Side Step

The 'holidays' have kept me pretty busy lately, and have for the most part kept me out of the ceramics studio. But I have made a few smaller forms in blacks/ greys/ whites to make necklaces.

So I've been experimenting with making more two-dimensional artworks again, using black spray paint and stitching cotton onto paper. It's a bit of a departure from my ceramics works visually, but I think they have some similarities in concept and process.

I've been spraying on first, which relies a lot on chance I guess (much like working with clay in the early forming process) - but still trying to some degree to manipulate the design. I then work out placement for where I will stitch (in similar shapes to my ceramic forms), and repetitivly pierce holes for this, then stitch through the designs. I'm pretty happy with the end results - obviously they still need work, but I am enjoying trying something different for the time being.

I hope the holidays are keeping you well, until next time,

Have a happy new year!

Daniel

Take Off Your Colours

So it's been a while.
And the Graduart exhibition at USQ has just wrapped up.
But over the coming weeks 'The Best of Graduart' will be on display still, with different artworks from some of the same artists [myself included].

And the good news keeps coming... I finally have photos for assessment / that last exhibition.

The artwork was titled "Take Off Your Colours", referencing the idea of the grey area in pain and annoyance. This was a continuation of the piercing concept; that inflicting and receiving pain / holes can be hurtful, but also the repetition can be cathartic. The grey areas then, can be deciding, for instance, when pain is necessary and even beneficial.

All going well I will have more news and photos coming soon - I hope to make some more smaller forms for necklaces in the next few weeks.

Along with preparations for Christmas and New Years, and life's other little joys and annoyances, I'm sure I will be kept busy! And hopefully motivated and ready to make some more artwork!

See you when? Then.

Daniel

Recent news & exhibitions

The USQ Tradeshow (artists from USQ in a group exhibition) entitled Project B was held at the Judith Wright Centre on Thursday and Friday night of last week. We all talked briefly about our artworks on the Thursday night. Not a huge amount of people came, but it was still a worthwhile experience - good to see so many talented artists and their artworks in one room! Special thanks must also go to Mel Robson for coming along; it was great to meet such an inspirational ceramic artist!

So next up is the Reflex: Graduart exhibition at Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery. The show is now on, and runs until 22 November. The exhibition also runs concurrently at the USQ Arts Gallery from 13 Nov to 13 Dec 2009, with different artworks from the same artists.

My artwork 'even if it kills me' [shown above, the detail of a larger work with five pierced forms] is in the TRAG gallery currently. The title is in response to the two forms shown above, which I'd previously called 'The Repetition Kills You'.

For the USQ part of the exhibition I will be having some of my black and grey pierced forms, the artwork entitled 'Take Off Your Colours'. Photos coming soon [hopefully]!!

Exhibitionssss

Here's some details for the group exhibitions I have coming up soon:

Project B

A diverse selection of third-year USQ Visual Arts students.

29 - 30 October 2009
@ Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts
420 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane

The works represent the culmination of three years' hard work, evolving from the disciplines of drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics and spatial construction. The students will talk briefly about their work on the evening of Thursday 29 October from 6.00-7.30pm followed by an opening of the exhibition. Staff and students will also be available for questions from 6.00-8.00pm on Friday 30 October.

Reflex: Graduart

This exhibition is the culmination of three years studying Visual Arts at USQ. Works by third year students will be showcased across a range of media (incl. Ceramics, Spatial Construction, Painting, Printmaking and Drawing) exploring different concepts, processes and materials.

Graduart will be held at two venues, with the official opening at USQ on Friday the 13th November 2009 at 6pm.

Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery
531 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba
30th October - 22nd November
Tues-Sat 10am-4pm
Sun 1-4pm

USQ Art Gallery
University of Southern Queensland
West Street, Toowoomba
13th November - 13 December
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm

Please come along - the exhibitions should be really good. There are some really talented artists that will be included in the shows, with diverse media and visuals.

Tiny Tiny

The smallest of these forms (the white one) is only about 1.5cm diameter.

I'm still really happy with the black form. It's such a beautiful tone and sheen. So. More greys and blacks on their way... I just have to pierce them first!

Until next time,
~Daniel

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment (negative or positive). I'd love to know what you think about my artwork!

Watch This Space

Here's another photograph of the pink forms... with the sheen instead of a shadow. I have about six pink forms now. They have a nice relationship, but I'm still not too sure how I feel about the colour.

I also got a nice surprise out of the kiln today... some tiny yellow forms (possibly looking into their use as jewellery), and a black one that I had glaze fired. The yellow is quite vibrant and strong, but still with a hint of subtlety and pastel-ness. I was impressed with the depth of colour and of the black especially. As usual, I used a body stain kneaded into the clay with a clear gloss glaze.

I'm looking forward to making more black and grey ones - for their visual and conceptual worth. Hopefully I will have some gradient between my white forms (that I'm still making, however sporadically) and the black and grey, so as to show relationships and familial interactions. Also the concept of emotional change and endurance - the fading of one feeling into another over time.
Having grey forms will hopefully be especially strong - suggesting (on top of the general idea of piercing as pain and annoyance, and relieving that pain through the cathartic creation of art,) that pain is not always black or white - it strengthens one's character and enables new directions and experiences. No pain, no gain?

EXHIBITION NEWS
Coming up in the following months, I will be in these group exhibitions:
"Project B" - Tradeshow @ Judith Wright Centre, Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley
"Reflex" - USQ GraduArt exhibit at USQ Gallery and Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery.

I'll have to dig up the dates for these soon... time is running out! Busy times ahead!
I'll also soon have more images of my artwork, including some black and grey forms.
Watch this space.

Better Photographs!

Finally! I am happy to have some better photos to show of some of my forms with the piercing on the outside of a circle (as opposed to vice-versa, as was prominent in my work from earlier in the year). These newer forms (if I haven't mentioned already) are made from a PORCELAIN paperclay body, so they are even whiter and crisper. My piercing is getting refined more too - more, smaller holes. It is more time-consuming, but I think it is more intricate and beautiful.


I also have some pics of the pink-ish coloured form. (As I've said before, I'm experimenting more with colour and form... so hopefully this is the start of something good!)

I'm not sure how I feel about the shadow with the coloured forms... It almost seems a bit too much. Maybe the shadow is just too stark in contrast. I suppose I could try the form on a high-gloss surface, with a reflection? I didn't like the white / cream forms in that arrangement, but it might work better with the coloured forms.I guess as with everything, it's a balancing act to find just the right finished product, and the photo to compliment it. I do think the first photo captures the sheen of the clear gloss glaze beautifully though.

Exasperation / Inspiration

Where would an artist be without inspiration?

Sometimes it is so easy to get wrapped up in (and sometimes exasperated with) the work we are making... it is really great to just research and look around - trawling through blogs especially, can be time-consuming but very rewarding. Obviously seeing artwork in person is even better though!

An artist that is currently "informing my arts practice" is Ikuko Iwamoto, a London-based artist that makes beautiful yet dangerous functional and non-functional artwork. She explores and reveals "an invisible, microscopic world... of detail, of mathematical pattern and organic chaos, of beauty and repulsion."

http://www.ikukoi.co.uk/

http://ikukoceramic.blogspot.com/

http://www.ikik.biz/gallery.html

Another great ceramic artist that constantly strengthens my practice is Cass Edney. Cass shares a studio space with me, and is constantly making work! The hard work she puts in is evident - her work is intricate and beautiful. Her forms challenge functionality, referencing both the handmade and the mass-produced.

Check Cass out here.

Okay.

Okay, so it's not the best image (or form for that matter). But it gives you an idea of what I'm up to in terms of experiments with colour. The pinky-maroon one is actually a really great form and colour... I just haven't got any great photos yet to compliment it. Soon, okay!

New Forms

Here's one of the new pierced pieces I've been experimenting with. I'm not 100% happy with this actual form, but I think its going in the right direction. (The image below is before the form was fired - it's in a bisque as we speak!)

Also - a couple of the coloured forms (a deep pink one and a blue-grey one) that I tried have just come out of the kiln. I'll have to photograph them soon too. They need work as well - just to get the relationships of colour and form between them right. I think I'll try some different shades of the pink - it's quite a beautiful colour.

Coming soon to a computer near you.

My new ceramic artwork is coming along slowly but surely... I have been experimenting with colour(!), different shaped forms (including a ring form), and piercing more of each form.

I have thus far been quite partial to the creamy white forms, but I figure sometimes it is important to take risks - they can pay off. Here's hoping anyway!

I will have images soon hopefully - watch this space!!
~Daniel

...artist statement...

For my class' graduating exhibition - ['GraduArt' at USQ Gallery and the Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery later in the year; I'll keep you posted as it gets closer] - we were challenged to write an artist's statement for the catalogue.

What I came up with is in the right hand column of this page, underneath the 'followers' tab. Hopefully it will give an insight into my visual arts practice, or at the very least where I am coming from conceptually.

Onto another topic, I will be making more NEW work soon. I'm considering reversing the piercings on my forms... so that only a circle is left. I'm still experimenting and playing around though, so we will see how I go.

Stay cool, my arty friends and "followers".

Drip Drip

Just a couple pics of the two-dimensional experiments I was working on... not exactly sure how happy I am with them...


...But I might develop them some more, or just move on for now - the great process of creativity!

[In terms of media for the images above, I used spray paint and an outline marker for the silver and black work, and pearlescent yellow and black ink for the other]

On Display

Oh, and I forgot to mention, the official closing for the 'Max Project' Exhibition will be this coming Wednesday 29th July at 12:30 in the USQ Foyer Gallery.

Come check it out!

At Last

Finally I have the ceramics photos I've been waiting on!

I ended up having quite a few pierced forms....


I currently have some of these forms in the USQ Gallery exhibition "Max Project" (I've titled the artwork "Under My Skin"), and will have more on show later in the year (Dec 08/Jan 09) at the John Mullins Memorial Art Gallery at Dogwood Crossing in Miles, QLD.

http://www.usq.edu.au/artsworx/2009/09exhibitions/max.htm
http://www.dogwoodcrossing.com/content/view/25/98/

Now I guess it's back to making some new artwork! Daunting but exciting!

Bye for now...

two dimensional

So I've been doing a few little experiments with representing my piercing in two dimensional format (eg dots of ink on paper, then letting it run). Not exactly sure where it is going but it's fun! It's a relief to do some drawing / painting... after having focussed (albeit happily) most of the year on ceramics and other 3D forms.

Still waiting on the photos of ceramic work, but will post some soon of 2D work.

Keep it real. Word.

Vanilla and Caramel. Delicious.

Here is an example of the white pierced form and the caramel-coloured one (both clear glazed - the white is Blackwattle earthenware paperclay, and the caramel is Clayworks earthenware paperclay).

I think they compliment each other well.

More photos soon. Be patient.

It Never Rains, It Pours

Doesn't it always seem that everything happens at once?!
I have all my prac assessment and two major assignments due in the next 9 days.
Woohoo!

I am quietly confident with my prac work though - it all seems to be coming together, luckily. The pierced forms are looking better now that I have a whole heap glazed - as a group they are quite impressive. Spread amidst them are some nice caramel-coloured ones too (just a different paperclay body, still with the clear glaze). It's just playing around with presentation at the moment though - I think they look best as a large-ish group.

Another thing I haven't mentioned is that some of the larger pierced forms have a hole in the bottom (they are all hollow) that will house a nice soft-yellowy-coloured light. In the right darkness the effect is quite nice - it sparkles as you move around it, because not all of the holes go all the way through.

I will hopefully upload some more photos soon too - perhaps after this crazyperiodofbusytimes. And I am getting some professional photos done too, so fingers crossed they turn out excellently! Some of my non-ceramic work will be getting photographed too, so I'll have to have a speel about that soon too!

'Til next time
Goodpie.

Almost Over

Get in quick people.
This Saturday will be the last Saturday that the Attic Art Space exhibition 'The Invention of Gravity' will be on display. There are some really great artworks on display - including ceramic work by myself and Cass Edney.
Go check it out. You know you want to.

http://www.atticartspace.com/

Group Show @ Attic / New Artwork

Third Years are having a group show!

AND YOU'RE INVITED.

"The Invention of Gravity" - diverse media and diverse artists.

Opening this Thursday night at 7pm Attic Art Space in Toowoomba.

http://www.atticartspace.com/

I'll be having a few older works, plus some of these new pierced forms.

Exciting stuff!

These are paperclay with a clear gloss glaze - for something a bit different (not sure if I will be sticking to the clear gloss, or trying something different - currently experimenting with terra sigilatta).

Anyway, watch this space - not too much longer and I should have a lot of work done!

(Assessment is soon around the corner!!!)

"Keep calm and carry on"
'Til next time....

Pierce Pierce

I've actually got some photos today!
Ok so I'm a little early. But that's a good thing.
I hope.

Here's some images of my preliminary work on the pierced works I was talking about last blog.


I'm pretty happy with how they're going, I will have to experiment with glazes etc though. I'm hoping a skin-coloured glaze works... I bought some the other day and I think it could be really good conceptually.

I think I generally like pastel colours for clay work... but not always. I guess just for organic sort of forms it's usually a nice juxtaposition between colour and form.

Anyway I'd best get back to it.
Have an arty day :-)

Hi.

So it's been a while since I last wrote... I haven't been a very good blogger!

I have been 'art nerding' it up though - still making the artworks though, so they're not completely finished. I've been looking at the idea of appearances (it seems to crop up a bit in my art practice!)... more exploring the idea of what we hide behind our appearance though - putting up a brave face, grinning and bearing it, etc. So I've started making some intensely-piered ceramic forms, playing with the concept of pain and beauty, scars, masks etc. I'm liking the visuals of this work so I'm quite excited.

I'm also looking at familial connections, memories and the past - I got partly inspired by researching Annette Gates' ceramic works that (seem to) explore the concept of destruction as a form of creation. She has coated her family's clothing in slip to then burn away in the kiln.

Annette Gates, Daughter Colony, 2005, 20 porcelain pieces slip-cast

Anyway I'll hopefully post some photos of my artworks once they're all done. :-D (Probably in a month or so).

Cheers, Daniel

Welcome!

Hello internetters(?).

So i'm quite excited about my upcoming exhibition at Attic Art Space in Toowoomba. It should be good - I'm putting in a bit of everything (ceramics, printmaking, drawing), mostly to do with the concept of appearances (incidentally the title of the exhibition!).

I've put in a sneak peak of 'The Hand That Feeds You' below.
Creepy? Probably.

Feel free to come along to 'Appearances' - it's open at Attic from 7pm this Thursday night (5th -Feb) to the 21st Feb. (Gallery open Saturdays 12 - 2).

http://www.atticartspace.com/

Enjoy!

Daniel

The Hand That Feeds, 2008, various dimensions, slipcast porcelain, glaze and utensils.

The Hand That Feeds (detail), 2008, various dimensions, slipcast porcelain, glaze and utensils.