NEWS from Lisa: September seeds
Gum blossom beads from recent workshop
August felt creatively calm after sewing many seeds for blossoming new works ready for Spring exhibitions. As I’ve been finishing off work, Ive also enjoyed running a new flower totem workshop featuring Eucalyptus Macro Carpa nuts and blossoms. The results were amazing and to my delight, participants decided to come along for a fourth session to learn how to make Sturt Desert Peas too. Take a look at the totems below and the work-in-progress on Desert Peas, soon to be glazed. If you would like to do the flower totem workshop, there are three places still available for late October.
Flower Totem workshop participants very happy with their creative outcomes
The flower totem workshop came about after my making a couple of gum blossom totems and a bust of Margaret Preston. I have been basing my colours and forms on a Preston oil painting called Western Australian gum blossom, 1928.
If you love the work of Margaret Preston too don’t miss these two great exhibitions. Margaret Preston, commencing this month at the NGV in Melbourne is the first retrospective exhibition of her work in twenty years https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/margaret-preston
The second is the incredible Tony Albert show on now at the MCA called Not A Souvenir. https://www.mca.com.au/exhibitions/tony-albert/ In this show Albert has what he calls ‘a conversation with Margaret Preston’ in which he critiques her appropriation of indigenous art motifs by devoting an entire room to Preston-inspired still life flower images. Much of these are cleverly created from repurposed/reclaimed Aboriginalia including the tea-towels Preston herself had printed as part of a homewares range. Albert acknowledges Preston’s good intentions in seeking to create a national art for Australia by looking away from Europe for inspiration towards her own country. This involved an unusually early awareness of indigenous Australian art (for the times) and although it was a logical place to start, her appropriations are now seen by today’s standards, as inappropriate.
Open Studio
September is seeding lots of new Open Studio artists working on some incredible self-directed projects as well as workshop participants coming back to glaze their Sturt Desert Peas and other new pieces. So please don’t forget to come and collect your work after it’s been fired, before someone else does! Hope to see you at the Bakehouse Studio soon or at one of the following exhibitions.
Happy Spring!
Lisa
Work In Progress Sturt Desert Pea table sculptures
SAVE THE DATES:
Sculpture in the Vineyards - Wollombi: September 12-27
I am very excited to be exhibiting in this biennial event again this year. Come and discover 180 works by leading and emerging Australian and international sculptors along a sculpture trail that winds through the historic villages of Wollombi and Laguna including 6 indoor galleries. You will find my work outside and inside the St John’s Anglican Church.
As part of this festival, I will be running a ceramic bird sculpture workshop at Winmark Wines in Broke. I will also be co-hosting an art immersion day involving a community totem building event which includes a picnic lunch and sculpture park experience with owner Karin Adcock and London Hampstead School of Arts Principal, Isabelle Langtry. You can find more information about these Sculpture Park events here:
Sculptures in the Garden - Rosby Wines Mudgee: October 10-25
I am also very happy to be returning to Sculptures in the Garden again this year with two sculptures plus two sculpture installations featured in in last month’s newsletter (Spin, Still Blossom, Feed the Birds birdfeeders and Stone Hinge Installation of 3 totems). I love spending my birthday weekend on this property with its beautiful gardens and adjacent paddocks hosted by the Norton-Knight family, to promote sculpture and support more public art in the Mudgee / Rylstone area. There are food trucks, live music and of course great wines from the Rosby surrounding vineyards. Support regional arts and get your tickets here. …..
UPCOMING WORKSHOPS
Abstract Birds at Winmark Wines, Broke
September 15
Native Flower Totem - New Dates
October 24, 31 & November 7
Goddess Candle Sculpture
December 9
WEEKLY OPEN STUDIO SESSIONS
Monday Mornings (except September 14)
10am - 1pm
Thursday Evening (except September 10th)
6pm - 9pm
Friday Afternoons (except September 11th)
2pm - 5pm
BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE
STUDIO CLOSED SEPTEMBER 10, 11 & 14,
Studio Induction / Orientation sessions:
2026 Studio inductions can be completed on-line for those who are new to the Studio.
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