Lazy Days – 2010
More Lazy Days 2011
Stories in Clay Kirsty Manger, Lee Goller, Jodie Maree Phelan, Meredith Plain, and Matthew Baird We are five artists who use clay, or in Matt’s case wood, to tell our stories
– stories which reference such themes as the clouds in a summer sky, nostalgic memories of carefree childhoods, al fresco dining, nature and the outdoors. We have our own stories – we come from different places, are different ages and have done different things, but have been drawn together through our desire to tell these stories. Last year Lee, Kirsty, Jodie and Meredith got together, sharing ideas and working with clay. Kirsty is a ceramic and graphic artist who often works on public art projects, sometimes with her mother Lee, a painter, potter and sculptor. Jodie has been working in ceramics since studying at the VCA. Meredith has been sculpting in clay for the past 20 years, as well as running the Bolin Bolin Gallery. The result was our 2010 exhibition, Lazy Days. This year we decided we wanted to develop these themes further and have a second exhibition together – More Lazy Days. We will be joined this year by Matthew Baird, who works in wood and has been collaborating with Kirsty on public art work projects.
My response was
” When I heard the title Lazy Days, the stories and images which came to mind were nostalgic childhood memories based in a small country town in the 50s & 60s. Cubbies and clubs, days at the local pool, or weeks at the beach, daisy chains, reading, swings & slides & swap cards, cowboys & indians, walking to school… Maybe not so very lazy days! But freedom to play, create our own narratives, learn.
This was a time when childhood was spent outdoors – before computers, and right at the cusp of TV – indeed, we were the first in our street to have a TV and there would often be a roomful of kids clustered round the set to watch the Mickey Mouse club. But this was also a time when we hadn”t heard, or hadn’t thought about the impact or growing material prosperity was having on our planet’s climate; didn’t realise all the magic new chemicals could be a problem; we were a White Australia and the original inhabitants didn’t have the vote
More information on these exhibitions
The 2010 exhibition
Some of my work included in the exhibitions
Setting up
