The journey of creating 22 birds

In late 2023, I was approached by public art consultants, Artduo to create two artworks for a hotel in Sydney. At that time it was embargoed as the launch would not occur till early 2024. For three and a half months I went about researching, drawing and selecting the birds and flora as the inspiration from the interiors of the hotel as well as a beautiful, tropical wallpaper being installed in a restaurant.

You can follow my journey by clicking on the image below to read the book.

Below are the birds and plant life which inspired the patterns I would create on the bodies of each bird. This takes time to consider the shape, feathers, structures in order for them to translate well when I pierce holes or press markings. Then I go on to the actual making. That alone is another story! In a nutshell, the birds are slip cast, joined, pattern penciled, pierced / pressed, fired, sanded and polished. It’s a laborious process but one I love so much due to my love of birdlife and all creatures/flora and fauna great and small.

The final install and seeing my imagined artworks captured beautifully by Sydney Photographer Frances Mocnik. I love the ‘peep’ shots too.

Thanks

I would like to thank Artduo for the opportunity to create two new artworks and pushing new boundaries for me with displaying them as a wall artwork. I’ve been displaying my birds as objects since 2015 so this was a very exciting outcome.
 
I would also like to thank Andrew Sikorski from Art Atelier Photography who photographed the birds for my portfolio. Kurt Wang at Fidoso Picture Framing who framed them beautifully. Photographer Frances Mocnik for documenting them in their new home.

Finally, my heartfelt thanks to Novotel Sydney City Centre for displaying ceramics as wall art in their newly renovated hotel and aptly reflecting your new restaurant Birdie Bar & Brasserie.

Care | selected group exhibition at CraftACT

From Oct to Dec 2020, a small selection of my sparrows will be on show at CraftACT: Design + Craft Centre in Canberra, Australia.

In 2015, I investigated the disappearance of sparrows in my hometown Canberra. Five years on and after the bushfires raged across Australia and the Sapphire Coast in New South Wales, I felt compelled to revisit this series. Sitting in my studio, I refined the patterns and pierced more holes to emphasize the fragility of birdlife consumed at a rate unseen before. Now, more than ever, we need to care for our wildlife. This poem is for them.

shape the clay / small bird form

make the mould / a nest for the body

pour two slips / create one whole

slow the drying process / Nana’s hankie shelters the bird

pencil on design / bring it to life with marking

pierce with care / patterns reveals you

two firings / fully formed now

sanding and polishing, completed / light and fragile sparrow

Opening night of Protean a huge success!

Anne with (left to right) Megan, Lynda, Lisa, Fiona and Lena on opening night at Protean
Anne with (left to right) Megan, Lynda, Lisa, Fiona and Lena on opening night at Protean

Well it’s now been nine days later after opening night on Friday 3 July 2015 and I’m still on a high as our group exhibition Protean by 19 members from Claybodies Ceramics Group has been a huge success.

So many wonderful people braved 5 degrees and Canberra’s coldest night to date to support our opening. We were all in a state of shock as you could barely move.

Opening night before the masses descended...
Opening night before the masses descended…

But, the excitement and buzzing in the room was fantastic and everyone later said it felt like good vibes and happy people! We think more than 200 visitors attended and stayed till closing.

Niki and I talking about my new works. Note: she is wearing one of my graduating pendants she purchased. Aw, shucks!
Niki and I talking about my new works. Note: she is wearing one of my graduating pendants she purchased. Aw, shucks!

Sales kept our artists busy and catalogues flew out the door. Well at $8 for a beautifully designed book, we are not surprised!

Our group worked really hard to bring this exhibition to fruition as early as August last year. Meetings were held monthly and hotted up from February this year as it became apparent we had a lot of work to coordinate and delegate. Works were discussed with our Curator, Mark Van Veen, former CMAG curator and he provide guidance on selecting 1-3 works each and teaching us the essence of contemplating fewer objects rather than en mass. He also helped with sizing of plinths as we had to make our own plinths. This is rare as most galleries supply them but Nishi Gallery don’t have storage room.

So, my husband Adam spent many weekends and week nights custom making 17 plinths. Our garage became a mountain of boxes until a group of women descended with paint rollers in hand! It was such a great day as rollers went swishing and the boxes started to resemble art gallery plinths.

Adam in his garage with a few plinths...
Adam in his garage with a few plinths…

We also engaged a photographer, artist statement workshop and designer to pull together a stunning catalogue to showcase our works. All of this was purely funded by the artists. No financial assistance was received by local or state government. You wouldn’t want to know how much it cost…but we all truly believe in our practice and that ceramics is a truly wonderful art form that deserves prominence.

So, what work do I have this time? I’ve created a new body of work based on the domestic sparrow. Here is my artist statement in the catalogue:

Dull and brown, flittering in shadows, domestic
Poor little sparrow you are invisible
But I can change that
Porcelain and light, patterns piercing you
Delicate, white and now seen

A few photos from the exhibition which runs till 19 July 2015. Get in quick as works are selling fast! Also check out The Canberra Times and Sydney Morning Herald for a wonderful arts review by Kerry Anne Cousins.

Selfie of Domestic Sparrow series on catalogue and in-situ
Selfie of Domestic Sparrow series on catalogue and in-situ

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Fran, Anne and Linda in the local Canberra Weekly