Case Studies - Makers Inspired by Place
Pippin Drysdale and her work inspired by the Australian Desert
Pippin Drysdale is a ceramic artist whose work is largely based on the Australian landscape and draws on her visits to multiple deserts of Australia and create pieces that are vibrant in colour. Drysdale began her career as a herb grower, however, this changed after starting to make coil pots in a handmade kiln. She studied ceramics and during this time, travelled to Russia, Italy and America. This love of travelling is seen throughout her career as her work is inspired by places she travels too which is shown in the exhibition 'Breakaway.' Breakaway by Drysdale is an exhibition of pieces that are inspired by ‘the vastness of the Australian sky and the effects of differing weather patterns’ (Sabbia Gallery, 2020). This is especially shown through one of the collections 'Palm Valley', inspired by the area Palm Valley within the Finke Gorge National Park in Alice Springs, Australia. Palm Valley has multiple rare plant species and palms that also make it a popular tourist destination.
Fig. 1 - Palm Valley Collection from Breakaway Exhibition
Fig. 2 - Palm Valley
Another exhibition by Drysdale that is inspired by Alice Springs and the Northern Territory of Australia is 'Devils Marbles'. This exhibition is inspired by the Karlu Karlu Conservation Reserve and the different forms and colours within the reserve including the Devils Pebbles, a spiritual site where the Warumungu Aboriginal people dance and perform healing rites. This connects to the cloud like and calming strokes of colour that can be seen on the porcelain forms within the collection. The exhibition is split into three parts: 'Break of Day', 'Meridian' and 'Evensong' which can be seen as snapshots of the reserve at different times throughout her visit there.
Devils Pebbles I - Evensong by Pippin Drysdale
Bibliography
McDonald, J., 2020. Pippin Drysdale captures the spirit of Australia's landscapes. [online] theage.com.au. Available at: <https://www.theage.com.au/culture/art-and-design/pippin-drysdale-captures-the-spirit-of-australia-s-landscapes-20200626-p556jv.html> [Accessed 17 March 2022].
Sabbia Gallery. 2020. Pippin Drysdale – Breakaway Exhibition. [online] Available at: <https://sabbiagallery.com/exhibition/pippin-drysdale-new-work/> [Accessed 17 March 2022].
Australian Government. 2022. Finke Gorge National Park. [online] Available at: <https://nt.gov.au/parks/find-a-park/finke-gorge-national-park> [Accessed 17 March 2022].
Image Reference List
Fig. 1 - Pippin Drysdale, 2020. Palm Valley from Breakaway Series. [image] Available at: <https://www.pippindrysdale.com/gallery19/Breakaway20.php> [Accessed 17 March 2022].
Fig. 2- Australian Explorer, 2021. Palm Valley. [image] Available at: <https://www.australianexplorer.com/experiences/EX3464/profile.htm> [Accessed 17 March 2022].
Fig. 3 - Robert, F., 2016. Devils Pebbles I - Evensong by Pippin Drysdale. [image] Available at: <http://www.pippindrysdale.com/Gallery17/china.php> [Accessed 17 March 2022].
Annette Marie Townsend uses natural materials to make pieces inspired by her surroundings
Annette Marie Townsend is an artist based in Cardiff who is inspired by nature around her and works in her garden studio to draw on her natural surroundings. Her two main materials are wax and metal to etch her sketches into. Her background in Scientific Art means that she has created intricate models and conserved multiple botanical specimens. One of her more recent collections 'Alien' was made in collaboration with with National Museum Cardiff. The pieces themselves were inspired by the Welsh National Herbarium, a part of the National Museum Wales, which contains a wide range of plants from vascular plants (flowers, conifers, ferns), to bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), algae and fungi. Herbaria are used by botanists and scientists to learn more about different plants but for artists they can be used for inspiration. This inspiration and experience working with plants is shown in Townsend's wax plants that are detailed and normally take up to three weeks to make one plant. In the collection 'Alien', which she made during lockdown, she used beeswax that she collected from her roof to create these wax flowers, inspired by nature again, as she was using natural materials that were within her surroundings.
Fig. 1 - 'Aliens' by Annette Marie Townsend
Fig. 2 - 'Treasure' by Annette Marie Townsend
Another collection called Treasure, which was presented in a custom made acrylic box at Collect 2020, consisted of multiple variations of flowers in the box. The wax was melted down beeswax from New York which had been screened for agricultural chemicals by Dr Scott McArt from Cornell University, an assistant professor from the Department of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and were found to have pesticides within. The inspiration for the plants in the collection came from Townsend's collection of pressed flowers taken from late Summer to early Autumn and visits to the herbarium at the National Museum Wales. This collection was therefore inspired by two places, New York and Cardiff, with the material and the theme, awareness of pesticides in agriculture coming from New York and the nature and inspiration for the visuals of the plants themselves coming from Cardiff.
Bibliography
Townsend, A., 2020. Treasure. [online] Annette Marie Townsend. Available at: <https://annettemarietownsend.com/portfolio/treasure/> [Accessed 19 March 2022].
Ruup & Form. 2022. Annette Marie Townsend — Ruup & Form. [online] Available at: <https://ruupandform.com/the-makers/annettetownsend> [Accessed 19 March 2022].
Slade, K. and Whyman, S., 2021. Herbarium. [online] National Museum Wales. Available at: <https://museum.wales/articles/2339/Herbarium/> [Accessed 19 March 2022].
Crafts Magazine, 2022. Global Gathering. [online] (292), p.63. Available at: <https://annettetownsend.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/c292_58-67_global-gathering-collect3.pdf> [Accessed 19 March 2022].
Townsend, A., 2022. Annette Marie Townsend. [online] Annette Marie Townsend. Available at: <https://annettemarietownsend.com/blog/> [Accessed 19 March 2022].
Image Reference List
Fig. 1 - Ruup and Form, 2021. 'Aliens' by Annete Marie Townsend. [image] Available at: <https://ruupandform.com/collect/p/creep-e4lmd> [Accessed 19 March 2022].
Fig.2 - Townsend, A., 2020. 'Treasure' at Collect 2020 by Annette Marie Townsend. [image] Available at: <https://annettemarietownsend.com/category/uncategorized/exhibition/collect-open-2020/> [Accessed 19 March 2022].