A quick post to say a huge thank you to all our family, friends and neighbours, as well as new visitors who took the time to trek up the hill to Studio LoopyRose over the weekend. The Australian Ceramics Open Studios (ACOS) event was a great success for us. We met some terrific people, shared ceramics knowledge and sold some of our handcrafted wares.
Special thanks to Murray from Broadwater Insurance Brokers for sponsoring us and to The Australian Ceramics Association for their organisational and promotional skills.
We had many enquiries about doing it again before Christmas, so we're planning that now. We'll definitely be thinking about ACOS 2016 too.
I'll post some images later.
Many thanks from us - Kylie Rose McLean, Shellie Christian and Clodagh Blackburn

Come to Canberra this week and delight in all the Stepping Up conference has to offer. I have work for sale in Timber & Tailor Shop, a piece in the national TACA exhibition - BeLonging and will set up my stall at the Market Place on the closing day - Sunday 12 July between 11am and 4pm. See images of my work below, which will be available for sale.
Grab a few friends and head this way - don't forget your woollies!

It is fantastic to see the range of opportunities for ceramic works to be exhibited around Sydney and regional areas at the moment. Check out details for the following exhibitions on my Events page.

Currently there are two exhibitions to check out - The Gosford Art Prize and the 48th National Port Hacking Potters Competition/Exhibition. Huge thanks to all involved in bringing these exhibitions together. They both rely heavily on volunteer support.

It was exciting to see students from the Northern Sydney Institute Hornsby Campus (Sydney Ceramics Studios) heavily represented across both exhibitions, as well as members from the Central Coast Potters Society.

Congratulations to Keiko Matsui for the Gosford Art Prize Ceramics Award. Her pot, I'm NOT Perfect, shows its beautiful imperfections. Keiko's work in porcelain shows her many years experience and craftsmanship. My entry, Out of the Fire, is one of the exhibits in this exhibition.

I was lucky enough to be awarded the Port Hacking Art Prize for a selection of five of my Fat Quarters x 8 pieces. There are so many fine works on exhibition showing a broad range of skills and techniques. Thank you Patsy Hely for your time in judging this biannual award. It was a pleasure to meet you and chat a little. Congratualtions to Dawn Perry and Alison Tucker, fellow Advanced Diploma students at NSI Hornsby, who were awarded Certificates of Merit for their beautiful and very skillful work. Sharon Ridsdale has one of her dragon pots included in this exhibition, as well as work in the Gosford Art Prize.

Cultivate: New Artisans is drawing nearer. It opens Saturday 4 - 14 October - a perfect time of year to grab a picnic and wander through the gardens checking out beautifully hand crafted art pieces. The Palm House is the venue for Cultivate. Artisans in the Gardens opens a week later on 10 October.

I will be at The Palm House much of the time, so email, call or sms me if you'd like to meet up.

I'm a little late following up, but a huge thank you to Trisha Dean for opening my solo exhibition at Mu on Saturday 2 August. Despite the possibility of inclement weather we were blessed with sun and braved the wind, sheltering in the cosy Gardener's Cottage.

Thank you to all who made it along. It has been a very good process to fit these works into a more intimate space, some having come directly from HarbourSculpture at Clarkes Point Reserve, Woolwich. I think it has worked well. Mulan and I discovered that the mound-shaped forms suit being on the wall, and hang well. Using the garden has been an advantage too. It has allowed visitors to see the work in many differing environments.

Progression extends another week, now closing Thursday 28 August - a bit more time to call in if you've not yet managed it. The beautiful backdrop of Sydney Harbour is enough reason to drop in and say hello to Mulan.

Thanks to my family and friends for all the support I've received RE 'Mapping Place' at HarbourSculpture. Yesterday afternoon/evening's Community Launch Party was terrific despite the wind and cold. So interesting to see the sculptures in different light situations with beautiful Sydney Harbour, the Bridge, and city skyline and the grounds of Clarkes Point Reserve as a backdrop. The HarbourSculpture committee have been great, putting in countless hours to organise and coordinate a successful exhibition. Thanks also to all the volunteers for facilitating the event.
Thank you to Anthony Bond and Macushla Robinson (exhibition curators) for awarding me one of 4 stipends for my work, Mapping Place. And a huge thank you to J Steel Australasia for sponsoring the stipends. Your generousity and support of the arts adds to community vitality by broadening the way we see and articulate the world. Thank you.
One last thank you to Deckhouse who provided a marvelous opening night on Thursday evening. The food and wine were absolutely delicious and the service, faultless. I'd love some more melt-in-your-mouth tandoori lamb cutlets and those incredible macaroons!
Below are a few images of the work in situ.
These pieces (27 in total) are handbuilt using several clays (not combined) to obtain a variety of textures - Keane's Special K & Toast & Feeney's BRT. The layered, painterly surface is a combination of terra sigillata, iron, rutile & manganese pigments, blue slip, paper resist & tissue transfers under dry and stoneware clear glazes. They were raw fired to cone 9 in oxidation using electric and gas kilns. Luckily they all survived.
I'm really happy with how they sit so well into the environment; how the leaf patterns echo the fallen leaves surrounding them; and the colours reflect the earth, sky and water.
There's still time to catch the exhibitions - Internal (finishes 23 July) and External wraps up next Sunday 27 July.

Don't miss a visit to Clarkes Point Reserve, Woolwich to take in the sculptures along this beautiful Sydney Harbour foreshore reserve. Can't make it during the day? Then come in the evening until 10pm when everything will be lit up for your pleasure.
Catch the ferry, enjoy a wintery walk along the harbour with views of the Harbour Bridge, plus breakfast, lunch or dinner at Deckhouse where you can view the internal exhibition, open between 9am and 7pm daily.
Keen for some fireworks? Bring friends & family & join the Community Launch Party on Saturday 19 July for food stalls, a bonfire & fireworks.
Mapping Place (3 of 25 pieces - right), my new ceramic work, is one of the 80 sculptures on show.