The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 53 No 3 November 2014

Amanda Hale and Karen Farrell, M eeting Place, installation, 2014, eucalyptus branches sanded back and white washed,
ceramic and wire, various dimension s; photo: courtesy artists. Above right detail
Emerging into Landscapes
Karen Farrell and Amanda Hale talk about moving on from TAFE
Our friendship was forged at Hornsby TAFE in the early 2000s through eight years of shared classes
in Hand-Building, Certificate 4, Diploma and Advanced Diploma. We had amazing teachers who were
willing to share their knowledge and passion yet ensured that we were grounded in practical knowledge
and good technique.
After TAFE we continued to work in our own studios and kept in touch over regular coffees, but
it was never the same as sharing the camaraderie of the studio space . So, at the beginning of 2013,
Karen suggested that we should collaborate. Immediately we locked in one day a week in our diaries
to work together. Between the two of us working in various jobs part-time, Wednesday became "our"
workday. We also researched the competitions coming up and found Harbour Sculpture at Woolwich
(the inaugural year) and set off to do some research . Visiting the site was a must, wandering slowly and
brainstorming ideas, as well as taking lots of photos to help w ith concepts later.
Ideas were thrown about - the good, the bad and the ugly - but we reminded ourselves of what we
are good at, what we liked, and what we could do . .. and the idea for an installation sculpture finally
came in a 'Eu reka' moment! it evolved from a couple of thoughts into a confident, definite idea w e
quickly began work on ... drawings, researching materials, firing and glazing, and photo-shopping our
38 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2014