technical tuesday: Daven Hee

by | Sep 11, 2012 | Uncategorized

I studied at the Australian National University with Daven Hee who is one of the best potters I know. He’s also the best tour guide if you ever head over to Hawaii. Needless to say I was excited to find out that there’s a bunch of videos online from a workshop he presented.

So here’s one to get you started but there are many more on you tube to keep you busy this morning :
 

Daven Hee instructs his students on making a “bumpy pot.” Filmed at Hawaii Potter’s Guild on July 19, 2010.

Visit his website at
http://web.me.com/davenhee/web.me.com_davenhee/Welcome.html

CLAY PRESENCE: Canberra Potters’ Society 2012 Members’ Exhibition

by | Sep 10, 2012 | Uncategorized

Official opening 6.30pm Thursday 13 September
14 September – 1 October
Open Thursday to Sunday 10am – 4pm plus the public holiday on Monday 1st October

The exhibits in Clay Presence, be they large or small, make their
presence felt through a variety of clay types and making, decoration and
firing methods. Anyone who knows anything about pottery will know that
these factors give rise to innumerable combinations. The result is a
broad spectrum of works ostensibly using the same materials but
exhibiting unique and individual characteristics, forms, textures and
colours.

Canberra Potters’ Society’s membership covers a wide
range of skills and interests and includes professional ceramic artists,
talented and dedicated hobbyists and tertiary ceramics students. The
members’ exhibition aims to showcase the excellence and diversity found
in the work of many of these members and allows the society to make its
presence felt as it presents some of the best work of its members to the
viewing public. Each year the exhibition spans the pottery spectrum
from functional to sculptural work and should be of interest to visitors
whether they come with an already-cultivated interest in ceramics or a
fresh curiosity.

This year’s exhibition is judged by Vicki
Grima, editor of the internationally respected Journal of Australian
Ceramics and a talented ceramic artist in her own right. The premier
award of the exhibition, presented by Canberra Potters’ Society, is the
$1,000 Doug Alexander Award. Thanks to a generous team of sponsors, a
range of other awards will also be announced at the opening on the 13th
September. The ActewAGL Tertiary Student Award is specifically designed
to encourage students and promotes the presentation of innovative work.

 
http://www.canberrapotters.com.au/exhib_details/annual12.html
 

Guest Artist in Residence Lecture – Peter Beard

by | Sep 9, 2012 | Uncategorized

Peter Beard

Thursday, September 13, 6pm
Please join us for a reception and
lecture for our new Guest Artist In Residence, Peter Beard, on
Thursday, September 13th. Reception for the artist will start at 6:00pm
followed by the lecture at 6:30pm. This event is open to the public,
free of charge. Visit HERE to register.

Peter Beard creates works of art in ceramics, bronze and stone which combine
technical skill with innovation, craftsmanship with ingenuity, passion with
intellect. Each piece is unique and intriguing, each invites us to look
and feel, to make associations with personal experiences and recall memories
from our past. They truly feed the senses and give delight.
Much of the work is inspired by nature, particularly landscape and its
formation by the forces of wind and water. There are echoes of the ripples
left in the sand by the retreating tide, of the growth of lichens and
fungi, of the patterns in fossils, shells and seaweed. Nothing is treated
literally; these are the starting points for explorations which Peter
develops in his studio, sometimes over many years.
An equally powerful influence in his work has been the art of ancient
Egypt, evident in many of the forms of his vessels and particularly in
their glazes. The result can be a striking blend of ancient and modern,
timeless objects which will resonate in a thousand years as strongly as
they do now.
His is an evolutionary process, using a limited number of basic forms
but working with pattern and layers of colour, pushing the glazes through
different firing processes to achieve subtle variations in shading and
blistering. His colour palette shifts between pale greens and soft blues,
the cool, delicate shades of nature so that although some of the pieces
are massive and heavy, they can appear light, even fragile.
These qualities resonate in his bronze and stone work but rely on the
boldness of metal and the qualities of the natural materials.
Peter Beard’s work demonstrates conviction and power. This is the
work of a mature artist, drawing on years of experience and yet it is
ever innovative and inventive. The winner of many prestigious international
awards, and with works collected and shown by major galleries and museums
across the world, Peter Beard’s reputation as an exceptional artist
is well established and his works are highly acclaimed and sought after.

~ David Dewing
Historian and Director of the Geffrye Museum London

www.theclaystudio.org