There's a lot happening at the moment and a lot coming up .
I have work in a couple of exhibitions + one coming up.
Here are the details:
The Course of Objects: The Fine Lines of Inquiry, Manly Art Gallery, 2 May - 8 June 2014
Check out the latest Journal of Australian Ceramics for a catalogue of the 29 artists involved and their work.
A Fresh Perspective, Kerrie Lowe Gallery, 4 - 28 April 2014
Easter Exhibition, Mu Studio Ceramics Gallery, 27 March - 22 April 2014

Floating Vessels - Small, 2013 (above).
Currently at Mu Studio Ceramics Gallery.
Photo: Steve Cummings

Art Space on The Concourse is the location of my current solo show - Fat Quarters & more. This is the final destination of the Art2Public Travelling Exhibition Award I won earlier in the year at Sculpture on the Greens. Thanks to Arthur Chan and Willoughby Council for facilitating this terrific opportunity. It's a great gallery and I've had very positive feedback and some very interesting conversations with members of the public.
For those who cannot make it to the exhibition, or as a tempter for those who haven't made it yet, here are some images.

If you're looking for handcrafted gifts this festive season I have some eco-dyed silk or wool scarves available, as well as my ceramic pieces. Tell you r friends and family and I hope to see you here between now and 15 December, 10am - 6pm daily.

The beautiful image Steve Cummings took of my work, Fat Quarters, has made it on the cover of The Journal of Australian Ceramics. VERY EXCITING!!! Thank you Vicki Grima and co. at TACA. I'm stunned.
Check it out - http://australianceramics.com/home/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=1&Itemid=53&vmcchk=1&Itemid=53

Last weekend (24 & 25 May) Dunedoo held it's annual 2-day, Art Unlimited exhibition. I entered my Fat Quarters and Termite Mounds pieces and to my surprise, won the Cobbora Holding Company Prize for Ceramics.
A huge thank you to the judges, the Dunedoo Lions Club and organisers of the event, and especially to Cobbora Holding Company for their generous prize of $3000.
I'm very excited!

Friday night was pretty exciting. I won a Chan's Art2Public Exhibition Prize as well as the Chan's Art2Public Stipend at Sculpture on the Greens (SOTG) Gala evening. It was a great night, and a credit to Col Henry for his enthusiasm and continued commitment to the idea of creating a more egalitarian model of competition. It was wonderful to have so many artists recognised for their work - and the sculptures are fantastic! Thanks also to the SOTG team and volunteers for making this such an enjoyable experience and such a successful event.
Sculpture on the Greens is located at Kooindah Waters Golf and Spa Resort, Wyong. You can view the 54 sculptures in their beautifully landscaped gardens until Sunday 25th May, 2013. Go to www.sculptureonthegreens.net.au for more information.
Let's get thinking about next year and how we can grow a bigger festival on the Central Coast!

Found out yesterday I've been awarded 2 x 1st prizes at the Sydney Royal Easter Show for my ceramics.
This is very exciting, especially since this year the Royal Easter Show is featuring ceramics at the CLAY ON DISPLAY stand!

Want to come and check out the Arts and Crafts Pavilion?

Go to Hall 3, Sydney Olympic Park. For more details check out www.sydneyroyal.com.au/arts

On TUESDAY 26th March at the CLAY ON DISPLAY stand - some Central Coast Potters Society members will be showing off their creativity with clay. Pop in and say hello.

Winning entries.
TERMITE MOUNDS, 2012 (image above) - 1st in Atmospheric
FAT QUARTERS, 2012 (image below) - 1st prize Non Functional
Thanks to Steve Cummings for his beautiful photographs. Contact Steve at www.lightplay.com.au

See my previous two posts for more info on Termite Mounds and Fat Quarters and please Like my facebook pages to keep up to date with other news.

Mark the dates in your diaries - April 5th to May 29th - Sculpture on the Greens at Kooindah Water Resort, Wyong. This will be my first sculpture installation!!! I found out on Saturday. See images below for inspiration for this proposed work. The shapes will be similar but surface designs different. There will be 30 of these forms of varying sizes emerging form the ground. Stay tuned for progress images of the new work.

In September last year my Termite Mounds were accepted as part of the Gosford Art Prize Ceramics section - very happy and excited about that. See image below.

I was also lucky enough to win the student section of the Port Hacking Art Prize - especially exciting to meet Greg Daly and chat to him about my work and why he chose it. The pieces reminded him of the landscape - the undulating hills and glimpses of colour you catch as you pass through, driving those long stretches of road in the country. He combined two entries I submitted, to create one display. I was thrilled - it's great when someone sees things in your work, you don't.

Here's a link to the interview I did with Meredith Gilmore from Coast Arts, aired on Sunday 2nd September. Be a regular to her show. It's fantastic.
http://www.coastarts.com.au/

Yes, it's a corny title but quite true.

Over the last few weeks I've been madly hand building, firing, glazing and re-firing pieces for several competitions that all fall within 10 days of each other - Bowled Over Again by Newcastle Studio Potters, Gosford Art Prize and Port Hacking Potters 47th National Competition.

The last one will be delivered next week. The frenzy is over - below are some images of my endeavours.

Last night was the opening of Bowled Over Again at the Newcastle Potters Back to Back Galleries. It was a great night - many interesting and very beautiful bowls on display. Diarne Wiercinski, the Assistant Curator at Newcastle Gallery, judged the members award and the overall prize. I was taken aback and very encouraged when she gave me a special mention for the members' award.

It's ironic that in light of last week's devastating news of the NSW government's decision to single out fine arts and ceramics as areas NO LONGER to receive funding, Diarne should speak so encouragingly about the future of ceramics and Newcastle Gallery's plans over the coming two years to expand and include a dedicated ceramics gallery. There is much lobbying to be done to change the government's plans!

Actually, only two bowls were allowed as entries. The two foreground bowls are in the exhibition  with the third for sale but in the back room. For these raku bowls I used Keane's Special K with a band of Stoneware 33 and a clear crackle glaze. I love Special K for it's structure and texture, and it's fantastic to work with. Stoneware 33 gives such a lovely pink. I like the way it's stressed from the raku process.

I didn't plan the shape of these forms, they really created themselves. Only after I'd fired them did they remind me of Australian termite mounds, especially with the pinky/red claybody. I used Keane's Toast. It's a similar clay to Special K but a little more difficult to work with. The colour is terrific and it comes up really well in raku.

White on White 2 & 3 - Using Special K again, these forms were fired to Stoneware with a simple white glaze on the inside. I like the simplicity of the grey/white. It directs your focus to the form and undulating lines.

Two Forms - Initially unsuccessfully fired with copper carbonate highlighting the external line decoration, I re-fired at 1000°C using black copper oxide and clear crackle raku glaze. The result was much better.