Vale Merran Esson

In memory of Merran Esson who died prematurely last week

When I applied at the National Art School in Sydney in 2010 I was asked to bring work to an interview at the painting department. 

I took my work and showed it to two  interviewing staff who looked very bored and who, after listening to what I had to say, said there weren't any places anyway and they had no idea why I'd been invited. I was dumbfounded but then asked if I could apply for the ceramics department instead. Oh if you want, they said and I went back outside to sit once again in the queue on the benches. Eventually I was asked in to talk to the ceramics staff, one of whom was Merran Esson.  

What a difference. These staff were bright faced, enthusiastic and supportive. They knew of the work of the Dunedin ceramic artist Jim Cooper with whom I had studied at the Otago Art school and invited me to join their student intake. 

I'd really only applied as a way to reintegrate into Sydney life after several years away, but I had a ball in the ceramics department, worked like a beaver and took home all sorts of ceramic objects despite primarily seeing myself as a painter. 

The people in the painting department didn't seem to be very happy, so I was pleased I'd been diverted to the ceramics group. Merran was instrumental in making the department a happy place to be. Thank you Merran. Vale. 

Art school sketches

It has taken me a while to get my web management software working again after the laptop got fixed but finally I have put some new work up on artsmitten: sketches done at art school.

Eyeing the future

School starts on Monday, National Art School in Sydney. New school, new life, same eyes.

Jahresausstellung II

More from the end of year show at art school.

The sleeping couple .... a reference to John and Yoko?

A cupboard which looked as if it had just fallen to the floor, crumpling the base and breaking all the mirrors and glass inside.

I liked this one particularly. The gingerbread heart (very popular here at Christmas time says "How's your carrier looking colleague?" On the left side of the picture is an employment ad seeking a 'Successful Artist'.

This is not part of the art show (though it could have been). It is my lunch + cup of tea and the photo was taken in the basement canteen.

All schools and departments have public canteens which is one of the good things about this country. The quality food in uni canteens varies from good to inedible and unfortunately the art school food was in the latter category. Sausages and potato salad were one of the edible offerings. The coffee made up for the food though... it was the best coffee I found in Hamburg. So I often got a coffee, eyed the food and decided on a liquid lunch.

Jahresaustellung

The semester is over here and the end of year show. The day before the show students were very busy hammering and painting and putting their work of display. There appeared to be a great deal of last minute activity, but the next day all the mess has gone. The show included everything including a new version of a disabled bicycle (patented), little electronic gadgets that go 'pop', huge enormous apparatuses whose function I could not establish, a couple sleeping in a bed, paintings and drawings of every type, witty installations and lots of tea and coffee and orange juice bars. One student was having his coffee introduced intravenously.

Old and roomy

Most of the corridors in the art school building are enormous, much wider and higher than the one covered with a web (previous post).
It is very difficult to get into the art school here, mostly I suspect due to lack of physical space. I look at these enormous corridors and think how many studios could be created with a retrofit.

Corridor web

A couple of months ago the second floor corridor at school was suddenly covered in a web ... along the walls, the roof and the floor. So it remains to this day.