Connections Renewed - All sold out!

Oooops! How quickly life can speed by while we forget to maintain the everyday -

We (Linda, Lyn, Lily and myself) thoroughly enjoyed the entire process of our exhibition.

The setting up . . . 

Linda Back ceramics

Lily Karmatz

Lyn Derrick - sculpture

My supportive family

The setting up does not just happen - and once again I would like to thank my family for their help and support.

The OPENING. We were thrilled to see over two hundred people attending -  
a big Thank you to you all for being there . . . .

Opening at Gallery Nona

Stephen Newton with us after opening

Sales on night were very good. . . . .  Always nice!!!

Sharon Lee Paintings, Linda Back ceramics

A BIG Thank you to Stephen for his opening speech. We appreciated the time he spent viewing our work and the time he took to write and deliver this speech.

Stephen Newton - Opening speech

Stephen Newton        http://www.visualartist.info/stephennewton

Stephen Newton is an Australian sculptor working in wood and stone

Timeless connections to place through the sense of touch

". . . . Thank you very much Linda, Lyn, Lily and Sharon for this wonderful invitation and May I congratulate you all on a fabulous exhibition.

Welcome everybody to Connections renewed -  a fitting title for such a cohesive exhibition.  I had the exhibition to myself yesterday which gave me time to get immersed in the work, and during that time I felt myself repeatedly drawn into and out on a gentle ebb and flow of visual and sensual delights, and I left  the exhibition ‘soul nourished.’ I put this feeling down to having just experienced a wonderfully designed, and curated exhibition of deeply resonant forms and images, inspired by the natural environment. The word interwoven – used in this exhibition to describe the artists’ careers and life journeys also comes to mind as a fitting title for this exhibition.

I think Connections Renewed is a better title, because it implies the passage of time and the changing nature of things – of connections – between people and people, between people and place. And while all the artists offer us a deeply personal account of their relationship to nature, it is not so personal as to stop all of us, the audience, bringing something of ourselves to the work, because the work invites us in.

And that’s what I’d like to share briefly with you today, some of my thoughts and feelings that surfaced when I was ‘invited in’. Like any observation or reading, the response usually implicates the nature and bias of the reader. I guess that means that I have approached the exhibition as an artist and educator  . . .  .

Linda back - ceramics

Linda Backs ceramic installations show us an extremely confident and sonsistent handling of the medium. The concept ‘vessel’ – such an iconic canon in the seramic world, is conceptually – though not physically – deconstructed into a rigorously arranged multi-object installation. The framing of the forms into beautifully crafted red cedar wall units lends a kind of surreal-domestic atmosphere, familiarly engaging with a slight whimsical twist. I’m also reminded of the textural tonality of the elegant still life arrangements of the painter Giorgio Morandi, delivered to us as robust organic sculptural form and sublime cabinetry. Linda’s tubular works are also vessels of a sort, though I felt them to be reminiscent of  mangrove nodules or tree roots, slowly and surely finding a way out of the earth and ocean into the life and light of the world.

Lyn Derrick - sculpture

Lyn Derrick’s sculptures for me exist as elegantly refined and ecologically renewed modernist forms. The modernist sensibility of ‘truth to material’ is played out through a meticulously crafted architectonic aesthetic. However the ‘truth’ found in Lyn’s material carries the urgency of real environmental concerns about the future of Tasmania’s old growth forests. The poignancy and humanity of our nature/culture condition, reveals itself to us through delicate and precarious balance of wood and steel. Lyns sculptures are not small; there is a sense of the scale-less sensation in each piece, drawing us into the intimate relationship with the work, physically and emotionally.

Lily Karmatz - installation

I viewed Lily karmatz’s work in the exhibition as work in progress, and this is by no means a detracting statement. As Lily herself says in her artist statement, “I am not concerned with creating the object.” How then does one respond? As simply as one responds to leaves falling, wind blowing and water flowing. Of course all art practice is a process, but not all art practice needs to end in a product. Lily’s works on canvas and wood, combined with organic materials such as leaves, twigs and vines are a highly refined moment in time, a time we know will surely pass. I have long known Lily’s passion for Ikebana, and I a also reminded of the Japanese Wabi-sabi aesthetic , which is accepting of change and embraces a natural beauty that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. Lily’s artwork is ‘in process’, but that does not mean it is unfinished. It offers us the rare opportunity to experience the visual art equivalent of what my Lyenga yoga teacher calls a ‘soft exhalation’.

Sharon Lee -  smaller collage works.

Sharon Lee’s pictorially layered collages and paintings remind me in some, of an almost Max Ernst-like landscape. Ernst himself said ‘an artist must have one eye on the outer world, while the other eye looks towards the inner world’. Sharon’s imagery holds nothing of the melancholy of Ernst, her images are always a joyful experience, allowing our eye to drift through a kaleidoscope of layers and colours, allowing us to connect the fragments of our own memories. As Sharon says in her statement – “The individual brings their own emotional history to the viewing, creating their own unique narrative”.

In this exhibition – Connections Renewed – Each artists work is a natural salve for the senses, a balm for the soul.

Connections Renewed is a heartfelt honouring of nature, and a gentle reminder to us that we are all a part – sometimes an ungrateful part – of nature.

To quote Sharon’s words, we all have an emotional history, it’s a history connected with each other and it’s a history deeply connected with nature.

This wonderful exhibition invites us to renew our own personal connections with nature and in turn, with each other.

Thank you . . . . "

Out Celebrating - after the exhibition was complete . . . 

Thank you to everyone involved. Those who exhibited with me, and those who were supportive throughout the entire process. The reporters for writing the articles in the news papers, the gallery staff, those who attended or spoke at the opening, and to the people who bought our work, we hope it brings you enjoyment for many years. . . .  
Cheers Sharon 

Artists' statements

Exhibition Connections renewed

Connections Renewed

Opening Saturday October 5th at 4pm

Brisbane Institute of Art

41 Grafton Street Windsor

The bond between these four women commenced when they all attended Art classes at the Brisbane Institute of Art, which was established almost forty years ago.

“Connections Renewed”, a joint exhibition by 4 exciting Brisbane artists whose careers have interwoven over the past 15 years, opens on 5 October at Brisbane Institute of Art.
The exhibit features works of sculpture, paintings and ceramics inspired by the natural environment and will be opened by well know Brisbane sculptor and educator Stephen Newton.

The four female artists, Linda Back, Lyn Derrick, Lily Karmatz, and Sharon Lee met through their early fine art studies at Brisbane Institute of Art where they were all tutored by Stephen Newton or attended his Moreton Island workshops. Since meeting all four have maintained individual art practices and their lives have converged and diverged over the years.
The four have recently reconnected after recognising that nature was the source of inspiration for all of their work. Linda Back says, “our works are all inspired by nature and we are environmental conservationists by heart. This has allowed us to reconnect on a professional basis and to deliver a cohesive exhibition.”

Wave forms, old growth forests, the weather, and organic matter provided inspiration for some of the diverse works on display. Lyn Derrick’s architectural timber and steel sculptures are concerned with the conservation of Tasmanian old growth forests and her work includes a 1.5m Huon pine back- sawn flitch salvaged from the Gordon River. Lily Karmatz’s 3-D mixed-media works are deeply influenced by ikebana and feature leaves, leaf forms, found wood, and vibrant colour. Linda Back’s ceramic vessel collection, inspired by flotsam and jetsam and wave action, includes bowls, ikebana vessels and curvaceous tubular forms mounted on red cedar wall units. Sharon Lee ‘s multi-layered paintings on canvas are visual narratives of the weather and environment and embody the movement, energy and colour of nature.
Collectively the four have previously exhibited in Australia and Japan, been recipients of residencies in USA and China and regularly exhibit in national international art competitions.
Linda Back commenced studies in 1985,


Sharon Lee in 1992,



with Lyn Tidey (Derrick),




and Lily Karmatz undertaking their Certificates and Diplomas from 1997.




Love to see you at the opening, Cheers Sharon

Time . . .

Anyone who knows me well, will have heard my constant lament 'where has this year gone' . . .and this year is no exception. I have neglected to blog as life has been too hectic, but now almost ready for my next exhibition, I can leave a few words and pictures here to prove I have not been completely lazy. . . .though not as busy as some.

Workshops

Kieth Lo Bue workshop at Studio West End, Brisbane

Kieth is an American born Found object Jeweler and Sculptor, living in Sydney Australia. He calls himself a 'Stuffsmith' and when you see his work made from Stuff into Objects of Artwork . . . stuff acquires a whole new meaning.

I adored the man and I enjoyed the workshop - conducted at Studio West End here in Brisbane.

If you are interested Kieth has many web sites and Blogs. Well worth a look.

http://www.keithlobue.com/

Art in the Olives. Fantastic weekend of creativity and mmmmmmmmmmmm gluttony.

 

Myself and a few friends attended the festival to do some Basketry with Therese Flynn Clarke (Winner of the 2012 Caldera Art Award.) We sat on the side of the river, and trying not to be distracted by the scenery, sound of live bands playing music and the smell of food, we used random weave techniques to create sculptural vessels from numerous fibres and cane.

  

 

 Therese Flynn Clarke  Winner of the 2012 Caldera Art Award

The Arts in the Olives is a festival celebrating the creative arts. The festival is a collaboration between the residents of the Lost Worlds Valley and BADCAP - Beaudesert and District Community Art Projects and offers a variety of workshops.

Plenty of great accommodation on offer.

Wide selection of luscious food and operators - cheeses, wine, olives, pickles, sausages, honey and gorgeous baked delights . . . .

Huge selection of workshops. We all agreed we will do Blacksmithing next year.

Fingal Workshop

How glorious to share a week with friends at the beach. . . .being creative.

My latest work - printed, grounds and painted on 100% rag

   

  Sometimes, it is hard to remember we are here to do work! 

Could not resist doing a series of photographs with this huge jelly fish. 

Rusty Roo workshops

I have enjoyed weekends at the Roo with friends in my NEW STUDIO space. . .. (not as many as I would like as we have been busy building the new studio space and bathroom and the pottery studio . . .  .) look forward to the ones organized for later in the year. 

  

 Studio has windows on three walls and double set of doors - great light

Cameron with the help of my Father and Son hauled the mammoth press upstairs into the light filled space with it's wide veranda, with great views. (Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!! )

Cameron and I installed a new bathroom upstairs so that we do not need to go down and out when we need . . .. to go. It is Fantastic.  

Lily - Sculptural art in the Landscape                            Linda Wheel throwing on one of our two new pottery wheels.



Linda firing her pots in Rusty Roo pit. 

Opening the pit after a long slow burn over the week.

Example of results from Pit firing.

Lily creating Ikebana magic throughout the property. Example of my photography which was conducted into the wee hours of the night with the help of torches, wine and lots of laughter. . .

 Something to admire while drinking our wine and watching the sun set.

Flying Arts workshop

Gelatin plate workshop with Flying arts. Great workshop held at the state Library Brisbane

 

Something unrelated

Cameron and I recently attended a costume party . . . (We passed a group of small children on the way and it took all our considerable will power not to jump out of the car and scare them. . . . .  Then Mr Plod said NO!)

Beautiful pair ain't we . . . .NO?

Delivered and in the News

On Saturday we took my entry along to the Tip shop where the hard working endeavour team placed it in safe keeping ready for the publicity shoot and then transportation to the city Library.

I had the opportunity to see a couple of other artists works - Karl de Waal's mixed media was there - (this is but a small piece . . . . .)

 . . . .and Fatima  with her quirky slant on life . . .mmmmmmmmmmmm

Channel 10 news coverage of the Tip Shop Competition 2012. (June 2012) Sharon Lee and her daughter Brianna where interviewed in the video along with the Brisbane Lord Mayor.

Since then I have been talking to some of the industrious people from the Brisbane City council and they expressed how thrilled they are with the selection of art works that they have received as entries for the second year - 2013 tip shop competition.




I have also received the Cannel Ten news segment that ran last year 13/06/2012  - after the competition was finalized.

We were also inteviewed for a segment on the radio. . . . so a very exciting process. Now I can't wait to see all the new work for this year arranged together -

from first May at the Brisbane Square Library - with the launch on the 10th May at 5pm - should be a great night . . .  .

come along - it is a fantastic Library . . . (just feels great and the service is seamless . . .with this lot of art in it - it should be a real treat)

Another soul working on the wasted

I would love to introduce you to a very talented artist who has a macabre and intriguing slant on life and its machinations - Fatima Schelfisch.  Fatima entered the competition last year and was one of the finalists with a groovy Waverly table that I coveted. This year she has created an even finer example of upcycling - and her painterly additions are incredible.

 

These two pictures are examples of some of the art work now found on the discarded item she chose from the tip shop. . . . . I bet the people who discarded this piece of furniture - would now like it back.

To see the pictures on the incredibly creative item of furniture - come along to the Library . . . the one in the city.
Details and dates in last post.

Tipped to shop - again

Tip Shops People's choice Competition, on again

This year there are twenty individuals chosen to enter the annual competition - which of course means I have a lot more competition to win the monetary prize . . .  (but that just makes it far more interesting.)

Walking into the  Acacia ridge Tip shop, I did not need to introduce myself  - they remembered me by my very heavy piece of furniture, which was my entry last year. (Drinks cabinet won in 2012) After talking to the friendly and helpful volunteers,  I walked around to the ringing cries of  "please - something not so heavy this year . . . . " so, with this in mind, I looked for small things.  

46 COLEBARD Street West, Acacia Ridge, 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/BrisbaneCityCouncil

Endeavour Foundation Tip Shop, Brisbane. http://www.endeavour.com.au/page/shop/tip-shops/

Once again I was confronted by a plethora of items. Would I Mosaic, paint, collage, print or redesign a piece of furniture? SMALL furniture.

Now here i am, with an extraordinary mix of old, new, and items that screamed 'don't go there' and others that I just needed to take home, with no fixed idea of outcome in mind.

I loved the look of them and though I did not know what they would become, I was  sure they had potential... . . .  I think!

I have an old broken light with glass fixtures (one missing, presumed broken) Toys, bowls, plumbing waste fittings, plates, more toys and half an old lamp base . . . . mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I want to use as many of the available things that I can, so that my end project will highlight the issue . .. which is, WASTE. . . . NOT to be wasted. . . . .

Not waste, that is rubbish, but waste that is just thrown away and could be given a new life with some cleaning, remodelling and imagination . . . . sometimes that is, LOTS of imagination!

So if you need a something why not try the TIP SHOP and assist the Endeavor Foundation at the same time, while also helping reduce the amount of WASTE that goes into our dump sites.

So now to making something - keep your fingers crossed and I will keep you posted,
Cheers

Go on . . . you never know what you will find . . .
46 COLEBARD street WEST, Acacia Ridge