Rita Bila from Powerhouse Museum interviews Zara Collins on DHub

http://www.dhub.org/white-heat/

Interview post Sydney Design Week from September 2013.
Thanks Rita!

Artist of the Month: Graeme Bannerman

In addition to being a secondary visual arts teacher at Waverley College in Sydney's Eastern suburbs, Graeme Bannerman is a multi-talented artist, who works in a variety of mediums. He has dabbled with 'old school' cut & paste, installation, sculpture and paint. But his true penchant is ceramics. During his ceramic studies at Sydney College of the Arts, Bannerman made a series of miniature sculptures and figurines. He laughs as he tells me Mitsuo Shoji used to joke that Graeme was lazy and should make his pieces larger!

G Bannerman Bowie would know what to call them...  earthenware, glaze, thread.

G Bannerman Untitled  porcelain, thread

 G Bannerman In & Out and Degustation earthenware, glaze, found object

G Bannerman Moonrock earthenware, thread

For White Heat Bannerman was invited to create a collection of ceramic jewellery that could be handled and explored by gallery visitors. His 'Touch Table' is an exploration of earthenware and porcelain jewellery, including large-scale, sculptural beads. For the first-time 'jeweller' the process was fun but also challenging.

He wanted to celebrate the diversity of clay working techniques: from hand-slapped porcelain beads to painstakingly hollowed earthenware beads to high gloss, giant, green beads. The individual pieces look as unique as they feel.  During the White Heat exhibition opening at Gaffa Gallery in August 2013 the feedback from gallery visitors about the temperature and sound of his pieces moving when handled was a delightful surprise.

 White Heat installation shot, Touch Table

 G Bannerman Touch Table

   G Bannerman Touch Table

 

Happy Chinese New Year & Canberra here we come!

Its been a hive of activity so far in 2014 and its only February!

Kris Coad has been working on a large-scale commission through the summer & Manon van Kouswijk has been developing new work for an exhibition at Funaki which will open on 11 February. Zara Collins & Graeme Bannerman presented children's clay workshops at City of Sydney Libraries for Chinese New Year - making little horses to celebrate the Year of the Horse!

The White Heat team are currently designing the exhibition catalogue with Blue Melon Design who work out of Gaffa Studios. Jane Hunterland edited the catalogue essay - many, many thanks!

First stop is Canberra in April and we look forward to exhibiting at Craft ACT in Autumn!

Confirmed Touring dates:
Craft ACT                                        11 April 2014 to 17 May 2014
Jamfactory                                       11 July 2014 to 14 September 2014
Wollongong Art Gallery                 29 November 2014 – 29 March 2015

Manon van Kouswijk invitation

 

Graeme Bannerman Moon Rock (from White Heat Touch Table)

 



Fired clay horses from the CNY children's workshop, ages 4 to 13 years