New instore: Lyn & Tony

I just cannot get enough of Lyn & Tony and their series of jewellery '2'!

Not only have we got a re-stock of the large neckpieces (with new colour combos), we have also got a couple of new designs...

Such as the 'mini-me' of the larger pieces, same design just smaller and to top them off, they have a lil'bitta bling with chunky gold-plated clasps.

If you're more a pendant person, check out this gorgeous leather and sliced agate neckpiece! When the stone catches the light, it comes to life! A semi-transperent array of purples... 

A bangle did make it into the store... A gorgeous lil' aqua leather 'n coral number... But alas, I snapped it up!

 

 

Be sure to come by and check them all out!

HECHO EN MEXICO by Verity Roberts



La Sirena, encaustic on paper



VERITY ROBERTS has just returned from San Miguel de Allende in Gto. Mexico.


It is here she created her current body of work and it is because it travels with her that it is small in scale.

This time the works are all encaustic either on paper, tin panels or museum board and in a tin frame handmade by Sr. Carlos Siqueira, a local tin craftsman.

Que Rico (How Delicious!),
 encaustic on panel

The inspiration was the daily life and streetscapes surrounding her on this year's journey. It will always continue to fascinate and be evocative of another world where magic happens for her on a daily basis.

The delicacy of her work is still there but this time so is the colour of Mexico. The bright colours and the subtle ochres which surround.

Road to Queretaro,
encaustic on board

Prior to the residency she attended the I.E.A.A. (International Encaustic Artist Association) 2012 Conference in San Antonio, Texas. There she met with the inspiring encaustic community and sold some work to Alaska, New York and Vancouver. She attended workshops – with Daniella Woolf and Laura Moriarty – both reknown contemporary encaustic artists.

Hecho en Mexico closes on the 17th of November, be sure to visit the exhibition and experience a little Mexican magic...

(Photos taken by Sarah Callister, www.sarahcallister.com.au)

New instore: Workshop 8_5

Check out the new Workshop 8_5 bangles that have just arrived in store. Stack on some colour! 

New instore: Katrina Freene

Be sure to drop in and check out Katrina Freenes kitsch and colourful jewellery collection - perfect pieces for the upcoming summer!  

Featured Artist: Lyn & Tony

What attracted you/got you started on your artistic path?

We are both been obsessed with the beauty of nature, having grown up in the idyllic landscapes around Byron Bay, on the far north coast of NSW. Our art practice is a process through which we explore this amazing world that surrounds us.

What inspires you?

The natural world is a constant source of inspiration for us - we are constantly collecting rocks, plants, feathers etc that never cease to amaze with their incredible colours & textures.

How would you describe your aesthetic?

We would describe our aesthetic as rich, colourful & textural - we love to combine contrasting materials that highlight the beauty of the natural products we are working with.

Besides jewellery making, what medium do you enjoy working with?

Our jewellery developed as an extension of our art photography, which we have been exhibiting internationally for 10 years or more. Our photography explores the contrast of the fragility of the body against the harsh extremes of the Australian landscape.



Tell us a bit about your studio space...

Our studio space is a wonderful old lolly factory in East Sydney, one of the few industrial buildings in the area yet to be converted to apartments. The area has an interesting history as the centre of the Razor Gang action in the 1920s & was still surrounded by brothels etc up till the early 90s when we first moved in. It is a great luxury to have the space to use our studio for both photography and our jewellery making. The building has a wonderful, calm ambience despite being in the centre of the city and we surround ourselves with inspirational objects ...... boulders from our favourite beach, unusual and rare plants and pieces from our art nouveau ceramic collection.

If you could peek inside the studio of any artist, designer or craftsmen (alive or dead) who would it be?

We are very interested in the aesthetics of the french Art Nouveau movement and the influence of the natural world on the development of their art, so the studios of the sculptor Rodin, the jeweller Rene Lalique & the glass/ceramic artist Emile Galle would be amazing to see.

What’s next for you and your practice?

We are excited to have discovered some beautiful Australian opals to work with for upcoming jewellery pieces & we are looking forward to our first photographic show in Tokyo, later this year. We are also completing a photographic book project that we have been working on for a few years now, so its going busy!

Featured Artist: Hayden Youlley

Hayden Youlley's ceramics has a strong utillitarian undertone, whlst still exhibiting a fragile and pure aesthetic. Read on to get some insight behind Hayden's work and his inspirations.

What attracted you/got you started on your artistic path?

It was just a feeling that I would enjoy playing with clay. With no more experience than that, I chose to major in ceramics and applied object design at the College of Fine Arts, UNSW. After I completed a Bachelor of Design, I started working part time and spent the rest of my time developing my first range of ceramics, which took about 10 months. The whole time I was focusing on the goal of being able to quit my day job and spend the rest of my days having fun throwing mud around the studio. So far it’s all going to plan.

 

What inspires you?

I look for inspiration in everyday textures and forms that often go unnoticed. The Paper series makes use of a simple creased paper form. This form is cast in porcelain, making what was once fragile and temporary robust and permanent.

How would you describe your aesthetic?

My work is clean, refined, delicate and minimal. I believe that design has the power to make everyday life enjoyable, easier and beautiful. I aim to facilitate pure enjoyment in use. I believe that form follows function and I consider form to be a subsequent but equally important consideration.

 

Do you have a favourite piece of ceramics (other than your own) that you use on regular basis?

To be honest, I don’t really own any ceramics that I didn’t make! One of the greatest things about making ceramics for a living is taking joy in getting to use them everyday as well. Everything I have at home I made, I use and I love.

Tell us a bit about your studio space...

My studio space is one of the greatest things about what I do. It’s called the Blockhouse Studio, a communal studio at UNSW Kensington campus that’s open to the public. You get to interact with so many people on a daily basis that are all there to have a great time and enjoy what they love doing. The studio is always filled with great people to go to for advice, bounce ideas off or just to chill out and have a nice chat with. Absolutely beautiful work comes out of this environment.

If you could peek inside the studio of any artist, designer or craftsmen (alive or dead) who would it be?

Alfred E. Haigh of Haighs Chocolates. Though I definitely wouldn’t be able to just have a peek. I’d be all over that studio hoovering up all the leftovers, experiments, finished and unfinished goodness.

trip the light fantastic by Michele Morcos

Michele Morcos’ exhibition ‘trip the light fantastic’ opened with a bang here at Breathing Colours gallery - there was excitement in the air and an almost curious chaos, with viewers eager to explore every inch of every intricate landscape Morcos presented.

Rich with colour, bold lines and detailed geographical forms, each piece resonates a sense of movement, of life, a ‘humming’. Morcos describes the methodology behind her mixed media paintings and drawings:

“I do not use any photos or sketches to create my artworks. I use my intuition. It is about creating a visual language or relationship that pertains directly with me (the conduit) and the environment (the subject). An immediate and spontaneous reaction to the country that I find myself in, and the story it is telling me…. showing me. It is about a truth and an honesty that comes from an experience that is open and unfiltered through time or space.”

Be sure to stop by and explore ‘trip the light fantastic’ before its closing day, Saturday 7th July at 4pm.