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!

The path of Weis resistance

Hi, here's a new ceramic sculpture I was recently commissioned to make of an orchid with a ladybug on its leaf.

Well this is orchid..

A big thank you to Danielle for this awesome commission. Or should I say, this orch-some commission. 

In other exciting news, I'm exhibiting a few works alongside lots of really great artists in the upcoming c3 gallery fundraiser exhibition, titled The Utopian Object, which opens this Thursday evening.

My works in the exhibition are titled Weisier Said Than Done.

It's the Weist I Can Do.

And Everything Happens For A Weison. 

The Utopian Object opens this Thursday (July 25th) from 6-8pm. Hopefully see you there! I'm so excited about it I might even wet my plants!

Thanks heaps for reading, and as a final drawing to leaf you on here's a little study I made in preparation for my orchid sculpture. 

KitKat got your tounge

Hi, hope you're really well, just thought I'd say hello and share a few things I've been up to.

Today I got to be the Artist In Residence on the ABC Arts Show!

At the start of the interview I made a ceramic sculpture of a potato.And then during the interview I sculpted the ceramic potato into a ceramic potato chip. 

As I was leaving the wonderful ABC studios a security guard looked at my ceramic chips and the chopping board I'd been working on and asked "So, you're a chef?" To which I replied, "Yep!"

A huge thanks to writer and broadcaster Fiona Gruber for inviting me on, it was an incredible opp-chip-chewnity, and to producer Alice Walker for taking the photos, I really appre-chip-ate it! To have a listen to the podcast just click here.

In other news, here's a new ceramic sculpture I made of a book about the brilliant architect photographer John Gollings.

I first met John Gollings back in 2015. He was working on a book about the Nicholas Building, and my studio was in the Nicholas Building, so John dropped by to take some pictures.

Here's a photo of John and I in my studio in 2015.

And four years later here we are just last weekend, where John was kind enough to autograph my sculpture.

Huge thank you to John for his wonderful generosity, (or should I say, John-erosity!)

In other news I've just completed seven weeks of teaching ceramics and painting to year 11 and year 12 art students at the VCA secondary school. A huge thanks to all the staff for having me, and to the students for being so committed and producing some fantastic work. 

Anyway thanks so much for reading and hope you're having a nice week choc full of fun.

Speaking of choc, to finish up here's a recent commission I made of some ceramic KitKat sculptures.

My heart wheel go on

Hi, here's a new ceramic sculpture of a trolley wheel.

Here's a new ceramic sculpture of a Wagon Wheel.

And here's a new ceramic sculpture of a ticket for a ferris wheel.

Here's a new ceramic sculpture of a Wheel of Fortune.


And here's a new ceramic sculpture of a wheel of four tuna.

This series, titled Re-inventing the Wheel, is in my solo show on now until June 8 at Hugo Michell Gallery.

Fun fact- Historians used to think the first wheel was invented for chariots but apparently the first wheel was actually a potters wheel, so it's only fitting that every re-invention of wheel depicted here is made out of clay.

Here's another similarly themed work that's in the exhibition, a ceramic sculpture and painting duo titled Donuts.

A huge thank you to everyone who's seen the exhibition so far! (Or should I say, a hugo thank you to everyone who's seen the exhibition so far!)

And if you haven't seen it yet, I donut want to alarm you but it's only on until this Saturday so hole-pefully you might get to see it this week.

In the meantime though thanks so much for reading this, I wheely appreciate it!

Blue suede chews

Hi, here's a new ceramic sculpture I made of a Pez dispenser called "Chewie on Chewie".

"Chewie on Chewie" is in my new solo show, on now until June 8 at Hugo Michell Gallery, open Chewsday through to Saturday.

If you'd like to see a full catalogue of all the works in my exhibition, please contact the gallery :)

In other news, or should I say, other chews, last week I was invited to paint a mural in the kitchen of the Greenwood Park campus of Deakin University. 

The mural is spread over several walls within the Uni's second floor dining area and is titled "Deakin Chew-niversity Public Chewral"

This large site-specific series of paintings playfully combines lateral thinking with food, creating both a masterpiece and a master feast.

Presented as a smorgasbord of many different food themed ideas for the viewer to sink their teeth into, this is not just a mural, but a Chewral.

Thanks for reading, hope you're having a nice Tuesday, or should I say Chews-day.