Art Workshops Gallery

presents

Helen Heathwood

Ceramic Artist

Helen has been a potter, both hand building and throwing on the pottery wheel, since studying at college in the 70's.
"In the 1970s I studied art and ceramics at TAFE NSW and then went on to obtain a degree in visual arts through Alexander Mackie College of Advanced Education which is now recognised as Sydney College of the Arts. I enjoyed discovering colour and design and also continued to learn more about the possibilities of working with clay. Under the guidance of Australian Ceramic Artist Peter Travis I developed a fascination with creating pinched forms as well as wheel throwing" says Helen.
Her fascination with creating clay forms using the 'pinching process' is born from the realisation that her unique signature, her fingerprint, hundreds of times over, is there upon. As she gently coaxes the clay with her fingertips it slowly metamorphoses into organic form bearing the fingerprint of its creator.
Presently, her creative space is the ceramics studio at the Hazelhurst Gallery in Sydney. Many of her thrown forms have aquatic images etched into them using underglazes and the sgraffito technique. All things aquatic representing sustenance in relation to the ebb and flow of life. On a physical level, human beings maintain a relationship with earth and water to survive. Her present works of water lilies and aquatic life signify her own hope amid the struggles of life. Symbolically water lilies are said to represent resilience in overcoming adversity as they emerge from the bottom of a muddy or stagnant pond, floating on top, perfectly formed and untouched by the quagmire.
Be assured this exhibition is an experience of beautiful tactile and visual impact and one that should not be missed!

Refreshments and nibbles on arrival.