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Once I began this I enjoyed creating the visual aspect of it. I chose pinch and coil as it was one of my favourite modules and it was a reason to delve into it further and research more ceramic artists who use this technique. I wanted to cover pinch and coil touching on the history, culturural background, technique, introduce some artists, their work and background and share a few of my own pieces to bring something personal through.
I was disappointed I couldn't get the audio working along side the slides but feel satisfied with my objective and the outcome.

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I chose this title as this piece reminded me of kina shells we find on the beach and as it developed was inspired by these.

It is one of my first pinch and coil pieces where I created 4 small pinch and coil bowls joining 2 of them together shaping them and using a toothbrush to create the texture. This is where the kina started developing. I joined the 2 spheres and created a hole through the top and middle and created a lip and foot using coils.

It is both functional as a small vase and conceptual and made with porcelain clay and copper oxide to colour it dark green.

I wasn't thinking of another artist when I created it but was surrounded by Penny Ericson's work as I had the pleasure to be working in her studio.

This work is the realisation of 2 pinch and coil spheres being brought together and lent towards the form and colour of kina shells found on the beach which did fulfil my aim to learn and utilise the pinch and coil method.

The reason I love this piece is that on reflection it has the innocence of form being allowed to take shape without too much influence of the thinking mind. This was present as I was just learning the pinch and coil technique and did not have any firm expectations that may potentially over ride the natural unfolding of shape, texture and colour. When I look at it I have the pleasure of seeing something beautiful and quirky to my eye that came into the world through me and my love of natural form.

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Grayson Perry, Lecture 4 -I found myself in the art world

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Grayson Perry, Lecture 4 -I found myself in the art world

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It is interesting reading the other forum posts in response to this lecture and how it has touched and triggered us in different places and aspects of our journey as artists.

I enjoyed how wide he took this subject and his own experience within it. He begins with artists who draw on their wounds for expression and a way of processing. I personally do not come from a place of wounding in my art, nature is where I am drawn to be moved in my expression and inspiration. It was interesting to think about this, knowing I am not a wounded artist and therefore then looking to where I am exploring and unfolding my love of ceramic art from.

There were were two stories that jumped out at me, one of them was where a child was asked what she thinks an artist is where she initially replied "someone who sits in Starbucks eating organic salad" and after a time doing art herself the same child responds "someone who notices things". It struck me as she was probably right on both accounts as an artist often sits and observes and thinks and that they also notice things, scenes, textures, colours, shapes... I know my eyes are always seeking these things in my day to day.

The other story was the story of the Helsinki bus station, that often we need to stay on the bus and ride out the journey rather than jumping off to try another. This reminded me of the value and importance of staying with an idea or process rather than giving up too early and relinquishing the opportunity to really learn and extend our ideas and skills.

As always I was entertained and interested in what Grayson had to share and explore, his knowledge, humour and rich cynicism. I particularly enjoyed the personal stories and aspect of this lecture.

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Grayson Perry Lecture 3 -Nice Rebellion, Welcome In!

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Grayson Perry Lecture 3 -Nice Rebellion, Welcome In!

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I enjoyed Grayson's take on where we are going (or not going) with the edge of art in relation to contemporary art and art in history. It is not something I think about as I do not seek edge or to be shocked by art or even originality as I believe all art has originality through the essence that is brought forward by the artist that is original to them. It was a stimulating subject and often humorous to look on at ourselves as artists and humans.

I was also interested in his observation of art chasing technology and made me think also of the artists that aspire to rediscover old techniques and methods originally used in their art processes.

So I did not relate to the rebellious nature of artists that he was reflecting on or his own experience of being a rebellious artist as it is not in me I believe. This made me question what I do seek in art then and came to the idea that I seek to be inspired and satisfied by art, to be drawn in and learn something from it even if it is colour or perspective or the presence of something unique or beautiful. I guess I am not a thrill seeker when it comes to art but understand the concept of these edges we lean into to evolve and move beyond ourselves and this is reflected in humanity and apparently especially artists!

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Grayson Perry -Lecture 1 Democracy Has Bad Taste

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Grayson Perry -Lecture 1 Democracy Has Bad Taste

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I enjoyed Grayson’s brash open exploration around this subject. It is a topic I haven’t explored before or thought about so much as my art viewing and collection is based on what I love and what moves me rather than the opinion of a wider audience. I find I don’t have much patience for art that I don’t like or is not interesting to me.

It was a relief in a way to hear him talk about subjectivity in relation to taste and value as often I have seen popular and valuable art and really not liked it or understood where its value comes from and why it is trending. Since listening to this I have looked at art differently, trying out different perspectives and thinking about what may be behind this world of art and the comments made either by the artist or the critics.

I really enjoyed his discussion on art language, often I think art language can create separation and disconnection between the art itself and the general audience but I guess everything has language and if we want to understand it and take part in it we learn it.

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Grayson Perry Lecture 2 -Beating the Bounds

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Grayson Perry Lecture 2 -Beating the Bounds

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I loved the beginning of this lecture and how he took it back through history to beating the bounds. I found this an interesting and thought-provoking lecture, it really got me curious to look at my own boundaries of what art can be. Though sometimes I see do art that has challenged the boundaries of what can be art to the degree it no longer has meaning for me.

And what is art and what is craft? For me they are intertwined and can hold an aspect of each within one another. I reflected on what I perceive and enjoy as art such as handmade or designed everyday things, cooking, writing, sport, performance, language, anything done 'crafted', with developed skill and purpose. I realise what people often call craft I see as art.

And then there is art of the master painters, watercolor artists, oil painters, printmakers, ceramic artists, mixed media, weavers, collage etc etc

I realise to a degree I have separated them in my own life, that which I enjoy and use every day and those which hold a special place on my wall or shelf.

It also reminded me that I have appreciation for any form of art or skill that has been cultivated over time, even if I may not like it I can appreciate the crafting or the skill involved in creating it.

As part of this discussion I think it is an important question that if an artist calls it art is it art? My thoughts on this is that surely any artist wants to be joined by their audience in their perception that their art is art otherwise it would be a lonely place to be. So as artists we can test the boundaries but at the end of the day if no one joins us there is that where we want to be? And on the other hand so much art has not been recognised until much later or after the artist has died, these artists I believe are ahead of their times and I recognise and admire this too.

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Ash Glazes, by Phil Rogers

https://otago.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?vid=64OTAGO_INST:OTAGO&id=99148399701891&inst=64OTAGO_INST&context=L

I was really excited to see Otago library held this book as I have been searching for it, it is both expensive and hard to come by.

I started getting to know Phil Roger's work through the Goldmark Gallery, they have some short films on him, his story and his work. I was saddened to hear he died recently.

This book firstly tells us the story of his ideals as a young potter and how he came to using ash glazes as well as touching into the world history of ash glazing.

This book is written as a personal account and also profiles 12 other well known potters.

This book gives you step by step instructions on collecting, processing and testing wood ash for glazing. It also provides recipes based on what you are looking for in your ash glazes and the clay you are using. Throughout the book he is reminding us that part of applying ourselves to ceramics or any craft is the journey of getting to know our materials.

I love this book, I love his story telling, his insight into the work of the other ceramic artists and his deep knowledge and understanding of this topic and how he keeps it accessible by not creating too much complexity.

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Te Uru Gallery
Cora-Allan Wickliffe
Paintings on hand-beaten Hiapo cloth.

https://www.teuru.org.nz/index.cfm/whats-on/calendar/cora-allan-wickliffe-from-otitori-bay-rd/

This exhibition presents a series of landscape paintings made by Cora-Allan Wickliffe during her residency at Parehuia, which sits at number 67 Otītori Bay Road – a short but steep descent from Te Uru, toward the waters of the Manukau Harbour. Using paints harvested and processed from the local Waitākere whenua, the images are intimate studies of the land and a living archive of it, as well as visual journals of the artist’s stay.

I visited this exhibition by chance, I thought I was going to a ceramic exhibition but it had just finished.
This exhibition felt closely related as Cora-Allen had harvested the local clay to create the paints and colours she was using for painting those same landscapes she harvested from. I loved seeing the different colours of the earth and getting to know the Waitākere this way, her processes and the earthiness of the paintings. I had just started harvesting some different coloured clays from Anawhata so I felt connected through my own experience of starting to get up close to the clays and recognising how many vastly different coloured clays there are in West Auckland.
There was a felt sense connection of her time in the Manukau harbour and her Niuean and Maori ancestry with the textures and colours of the paint and the texture of the Hiapo cloth traditional to Nuie.
Most of the paintings were about a metre long and half a metre wide.
I would definitely recommend this exhibition, her process and time creating this series was interesting and her style of painting was both contemporary and traditional.