Call for entry – Photographic competition!

by | Jan 11, 2012 | Uncategorized

Announcing our newest challenge for the photographers amongst us! … or for a photographer you may know. shoot_the_potter.jpg It could be a famous potter, the local potter around the corner or perhaps someone more personal … like you. Your interpretation can be as broad as your mind will stretch. The Prize: publication of your image (full page) in Issue 51/1 of The Journal of Australian Ceramics (JAC), books to the value of $200 from our online shop or 2 years membership of The Australian Ceramics Association. The choice will be yours. Conditions of Entry:

  • One entry per photographer
  • A selection of the best images will be featured in the 50th Anniversary issue of The JAC, Issue 51/1, to be published on 1 April 2012.
  • Image format: 300 dpi jpg file, minimum size 1MB, maximum size 4MB. DO NOT email tiff files.
  • Portrait and landscape formats are acceptable, although portrait images (24.5cm X 17cm suit JAC’s format the best).
  • All photos must be accompanied by the following information: photographers name, potters name, location and date of image.
  • Photos must have been taken in 2011 or 2012.
  • There should be no digital manipulation of the image.
  • By entering the competition, you give The Australian Ceramics Association license to publish the photograph in The JAC and on our website, www.australianceramics.com.
  • Deadline for images: 30 January 2012.

Images can be emailed to: mail at australianceramics.com with the subject heading SHOOT THE POTTER, or mailed on a disc to SHOOT THE POTTER, PO Box 274 Waverley NSW 2024

A World in Making: Cities Craft Design – Issue #5 Call for papers

by | Jan 3, 2012 | Uncategorized

craft + design enquiry is pleased to announce a new call for papers for the fifth issue of the journal to be published in 2013.A World in Making: Cities Craft Design
Guest Editor, Suzie Attiwill is calling for papers for this on the theme of A World in Making: Cities Craft Design as outlined below.On 12 March 1913, a naming ceremony took place in an empty paddock on a hill. This rural environment was to become a city, the capital city of Australia, the city of Canberra. The aspirations and the projections of the Griffins’ winning design for Canberra are an example of a world-in-making involving the practices of design and craft. This issue of craft + design enquiry will be published in 2013 – 100 years after this event and when, for the first time in history, more than half the world’s population live in cities. By 2030, this will increase to at least 60% with significant growth happening in cities of developing countries and the emergence of meta-cities with 20 million inhabitants. ‘The twenty-first century will be known as the century of the city’.1 This next issue of craft + design enquiry will focus on and highlight the role, contribution and potential of craft and design practices to the urban environment as well as the transformation of these practices – a world in making. ‘The thing is what we make of the world. … Things are our way of dealing with a world in which we are enmeshed rather than over which we have dominion. … It is our way of dealing with the plethora of sensations, vibrations, movements, and intensities that constitute both our world and ourselves’ … ‘We make objects in order to live in the world’.2 Situated in a journal published by Craft Australia, the nuances of craft – a practice which values making and materiality – will guide the selection of papers for publication. This emphasis on craft does not exclude design so much as bring focus to practices of design which engage ideas of making and materiality, where there is a sense of a hand(s) in making, a valuing of haptic encounters and an attention to the relation between people and surroundings. From small to large scale projects, from individuals to communities, an intimate approach to the question of how people inhabit and transform the urban environment is invoked. What are the potentials in this century of the city for craft and design practices? What is the contribution of craft and design to cities and liveability? What might a craft sensibility bring to urban inhabitation? What of an expanded idea of craft practice as a way of working and thinking which addresses spatial and temporal urban conditions? What of the emergence of new forms of practices to engage in the condition of the urban environment and the social, political and cultural forces of the twenty-first century?
Academics, practitioners, research students and others are invited to submit research papers and critical project works. A definition of research as ‘the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies and understandings’ 3 is reiterated here to highlight the criticality of ‘new and creative’ in relation to research and to encourage the submission of research through craft and design practice, as well as about craft and design practices situated in a world in making – ‘the century of the city’. Authors are also encouraged to consider the inclusion of visual material as research. This issue of craft + design enquiry will be published in mid-2013. The CDE#5 Call for Papers closes on 30 June 2012.To submit a paper please register online by the closing date of 30 June 2012. Refer to author guidelines for further information.For inquiries relating to this issue or submission of papers, please contact the Guest Editor, Suzie Attiwill Administrative enquiries, please contact Jenny Deves Biographical details of Guest Editor: Suzie Attiwill is Associate Professor and Program Director, Interior Design, RMIT School of Architecture and Design. Suzie has an independent practice involving the design of exhibitions, curatorial work, writing and working on a range of interdisciplinary projects in Australia and overseas. Publications include: ‘Urban and Interior: techniques for an urban interiorist’ Urban Interior. Informal explorations, interventions and occupations Germany: Spurbuchverlag, 2011; ‘Spatial Relations’ in Making Space: artist run initiatives in Victoria Australia: VIA-N, 2007; co-editor with Gini Lee, ‘INSIDEOUT’ IDEA Journal 2005, Brisbane: QUT Press, 2005. From 1996 to 1999, she was the inaugural Artistic Director of Craft Victoria and editor of Craft. Suzie is the current chair of IDEA (Interior Design/Interior Architecture Educators Association) – www.idea-edu.com, a founding member of the Urban Interior research group – www.urbaninterior.net and a member of the Design Institute of Australia.
1. Tibaijuka, A.K., 2010. Inaugural Address UN Pavilion Lecture Series, Shanghai World Expo 2010 – Better Cities, Better Life. Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/content.asp?cid=8273&catid=560&typeid=8&subMenuId=0 [Accessed April 24 2011]. Tibaijuka was then Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, the United Nations agency for human settlements. 2. Grosz, E., 2009. ‘The Thing’. In F. Candlin & R. Guins, eds. The Object Reader. London & New York: Routledge, pp. 126 & 128. 3. Australian Research Council March 2011 http://www.arc.gov.au/pdf/2011_presentations/decra0311.pdf. [Accessed 13/04/2011].

Happy New Years!

by | Jan 1, 2012 | Uncategorized

All the best to everyone in 2012.
Thanks so much for all your support, kind words and friendship over the last year. It has been a fantastic year for me and I hope the same for you.
Here’s to 2012 being filled with creativity, deadlines that don’t seem to appear out of nowhere, kilns that fire beautifully every time, work that doesn’t explode, shipping companies that don’t drop things, glazes that make us happy to be alive, and ample time in the studio for everyone.

All the best and much love,
Carole

Eva Zeisel passes away at 105

by | Dec 31, 2011 | Uncategorized

Above image via:
http://seenandsaid.blogspot.com/2010/11/inspiring-women-eva-zeisel.html

“Whether we make things or they just happen, whether we grow them or form them, things speak to us. They tell us where we are-waking up in our beds or flying above the clouds in an airplane.” – Eva Zeisel (Image via LA Times)

For more info please visit:
NY times Obituary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Zeisel
http://www.ceramicstoday.com/articles/zeisel.htm
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.obituaries/browse_thread/thread/a114dae52df6b4f9#

Odyssey Ceramic Arts Summer 2012 Workshop Schedule

by | Dec 30, 2011 | Uncategorized

Registration begins January 9, 2012
LCR72 Linda & Charlie Riggs

Naked Surfaces And Alternative Firing, May 30- June 1

Join us for three exciting days of smoke, fire and fumes! Charlie and Linda will lead sessions in naked & horsehair raku, smoke and saggar firings and iron fuming. Enjoy the process of decorating pots with polished white and red terra sigillata, then firing them in atmospheres where the smoke and chemicals produce the final surface color. Achieve colors ranging from deep reds and oranges to stark black and white.

Intermediate/ Advanced
Wednesday- Friday, 9am-4pm
$325 Tuition ($50 Lab)
Constantinoweb Cynthia Constentino

Interpreting The Figure, June 4- 8

Work from a live model and sculpt your interpretation of the figure. Utilize the figure to explore issues such as gender, social roles, culture and personal experience. Discussion topics will include 3-D design, proportions of the body, methods of developing content and tips for professional development. Cynthia will demonstrate a variety of construction techniques for sculpting including building armatures, cold joining and surface treatments. Come with your ideas and imagination, source images and personal stories. Leave with a wide range of techniques to apply to your own studio practice.

All Levels
Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm
$495 Tuition ($55 Lab)
Chooweb Fong Choo

Diminutive Teapots, June 11- 15

Master teapot maker, Fong Choo, will be your guide in the exploration of the teapot from large to small and from whimsical to utilitarian with strong emphasis on proportion. Push the boundaries of form, design and color. Discussion topics and demonstrations will include altering thrown forms, creating surface textures and attaching aesthetically pleasing cane and reed handles. Fong will share his unique approach for layering glazes to achieve the jeweled toned surfaces of his signature teapots. If you want to improve your teapot making, you must attend this class.

Intermediate/ Advanced
Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm
$495 Tuition ($55 Lab)
robersonweb Sang Roberson

Soft & Shiny Slabs, June 18- 22

If you have been close to one of Sang’s pots you understand the meaning of ‘quiet beauty’. They exude a feeling that is hard to put into words. Join Sang for this class and discover new possibilities for your own work while constructing open and closed forms with soft slabs. Investigate a broad range of surface treatments including terra sigillata, burnishing, slip-trailing, sgrafitto, mishima and sprigging. Learn to pit-fire, polish and seal the pieces to enrich the skins. Bring low-fire bisque ware and practice application techniques. Demonstrations will include wall vessels, closed geometric forms, basketry designs and capturing air as armature.

All Levels
Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm
$495 Tuition ($55 Lab)
Satakeweb Akira Satake

Imperfect Beauty, June 25- 29

Akira will present his distinctive Kohiki slip technique by brushing white porcelain slip onto a dark clay slab, then stretching to create a unique surface. Experiment with soft and hard slabs, while learning new ways to make teapots, teacups, pitchers, vases and boxes. Gain insight into, the meaning of “wabi-sabi” (finding beauty in imperfection) and the importance of “ma” the space in between. Akira will demonstrate his style of making tea ceremony bowls, water jars, and ikebana vases, all influenced by Japanese pottery from the Momoyama Period (1568-1615).

All Levels
Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm
$495 Tuition ($55 Lab)
Suzeweb Suze Lindsay

Going Vertical, July 9- 13

Just when you thought you knew everything about altering soft and leather-hard functional clay forms, along comes Suze with lots more tricks.
Always pushing the boundaries herself, Suze will teach you all she knows about her unique ways of altering and stacking thrown and hand-built parts to create vases, pitchers, covered jars and more. And she will demonstrate the slip trailing technique she uses to achieve her distinctive look. Also expect exercises that will stretch and expand your notions of imagery and surface enhancement. Daily demonstrations, sketchbook exercises, and discussions on contemporary and historical pottery will be springboards for experimentation and play.

Intermediate
Monday-Friday
9am-4pm
$495 ($55 Lab)
Curtweb Curt LaCross

Sculpting The Human Psyche, July 16- 20

The focus of this workshop will be construction techniques, anatomy and conceptual development in order to create psychologically weighed figures. WOW! Sounds heavy. Don’t worry, you will have fun and learn a bunch from a great teacher. Using coils, slabs and a variety of armatures you will build a life sized human bust. Considerable attention will be placed on the facial features, skin texture and hands. Curt will implement his gestural approach to sculpting and manipulating texture in order to create the realistic human expressions he achieves in his work.

Beginner/ Intermediate
Monday-Friday
9am-4pm
$495 Tuition ($55 Lab)
Burnettweb Jason Burnett

Graphic Clay: Cut, Copy And Paste, July 23- 27

Using two simple materials: slip and newsprint paper, we will introduce layers of information and texture onto our clay surfaces. Through silkscreen printing, cutting, copying and pasting we will dissect, transform, and manipulate our drawings, patterns, and images while creating exciting new exteriors. But there’s no stopping us there! We’ll use simple digital techniques to make decals and photocopy transfers. Computers NOT required, but one can come in handy! Jason is a very generous teacher who will guide and inspire you to carry your work to new levels you have not imagined.

Intermediate/ Advanced
Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm
$495 Tuition ($55 Lab)

filleyweb

 Susan Filley Porcelain: Form And Finesse, July 30- August 3 Prepare to be entertained as you learn new ways of working with porcelain. Susan is a master potter whose workshops are packed with practical information, interesting stories and ‘tricks’ for making good pots with finesse. Acquire new techniques for working in porcelain, beginning with basic forms and moving on to more complex altered shapes. Throwing off the hump, pulled and hand-built handles, cups, bowls and trays. Cut, alter and assemble. Susan will help you improve skills, throw larger, and make interesting forms with personality. She will also lead discussions on glazing and firing.

Intermediate/ Advanced
Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm
$495 Tuition ($55 Lab)

For more info please visit their website.