Current Window Exhibtion: Artist Profile KATIE JACOBS

Katie pouring slip into a large mould during a residency in Denmark, 2005.

Katie Jacobs is enamoured by many a kitsch object and working with clay. Frequently slip casting with porcelain and other types of clay, she has quite a following. You may know her work by the over-scaled lollies and chocolates we have recently shown at the gallery (now sold out). Or you may be familiar with her flying budgies with paper and paddle-pop stick wings (available at Pieces of Eight).

Her new work is no less delightful, and perfect for the collector. She recently launched a new line of limited edition porcelain salt and pepper shakers. Hand painted and made in editions of only 20 of each pair, they are signed and numbered by the artist. Drawing on her fascination with kitsch souvenirs, she evokes memories of granny's old china collection and Australiana. Playful and fun to use, they make a fun addition to the dinner table. The pair of wombats even has the pepper coming out of the marsupial's snout!

Katie comments on her new salt and pepper shakers:

"I collect souvenirs. Amongst the treasures I have are; a kangaroo scrotum bottle opener, a stuffed kiwifruit with big excitable eyes and a tarnished bronze miniature of the Little Mermaid that my grandma has had since her trip to Denmark, 1979. I especially love Australiana and wanted to pay tribute to some of the iconic animals that are unique to this part of the world."

Above: A Kiwi fruit soft toy purchased during a recent trip to New Zealand. Below: A lion tamer and lion made by Katie from chocolate wrappers.


Each pair is infused with sentimentality and charming character. Here, Jacobs has carefully re-constructed these lovable treasures with a keen eye for colour and detail. They all have their own unique appeal and will no doubt sit very happily within the comforts of your home!

Our Current Window Exhibition: Artist Profile NINA ELLIS

Nina Ellis has been a busy bee. Her new minna fold bowl has just been launched after several years in the making. The origin of the design evolved from a series of mild steel bowls which she produced when studying gold and silversmithing at RMIT University back in 2003.

They were originally completely hand-made. Nina was inspired by the geological shifts of the earth and the fossils these movements bring to the surface. In these early pieces she employed the traditional Korean technique of inlay, Iybsa which requires a specially made chisel to be hammered into the metal numerous times. The surface created is then inlayed with fine filaments of gold and silver. The recent manifestation of these bowls brings a new functional quality to the works and come in a feast of exciting colours.

Below are some pages from her university sketch book, circa 2003.




The bowls were very well received and attracted some very high profile attention soon after they were made. In 2004 they were selected for NEW DESIGN at Object Gallery, Sydney, Australia. This exhibition was part of Object Gallery's launch in their newly re-located premises in St. Margarets, Surrey Hills. Then, in 2005 Nina's bowl's were selected for inclusion in the prestigious Talente Exhibition in Munich, Germany.

After several years of exploring how to make a more accessible version of the bowls, Nina has perfected the design so it can be laser-cut rather than hand-cut, thus making it more affordable. In 2008 the bowls have been re-incarnated into the minna fold bowl; a beautiful anodised aluminium piece with a fine glass bead-blasted finish. Available in various colours and soon to be released in various sizes, they retail at $245. To read more and view more images, please see the previous post.

These images reveal the inlay in the original bowl design.

New Works by Nina Ellis and Katie Jacobs

New works by Nina Ellis and Katie Jacobs:
Visible in the gallery window 24 hours a day until Sat 2nd August, 2008

In the window this July we launch new work by Nina Ellis and Katie Jacobs. Nina has created a series of anodised aluminium bowls in a range of visually striking colours. Titled the 'mina fold bowl', the dynamic design makes an ideal fruit bowl, retailing at $245. Colours includ black noir, steely blue, sky blue, forest green, golden yellow, dusty red-orange and red. The future will see Nina develop these bowls into various sizes and new limited edition colours.

Katie's gorgeous animal ceramic salt and pepper shakers (wombats, quolls and penguins) hark back to a past era of tea cosies, ceramic duck wall hangings and cupcakes in the afternoon. Each pair is signed by the artist and numbered in editions. With 20 only of each pair, you'll need to get in soon!
In stock now: penguins, finches and wombats with more animal designs to come in the next few weeks.

NINA ELLIS:
Nina completed a BFA (Gold & Silversmithing), RMIT, 2003. She has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Craft Victoria Mentorship, Emerging Artist Initiative and the SIEMANS Fine Art Scholarship Award, 2003. In 2005, Nina was selected for Talente, Munich. She has exhibited in the Contemporary Wearables, 2003/2007 and was selected to participate in NEW DESIGN: 2004, OBJECT Gallery, Sydney. Since 2005 Nina has been a member of the Pieces of Eight studio workshop and is represented by the gallery where she held her first solo exhibition, Welcome to Gemrock in 2006.

KATIE JACOBS:
Katie primarily works in ceramics, and holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts (Ceramics-Honors) Monash University, 2002. She has been the recipient of several grants and awards including Craft-In-Site, Ian Potter Cultural Trust Grant, 2005. Katie has held solo exhibitions in Melbourne at Bus Gallery, MIR11 and Linden. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions since 2003; at Westspace, Spacement Gallery, MARS Gallery, Heide Museum of Modern Art and The Jam Factory. In 2003 Katie was selected for Talente, Munich. She has been represented by Pieces of Eight Gallery since 2006.