The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 49 No 3 November 2010

Australia Wide
There are many people to thank, including The
Australian Ceramics Association for making
it possible to reach potters via their Email
Discussion list. We achieved sales of over $1200
in the silent auction of donated pots, with $4800
being handed over to the Anglicare Crisis Centre.
Following this was the GCPA Annual Members'
Exh ibition on 14 August, which was opened by
John Walsh, Director of the Gold Coast City Art
Gallery, and judged by the esteemed ceramic
artist Kevin Grealy. The overall winner of the
GCPA Award was Megan Puis for Obsidian a
group of six tall bottle forms which reflected the
meaning of obsidian perfectly, " ... a jet-black
volcanic glass, chemically similar to granite and
formed by the rapid cooling of molten lava, that
was used by early civilisations for manufacturing
tools and ceremonial objects". The themed
section for Bush to the Beach was awarded
to Nanette Hall for Handbuilt Porcelain with
found object. Anne Mossman took out two
awards: the Ruth Lyon's Encouragement
Award and the Heather Wilton Memorial
A ward. Andrew Smigrod's Vase was also
awarded the Heather Wilton Memorial Award
and works by both Anne and Andrew will sit well
in our historical collection. The judges choice for
a Complementary Group of Pots was awarded
to Shirley Battrick's Then and Now (Set 1),
which used decals to convey messages about
domestic violence. The Willy Toomey Memorial
Award for a Student Handbuilt Work was
awarded to Lyn Reeves for Serenity, a strong
monumental work.
The 27th Gold Coast International Ceramic Art
Award opened on 21 August and was judged by
Stephen Benwell. The winning entry was Tree
with Busted Guts and Galahs 2009, by Peter
Cooley from the Blue Mountains in NSW.
Clay Art Benowa, a cooperative group from the
GCPA re-opened their gallery on 2 October. It will
be open every Saturday and Sunday.
If any groups in SEQ have news they would like
to include in the first issue for 2011 please email
me.
Happy potting,
Lyn Rogers
E: romeo-whisky@bigpond.com
www.goldcoastpotters.com
5
JamFactory Contemporary Craft and Design
welcomed Prue Venables as the new Creative
Director of the Ceramics Studio. Prue Venables'
appointment is very exciting for both the
JamFactory and the local ceramics community,
as she brings with her more than 25 years of
experience as an internationally renowned
artist and designer. JamFactory recently hosted
Tea w ares in Gallery 1, a national survey of
ceramic and metal artists including Bruce Nuske,
Patsy Hely, Prue Venables, Jane Robertson and
Mel Robson; and, as part of the South Australian
Living Artist Festival (SALA), Liz Williams' finely
constructed figurative works Virgin Saints and
other Paraphernalia were shown in Gallery 2.
We are looking forward to Patsy Hely's upcoming
solo exhibition in Gallery 2, from 29 October-
5 December. Currently in JamFactory's Ceramics
Studio a skills and professional development
program is taking place featuring two Indigenous
artists, Daisy Bell Virgin and Christina Gollan,
working alongside Sylvia Stansfield. Expressions
of interest are being sought from those
interested in hiring studio space in the Ceramic
Studio at JamFactory for 2011;
E: contact@jamfactory.com.au.
Congratulations to Gerry Wedd who was
awarded the Hobart Art Prize in the Ceramics
category. Gerry's Silent Spring comprised 55
hand-modelled porcela in dead birds, a poignant
reminder of environmental degradation. Gerry
was also part of an exhibition Come on Spring
with Philip Hart and Lesa Farrant at Dog Dragon
in Port Elliot. Aptos Cruz featured the detailed
works of Avital Sheffer for the first time in
Adelaide in The Space Between, where she
explored themes of cross-cultural aesthetics,
ideologies and traditions. Bruce Nuske, Gwyn
Hanssen Pigott, Prue Venables and Kirsten
Coelho were co-collaborators in the exhibition
Collectors, held at Khai Liew Design in Norwood
to mark the publication of the SALA Monograph
on furniture designer Khai Liew. SALA week also
featured exhibitions by Tamara Hahn at One
Small Room, Colour and Clay at the Adelaide
Potters, and a ceramics conference at Studio
Potters in Klemzig featuring Jeff Mincham and
Paul Macdonald. Jane Robertson, Gerry Wedd,
THE JOURNAL Of AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2010 103