Clay Feet Exhibition: Feats of Clay
Clay Feet Exhibiting Group in 2011
When Clay Feet Exhibiting Group launched their exhibition ‘Feats of Clay’ at The Old Bakery Gallery in Maylands they also celebrated the tenth year since the group began. Founding member and driving force, Andrea Vinkovic opened the exhibition with a delightfully personal speech acknowledging the group’s origins, achievements and remarking upon the diverse styles of the current members. Few know the Clay Feet members, history, and dynamics better than Andrea does. For this important milestone, former members were invited to contribute some work too, including Gwenda Brennan, Sheryl Chant, Alana McVeigh, Mel Sharpham, Andrea Vinkovic, and Alyson Hayes.
The Exhibition runs from 21st October to 20th November. The current CF line up includes Jillian Archibald, Elaine Bradley, Pauline Mann, Narda McMahon, Veronica McGrath, and Gillian Treichel. Clay Feet recently welcomed a new member into their Group – Anne Ryan.
There is an element of the illusory in much of Clay Feet’s work, these artists like to make a viewer pause and look again. Jillian Archibald’s work, often identifiable by the jaunty arrangement of thrown reassembled pieces, were glowingly, brightly coloured and, utterly, determinedly cheerful. Elaine Bradley’s ‘nest series’ comprises thrown double walled porcelain forms with soft curves and polished surfaces strewn with amber/brown twig and leaf imagery. The work has become more confident and assertive in the placement and scale of the photographic elements on the ‘nest’ surfaces.
Gillian Treichel continues to refer to domestic imagery of the teapot and lace curtains of a warm homely kitchen in her work. She revisits the silhouette of domestic ware in unexpected ways. Her knitted teapots cast in white slip combine textures and domestic elements that jolt and enchant simultaneously and renders the ubiquitous teapot silhouette in impressed, inlaid slabs. Her assembled multiple discs of polished porcelain emulate a bottle form, casting a distorted bottle shaped shadow. Pauline Mann’s beautiful, quiet, tall church-like towers invite you to ponder – what does the church mean to you? Do you have to ‘believe’ to benefit from such a place? Why is the door placed so high, how would you get in/out, and what do the keys symbolise?
Narda McMahon has a penchant for subversion. Her apparent nod to neo classicalism in the form of white porcelain figurative busts with sentimental but stark titles prod the viewer out of her comfort zone. There is sadness, isolation; the figure appears to have a defect, should you look away?
The group began when several ceramic students decided to stick together as emerging artists, to exhibit together and support each other’s development after graduating. Clay Feet benefits from the friendship of other artists particularly Angela Mellor and Sandra Black who have been great mentors to Clay Feet. Ten years later Clay Feet has shaken off its ‘emerging artist’ tag and morphed into a tight group working together in developing careers as artists, teachers – making, marketing, and selling their work.
ELAINE BRADLEY
SECRETARY, CLAY FEET
.jpg "Gill Treichel: disc bottle (2)")
.jpg "Elaine Bradley")
