impressĭo

[impressĭo], impressionis
Latin – noun: a mark produced by pressure, a telling image impressed on the senses or the mind.

Growing up in the picturesque setting of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, my earliest recollections consist of long days spent at pristine white sandy beaches. These beautiful memories of scenic landscapes have left a lasting impression on how I live my life and approach my work. In a sense, it is as if they are permanently stamped upon my subconscious. I thought that nothing could rival the inspiration of the ocean meeting the sand on a peaceful beach far away from the noise of the city. However, Over the last decade my travels have taken me to Italy, a place whose ancient landscape and diverse natural beauty have become a new and complementary source of inspiration. As I ventured further into lesser-known Italian terrain I became aware of the underlying similarities between a country, whose bounty was the source of my inspiration, and my home in Australia. The vast stretches of untouched coastline, diverse Mediterranean landscape, and the laid-back Italian lifestyle began to stimulate a new appreciation for my homeland.

I now live and work from my home studio on the top of a small hill in Brisbane. Working primarily with stoneware and porcelain, I often mix multiple clay bodies together to create a blank canvas. This amalgamation of textures enables me to experiment with my signature carving technique and my carefully layered glazes. When fashioning my work, I allow the movement of the form to dictate the final colour, texture, and overall surface treatment. In doing so, I let the clay acquire its own voice by reflexively responding to its natural form. This symbiotic relationship between my hands and the clay permits me to imitate the intrinsic qualities of the natural environment without exerting too much control over the medium.

My collection for impressio captures, reflects, and sculpts the stories from a life of experiences with landscapes both near and far. I hope you enjoy this exhibition as much as I have delighted in shaping my memories into organic forms that represent a conversation between my past childhood landscapes and my new obsession with a faraway land. These remembrances are now ‘pressed into the clay’ and I have brought together an assortment of art pieces, beautiful serving platters, and functional pieces that represents experiences and natural environments that are ‘pressed into my being’.