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Pinky & Maurice

Contemporary Ceramics

July 31, 2016 by Claire Atkins Leave a Comment

Straylia…Unearth Your Local Potter!

On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 August, more than 140 ceramic studios around Australia will open for the fourth annual Australian Ceramics Open Studios.

I’m opening my studio and I.CANNOT.WAIT to meet you all! I’m also SUPER excited to say that Vicki Grima is joining me in the studio to host two workshops and to present an artist talk!

In ceramic circles the world over, Vicki Grima needs no introduction, and I can see her cringe as I say this…but, she’s kind of a big deal. 😉

Vicki Grima is first and foremost an inspiring ceramic artist, and in addition to being an exceptional table tennis player, she’s also the Executive Officer of The Australian Ceramics Association (TACA), the Editor of the Journal of Australian Ceramics (JAC), and the initiator and Director of The Australian Ceramics Open Studios (ACOS)!

Vicki’s a mover and shaker, a human dynamo, a creative tour de force… I like to call her the BIG CHEESE, and the Australian ceramic community are simply quite blessed to have her as their champion. I caught up with Vicki on Friday morning as she was waiting to board a plane for Hobart to meet with the planning team for the 2018 Australian Ceramics Triennale in Tasmania … I was still in my pyjamas.

VICKI GRIMA PORTRAIT 2014

CA: Thanks so much for squeezing this chat in Vicki! Tell us, what’s a typical day like at the headquarters of Australian Ceramics?

VG: After walking my dog, a typical working day starts with a quick coffee from the local café (in one of my many handmade cups), then I settle in to dealing with many and varied emails and phone calls about everything from submitting articles, advertising, memberships and subscriptions, upcoming exhibitions, legal matters, insurance, taking payments, answering a plethora of enquiries and solving problems.

I’m lucky to work in a creative space with many other artists at Square One Studios in Alexandria, so there’s always someone interesting nearby for a chat. I also relish the times when people visit the office. I always have time for a cuppa! After work I sometimes drop by an opening of a local ceramics exhibition. Once home, evenings often involve some work on our website, our weekly newsletter or social media posts. There’s no doubt … I live ceramics!

(I can’t resist, I have to show you Vicki’s dog, not just because I’m mental about dogs, but because Bingo looks like a 1970’s rock star!)

12924457_10154750261543761_6325533397717590537_n

12592585_10154750261473761_2626933716756119270_nAm I right? Or am I right?!

We’re all gearing up for the Australian Ceramics Open Studios, what is the ACOS exactly?

ACOS is a national event for Australian studio potters, ceramic artists and community groups in which they open their ceramics studios on one weekend in August. 

How did it come about?

Driving back across the Hay plain after the 2012 Australian Ceramics Triennale in Adelaide, we were trying to come up with an event in which TACA members could put their liability insurance to good use, to sell their work and thereby spread the love and knowledge of handmade ceramics with the whole community. One weekend, nationwide seemed a perfectly simple idea!

What’s the best thing about the ACOS?

Every year we do a survey with our ACOS participants and overwhelmingly the best thing is the diversity of people who visit, from their next-door neighbour who had no idea potters still existed, let alone lived and worked in their street, to people who travel interstate to visit a favourite ceramicist. The potters also love feeling part of the larger national ceramics community and the enforced tidying of the studio as they prepare for the event. Studio visitors love getting their hands into the clay, watching a demo then buying a special piece to take home.IMG_7066We have 19 studios opening for ACOS in my stomping ground on the far north coast of NSW, and we’re excited you’re part of it! What can visitors expect from your workshop on Saturday 20 August?

Everyone will have a go at making two simple pinch pots using contrasting clay bodies – tuning in to the feel of the clay between their fingers and thumb and the spiralling action as they move their hands around the emerging bowl form. We’ll then play with impressed textures and additions to the bowl to create unique personal containers they can use (after firing) for food, flowers or whatever takes their fancy!

Vicki_Grima_

You’ll be visiting studios on Sunday 20 August. What are you looking forward to?

I love seeing people in their handmade studio spaces. Each is so unique and shows something of the processes they go through in making their ceramic work. It’s as if the whole person is there in right front of you – the person, their work, their space, their soul. I feel privileged to be welcomed in.

Say hi to everyone in Tassie for us Vicki, and thank you for joining us in the cyber studio!

The morning session of Vicki’s workshop, ‘Pinch Me!’ has SOLD OUT! Fear not mud slinger, there are a few places remaining in the 2-4pm session. Don’t miss out, book your spot here! Seriously. Do it right now.

You can also catch Vicki’s floor talk, ‘Hello! This is Australian Ceramics!’ at 1pm on Saturday 20 August in my studio. It’s FREE, and there’s no booking required. 

And don’t forget you can decorate a handmade plate with me and be part of ‘The Fantastic Flying Saucer Project’ from 10am-4pm Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 August! There’s just sooooo much good stuff for us to do together. Click here for all the workshop and artist talk details!

Tune in for next week’s blog post when we get dirty with the ceramic artists and studio potters taking part in the Australian Ceramics Open Studios in my backyard on the ‘North Coast Mud Trail’! 

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Filed Under: blog post Tagged With: australian ceramics, Australian Ceramics Association, australian ceramics open studios, Ceramics, North Coast Mud Trail, pinky and maurice, pottery, unearth your local potter, Vicki Grima, workhsops

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Claire Atkins
We have been overwhelmed by the support and genero We have been overwhelmed by the support and generosity of our community to install the controversial signage for our play ‘SHIT’ on their lawns and front fences! Thank you! Thank you!❤️❤️❤️ #oceanshores #makethatshitpop #privatelawns #publicparks #SHIT #australianplays
Last week Byron Council caved under media pressure Last week Byron Council caved under media pressure and released promotional signs for our play they had impounded. However, unlike every other event in Byron Shire we’re not permitted to install signage for this multi award-winning Australian play along public road reserves. 
Our play, with its provocative title, is about three women who have grown up in Australia’s broken foster care system. Their story is hard to hear, but don’t silence it, these three women and thousands like them have been silenced their entire lives. We’re permitted to display event signage from private residences or businesses. Please get in touch if you live or work along a main road in Byron Shire and would like to sponsor a SHIT sign.
Our SHIT has hit a community nerve and promotional Our SHIT has hit a community nerve and promotional signage for our play has been impounded by council following complaints. Come see what all the fuss is about at The Drill Hall Theatre in Mullumbimby, 12-28 March. EVENT TIX in my profile link.
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#SHIT  #shock #gasp #theylikeustobeladylike #australianplays #australiantheatre
‘Out of control girls, angry girls, nasty girls ‘Out of control girls, angry girls, nasty girls are a sight to behold. They’re terrifying, electrifying, they’re everything girls shouldn’t be, and we hate them. This is a play about three such girls, Billy, Bobby and Sam. And you’ll never forget them’
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We’re in rehearsal, deep diving into Patricia Cornelius’s brilliant and brutal writing to perform in her electrifying play SHIT. Playing by public demand from 12-28 March at The Drill Hall Theatre in Mullumbimby, and reimagined by a stunning creative team, under the direction of legend Liz Chance. We sold out quickly last time, so hop on it. Event tix up there in my link tree.
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#australianplays #australiantheatre #patriciacornelius #SHIT #mullumbimby #drillhalltheatre #byronbay #actor
I’ve been lucky to work on some exciting new TV I’ve been lucky to work on some exciting new TV series this year. And as much as I love acting, I love working behind the camera too. I was so happy to climb aboard this project as Art Director. COURTESY BUS is a piss-your-pants-funny Australian comedy written by Brett Stephens @brettsixsixty, starring @mandy.nolan, Nell Schofield @nellyvision, Tony Barry, @ellensbriggs, @andysaunderscomedy, Liam Olsen and @jen.kyna. Each episode begins at the end of the night, and tells the hilarious and heartfelt stories of a riotous cast on their wayward journey home. Coming soon! 

#courtesybus #aussiecomedy #bangalow #bangalowbowlo #comingsoon #pissyourpants
When a woman swears, or spits, or screams, or shou When a woman swears, or spits, or screams, or shouts, or laughs too loudly, or fights, really fights, or fucks too much and wears too much lipstick or none at all, all we want to do is lock her up or cross the street. Out-of-control women are a sight to behold. They’re terrifying, electrifying, and everything that women shouldn't be - or so we're told. This is a story about these women. Their names are Billy, Bobby and Sam, and you will never forget them.
 
After a sell-out first season, Patricia Cornelius's multi-award-winning play SHIT returns to the Mullumbimby Drill Hall Theatre by public demand on 12-28 March 2021. Starring Claire Atkins, Kate Foster and Kate Horsley. Reimagined and directed by Liz Chance, with sound design by Paul Pilsneniks and choreography by Kate Holmes. 

Tickets: $27/$24/$20 Enquiries 0420986570 
EVENT TICKETS in the link. This will sell-out. Book now.

#australianplays #patriciacornelius #SHIT
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