Train on your parade

Hi, hope you're really well, just wanted to invite you along to a couple of new group exhibitions that i'm in, both opening this week.

First up is a group exhibition titled Physical Absence, A human portrait. 
Open for one day only this Friday November 1st, from 10am-9pm, at Missing Persons Space in the Nicholas Building, this show is curated by Maya Martin-Westheimer and features the work of artists Amelia Dowling, Leonie Leivenzon, Lucille Martin and myself.

Phsical Absence is an exhibition re-imagining societal interpretations of portraits and self portraits in which the human body is absent, allowing the opportunity for exclusively emotional portraiture. The removal of the human figure within portraiture is a response to societies' preoccupation with physical appearance and seeks to connect people through shared emotional experiences.

Two of my ceramic works featured in the show are 'Self portrait as a balloon'

And this work from 2016 titled 'Self portrait as a tobacco pouch'.

The other group exhibition I'm in that opens this week is titled LO FI HIGH, opening from  5-7pm this Saturday November 7th, and on until November 16, at TooT Artspace in St. Kilda. 

The show presents artists who make zines, and whose work focuses on both high and low culture. LO FI HIGH is curated by Jade Walsh and it features the work of Nat Thomas, Jordan Mariani, Caspar Zika, Laila Marie Costa, Holly Crawford (USA), Amy Silliman (USA) and myself. 

I've included a few drawings and as well as copies of my 200 page book from 2015 titled Ninety Nine Drawings of People On The Train, which was originally shown in the exhibition NEW14 at the Australian Centre of Contemporary Art. 


If you're interested in purchasing a copy of my book but can't make it to the exhibition please click here!

The last thing I'd like to mention in this blog post is just a huge thanks to everyone who's been out to seen my piece Soy Sauce for Dimmies in the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize!

It's such a big honour to be a finalist in this show which is still on until this Sunday November 3rd, so please check it out if you're in Sydney. (Also, if you're feeling generous please click here to vote for my work in the 'peoples choice'!)

Here's a pic from the opening of me and the brilliant comedian Tim Ross, standing beside my work.
 

Tim's been a supporter of my work for a few years now and I think he's really great, as is his book, and so it was really cool to finally meet him. And just for fun, in preparation for the night I made a ceramic sculpture of Tim Ross' great new book Motel and he was kind enough to autograph it for me.
And ok, I'm officially at a Ross for words. Thanks so much for reading, hope you're having a nice week and hope to see you soon.

Soy Story

Hey, big thanks to everyone who attended by the Drop-by Drawing I hosted last weekend at the National Gallery of Victoria, thanks for dropping by! 

In other exciting news my ceramic piece Soy Sauce for Dimmies has been selected as a finalist in the 2019 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, opening this Friday night. I'm coming up to Sydney for the opening so hopefully see you there!

For more info on the prize please click here.

My first job was at a Fish’n’Chip shop, where after school, from ages 14 to 16, I worked part-time taking phone orders, folding boxes, giving out bonus potato cakes and putting soy sauce on dimmies. 



Most dim sim eaters were happy to just say “yes please” or “no thanks” when asked if they’d like soy sauce, others however were much more specific. “Just a drop”. “Just a drizzle”. “Yeah drown them in it, mate”. “Can I get my soy sauce in a separate ziplock bag?” The more specific the order the more joy I took in getting it right.
 

15 years later and I’m still making dim sims, only now I’m making them out of clay. Rather than steaming or frying the dimmies I’m now kiln firing them, and instead of coating them in soy sauce I’m painting them in glaze.

Soy Sauce for Dimmies uses humour and sentimentality to playfully encourage us to celebrate the simple things. Or perhaps I should say, the dim-simple things.

In other exciting news I have a new ceramic sculpture of a melted Bubble'O Bill available at Cement Fondu Gallery alongside their exhibition Flat Earth Society, also opening this weekend in Sydney.

Fun fact, a lot of people think Bubble'O Bill has a sad face, but that's actually his moustache!

Thanks for reading, you're dim simply the best and hopefully soy you soon! 

You Readings me like an open book

Hi, if you’re around Lygon Street today have a look in the Carlton Readings bookstore front window! To help celebrate Readings 50th birthday I’m thrilled and honoured to be displaying 50 of my ceramic book sculptures.

Hope you get a chance to see it, and just this once, please feel free to judge these books by their covers!

As well as the book sculptures, also included in the display are ceramic tributes to the neighbouring community of shops- a pizza box from Tiamo's, a one scoop cup of choc-chip coconut ice-cream with Nutella from Pidapipos, a flat white from Brunetti's and a movie schedule from Nova cinema.

And also this ceramic sculpture of a Readings paper bag, featuring an illustration by Oslo Davis. 


Thanks so much for all the kind messages from everyone who's seen it so far, it's been a bit overwhelming and I'm feeling very beside my shelf!

It's up until 11pm today so still plenty of time to catch it up if your weekend isn't too booked up!

In other exciting news, from 2-4pm today I'm hosting Drop-By Drawing at the National Gallery of Victoria. So please drop by if you feel like drawing! 

All ages and skill levels are welcome, all materials provided, and it's free! For more info please click here!

Hopefully see you soon! In the meantime thanks so much for reading, and thanks so much for Readings!

Smurf's up!

Hi, here's a ceramic sculpture I made of a toothbrush called 'Old Mate'.

You can brush up alongside this piece and nine other works of mine at this weekends Fairfield Primary School 'Art For All' fundraiser exhibition.

Fairfield Primary School is located at 5 Langridge Street in Fairfield. The event begins 6pm tomorrow (Friday) night and runs until 3pm Sunday.  I'm thrilled to have been invited to exhibit as a feature artist at this event, and here's your invitation to come along! This invite features some wonderful drawings by the great artist Mirka Mora who originally opened this annual event back in 2005.
In other news, just wanted to say that I loved being a part of Open House Melbourne a few weekends ago, it was so much fun reuniting with my drawings and sculptures in the Town Hall collection and sharing them with so many awesome people.
Over the weekend I gave an artist talk to a total of 517 people which is pretty amazing, thanks so much if you were able to come!

And in more exciting news, pencil a visit to the National Gallery of Victoria into your diary for Sunday September 29 as I'm very excited to be hosting a Drop-By Drawing workshop there from 2-4pm. It's free and fun for all ages and skill levels, come along!

Here's a photo from the last time I made a drawing at the NGV.

And lastly I just wanted to finish up by saying Happy Fathers Day for last Sunday to all the Dad identifying people out there! 

Speaking of Papa's, here's a new ceramic sculpture I made of a Papa Smurf Pez Dadspensor. 

Book who's talking

Hi, happy Book Week!

In 2015 I started making kiln fired, hand painted, ceramic sculptures of books I really like and then taking them along to book events to share with the authors. 

To celebrate Book Week I thought I'd share five of these sculptures from my collection.

First up, here’s a sculpture I made last year of a book by the inspirational Australian writer Helen Garner!

I feel so lucky to have been able to meet Helen last November and show her this sculpture, and she was kind enough to sign it.

I love this book, if you haven't read it yet then you're really Garner love it too :)

The second book sculpture for today is one of my favourite books from 2017, Chloe Hooper’s The Arsonist. 

When I borrowed this book from the library I found a note left inside it. I loved the note so much I made a ceramic sculpture of it as well.

The third ceramic book sculpture I wanted to share for Book Week is the memoir How To Make Gravy, by one of my favourite singer-songwriters, the great Paul Kelly.

And here's a new ceramic sculpture I made of a tin of Gravox, which is how I make gravy :)

For the 4th book of Book Week, here's a ceramic sculpture I made of the stunning book Theme Park by contemporary artist Brook Andrew.

Huge thank you to Brook Andrew for being so kind and signing the sculpture. Also, a huge thanks to the brilliant artist Giulia Giannini McGauran for taking these next two photos of me and Brook Andrew with my book Andrew.

And my last book for Book Week is the fantastic At My Table, by English food writer Nigella Lawson.

My favourite part of this book is where Nigella writes about when NASA originally designed their first spaceship they didn't put in a table, it wasn't thought necessary. But it turned out the astronauts did mind. They asked for one to be put in, even if it meant strapping on a tray with velcroed food to it. As Mary Roach wrote in Packing For Mars, in the alienating isolation of space the astronauts wanted "to sit around a table at the end of the day and eat".

Nigella suggests that a table is more than furniture, just as food is more than fuel. She quotes M.F.K. Fisher who says that "Our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and intertwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others." And Nigella adds that "around a table is where these three things meet".

And so to finish up Book Week, here's a pic of the great Nigella and I around a table.
A humungous thanks again to all the writers for being so amazing and signing the book sculptures, and also a huge thanks to you for reading this. I hope you've had a nice Book Week and that you have an even nicer Book Weekend!