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When you're uninspired

tianaballagh

If you're a subscriber to my newsletter you would have read that I have a few artworks in the latest Gariwerd Artists exhibition which is part of the greater 'Art is..' festival which is held every year across the Wimmera. This year 'Art is...FUNdamental Fire' -a continuation on from last years theme which was FUNdamental Earth and it's no secret (if you've read my newsletter) that this year I've struggled with the theme.

As a potter who experiments with pit firing it should fit in perfect. The whole process encapsulates the theme, but with my kiln still broken I've had a break from creating any pottery and instead been spending a bit of time creating some watercolours. It has the same unexpected and unpredictable results that I love about pitfiring.

I do though have a love hate relationship with watercolours and sometimes I wonder why I keep persevering with it, but I do persevere and so began my mission to try and be inspired by a fiery theme.

I was confident but also dismayed. I knew something would come to me, or hoping something would come to me (so hopeful is maybe more appropriate word over confident). When I thought of fire though, I thought of bushfires, destruction, smoke filled air, black soot and ash. Not exactly positive vibes, and to tell you the truth I also doubted my ability to even paint fire, or smoke for that matter.

On my almost daily walks which are a constant source of inspiration for me, through the local bushland I would often come across burnt down trees, stumps, charred wood and the like. This would work for a fire theme. What about native plants that require smoke or fire to germinate like Banksias or Xanthorreas which are often the first to regenerate after a fire. I took loads of pictures of different stumps, Banksia flowers, landscape scenes and colour variations but it didn't grab me. Not this time.

Then, a conversation with one of my artist friends in Northern Ireland (ninacouserart.com) instilled some hope in me. She talked about fire in a totally different light -warm fire places with light smoke billowing across tiles and brickwork. A more homey feel about fires rather than the ravaged landscapes that were encompassing my thoughts. I wondered if I could paint a candle flame with smoke slowly rising from the tip or a warm campfire. She then suggested I start doing word associations -so write down every thought or word that you associate with fire. And so I did. And the main word that I sort of kept going back to was heat. Heat -hot, heat -sun, heat -hot earth, heat -summer. You get the gist. So, was born my first painting. A sun kissed landscape at the end of a hot summers day.


I was happy. Or happy enough. Warm glow of the evening sunset, reflecting pink through the summer sky. The dry ground still warm from the days sun and the shrubs finally getting some reprieve from the heat of the day.


So happy days!

I still wanted to do another painting but I stopped being negatively obsessed by the theme. Maybe that a-ha inspiration moment wasn't going to arrive. Then one day I was driving home from work. There's a couple of places I pass and when it's Autumn it's at the time of day when the sun is at its glorious best. And I have to say the sunsets here are magnificent. (just google Wimmera sunsets and you'll see). Part of my trip home passes through farmland and I often admire the sunsets while passing however on this particular occasion I stopped the car in awe. It had been a late season and the farmers were burning their stubble a bit later in the year than usual.

Smokey field with sunset in the distance

The smoke was across the field in the distance. I couldn't see any flames, just the silhouette of some far off trees against a fiery sky and a smokey background across an empty field.

I had found my inspiration.




The Fire and Light exhibition is on at Redrock Books and Gallery at 67 Firebrace St in Horsham from the 24th May - 24th June.



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