Craft ACT install - almost there!

A big thanks to Amanda & Anne for their assistance yesterday!
Just need to fine tune a few little things today....wohoo!

Craft ACT Gallery is a beautiful space and lots of natural light - Antonia Aitken's work in the second half of the space is amazingly detailed.

Antonia Aitken

Here are few shots of White Heat installed in the gallery...

And a few happy snaps...

Zara Collins Victorian Vinaigrette

Kris Coad Necklace of Haiku's

Nelia Justos Chinese inspired pieces

Graeme Bannerman's Prayer Beads on the Touch Table

Craft ACT Touch Tours

Join us at Craft ACT on Friday 11 April for a Curator-led Touch Tour at noon.

Tour is free but bookings are essential. Limited to 10 participants.

www.craftact.org.au

Please email mszaracollins@gmail.com to book in.

White Heat - Touch Tour will be led by curator and artist Zara Collins, who will discuss the motivation behind the exhibition and each artists’ ideas, techniques and methodologies. Get up close and personal with an object from each artist featured in the exhibition. Raw clay and selected ceramic tools will also be presented to the group to touch and explore. Numbers limited to 10. Bookings essential - all ages welcome. (45-60 mins duration)

Zara Collins Victorian Vinaigrette (vanilla) White earthenware, glaze, thread, silver, essential oils, reclaimed cork

Craft ACT Exhibition details

White Heat will open in Canberra on 10 April 2014 6pm-8pm.
Exhibition runs from 11 April to 17 May 2014.
Craft ACT details and opening hours below:

White Heat Exhibition open from 11 April - 17 May 2014
Level 1 North Building
180 London Circuit
Canberra City

Opening hours

Tuesday to Friday   10:00AM - 5:00PM

Saturday   12:00 noon - 4:00PM
Closed Sundays and Mondays & Public holidays

www.craftact.org.au
(02) 6292 9333

(Canberra resident) Lia Tajcnar  Wing Bone Brooch White & Wing Bone Neckpiece Silver   
Porcelain, resin, mixed media, rare earth magnet (brooch worn as ring) 

White Heat exhibition catalogues - hot off the press!

Thank you to the team at Blue Melon Design for a lovely, clean, fresh design for our exhibition catalogue! Communicating the feel of the exhibition beautifully and showing off our talented artists' work in the very best light. So happy with Joshua Morris' photos featuring our beloved model Chardae Jorgensen wearing the amazing exhibition work, creating a fantastic contrast to the white, light and delicate artworks. The environmentally friendly paper stock has a wonderful tactile feel too.

Huge thanks also go to Jane Hunterland for editing the catalogue essay and Liz & Helen for final proofing.

Catalogue will be available in each venue for $3 during the exhibition period.

Can't make it to the galleries? Craft ACT, Jam Factory or Wollongong Gallery?
You can purchase a catalogue online for $4 including postage within Australia in our shop very soon.

Collaborations - artists coming together - part 1

In addition to creating the White Heat Touch Table, Graeme Bannerman also collaborated with Zara Collins on a small collection of sculptural pendants. The trio of black and white pendants entitled Brancusi's Balls are a tongue-in-cheek homage to the sculptors beautiful body of work. The earthenware forms have been burnished to create a smooth, shiny surface. Originally designed to be handled, Brancusi's Balls feature tiny little beads inside each form to create percussive sounds. Each form has a different size and shaped bead, creating subtle sound variety in each 'maraca-like' pendant.

 G Bannerman & Z Collins Brancusi's Balls (Black) earthenware, thread, silver

G Bannerman & Z Collins Brancusi's Balls (Black & White) earthenware, thread, silver

Creative collaboration can be fruitful for both artists, sharing each others skill sets, ideas and learnt tricks of the trade. But when two individuals come together with varying ways of creating, it can take time to adjust to each others methods. Collins says "I like to work ahead of schedule to allow time for play and for trouble shooting disasters - I soon realised Bannerman preferred the pressure of a deadline as motivation. This key difference in the way we work was definitely challenging!"

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