my residency in Nova Scotia.

So I thought I would take a trip to Newfoundland, home of a 1000 year old Viking settlement L'Anse aux Meadows to the north of the island, many Acadian (French) fishing villages, and St John's, the oldest city in North America.

I fell in love with the coastal architecture and environments and captured a few scenes in my sketchbook and I thought I would share them with you!

Its a gorgeous place with lots of great scenery, delicious seafood (cods tongue is a delicious delicacy) and beer made from icebergs!

Artist spoons out experiments

A big thank you to Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design who lined up this interview with Arts Reporter, Elissa Barnard of the Halifax Chronicle Herald Newspaper, who is such a lovely person to talk to.

The article below is the result of our chat.... (double click on the image to read the article) 

Halifax Chronicle Herald, 18 September 2013, D3

Thank you to my Pozible Supporters

Id like to give a big thank you to all of you who went the extra mile by pledging your support to assist with my residency at the Nova Scotia Centre for Craft and Design, in Halifax Canada.

The Mitchell House Historic Property. Original hand drawn and water colour postcard

I was overwhelmed by your response, and I raised enough to cover the cost of my airfare to Halifax, Canada.

The opportunity has been truly amazing. The province is full of inspiration and I have collected enough stuff for at least four more bodies of work (yes four!) which I envisage will keep me busy for quite some time. It also gave me the opportunity to learn new skills as I developed my ideas in the Wood and Metal studios.

Morris St Historic House C1875. Original hand drawn and water colour postcard

The residency has now finished which allows time to develop designs for the rewards that were available on Pozible.

These images are the post cards three Pozible supporters will receive in the mail over the next couple of weeks.

Old Town Clock in Halifax. Original hand drawn and water colour postcard

Thank you again

x

Traversing Frontiers Exhibition at Mary E Black Gallery 6 - 22 September 20013

 Wow! Its hard to believe that ten weeks have passed and that I have finished my residency in Halifax.

This past week has been a blur as I have been putting the finishing touches to my artwork. I installed my pieces on Tuesday and the opening night (reception) was on Thursday 5 September 2013. We had a great crowd and it was fascinating to see all 10 participating artist's final work in the gallery.

Pictures from opening night can be viewed here.

For those who have been following the progress of my residency you will know that I have been exploring and researching landscapes, ladies and literature in Nova Scotia. The spoon has become a metaphor for the experiences and strength of pioneering women, symbolising nurturing and referring to the hardships and lack of food the pioneers experienced during the early years of Canada's history.

Below are some images of my final pieces in the show.

Top row: Adrift in a New Land

Canadian red clay, majolica, cobalt

Bottom row: Lost in the Backwoods / Deep stillness of the woods

Canadian red clay, majolica, cobalt, decal, leather, copper pins, found forest wood

Genteel Poverty

Cut and etched antique silver spoons, antique linen  

Nature Vs Nurture

Antique silver spoons, copper wire

Dimensions variable

2013

Gallery installation view

Gallery installation view

For more images of my work and artwork in the exhibition by the ten participating artists click here.

I would also like to extend my thanks to all those who supported my Pozible project who helped to make this opportunity a reality. I have had the most amazing time. Nova Scotia has such gorgeous countryside, rich history and I have met so many fabulous people. 

It really has been a life changing experience!

x

Exhibition: Traversing Frontiers .. four days til set up

Its the final count down with only four days to go til we set up our exhibition Traversing Frontiers at the Mary E Black gallery.

And my work is starting to come together. Exciting! Below are some images of some of the work that will be on show in the exhibition.

Ceramic spoons, with decals and  wooden handles

Detail: decal drawing of the interior of Green Gables

I also fired the kiln by myself for the first time on Wednesday eve. I am generally used to programmable electric kilns, so it was a new experience for me to sit with the kiln and manually increase the temperature. 

I used two different majolica glazes. Thankfully I got some great results.

Quaker Kitchen House - Majolica glaze

I have also found some time to play in the studio and work through some other ideas that are not specifically related to the exhibition. Below are some images of my favourite buildings in downtown Halifax on Barrington Street.

This is my most favourite building

It has little round windows in the turret

The Kyber Building

Studio Magic

With about a week to go before the installation of the exhibition Traversing Frontiers things are hotting up in the studio.

working from my sketchbook

Set up to take images for the catalogue

working through presentation ideas for my spoons

Detail of etched serving spoon

Experimenting with decals on vintage plates

Making the most of the sunshine!
Embroidery in the park

Nature v's Nurture
Experiments with silver and copper

Majolica paintings ready for the kiln 

Watch this space. By this time next week everything should be finished. Fingers crossed the majolica firing will be successful. 

x

The countdown begins

Its hard to believe that there are less than three weeks to go 'til we have to have our work finished and displayed in the gallery.

This week the ten participating artists met to discuss the name of our show. After about an hour of brain storming we decided upon Traversing Boundaries which we felt described our experience over the past couple of months with the ability to explore our ideas and share techniques in the different workshops.

It was also the deadline to have an image and artist statement for the catalogue. So the image below is a detailed shot of my etched silver spoons with domestic scenes from the Quaker House in Dartmouth.

Etched silver spoons

Meanwhile my work is progressing with more experiments with the ceramic and wooden spoons - and I am continuing to read about the history and experience of pioneer women in Nova Scotia. I have stumbled across two authors Catharine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie, two sisters who emigrated from England to upper Canada in the early 1800's. They wrote about their experiences and the hardships they endured in the Backwoods including Roughing it in the Bush and The Canadian Settler's Guide, a book full of practical information from cooking, growing food, luggage to bring with you, how to make candles and other household goods through to how to chop wood to build a house. It's fascinating reading.

Wild flowers and old mining cottages

Rural scene of Cape Breton

And I had the chance to explore some of Cape Breton, a gorgeous island of forest, coastal mountains, ocean views, hiking trails with a mix of Celtic and Acadian culture, and of course interesting architecture only four hours north of Halifax.