Posts Tagged ‘environmental’

ROOF TOP FARMS

Participating artists/designers:
Annie Novak and Ben Flanner

An approach to urban farming in New York.

Roof Top Farms

BLANCHE TILDEN : “Hope” Bandolier

Acid etched and coldworked glass, oxidised Sterling silver, nylon coated stainless steel cable

My use of glass and focus on repeating elements are inspired by observations of the everyday, and the impact of technology and the built environment on contemporary life.

This latest series of work evoke images of everyday urban life - a train track, conveyor belt, or freeway. These pieces have an impact, reflecting our individuality, and at the same time highlighting that we are all small parts of a greater whole.

The most recent work from this series, “Hope” Bandolier, uses the stark contrast between matt black and vivid green glass as a reference to the bright green regrowth which is now emerging from areas devastated in the ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires.

“Hope” Bandolier represents my optimism for better times ahead, and belief that things always improve.

Blanche Tilden is represented by Gallery Funaki.

DELL STEWART : Plank Scarf

Screenprint on raw silk

The woods will keep us warm.

NATALIA MILOSZ-PIEKARSKA : Forest for the Fences

Timber, enamel paint, cotton; hand whittled and painted

Populations grow and urbanisation spreads. Forests become cities and natural landscapes become private property. We flatten hills and replace trees with fences as we conquer, control and contain land in pursuit of a little something that we can call ours. A haven divided from the rest of the world by a thin line bordering mine from yours. We cut, shape and mould a home, a garden, a sanctuary from land that provides much of what we need to satisfy our nesting needs. As we continue to spread, to cut and divide, to manipulate and consume our natural resources, how much do we forgo when we can no longer see the forest for the fences?

LIZ LOW : Fragment

Thrown and constructed porcelain

Fragment stands alone and worn. Once part of a vibrant coral formation, it is bleached and eroded, waiting for the next storm to knock it to the sea bed.

This Fragment is part of a system of supply, demand, degradation and aggregation.

Increasing city populations and export markets demand more sugar. Sugar farming in Queensland expands. Excess fertilizer and turbid runoff affect the corals of the Great Barrier Reef. The coral dies, bleaches and erodes. The coral particles will accumulate and, in time, perhaps form a white sandy beach.

City. . . Country. . . Sea.

FIONA HISCOCK : Merrijig Rosehip Cake Stand with Bush Cockroach


Photography: Terence Bogue

Ceramic

I view the traditions of utilitarian ceramic vessels within a broader concept of functionalism, relating the form to pieces that were used in daily domestic rituals of the past. An increased scale gives the object a prominence and position not always found in our everyday lives.

The forms are painted with slip, ceramic oxides and stains, applied in layers of wash. Decoration of the works is inspired by plants found in remnant colonial gardens, and more recently, the weeds that accompanied the plants. The decoration tries to be faithful to the plant, giving as much botanical detail as possible.

I make watercolour studies of each plant prior to painting on the ceramic object, and was intrigued to note the presence of a bush cockroach while collecting a rose hip specimen in rural Victoria. I included this in place of a pollinating insect. By depicting the life cycle of the plant, I hope to refer to the seasons of life to which these everyday objects bear witness.

Fiona Hiscock is represented by Beaver Galleries and Mossgreen Gallery.

WENDY GOLDEN : Grass Sneaker

Mixed grasses and linen thread; stitched

Demographic change is sneaking across the Victorian landscape. The rural town of my childhood is becoming a dormitory suburb, now only an hour by train or freeway to the centre of Melbourne. Urban style development of land into housing estates rather than single block development exacerbates the destruction of rural landscape. Social change occurs as new residents demand services and standards readily available in areas with a higher population density.

Working predominately in natural fibres, my sneaker is crafted from the most common of materials – grass. The ‘logo’ or flash on the side of the sneaker of an arrow travelling backwards utilises an endemic fern. The increasing loss of such small plants in large housing developments is indicative of a backwards step. As sneakers replace Blundstones on the pavements, I ponder the increasing impacts of footprints on our fragile environment.

ANN-MAREE GENTILE : Poor Old Mother Nature

Paper clay and underglazes; hand formed

Poor old Mother Nature, urban sprawl, new housing estates, big houses, with no eaves built on top of each other. What are we thinking and when will we learn.

SALLY CLEARY : Desiccator 2

Hand formed porcelain and terracotta, mixed media

This desiccator displays a hybrid ecological microcosm containing objects hand-made, man-made and organic. It represents a life split between city and country, and symbolises my relationship with the land. It is a reminder that I too am part of nature.

ROSEANNE BARTLEY : Recent Collection 1

Found objects, sterling silver settings, stainless steel brooch pins

I work with material that has been left behind, discarded or dismantled by the process of everyday use, stuff that contains what archaeologist Michael Shanks calls the “background noise of history and experience.”

I survey and gather material from sites in my surrounds, my front gate, local parks, streets and waterways, namely the Merri Creek.

Overtime I am beginning to observe a trace that suggests something unique about the city I live in. For instance my house is the distance it takes to eat an icy-pole from the 7-Eleven; if you find one beer cap walking down a laneway there is a good chance you will find another of the same kind; and approximately 50 metres from McDonalds their white plastic spoons can be found.

The material trace I collect informs me about the people, the culture and the environment in which I live and it determines what I make. I can’t just order the material I want, or find it in the condition I need. For certain outcomes I am reliant on the weather and those who go before me.

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