makingground
Blue Mountains as Material
23 August - 6 October 2013
makingground
Blue Mountains as Material
James Blackwell
Scott Marr
Lexodious Dadd
Paula Martin
Pam de Groot
Brook Morgan
Kath Fries
Simon Reece
Michael Hoffman
Bill Samuels
Tony Lennon
Jacqueline Spedding
Teekee Marloo
Chris Tobin
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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have always used resources from their
(camp, country, ancestral
place, spiritual home) to make the material items for everyday living or for special items for ceremonial purposes.
Even in contemporary times Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural practitioners draw from the land when
making cultural items or artworks using resources from their
or with respect from the country of others.
Whenever an Aboriginal person uses resources from the country, be it theirs or another peoples’ land, a significant
cultural practice is to seek permission from the custodial ancestral spirits of that place to take those things. It is also
practice, if someone was taking something from the ground or a tree for instance, to seek permission from that entity
to take something from it. Culturally this is a mark of respect as it is known that along with having an animate spiritual
presence, entities such as trees, plants, rocks, shells, clays, ochres and many other things more often than not are part
of the home of a range of living creatures.
Making Ground is an interesting exhibition from an Aboriginal cultural perspective as artists from all backgrounds and
all nations are using material from Aboriginal
to demonstrate their own artistic expression. It is important that
non-Aboriginal people show awareness and respect to the country if they are taking resources from it in producing
their work. Those ancestral spirits and the spirits of entities in the land are still here watching over their
. When
the proper respect is shown by artists when taking resources from the country, and the right way of doing things is
practiced, then the old people and spirits from the land may grant their permission.
Traditionally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people believed that ‘wellbeing’ is inherently connected to the spiritual
energy and the health of the land. Therefore these protocols should be observed in Darug and Gundungurra
here in
the Blue Mountains and in the countries of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout Australia.
Brad Moore
Burrubirra gal, a clan of the Darug People
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The concept urra (ngoo-rra) is a term which is used over a very wide area in Australian Aboriginal languages and generally conveys the same meanings as detailed above.
OPPOSITE: Teekee Marloo Untitled (detail) 2012, silk printed with Eucalyptus leaves, 138 x 192 cm
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making
g
round
Blue Mountains as Material
Making Ground showcases the work of artists from the Blue
Mountains and surrounds who use found natural materials
in their work. The artists utilise local materials: seeds, flowers,
wood, grasses, leaves, bark, clay and rocks as key elements
of their artistic process. The resulting work is diverse and
serves as a visual reminder of the rich plant life and varied
terrain occurring within the Greater Blue Mountains area.
Making Ground: Blue Mountains as Material celebrates our
local environment and reframes it in a gallery context.
Many of the works in the exhibition have been made specifically for
Making Ground. When discussing the exhibition concept many of the
artists were inspired to create new pieces engaging with the theme.
There is a focus on the raw materials themselves: earth, wood, rock,
flowers, fibres, seeds, and the processes used to make the work:
heat, carving, pressure, weaving and colour preparation. Many of
the materials and processes are still evident in the final pieces – the
works remain connected to the landscape from which they originate.
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Pam de Groot Nature Nurture 1 2013, wet felted Corriedale and Merino wool, bamboo, silk, hemp, raimee and river stones, 200 (h) x 200 cm diameter
Scott Marr is passionate about fire and colour and uses pyrography
as his drawing method. He then intricately colours the designs with
homemade pigments created from materials he collects both locally
and overseas – raw materials he regularly uses include ochres, sap,
flowers, leaves, coffee beans and berries. He associates colour with
place, so instead of thinking in terms of red, green or orange, he
thinks in terms of geographical locations.
Chris Tobin is a man from the Burrubirra gal, a clan of the Darug
People, and a traditional custodian of the Blue Mountains region.
He often shares local Aboriginal stories through his artworks. For
Family Tree (2013) he used the traditional ochre colours of red, yellow,
white and black mixed only with water. This striking work shows his
connection to the land and to his Aboriginal heritage through the use
of traditional totems such as the kangaroo, emu, eel and lyrebird.
Teekee Marloo is a Palawa woman whose Aboriginal ancestry comes
from Tasmania. She works primarily with natural materials and makes
her own dyes out of leaves and flowers, as well as using them to print on
fabric. She uses a combination of native and introduced flora, creating
beautiful natural colours and patterns on silk, wool and cotton. Marloo
also uses natural fibres collected locally to weave traditional Aboriginal
coil baskets that she then decorates with emu feathers and seeds.
Jacqueline Spedding uses plants and flowers dipped in clay slip and
fired with her ceramic forms as a way of embedding natural colour and
patterns onto her pieces. Like many in the exhibition she is interested
in clay and how it behaves when formed and fired. For Making
Ground she uses a flower pot mould to produce multiple objects,
each unique as the firing process determines the markings and
breakdown of the organic material included in individual pieces.
Simon Reece also works with earth. He creates fragments of the
landscape with a combination of locally found crude clay and
commercial clay. He glazes his forms with a homemade recipe
containing local iron rock, among other things. The resulting works
represent the rocky outcrops around the mountains and they bring
the landscape into the gallery.
Bill Samuels is a senior ceramic artist who is fascinated by the process
of creativity and how far he can push his earth based materials. He
uses gravel from his driveway, feldspar from an abandoned mine and
crude clay from his backyard to create remarkable assemblages. The
five works included here have a common theme – a vessel sitting on a
base. There is a sense of containment and elegance in the placement
of the individual elements.
Several artists have worked primarily with wood for this exhibition.
Michael Hoffman is a furniture maker who makes one-off functional
pieces out of discarded and unusual pieces of wood. He is sensitive
to the form and textures of his materials and creates elegant
unique pieces that reflect his love of the materials he uses. He
often incorporates river stones and steel in his work adding a
reminder of water and an industrial element.
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Lexodious Dadd is a man from the Ganimigal, a clan of the
Darug People from Wa-mul/War-muli (Prospect area). Bush Craft:
Continuation of Culture (c.1940–2013) is a selection of traditional
objects (made by him and passed down to him from his extended
family) made from wood, seeds, stone, grasses and kangaroo skin.
They include fire sticks, woomera, boomerang, necklaces, baskets,
clap sticks, an axe and kangaroo skin used for dancing.
Kath Fries has gathered the long strips of Stringybark discarded
by the tree to make way for new growth. She hangs them from
the ceiling mimicking the environment the bark came from and
using light and shadow she gives the work greater depth. Her
site responsive works are often about regeneration. Elapse (2013)
is also concerned with preservation as reflected in her use of
beeswax to polish and fill in gaps in the bark.
Paula Martin also uses light and shadow to create another
dimension, emphasising the depth of the landscape from which
her materials have been sourced. She responds to her immediate
bioregion, often gathering materials while on regular bush walks
behind her house. Her work Memor y Horizon 3 (2013) is a five
metre long wall-piece made from bamboo bound with muslin,
representing the space in which memories can form.
Fibre is another material featured in several of the works in the
exhibition. Pam de Groot is a felt artist who works with wool in a
similar way to an artist working with clay. She moulds and shapes
her three dimensional forms to reflect the natural world and often
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Michael Hoffman The Murrah (work in progress) 2013, driftwood, stones, Mulga, Blackwood, Ancient Redgum, Huon Pine, Holly, stainless steel, 175 x 105 x 33 cm
includes found objects such as river stones, sticks and seeds. Her
hanging pod Nature Nurture 1 (2013), a large cocoon-like sphere with
a long tail and inset rocks like eyes, is both familiar and alien.
Brook Morgan often uses plant fibres such as fallen Protea flowers and
Casuarina needles to create symmetrical repetitive patterns that mirror
the natural world. Her latest work Scratchy Sketches (2013) is made
from echidna spines, cotton thread and charcoal on paper. Collected
from road kill, the spines are like drawn marks moving across the
velvety charcoal ground with the red cotton thread cutting across both
the spines and the charcoal as contrast.
James Blackwell creates delicate grids of gumnuts, sticks, flower
fluff and paper. The repetition and the small-scale of the elements in
the work require contemplation from the viewer. The grids become
a meditative terrain – a miniature tranquil landscape. His interest in
decay, regeneration and cycles of nature are also evident in his Pod
Clusters. The pods are created from everyday materials and layered
with coloured earth, spiky leaves and other fragments of the bush.
Tony Lennon’s creative process is taken directly from nature. With
little intervention he uses rock and orchids to create ‘orchid penjing’
– a term he coined to describe the growing of native orchids on their
natural host, which in this case is local sandstone. The resulting
works are living sculptures; he sees them as a piece of the local bush
landscape brought into the domestic realm and the gallery space.
He has a deep concern for the preservation of the environment,
especially these fragile native orchids.
The Making Ground artists show us how ordinary natural materials
can be transformed into intricate, meaningful, beautiful and even
living works of art. The variety of processes and methods employed
by the artists shows the richness of our landscape and reflects
back our natural environment. It is clear that the raw materials are
still present – in many pieces there is a direct link to the terrain they
come from. The feeling of being in nature is evident when viewing
these works.
, Brad Moore
In his introduction to this catalogue titled
explains the importance of respecting the land from an
Aboriginal perspective, especially with regard to taking materials
from the bush. From my discussions with the Making Ground
artists I believe that, however different their cultural backgrounds
and artistic processes, the common theme here is a reverence
for nature and respect for the environment. In this sense the
artwork exhibited here is an expression of gratitude for the land
on which we live and all that it provides.
rilka oakley
Curator, Blue Mountains Cultural Centre
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jamesblackwell
Part of the joy in creating these works is seeing what can become of the easily discarded or ignored.
I also like to think of the valley floor as my art supply store!
James Blackwell’s artwork centres on themes of nature,
silence, structure and meditation. Utilising natural
materials gathered from the Australian bush, Blackwell
reconfigures materials into a grid like formation often
in a three dimensional manner with the use of textured
and handmade papers as a support. The overall effect
produces intimate assemblages offering a contemplative
space to reveal an aspect of tranquillity and stillness.
In addition to conveying calmness, the work implies
the passage of time. The objects’ intricate detail and
evident focus on process reveal a steady hand and
time spent engaging with the material. The ephemeral
James Blackwell graduated from the National Art School,
Sydney, with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Photography and an
Honours degree in Drawing in 2002. Since then, he has
continued to exhibit in commercial galleries in Sydney,
Canberra and the Blue Mountains. In 2010 Blackwell had a
solo exhibition at Bathurst Regional Art Gallery titled Second
Nature. He has also participated in the coveted Hill End
Artists in Residence Program and will be artist in residence
at Bundanon Trust in September 2013. Blackwell is
represented by Lost Bear Gallery, Katoomba.
www.james-blackwell.com
nature of the materials also invokes our own sense of
transience or impermanence, bringing to our attention
the degenerative nature of our own physicality.
Pod Cluster 0911.3 2011, mixed media, 15 cm high each
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lexodiousdadd
I am continuing the traditions of my ancestors.
Lexodious Dadd makes Aboriginal cultural objects and
teaches the younger generations about these objects:
their history, their use and the materials used. Bush
Craft: Continuation of Culture (c. 1940–2013) consists
of pieces he has made recently as well as pieces passed
down to him from his extended family. The marks on the
objects represent different stories. For example, the burn
design on the large hunting boomerang is of animal
ancestor stories, while the footprints and stars on the
clap sticks represent walking with the ancestors. The
clap stick wood was collected from Anangu Pitjantjatjara
Lexodious Dadd is a man from the Ganimigal, a clan
of the Darug People from Wa-mul/War-muli (Prospect
area). He has been making his own traditional
Aboriginal wooden artefacts for over five years. Dadd
is a cultural educator and he gives demonstrations
and hands-on workshops in schools and universities
throughout NSW. He is particularly interested in using
materials that can be sourced from the bush so that the
objects are completed without the use of synthetic glue
or paint. When Dadd travels, to visit or help family, he
collects materials to bring home to make artefacts.
Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands on his most recent trip west.
Bush Craft: Continuation of Culture (detail) c. 1940–2013, wood, stone, kangaroo skin, emu feathers, beeswax, seeds, dimensions variable.
This collection of objects includes those made by the artist and those inherited from his extended family.
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pam de groot
My work is informed by the natural world, its shapes and the materials under my hands.
Wet felting is a method of entangling fibres of wool and
sometimes other materials, making use of the natural
ability of the wool fibres to interlock and weave together
to create a strong and binding cloth. Water, soap and
friction are applied to the fibres to begin the process and
other items can be incorporated within the surface of the
cloth. It is an extremely physical process requiring an
understanding of the properties of various wools and fibres,
and the limitations of form and structure. De Groot hopes
to excite the viewer with the possibilities and mysteries of
this ancient craft as she continues to explore the seemingly
endless depths of its potential for art.
Pam de Groot has lived in the Blue Mountains since 1991. In
1989 she completed a studio ceramics course and worked
as a successful studio potter for many years. In 2000 she
decided to move away from pottery and was drawn to the
area of fibre art. Beginning with free machine embroidery,
de Groot moved on to felt-making and found a material she
is endlessly inspired by. She now works predominately with
wool, silk and other natural fibres, combining methods of
felting, embroidery and dyeing to create art works, garments
and accessories. De Groot has taught felting in Australia,
Europe and the United States.
www.pamdegroot.com
Nature Nurture 1 (detail) 2013, wet felted Corriedale and Merino wool, bamboo, silk, hemp, raimee and river stones, 200 (h) x 200 cm diameter
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kathfries
My engagement with site and materials forms links between micro and macro, the personal and the universal.
Kath Fries’ site-responsive practice spans installation,
sculpture and photomedia. Working with found objects,
Kath Fries has a Masters of Visual Arts from the University
of Sydney and a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours from
UNSW. She has been awarded numerous grants and
residencies including a 2012 NSW Artists Grant, a 2011
ArtStart Grant from the Australia Council, the 2010 Japan
Foundation New Artist Award, and artist in residence at
Bundanon Trust, Nowra NSW. Fries has also created siteresponsive installations in a number of locations across
Australia, including Sculpture at Scenic World, Katoomba
NSW; Strand Ephemera, Townsville Qld; Weereewa, Lake
George NSW; and Castaways, Perth WA.
fibres and natural elements Fries explores cyclic
interconnections between time and place, materiality and
memory, archetypical narratives and the uncanny. Elapse
(2013) is a quiet reflection on the passage of time and
fragile cycles of evolution. Long ribbons of Stringybark
have been relocated from the outside world into the
sheltered internal gallery space, prompting unexpected
encounters of scale and tactile physicality. Stringybark
is naturally discarded, fuelling bushfires that enable
regeneration. Similarly the use of beeswax in Elapse has
www.kathfries.com
connotations of both preservation (the traditional polishing
of wood to preserve it) and destruction (the current global
crisis of honeybee colony collapse disorder).
Elapse (detail) 2013, installation using Stringybark and beeswax, dimensions variable
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michaelhoffman
I take what is discarded, either by nature or society, and give each piece a new life.
Michael Hoffman uses timber as his main medium, often
incorporating metal and found objects. He has a strong
commitment to the environment and the ethical sourcing
of materials. The idea of ‘waste not, want not’ was
instilled in Hoffman from an early age by his grandfather
and it is this ethos that continues to drive him. Much
of the timber he uses is scavenged from the side of the
road or collected in the bush. Hoffman also has a great
appreciation for old industrial machinery, which he
restores and uses along with power and hand tools to
make his imaginings a reality. His passion is creating
works which are utilitarian, aesthetically beautiful and
well crafted.
Michael Hoffman has been making fine furniture, jewellery
and sculpture for over ten years. He has exhibited in a
number of exhibitions including the Fringe Furniture Show
at the Melbourne Museum. Much of Hoffman’s work can
be characterised by the creative blending of materials and
textures. Timbers with unusual surface patterning and
natural organic forms brought about by weathering, insect
damage and contorted growth are often combined with highly
finished surfaces such as polished stainless steel and glass,
finely fared curves and clean lines resulting in works that
highlight these differences yet allow them to exist together
as a harmonious whole.
www.michaelhoffman.net.au
The Murrah (work in progress) 2013, driftwood, stones, Mulga, Blackwood, Ancient Redgum, Huon Pine, Holly, stainless steel, 175 x 105 x 33 cm
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tonyLennon
I attempt to raise the awareness of people to these wonderful little plants
and the grave threats posed to their existence in the wild.
Tony Lennon uses the ancient Chinese art of ‘penjing’
(growing a plant in a tray) to describe his practice of
orchid cultivation. In conceiving the art of ‘orchid penjing’
in the 1990s Lennon’s intention was to learn more about
how native orchids grow, and to become a sculptor.
Lennon’s practice is about creating fragments of the bush
landscape rather than creating miniature landscapes like
bonsai. In doing so he takes great care in not harming
the plants or their hosts; the plants are cultivated in his
nursery and the discarded rock is sourced from local
quarries. Lennon describes his practice as ‘endothermic’
in that they are created in a process which is carbon
Tony Lennon graduated from the University of Sydney with
degrees in Arts and Law in the 1970s. He has pursued
careers in journalism, education and the law, and is currently
archivist and curator for the centenary of Parramatta High
School (1913 – 2013). Lennon has exhibited his orchid
penjings in a number of solo and group exhibitions around
New South Wales including at Penrith Regional Gallery,
Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens
and the Sheffer Gallery, Sydney. He is currently writing a book
about his practice of orchid penjing.
www.tonylennonsculptor.com
neutral and possibly carbon negative by cultivating plants
on natural hosts using discarded materials which would
otherwise end up as land fill.
Dendron bios I 2008, Australian native orchid in Blue Mountains sandstone, 23 x 13 x 8 cm
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teekeemarloo
I love working with natural materials, whether from plants, animals or the earth.
This is reflected in the creative process of whatever I choose to create.
A Palawa woman whose Aboriginal ancestry comes from
Tasmania, Teekee Marloo experiments with different
mediums such as wool, fabric and native plants. She
combines traditional Aboriginal techniques such as
basket weaving and art motifs with traditional crafts from
her Scottish/English ancestry. Marloo works with natural
fabrics like silk, wool, cotton and other unusual natural
fibres such as silk, bamboo or banana fibre to create
hand-dyed textiles. Vegetable peelings, weeds, flowers
and exotic leaves have all ended up in her dye pots and
print bundles. Similarly, Marloo combines recycled
Teekee Marloo has lived and worked in the Blue Mountains
for over 19 years. Formally trained in an Aboriginal Arts
and Cultural Practices course at TAFE, her initial art
practice was a mix of contemporary and dot art on canvas.
Over the years this has evolved into a largely fibre based
practice (felting, spinning, weaving, dyeing, basket-making
and jewellery) as she has become more aware of, and
comfortable with, her Aboriginal, Scottish and English
heritage. This ‘cross-cultural’ creative process allows
Marloo to experiment with contemporary and traditional
techniques, materials and motifs.
materials such as string and wool with plant materials
including bog rush, mat rush, Dianella and Native Flax to
form her exquisite woven and coil baskets.
Untitled Baskets 2005-2007, mat rush (Lomandra longafolia), vegetable dyes, emu feathers and wool, dimensions variable
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scottmarr
I realised that nothing describes an environment better than elements of that environment itself.
Scott Marr uses pyrography (burning an image onto a
surface using specially designed tools) to create intricate
works on paper and wood. For Marr, this process is
similar to etching, with the lines seared on to the paper
and wood reminiscent of the surface texture of the
etching plate. Each work is coloured with pigments that
are hand-made from natural materials collected from the
bush, the roadside and his garden. Some of his favourite
raw materials include ochres, sap, flowers, bark, leaves,
coffee beans and berries. Natural mordants (fixatives)
and preservatives are added as binding substances to fix
the colours. Marr’s subject matter is usually about the
intricacies of nature and our place in it. The use of locally
Although he considers himself a largely self-taught artist,
early studies at Julian Ashton Art School (1996) gave Scott
Marr grounding in the foundations and practice of drawing
and etching that has led to his ongoing experimentation
in pyrography and natural pigments. Marr has enjoyed
considerable national and international success in his
15 year career, with exhibitions in Shanghai (2009), New York
(2011), Melbourne (2011) and the Blue Mountains. In 2008
he won the Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize (Works on
Paper), in 2010 he was a finalist in the Doug Moran Portrait
Prize, and in 2011 he was represented in the Salon des
Refuses. Marr is represented by Lost Bear Gallery, Katoomba.
www.scottmarr.com.au
sourced natural materials is central to the work.
Eco System (work in progress) 2013, pyrography and natural pigments, 67 x 122 cm, photo: Scott Marr
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paulamartin
My work is more concerned with energies, tensions, powers, relationships, wellsprings;
evocative rather than figurative.
Paula Martin draws inspiration and content from the
textures, the rhythms and minutiae of the bioregion in
which she lives (Blue Mountain Creek catchment area).
In this artwork, cast shadows play as large a part as
the detail of the piece itself. In the making of Memory
Horizon 3 (2013), the repetition of form allowed the
artist a space to ponder, and to contemplate the
‘horizon of memory’, that line between memory (the
past) and the future.
Paula Martin graduated in Fine Arts at the National Art School,
Sydney, in 1973. Her practice has been influenced by her work
as a scenic artist and prop-maker with the Australian Opera
(1973 – 1978) and ongoing freelance commissions involving
design, scenic art, sculpture and costuming for theatre and
the corporate world. Martin’s own work has been exhibited
widely during her 35 year career, including the Art Gallery of
New South Wales, Penrith Regional Gallery, the Portia Geach
Memorial Portrait Prize and is represented in the collection of
the Australian National Gallery of Australia.
www.paulamartin.com.au
www.performingdesign.com.au
Memory Horizon 3 (detail) 2013, gauze, bamboo, glue, paint, local natural dyes, 250 x 500 cm
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brookmorgan
There is a sense of knowing born out of the considerable interaction
and involvement that takes place within the making process.
Brook Morgan’s practice looks at the significance instilled
within objects through meaningful engagement with
materials and the methods we choose to employ within
its formation. The collecting of natural materials, sorting,
arranging and assembling, is a process that is pleasurable
and creates a reciprocal dialogue. This dialogue is found
within the limitations and possibilities of the material
qualities, such as the flexibility of horsehair or the careful
handling of brittle grass stems and sharp echidna
spines. Morgan sees the materials she uses as drawing
implements. Mark making and the unique language of
materials is a further consideration within her recent work.
Brook Morgan’s practice is based in textile, installation and
assemblage techniques, working primarily with naturally
occurring materials. Morgan completed a Master of Fine
Arts at UNSW College of Fine Arts in 2011. She has exhibited
widely, including the Tamworth Textile Triennial, touring
regional galleries throughout Australia in 2013. Her most
recent solo exhibition was held at the Canberra Craft and
Design Centre in 2012. Morgan is developing a new body of
work in relation to the assignment of meaning and ascribed
significance through the adornment of found organic
materials and incidental patterning during an artist residency
in Iceland in August 2013.
Spiny Sketches (work in progress) 2013, echidna spines, cotton thread and charcoal on paper, 77 x 108 cm
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simonreece
I produce unique forms that engage and challenge the viewer to go beyond the traditional
perspectives associated with ceramics. Beauty and usefulness are prime motivators for my work.
The objects exhibited for Making Ground are maquettes
for Escarpment Rocks (2013) a group of sculptures
commissioned for the public art project at Blue
Mountains Cultural Centre. These works are made from
three different clays; two commercial and one crude
fireclay. The commercial clays are quite coarse and the
crude clay very coarse. These clays were blended together
and then made into blocks, torn, manipulated, slammed
and then made into objects that resemble local rock
formations. They are then glazed using mixtures of local
iron rock and a copper glaze made from copper, wood
ash, rice hull ash and feldspar and then fired to 1260°C.
Simon Reece commenced training as a potter in 1980 at
the National Art School, East Sydney completing a Ceramic
Certificate Course and a Ceramic Post Certificate. He
travelled to Japan to further his studies and work in Bizen
with Uneo Norihide – a Bizen potter specialising in tea
ceremony ceramics. He takes on commissions he feels are
sympathetic to his aesthetics. Food and the appreciation
of utilitarian objects have led Reece to work on many
commissions for restaurants. More recently he has been
making large scale environmental sculptures. Utilising a
particular clay’s properties and exploring its limitations
increasingly defines his work.
www.simonreece.com.au
Escarpment Rock (maquette) 2013, ceramic, 13 x 13 x 8 cm
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billsamuels
For someone interested in raw materials the sedimentary nature of the mountains is an absolute gold mine.
Bill Samuels is driven by a total fascination with the
nature of creativity, where ideas come from, how they
develop and reach maturity, how they stimulate new
directions, and the inter-dependency between ideas,
technique and technology. His ceramic interests started
with an investigation into raw clay – a material that
can be refined if needed, or used as it is found – an
interest which continues to fuel his work. Samuels uses
materials he finds around the Blue Mountains region.
Layered amongst the sandstone are a multitude of small
lenses of clay, each with unique qualities. Conjoined with
the igneous rocks at the western fringe of the mountains
Bill Samuels began his career in the arts studying Fine
Art at the National Art School, Sydney, in 1963. At the
age of 26 he put the paints and brushes on hold in favour
of his other passion – ceramics – a challenging art form
with its interwoven and complex mix of ideas, technique
and technology. Over the last 50 years, half of Samuel’s
professional life has been spent working full time in the
studio, and the other half teaching ceramics at the Canberra
School of Art and the National Art School, Sydney. He moved
to the upper Blue Mountains in 1981, and has moved into
a new house and studio where he has finally picked up the
brushes and paints after a short 46 years on hold.
and the remnants of volcanic activity that overlaid the
mountains, the palette of options is a constant source of
creative inspiration.
Glacier 2010, feldspar and clay, 25 x 80 x 50 cm
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jacquelinespedding
Using natural materials and processes, I question and explore our relationship to nature.
For Green Dreams (2013) Jacqueline Spedding has
used organic material gathered from her immediate
environment – roadside weeds and cultivated domestic
plants – dipped into clay slip and pressed into moulds
of common garden pots. This process builds up, and
breaks down, the form: during firing, the organic matter
burns out, leaving an imprint behind. The pots embody
presence and absence: as objects they hold traces of
plant life within their form, yet as forms they are ‘empty’.
Within the gallery the pots evoke the defined space of
the garden where order and control are in constant
tension with unruly growth and decay. The garden is a
threshold space where ideas of ‘wild’ and ‘contained’
nature shift and merge, becoming ambiguous.
Jacqueline Spedding completed a Master of Fine Arts in
ceramics at Sydney College of the Arts, the University of
Sydney, in 2011. In 2010, she spent six months at the Cardiff
School of Art & Design, Wales, UK, on a research scholarship.
She is co-founder of the Cascade Street Artist Studios,
Lawson. An experienced educator, Spedding has taught visual
arts to students at university, TAFE and high school, most
recently as a casual lecturer in the Foundation program at
Sydney College of the Arts in 2012. She exhibits nationally
and internationally including ArtXchange Gallery, Seattle,
USA; Sydney College of the Arts, Rozelle; Casula Power House,
Sydney; Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, WA. In 2010
she received the Zelda Stedman Travelling Scholarship.
www.jacquelinespedding.com
Green Dreams (work in progress) 2013, ceramic, oxides, pre-fired clay, paper pulp, organic material (dried plants, seeds, sawdust), 15 (h) x 18 cm diameter each
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christobin
I work in traditional Aboriginal colours: red, yellow, white and black.
Chris Tobin’s Family Tree (2013) shows local Darug
designs executed in the traditional medium of ground
ochre paint and shares Tobin’s Aboriginal connection
to the country from which the materials and culture
of the work came from. Four of the local totems are
represented: the kangaroo Patagorang is an important
figure in men’s business; Mariong the emu features
strongly in local Aboriginal lore; the iconic lyrebird is
represented on the branch; as is the story of Burra the
eel whose ancient journey links the Darug People to the
clan areas of the plains and coastal peoples to the East.
Chris Tobin is a man from the Burrubirra gal, a clan of
the Darug People and a traditional custodian of the Blue
Mountains region. He has published a booklet The Darug
Story: an Aboriginal History of Western Sydney, available
from Red Cockatoo Australia website. Tobin works on
commissions for government bodies, small business and
community organisations. He gives presentations to students
at Macquarie University and UWS. Tobin works with NSW
National Parks and Wildlife Service in Katoomba delivering
cultural presentations. He also teaches large groups of
children about ochres, weapons, Darug language, painting,
dancing and Aboriginal games.
www.redcockatooaustralia.com.au
Family Tree (detail) 2013, ochre on wood, 187 x 80 x 23 cm
34
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makingground
Blue Mountains as Material
acknowledgements
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre acknowledges that the
23 August - 6 October 2013
City of the Blue Mountains is located on the traditional
A Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Exhibition
Curated by Rilka Oakley
lands of the Darug and Gundungurra peoples. We also
thank the Making Ground artists for wholeheartedly
embracing the theme of the exhibition and for their
Published by Blue Mountains Cultural Centre
© Blue Mountains Cultural Centre, the author
and the artists 2013
passion for natural materials. Special thanks to Brad
Moore for his insights and research assistance.
ISBN: 978-0-9873100-3-3
Photography: Graeme Wienand
Design: Ela Moxham
Printed on Ecostar 100% recycled paper
Blue Mountains Cultural Centre
30 Parke Street, Katoomba • 02 4780 5410
[email protected]
bluemountainsculturalcentre.com.au
Cover: Chris Tobin Family Tree (detail) 2013, ochre on wood, 187 x 80 x 23 cm
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