This weeks pictures are of the 'domestic' scale works at this years exhibition at Qdos Gallery. The first work is by Helen Quarrell. She has arranged short lengths of copper tubing, some of which have touches of verdigris on them, and glass test tubes wrapped with fine red wire in the cone shapes that make up the vessel. Her original intention was to place some small flowers in the test tubes. However, they were too small and looked weak against the visual strength of the ceramic vessel, which is about 60 cms long. The vessel is made of a number of small irregularly sized ceramic cones fuzed together looking like oversized coral.
In this next work Christine Denmead has used a single dark magnolia leaf and a branch of weeping elm in a tall vessel. She has carefully pruned the branch to emphasise the curving lines and accentuate the vessel.
I made this work using a branch from our apricot tree with its spring leaves opening, two arum lilies and have contrasted them with a lichen covered branch on the opposite side of this free-form vessel. So one side of the work has fresh and the other side dried materials. The upper part of the branch on the right extends well toward rear of the work and the apricot branch extends forward.
The vessel below is a smaller version of the one in which Helen Quarrell arranged the test tubes. Here she has arranged gypsophila to create a cloud of white floating above the work.
I have arranged some lichen encrusted box-thorn around this unique vessel. Because the box-thorn is dry material it does not need to be placed in the hole at the top of the vessel. The material complements the vase well; both have two distinctly different sides. In this image the yellowish lichen contrasts with the mostly blue surface on this side of the vessel.
On the reverse side the lichen is mostly a coppery green and the predominant colour of the vessel is terracotta. This surface of the vessel is more varied with beautiful subtle colourings.
The vessel stood on a pedestal in the middle of the lower gallery and so was able to be viewed from all angles.
Greetings from Christopher
6th September 2012
Love the works you and your students have created. The lines Christine has created are wonderful.
ReplyDelete