The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 49 No 1 April 2010

Australia Wide
act
The preview exhibition of the 2010 Bald Archys
has ensured an uproarious start to the year
at Watson Arts Centre with visitor numbers
eclipsing all previous records. This event is always
good for Potters Place - Creations in Clay, the
co-operative retail arm of the Canberra Potters'
Society, whose premises adjoin the gallery. Many
new contacts are made and sales are good, with
customers returning throughout the year. The
autumn program for the WAC gallery includes a
specialist bowl-makers exhibition until 11 April,
followed by the annual CPS student/teacher
exhibition 15 April - 9 May. Keven Francis,
recent recipient of a graduate award from the
ANU School of Art Ceramics Workshop, w ill
present a solo exhibition from 13 - 23 May.
Amanda Small from the USA will be a visiting
artist at the ANU SofA Ceramics Workshop this
semester. She will present a public Artforum
lecture on Wednesday 31 March. Strathnairn Arts
Association will host French ceramicist Roseline
Vedrines as Artist in Residence from March
to May. Roseline w ill exhibit her work in the
Strathnairn Homestead Gallery from 24 April - 9
May. If you have never visited Strathnairn, then
a visit to this exhibition would be the ideal time
to enjoy its peaceful rural ambience. Check it out
at www.strathnairn.asn.au. After an informative
membership survey at the end of last year, the
Canberra Potters' Society w ill be offering an
expanded program of classes, members events
and workshops for 2010. Full details available at
www.canberrapotters.com. Visitors are always
welcome at CPS events and especially on Open
Day which is coming up on Sunday 6 June.
Hope to see you then.
Cheers, Jane Crick
E: janecrick@dodo.com.au
nsw
Paul Davis and Jacqueline Clayton have relocated
their amazing ceramic manufacturing plant to
a warehouse in Islington, Newcastle. They are
incorporating a gallery on the premises and
are also playing with a few other ideas that
may come to fruition. Davis will be teaching
at Newcastle Art School - TAFE. We welcome
them both; with their wealth of knowledge and
experience they are sure to contribute immensely
to the growing ceramic community in the Hunter.
CLASH is the provocative t itle of the Newcastle
Region Art Galleries contemporary sculptural
ceramics exhibition. The theme looks at the
contradiction between materiality of the work
and the subject matter andlor meaning. An
opening forum was led by the curator, Tobias
Spitzer, with three of the artists in attendance.
Two artists from an earlier period who explored
these ideas, John Perceval and Margaret Dodd,
were represented by their sem inal works,
Perceval's angels and Dodd's Holden cars . Three
local artists chosen for the exhibition were
Tracie Bertram, Vicki Hamilton and Pam Sinnott.
Bertram's large open sculptural pieces w ith the
handmade mosa ic tiles were imposing, but not
quite as resplendent as when displayed at the
Hunter Botanical Gardens. Hamilton's exquisitely
made porcelain animals were all constricted
in some form, inferring the pain inflicted on
these creatures by humans. The t it le of Sinnott's
boxes of robust fruit and vegetables Friends
of Dorothy/Know What I Mean, is a play on
the US post-war term for lesbians. Gerry Wedd
travelled up from Adelaide and captured us
with his usual humour in both the work and
his talk. His Mark Richards thong pays tribute
to our local surfing hero. Danie Mellor works
in many mediums and this series of shields
and boomerangs have maps painted onto the
surfaces referencing Aboriginal identity. Michael
Doolan continues w ith his victimised and
alienated bear series. Penny Byrne's super Kitsch
sculptures, derived from the early European style
figurines, made in Asia and altered dramatically,
are loaded with references and obscure titles.
Again, obscure titles draw us in to make meaning
of the crazy sculptures of Myfanwy Gu llifer, a
newcomer with a passion for clay and social
commentary. Jenny Orchard's totems on the
Living Reef Series create a visua l version that is
a reminder of the beauty of a vulnerable living
treasure. Clash closes on 18 April.
Cheers, Sue Stewart
E: sue@ceramicartist.com.au
qld far north
Despite heavy rain and storms the Ca irns Potters
Club is busy planning for the year ahead.
The Melting Pot 2009 National Ceramic
Exh ibition was a great success. Photos of all the
exhibits can be found on our website
www.cairnspottersclub.net
To let more people in Cairns share the knowledge
and enjoyment of doing pottery, the Club has
opened its doors for people w ith disabilities.
106 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS APR il 2010