Gwen Watson 1916-1994

 There is a "special sale" taking place on thursday march 3rd at leonard Joels auction house here in Melbourne, which consists of a single collection of the work of a potter named Gwen Watson. Like so many of her contemporary potters in the first half of the 20th century she worked alone, untrained, modelling pieces in the kitchen, firing them in an electric kiln in the bedroom, initially as a hobby, later providing pieces to retail stores in Melbourne and Sydney, and eventually expanding her skills to make jewellry and murals.

I went to the viewing yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. The pieces are much more ornate and cute compared with my usual taste, and surprisingly big, but this was more than made up for by their sense of fun and I can just imagine her enjoying making them - with darning needles and hairpins according to the catalogue. The bug orchestra was hilarious, and there are other orchestras made up of frogs and koalas. Most are estimated at between $50 and $1000 Australian, but I don't know if anybody knows what they will actually sell for. Think I deserve an early birthday present..
PS. Sent my husband off with a shopping list of possible presents and he came back with nothing!  All the ones I liked went for about four times their estimate. Cest la vie.

Maringka Baker

I really love this artist's work. She is another member of my favorite art centre, Tjungu Palya, in the remote APY lands in central australia, about 100 km south of Uluru. Here it is on google maps - see how remote.. She was born circa 1952, so must be nearly 70 years old.  Superficially they look like vibrant, abstract works, but like most aboriginal art they have a hidden story, often representing an aerial view, with tracks, waterholes, meeting points and landmarks... At about $20,000 dollars australian for a large example they are beyond my range but that doesn't stop me collecting and enjoying pictures of the examples I have seen, mostly courtesy of Marshall arts 

I am no expert, and each picture tells a different story, but the target shaped objects are often waterholes or campsites, the curved banana shaped objects represent aerial view of a sitting person, often with a  spear and coolamon beside a waterhole. Here is a site that helps with interpretation of the symbolism of a picture. I just love the fact that there is a fourth dimension; a hidden story.

Black holes

Been very much enjoying a blog called "wandering the dream space" which puts into words all sorts concepts that I find difficult to express verbally. The most recent post is about a photographic artist called Gary Fabian Miller who takes images of moving purity and spirituality (I have borrowed one, above right) without a camera.

I was reminded of an image by Louise Hearman (below right) which has always troubled me, in the sense  wanting to move on quickly and not linger and that, along with the contrast between the two I find interesting. What is it that is so frightening about the second one? That core of black emptiness, the decay at the rim? Something struggling to surface, long repressed from childhood?

Superficially similar pictures but quite different, and equally powerful emotions in response.

Brett Whiteley at theTarrawarra Museum of Art

Wendy Whiteley with Brett Whiteley's Self-Portrait in the Studio at TarraWarra Museum of Art in Victoria. Picture: David Geraghty Source: The Australian

Whats not to love about this place?
Food, wine, art, architecture, beautiful scenery, affordable contemporary ceramics for sale by Vic Greenaway, Sandra Black, David Ray, all in the Yarra Valley an hour out of Melbourne.

Brett Whiteley The telephone 1976, oil on canvas, 91.8 x 91.3 cm. Gift of Eva and Marc Besen 2001, TarraWarra Museum of Art collection. © Wendy Whiteley

Always thought Brett Whiteley's work was wonderful but only ever saw it piecemeal before- so interesting to see it all in one place, in the flesh so to speak. Many of the pieces had three dimensions with real sticks and stuffed birds literally coming out of the surface- these are the things you just don't see unless you get up close and directly experience his work which can be fun, tactile and vibrant and then other times incredibly dark!
The exhibition closes on March 20th, 2011..