on the make

Happy 2012

2012-01-22T14:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I am so late! 2012 brings a lot of fun things...

1) THE DETERMINATORS - A Blog and Project with the uber-fantastic Brittany Veitch

Three categories, three dice, two sculptures.

Britt and I will roll three dice to determine how we will make, what we will use and what theme an artwork will be. Designed to be a way to collaborate without distance becoming a factor, as well as an exercise based way to make work. Anyone can join us, and monthly we will roll three dice. Categories can not be repeated, and we'll take suggestions for any new categories. The first roll produced: using carving/sculpting, make from clay, a trophy. This is mine, a dead mouse carved from soap (not quite clay!) with a bricklayer line tail.

2) Semester Two of IU. My plan is to branch out a little, taking a printmaking and a wood shop class. I am really enjoying photoshop so far, here is a sample of my printmaking project, which is to combine two digital images...I'm making a series of "Postcards from Indiana", with my new friends as local animals.

Meet David Katz...who declared (peaceful) war on chipmunks last semester when one was caught eating his plants.

3) Near and Dear, an exhibition curated by the awesome Molly Gabbard, who I met in Chicago recently, and who is imminently moving to Adelaide to take up a Fulbright art scholarship for a year. This opened in Columbus, Indiana on Friday 20th January...more pictures to come!

Hope everyone's year is off to an excellent start!

Bloomington, Indiana

2011-12-10T08:31:00.000-08:00

Oh dear, I have been remiss, no blogs posts for far too long. Just too busy wasting time stressing out over my decision to begin graduate school, which turns out to be a unique kind of heaven/hell for artists. I just found out I have a teaching job for next year which will be its own kind of heaven/hell. Indiana University is an incredible place to be for ceramics, with uber-intelligent folks around all the freaking time, making you feel inadequate through no fault of their own (well maybe a little bit). Critiques are INTENSE...where three faculty and the rest of your ceramics peers sit around and really LOOK at your work...like no-one has ever looked at my work before. It is amazing that people spend that much time on artwork...and yet frightening as hell.

Here is a picture of me doing a performance at our open studios where I peeled and grated clay potatoes (I have also been making potato jewellery and calling them scrotatoes).
I have visited Chicago and Ann Arbor, and met some super nice folk...here are metalsmith Molly Gabbard and I at Anish Kapoor's sculpture "Cloud Gate", affectionately known as "the Bean"...

More later...but for now I am headed back to Melbourne for some R and R (and even some Triple R), Christmas in the sun and some live music...because, as the Graveyard Train say, "Even witches like to go out dancing".

The Numan

2011-07-21T02:53:00.000-07:00

Here are some images from the Numan exhibition at c3 Gallery. I hope you like them. Some of the wearable work is going to Pieces of Eight Gallery for sale, before I head to the USA to study for 3 years...

The Numan is born!

2011-06-22T22:39:00.001-07:00

Picture: Dr Simone and Dr Katie about to inspect the Numan's innards. (Dr Nicole, Dr Lauren assisting)

Picture: Numan Samples by Brittany Veitch, Rohani Osman, Katie Jacobs at c3 contemporary artspace

The Numan is officially born!

Please visit his facebook profile and become his friend...friends good!

Brittany and I will also be sitting the exhibition on Saturday at c3 contemporary artspace and other artists will be manning it throughout the exhibition. Bruce Rowe's work is quietly mesmerising, and Caroline Askew has made a collage from amazing collected knitware...check out c3 contemporary artspace for more information.

The Numan

2011-06-08T18:45:00.000-07:00

The Numan is nearly here...and he's looking at YOU!

You are invited to witness the birth of a New Man.

The Numan is a dependent creature designed to induce empathy, by promoting an examination of what it means to be human.

An electro-gothic Frankenstein's monster, The Numan is a human shaped vessel for textile, ceramic and eletronic components by Brittany Veitch, Rohani Osman and Katie Jacobs.

You'll be required to become Doctor Frankenstein at C3 Gallery, 1 St Heliers Place on Wednesday 22nd June, 2011 6-8pm. Glove up and get your hands on The Numan...

Pieces of Fate opens Tuesday 24th May

2011-05-18T23:10:00.000-07:00

Pieces of Fate is coming up.

For this exhibition I made a Memento Mori out of human collarbones and a vertebra, cast in porcelain, to wear over your own collarbones...you even get a special message if you purchase any of the work of the included artists, as they are individual charms made for YOU!

Come along, it'll be a great chance to check out the amazing new Pieces of Eight Gallery in Russell Place and a lot of different artists and their work. I'll put a picture up after you have all checked it out at the gallery...although here is a secret hint at the lower left of the invitation pictured above!!

2011-04-18T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have decorated a traditional pot with drawings of moustachioed cricket heroes of the 1980's, Allan Border and Kapil Dev, for this project.

Crosshatched at Pan

19 to 29 April 2011

A cross-cultural creative collaboration, including an installation of traditional Indian water pots (mudka) and a charity auction of mudkadecorated by Melbourne artists, to raise funds to build a more energy efficient kiln in Kumhaar Gram, India

Closing event and charity auction

Friday 29 April 6-8pm

guest speaker Dr Kevin Murray

The silent auction of collaborative mudka begins at 10am on 19 April and concludes at the Crosshatched closing event on 29 April at 7pm

THE NUMAN

2011-04-06T22:55:00.000-07:00

You are invited to witness the birth of a new man.

The Numan is a dependent creature designed to induce empathy, by promoting an examination of what it means to be human.

Complete with interchangeable body parts, The Numan exists as a human-shaped vessel for textile, ceramic and electronic components, crafted in an electro-gothic style*.

Designed by Rohani Osman (knitting and crochet), Brittany Veitch (felt and soft sculpture) and Katie Jacobs (ceramics), The Numan is an art exhibition that allows you to play God.

How we treat our most vulnerable members of society can be seen as a measure of society as a whole. Similarly, how you choose to use The Numan will illustrate complex questions about action and consequences, and about the inter-dependency of humanity.

Choose wisely…

Exhibition dates - Thursday 23rd June to Sunday 10th July 2011

Location - c3 Contemporary Artspace, Abbotsford Convent, 1 St. Heliers Street, Abbotsford, Victoria 3070

Gallery hours Wednesday to Sunday, 10am - 5pm

*This self-authored style is a union between traditional Gothic or grotesque leitmotifs and a 1980’s new wave and electronic music aesthetic. The Numan is gender neutral, influenced by the androgyny of David Bowie and Grace Jones.

The Raylenes

2011-03-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

Ah, the Raylenes...

http://secondprize.bandcamp.com/track/the-doldrums

A previous band moment I am particularly proud of.

Residency at Edinburgh Castle

2011-03-07T18:17:00.000-08:00

My mate Tom Flatman and his band The Friendly Few (of which I am one) have a residency at the Edinburgh Castle in March...Thursday nights 8.30-10pm. Come, have a drink, listen to various instruments including the banjo, saxophone, trumpet, tambourine and lots of delicious harmonies. Here is a picture of me playing the ceramic stingray.

Flood Auction

2011-01-28T19:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Fine Folk,

Ceramicist Vipoo Srivilasa has arranged a fantastic opportunity to purchase art and help flood victims at the same time, click on the media release above for information about the endeavour, and check this link for images and updates:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=272770&id=575149884&l=1fbbab1d0b

2010-12-07T04:06:00.000-08:00

We were in Michi Girl, yeah!

http://michigirl.com/melbourne/weird-beard

And my studio sale goes this weekend Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th December.

From 10am until 4pm.

See you there punks!

Studio Sale

2010-12-02T04:27:00.001-08:00

It is my first ever studio sale not this weekend but next...11th and 12th December at Northcote Pottery Studios on Weston St, Brunswick. There'll be art from exhibitions, samples, seconds and other cool bits and pieces, like cards, necklaces and brooches. Come by and visit for tea and biscuits if nothing else!!

Not too late to choose your favourite beard...

2010-11-26T02:35:00.001-08:00

Artist talk. 2pm, Saturday 27th Movember. You can vote and beard at the same time: Hawthorn Town Hall Gallery (cnr Glenferrie and Burwood Roads). Come and get your beard (and sausage) fix....This image from opening night.

Beards Down Under

2010-11-17T17:05:00.000-08:00

The Beards Down Under Blog

http://beardsdownunder.tumblr.com/

Come to the show and take pictures of yourself wearing our 'beards'.

Beardo opens Thursday 25th Movember, 2010

BEARDS!!!

2010-11-11T18:47:00.001-08:00

Our "Map of Tasmania"...The Natural State.

Unreal new show, Beardo, opens on the 25th November, see Britt's amazing weblog for sneak previews of beardstroking good art! Come and test out some new beard styles with us!! There'll be a chance to photograph yourselves in all kinds of compromising positions!! Here is another link to the official blog site of exhibition at the Town Hall Gallery. VERY VERY EXCITED!

Exhibition at Northcote Pottery

2010-10-25T05:08:00.000-07:00

Come to Northcote Pottery at 144 Weston St, Brunswick!

The residents from Northcote Pottery Studios are putting on a show from the 5th to the 25th of November. Opening night is on Thursday 4th November 6-8pm.

There is also a fantastic show up RIGHT NOW, curated by Craft Victoria champs Anita Cummins and Kim Brockett called "table manners".

Northcote Pottery (gallery, ceramic supplies, classes) is open Monday to Friday 9-5 and Saturday 9-4pm.

Robot Waiter, Costume Parties

2010-09-12T03:49:00.000-07:00

This seems to be the month for costume parties...I went to "From Russia with Love" and an opening at Studio 246 where there was this amazing robot waiter called Yuri! Check him outttt.
This is me dressed up last week, for a party with the theme "Future Schlock". I went for the crazy 80's Tokyo-inspired look, with big glasses (a la Trevor Horn in the Buggles "Video Killed the Radio Star" clip), one glove (a la Michael Jackson) and in the second photo you can see my nod to Flavva Flav, a metronome time piece...old skool!

Nice Pictures from Away

2010-08-22T02:57:00.001-07:00

A couple more pictures from New York City...P.S.1, Warm-Up Party in Brooklyn
Hot people, also in Brooklyn
A 4th July sunset view from a Revolving Restaurant.

Moustaches of HALIFAX!!

2010-07-25T07:40:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures...and also a link to an amusing video by picnicface, about the city I am in.

elmo and sim

2010-07-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

This one is by special request...in other news, my mate Andrew McClelland was on Australian tv with Elmo the other day...

2010-07-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

Uh oh. I've just been in New York and now I have to choose pictures about it. My top 3 it'll have to be.

1) An art show I saw in Chelsea at Arario Gallery. I bought a work by Heige Kim.

2) In the musical instruments section at the Met (you know those guitars that are like double guitars?)

3) A store I saw in the Lower East Side where I am staying. This one is for you, sister Ween.

Of course I have done highbrow stuff too, I've seen West Side Story on Broadway, I saw a great play called "Our Town" where my friend and I were sitting on stage, right in the action, and I visited an Abyssinian church service with gospel handclaps and call and response! I've seen all the galleries I could handle and checked out the fireworks at the top of a revolving restaurant with a friend and her family. Amazing, every minute of it.

2010-06-11T01:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my new studio at Northcote Pottery. Pretty excellent. I love the light in there, makes it easy to go in the morning and work all day.

I went on a brief Easter Holiday to Hotham as well, and took a rare good photograph. As I don't even own a camera I am pretty impressed. It is taken with my telephone. I was particularly taken with those gum trees that have small heart shaped leaves joined together that go in segments up the branch, see the in-studio shot above. I am working with porcelain and stains, to try and get that gumtree blue/green. Pity you can't put that amazing smell in the clay too, mmm gumleaf.

2010-05-26T06:01:00.000-07:00

The Birch Tree

2010-05-20T23:24:00.001-07:00

Here is a light I have been working on, cast from a birch tree stump I found. I have specifically been trying to work out how to insert the globe semi-permanently so people could change it if they wanted to buy it. I have had ideas and help from many excellent folk including Britt and her friends Ben, Carl and Jules.

Images from "Veni, Vidi, Vici"

2010-05-02T01:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the recent "Veni, Vidi, Vici" exhibition at the Abbotsford Convent. I haven't yet sent them on to the other artists, what a bad friend. They're in the post guys!! (Taken by John Brash of fotograffiti)

2010-03-10T03:18:00.000-08:00

Come on down to the opening of Insert Coin Here.

Bargains plus cute fashion festival types will abound.

Aotearoa

2010-03-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

Wow. I just got back from NZ for a friend's amazing wedding in Leigh.

Things I loved about New Zealand:

*Alice and John and their awesome friends

*My new chunky earrings bought only yesterday at Wunderkammer (see above).

*Singing songs at the ceremony with a country music star. A privilege to be asked.

*Going on a group honey moon where we lived in a palace with a magazine lifestyle

*Impromptu International Ping Pong championship at Janet's house, Australia v Japan v Hawaii v New Zealand v Samoa. Japan victorious.

Things I missed about Melbourne:

*Martine, Dan and Fi

*Indoor Soccer with the charming Blouses

*The choice of shoes available for purchase

*Knowing exactly where to find great coffee

*A lack of working tweezers

False Nails

2010-01-24T13:36:00.001-08:00

I have made some funkay new earrings, and here they are. They'll be in a vending machine as part of the Melbourne Fashion Festival 2010.

http://www.insertcoinhere2010.blogspot.com

Come down, pay $2 and get some ridiculously good value art from a vending machine!!

2009-11-04T05:01:00.000-08:00

Come and see the show. It is awesome and it is up until 15th November at C3 Abbotsford Convent Gallery, 1 St. Heliers St, Abbotsford.

2009-10-22T02:29:00.000-07:00

Meet Barack Cabana. I made him about 6 months ago for a friend's birthday. He is made from cheese, cabana and salami (and newspaper print obviously). He is loosely related to the food theme of Veni Vidi Vici.

Sneak Previews

2009-10-19T02:22:00.001-07:00

Check this little fella out. Rohani's Yabby and my bush limes and yam chips...o yeah.

Veni Vidi Vici opens next Wednesday 28th October at the Abbotsford Convent Gallery, 6-8pm. Be there or that yabby will eat all the free food.

Veni Vidi Vici COMING UP!!!

2009-09-23T00:49:00.000-07:00

Hey, y'all should get down to a new show at C3 Abbotsford Convent opening on Wednesday October 28th, 6-8pm. That isn't for 4 weeks but this should give you enough time to pop it in your diary and forward the relevant info on to your meat-eating, or vegetarian or bush food eating friends.

Above is a sneak preview of work by Brittany Veitch, a bogong moth and butterfly cake...

There will be free food samples hand made by Rohani, Britt and I, so I reckon you should come down and see some politically incorrect art versions of "edible" Australiana.

Urban Wierdness

2009-08-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Ok. Firstly this.

And then, this:

A window shop display somewhere in North Melbourne, Saturday 15th August.

The sheep is wearing his brothers on his feet, how Aussie is that?!!

Just quietly, when spelling wierd up the top I had to think really hard, as my sister says the way I spell weird is wierd in itself. Of course, they both look wierd to me now...

Raining In My Heart

2009-07-29T02:43:00.000-07:00

I have some new work on display, called "Raining in my Heart" in the window at Pieces of Eight Gallery, 635 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. They also have a blog interview at their blog page.

Foil Swans

2009-07-23T23:33:00.000-07:00

I love that my house is full of flowers at the moment. I visited my gran and hijacked one of their blossoming trees (I thought it was a cherry blossom, but gran doesn't remember what she thinks it is called!)

I also visited a friend who made me the delicious Dutch spicy biscuits known as speculaas...they were spectaculaas and I ate many. We left one for me to take home though, and Emma wrapped it for me by creating a foil swan. I guess I missed out on a proper childhood, as I had never seen one before, but it made me very pleased to display it sailing on my kitchen windowsill!!

Opera House

2009-07-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

So I visited Sydney for the Ceramics Triennale, where there were 400 people there to yarn about clay and fire and tell any other stories that came to mind. I delivered a presentation on the artists of Arts Project Australia, whose work was up there as part of the exhibition schedule. A closing party of an exhibition called "White Heat" at Manly allowed me my first ferry trip, during which I took this (and many other substandard) photographs using my trusty phone.

2009-03-16T02:03:00.000-07:00

This is a digital print by Rachel Feery, which is something like a beautiful deodorant ad, an old postcard, a motivational wallposter and the work of Mariko Mori. I bought it at the Monash Graduate Show last year, I think Grad Shows are the most fun place to enjoy finding excellent art. (Please excuse the b-grade picture, there is a much better picture on Rachel Feery's blog link above)

Bite Me!

2009-03-10T03:34:00.001-07:00

This is the work of Rohani Osman, the other artist who will be in the group exhibition about eating Australian Icons which we are calling "Veni Vidi Vici". It'll be at the Abbotsford Convent gallery, which is called C3. I did a artswap with her a few years back, one of my lolly ceramic bananas and a pink bird for a knitted knife, doughnut, croissant, cake slice and chocolate yo-yo biscuit. Score!!

Gory Deer

2009-01-29T16:43:00.000-08:00

This is a deer made by Brittany Veitch from the shearings of her sisters young alpaca Seamus. The name of this deer is Herge, and you can see his friends at her site, The Vibrant City. I love this deer, because he has a little brain flap which shows you that he isn't just a pretty face. He also reminds me of my soft toy bunny rabbits I have loved almost to death. Both are called Harvey, as one was meant to be a replacement for the other.

Alby Mangels

2009-01-22T03:18:00.000-08:00

Now, I don't know a lot about Alby Mangels. And most things I do know in life generally I learn from the internet. But I think this picture is all I need to know.

I have been researching all of the Bush Tucker Men I can think of for an exhibition to be held in October at the c3 contemporary art gallery at the Abbotsford Convent with Rohani Osman and Brittany Veitch. We are very excited about making new work which may be a little macabre. Our intention is to question ideas of patriotism and environmentalism by displaying Australian native flora and fauna as food. It's gonna be a tasty show!!

Box Wars

2009-01-05T07:26:00.000-08:00

So the other day (it was actually Boxing Day), I went to see this amazing thing called Box Wars. Basically a bunch of people dress up in cardboard armour and run at each other, resulting in remarkably non-violent violence. I cried with laughter for five minutes when they first went in to 'battle'. These costumes were definitely my favourite.

Happy New Year for 2009!

2009-01-05T00:14:00.000-08:00

I visited the penguins at Phillip Island yesterday, with some arty friends who are over here from New York with their 2 year old son, Asher. Apart from an incident yesterday involving a barrel of monkeys, which resulted in a split lip (mine, not his) he has been an angel child. Who can say, perhaps he nearly enjoyed the penguins as much as I did!

Rebecca Hannon is a friend who looked after me in Munich in 2003 when I was part of the Talente exhibition that year. She gave me these beautiful earrings as a present. It turned out we were both working with a bird theme about a year ago, without each other knowing it.

2008-12-14T23:37:00.000-08:00

This is the Serrated Tussock (made from soaker hose) and I, at the Malmsbury show.

November 2008

2008-11-29T15:11:00.000-08:00

I am currently exhibiting 2 works in an exhibition called "Sunday Drive" which showcases a collection of eight urban artists who have responded to the landscape around Malmsbury, Victoria. Each artist took a drive to explore the history, and local flora and fauna of the area and developed personal responses to the environment.

Here is my artist statement for one of the works I made:

"On my drive down the Malmsbury I came across some warning signposts which read "Beware of Serrated Tussock". I became slightly paranoid, and wondered where and what this actually was, and if it was hiding behind a tree on the side of the road, waiting to attach itself to the side of my car and tussock me to death (or tussockate me, as it were). In short, I thought of a horror movie with a giant grassy-headed beast come to take over the world.

As it turns out, I wasn't far wrong. The serrated tussock is a Weed of National Significance which is a problem in New South Wales and Victoria, and it has its eye on the Malmsbury area. As part of the Australian Government's Defeating the Weed Menace program, Malmsbury was surveyed and found to be a well-controlled area, with a low incidence of the weed.

I'm not so convinced. After seeing those signs, I will be watching my back..."

The exhibition is on at:

Woodbine Gallery

2644 Daylesford Road, Malmsbury

Melways Reference: 609 E8

from the 16th November until the 14th December

open 11 - 5pm Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays

or by appointment:

Anita Von Bibra

eiska@iprimus.com.au

2008

2008-07-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

I have been working on these salt and pepper shakers over the last few months, and they were shown for the first time at Pan Gallery (144 Weston Street, Brunswick) which is a great new ceramics gallery run by the delightful Sophie Milne, artist extraordinaire. The creatures on the left are Eastern Quolls. The colourful birds are Gouldian Finches, and they are really that bright in the wild...

2007

2008-06-20T05:02:00.000-07:00

This year I had a solo show at Bus Gallery in Little Lonsdale Street, called "Domestic Flights". This show also involved a sound component. I made imitation trees to look waxy. They had sound holes in them, out of which came the noises of birds. BUT they weren't made by a bird, they were made by the one and only Dawne Chorus - Professional Birdcaller.

Dawne performed on opening night to the great delight of all who attended.

2006

2008-06-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

Domestic Flights 2006

Ceramic, Silver chain, Balloons, Paddlepop Sticks

Photo by John Brash

I made this work for a show at Westspace Gallery called Selekta. The premise was that the board of directors would choose an artist, then the artist would choose another, and that artist would choose a further artist. There were no restrictions on who anybody chose at all. There were about 30 people in the show. I had been chosen by the queen of papercutting Emma Van Leest, and I chose theremin player extraordinaire Miles Brown.

And Dan Rule wrote this article in The Age newspaper.

I was asked by Danielle Freakley, a brilliant artist, to be in a show called "We Must Support Ourselves". She got other artists to stand in front of their own work for two hours of the opening. People were invited to come and look at the work and the artist together. There was an article posted here about the project, at the NUCA (New Uncollectable Artists) blog. You may know Danielle from her other project, The Quote Generator, where she spent three years talking in quotes for another of her art projects. It was amazing to behold.

2005

2008-06-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

Our Mary 2005

Ceramic, Red Carpet

Photo by John Brash

In 2005 I went to Denmark, and sculpted a bust of the Princess Mary using thousands of collected magazine covers from Danish and Australian trash mags like New Idea. I ended up becoming a kind of stalker, and gave her a letter while I shook her hand on the red carpet. The Danish version of New Idea saw this display of adoration. They decided they'd send a photographer to the Ceramic Centre where I was working and published a picture of me and my sculpture in their magazine.

I delivered a porcelain version of the Princess Mary bust to the Palace before I came back to Australia via Berlin. I showed the work here in Melbourne, as part of the show Public Surface.

I also went to Bris Vegas that year, and showed some work in a great gallery called BlackLab (now Ryan Renshaw Gallery) with Shaun O'Connor and Sonya Peters.