The ArtyFarty, Soulful Sian Adnam

There’s a third artist involved in Art-Is-Tree, Sian Adnam.  Sian has a career as an artist, and art and design educator that spans over 30 years.  Melbourne born and bred, she and her family moved to Phillip Island in 2000, where she now is the owner and resident artist of Arty Farty Sculpture and Ceramics Studio at Cape Woolamai.  She offers classes in painting, sculpture, mixed media, mosaics and hand-built ceramics, and with the additional bonus of the accommodation she has attached, even offers the option of a weekend away with a private workshop … if you book of course.

 

I’ve actually only had the pleasure of meeting Sian only once so far, early last year, when Angie took me to meet her.  We chatted for a while over drinks and then she gave us a tour of the studio.  I must admit I got quite excited, because as I’ve said in my blog before, I enjoyed pottery as a child … and this was before my more recent efforts … and her studio is very well set up and scattered with examples of her work.  Her work is perfectly suited to the exhibition theme of Art-Is-Tree with her works being inspired by the environment around her. 

Ocean Road

Her pieces (well what I saw of them) include ceramics, mosaics, mixed media and found objects.  I truly loved them, and I have to admit I may have to take her up on the workshop she offered at the time … I could learn a lot from her … plus it’s location, location, location … in it’s own relaxed island life way, with it’s close proximity to the ocean. 

One of the things that really made an impression on me was Sian’s zest for life, and how much she packs into her life.  Not only is she an art educator at a local college as well as in her own studio, an exhibiting and commissioning artist, she’s also one half of a dynamic duo (with festival co-director Maria Reed who is also a photographer and publisher of Coast Magazine) who run Phillip Island’s Art and Soul Festival which is about to have it’s fifth innings.

Catering for all ages, this event will this year move to larger premises to the 82-acre property of Newhaven College, which has views over Western Port Bay.  The festival features over 50 art stalls as well as Rhythm, Soul and Blues music, workshops, children’s entertainment, and local produce to sample.  This year it will also feature a live chainsaw sculpting display by Angela Polglaze and some friends.

Yes, it’s all connected … like branches on a tree … Art-Is-Tree and the Art and Soul Festival … like life really … and art is the tree of life.

All a glaze ... soon ...

I've been prepping for glaze and trying to decide on final effects .... it's been so long since I've glazed something I'm struck an indecision phase.  Which effect on what?!

I remember doing things like putting colour glass pieces in pottery for firing ...but I somehow think I'll try and keep it to glaze effects this time.  I have brought a glaze pencil which I will draw with on some of the blank pendant shapes I made.  I have some designs ready in my sketch book ... just wonder if I should of brought more than one as I only have a red coloured one at the moment.

I have so many pendants I can afford to play a bit ... however I do want some of them to work out successfully.  I am hoping to give some of them as Christmas presents.  I've had some people suggest selling them which I guess is a positive sign, but my main aim really is to explore creative outlets ... to get my hands dirty ... not necessarily to make money from it!

I'm being to think that simple designs are the best but the glaze will prove me either right or wrong.  One of my favourite pendant designs is really quite simple:

Pendant - unglazed

However there is a design of a flower which is much more detailed ... (but not hand carved - it's pressed into the clay) but with the right glaze it could come up trumps:

Flower pendant

My biggest dilemma is the cake stand that cracked during firing.  I'm am quite sure this one cracked because it was at the very top of the kiln and once open the cool air hitting it first has resulted in some cracks.  The piece itself is still quite strong, however the cracks a little wider than what I would of liked - I'm not sure if glaze will fill them - and worst of all the cracks have meant that the surface is not level ... at one of the cracks you can feel a drop in height.  Guess this one is an experiment.

Can I fill the cracks with glaze?

All fired up! Well almost ....

My house has been a pottery drying area for a number of weeks now ... and even just in the drying process I've learned more about pottery.  I already knew that the pieces would shrink (about 10% they say), but seeing is believing.  I made a cake-stand that I originally thought would be of a decent size.  It's really now only for small cakes but I'll wait to see what the end result is like before I decide how big I'll make the next one!  In the drying process the top of it probably shrunk about a cm around all sides.

Terracotta cakestand (still greenware at this stage)

I'm a bit nervous about a vase I made .... it really isn't the most stable of pieces, although I like the shape!  Again, another direction that may have to be rethought if I make another one of these ... perhaps a flat bottom!

And then there's the lattice pieces I made which are extremely fragile in their greenware state.  I've taken a risk with these pieces - any moving of them has been done with great care and I'm worried they are too fragile.   I also don't know if I've used the right clay - for this kind of fine work I probably should of used porcelain ... however this is all really a learning process and about creating, so I should take the mistakes as lessons learned!

Lattice piece with terracota coil pot in the background.

Coil pot

So today I finally, carefully packed up my various pieces of greenware pottery and transported them over to Spotswood for firing, and I have to admit I'm nervous and excited.  I can't wait to see what works - and of course what doesn't work.  Unfortunately it was not without disaster.  The first mishap was while I tried to pack the vase pictured above.  I knocked the table and in saving the vase from toppling and smashing I put my hand down on the table in the quick save action right on top of one of my lattice pieces ... now not really worth firing.  Then a couple of the porcelain pendants snapped in half.  Wow this greenware stuff needs kid gloves!

The unfortunate fall out.

Naturally I wasn't that happy about the lattice piece.  Even though it really is an experiment I wanted it to work - back to the drawing board with this one.  I'll try it again but with slightly thicker lattices and in porcelain which being a finer clay can cope better with being thinner.

I drive to Spotswood was done very carefully with Zette our careful driver, Geoff (our firing master) and myself (me in the back in back nursing the pieces as best I could).  The unpacking at the other end was going to be telling as well.  I was beginning to wish I done a big solid piece like Zette had!  Luckily I only lost one or two more pendants (I've done quick a few), but alas I also lost the other lattice piece - the bowl pictured up above.  So I never will know how that clay in that kind of fine work will fire ... so on to the porcelain version as it seems less risky.

Next will be learning about glazes, that is if all the remaining pieces survive the firing - there could be some more lessons there as well!  I'm particularly curious about decals and also about using house paint to decorate pieces.  Yes house paint!  I read somewhere that you can use it on greenware.  I find this a little hard to believe as I would of thought it would burn off, but apparently some artists used to do it in the 50s.  If that's the case I'm imagining lead based paints, which some glazes used to be, or enamel paint rather than acrylic.  I've tried research this on-line, and although I've come across the odd comments on pottery forums where someone suggests you experiment with house paint they don't go into any details.  Like at what stage?  On Greenware, a second firing, no firing - but after all the process?  And what type of house paint?  I guess I'll just have to do what the pottery forums said ... and experiment!!

So tomorrow it all gets stacked up into the kiln .... fired for three days making sure the kiln has plenty of time to cool afterwards (opening too soon can also crack pieces).  I can't wait to see the end results and start my next lot of experiments!

My Maiden Blog

I have been exploring a number of creative outlets over the years ... and now I am going to start sharing them and perhaps inspire others to "get creative".  I find making or creating things to be meditative, good for the soul ... and I need to ensure I keep this side of me satisfied. By having a blog, I hope to keep having to find new projects to report on - have other people add suggestions or even comment on my works.

Part of this has come out of recovering from a disc problem in my neck.  Idle time and hands were driving me crazy.  I desperately needed a distraction from the pain.  A friend wanted to play with clay ... has access to a kiln ... and the first project began.

I haven't actually made anything with clay since high school art classes ... in fact I still have one of the pieces I made ... a sculpture.  Anyway, it took some "refreshes" with books, the internet and practice to get back into the hang of it.  I don't have access to a wheel, so it all been hand built piece, but I do enjoy getting my hands dirty.

Various unfired greenware pieces

Can't wait to fire these!


I've also been playing with some porcelain clay ... for finer pieces.  At this stage I'm making pendants.  Eventually I will try something more sculptural but at the moment I'm enjoying re-exploring the medium of clay!

Porcelain pendants - unfired, no glaze

The thing about a new medium, or in this case one I haven't used for a long long time - there's things you learn as you use it.  Like the fact that clay shrinks as it dries ... or that as it dries it can warp.  I started this whole process making tiles ... and quickly learn that drying tiles slowing, between flat items will ensure they stay flat.  Not that I mind some of my earlier ones ... they feel more organic!

Early tile experiments

More tiles in various states of drying.

All items need at least two weeks proper drying before their first firing, and I'm still making pieces (I made about 17 pendants just earlier this evening!) ... so I'll keep sharing these as I go through the various processes of firing and glazing and any new items.

But my next post will be about urban exploring and photography ... another passion of mine.