When Katika Schultz aka @skullsbykat invited me to submit an entry to @yaw_way_platform’s end of year show themed “Home” I immediately thought of my little saggar fired houses but in the weeks leading up to the show (and still as I write), we had such terrible bushfires across the country, they took on another meaning and the morning I was due to deliver them, I awoke to the smell of smoke, words of prose and a new way to present them.
I took an earlier illustration of gum leaves and made a larger ink on paper illustration, a kind of map of where to place them and titled it “Home amongst the gum trees” which is also the opening line of a song used in a now antiquated gardening show.
My heart goes out to all those directly effected by the fires and those still fighting bushfires in other parts. I hope as a country we can find a way forward so we can still live amongst the gum trees.
The exhibition ran over the weekend Sat 23rd & Sun 24th November in the Sunk Bar at Narrabeen RSL in Sydney, which has been @yaw_way_platform’s home since it’s inception earlier this year.
For anyone interested, saggar firing is where ceramics are placed in a closed container filled with natural materials such as gum leaves. The smoke from the leaves infuses into the clay when fired. The shine on the rooftops cames from polishing the clay before bisque firing.