First day of residency at the Ipswich Art Workshop!
Thanks to the Ipswich Community Gallery for hosting me. I’m so glad to be here. The facilities are fantastic, and I can’t wait to make the most of the next couple of weeks.
I’ll be creating new ceramic works during my time here, and by the end there’ll be plenty of finished pieces to see if you drop by.
Visitors are very welcome. Come have a chat, see what I’m working on, or even get your hands a little muddy and play with clay.
I’ll be here Wednesday to Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm until 19 September.
See you soon.
♡
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Come and see…..
I’m so pleased to let you know that I’ll be having an exhibition soon, and I’d love you to come and see….
When: 9 to 19 January 2025
Where: Ipswich Community Gallery, d'Arcy Doyle Place, Ipswich, Queensland
There will be an opening event on Saturday 11 January 2025 at 5pm. You’d be most welcome to be part of the festivities – no need to RSVP.
For this show, I’ve had the great honour of working with Andrea Baumert Howard, an Ipswich paper artist who creates amazing work. We’ve been experimenting using architectural design elements, with a focus on geometrically influenced sculptural works in both paper and clay.
I’m hoping to have at least 20 ceramic pieces in the show, which will be mainly slab built and then saggar-fired multiple times to achieve a depth of surface texture. Think structure in shape, but chaos and unpredictability in surface treatments.
I also need to let you know that for some works I’ve embraced the encouragement from trusted friends to ‘go big’.
This exhibition has been such fun to prepare for, with the usual dramas of last-minute breakages of work, equipment failure, and having to substitute materials which don’t necessarily perform as their predecessors had. There’s also the joy of making in a sweltering tin shed, and gas firing outside in thunderstorms.
I’m aiming to be at the gallery everyday – hope to see you there.
Donalee
♡
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Still smiling every time I think about how Hive Resonance was a finalist in the National Emerging Art Prize!
Huge thanks to @nationalemergingartprize , and particularly to Hugh for his care and attention.
This piece was a labour of love and exploration, and is informing what happens next ….. stay tuned for an announcement soon.
Catch Donalee Moriarty @solid__state during her residency at the Ipswich Art Workshop! 💥
Residency Dates: 1 September - 19 September 2025
Drop-in between 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM, Wednesday - Saturday. 💫
Donalee Moriarty is a ceramic artist who explores the precision and unpredictability of clay.
Her practice is centred on experimenting with clays and firing processes, drawing inspiration from architectural forms, and weathered surfaces and textures.
She blends the precision of structured handbuilt forms with the unpredictable beauty of saggar firing. This exploration of the structured and the spontaneous, the predictable and the unpredictable forms the core narrative of her work.
See more about Donalee Moriarty's residency on the Ipswich Art Gallery website, link in the bio.
Artist in residence
This September I’ll be working from the Ipswich Art Workshop, and I’d love for you to drop by!
It’s a relaxed, open studio setting where you'd be very welcome to:
_ pop in to chat about ceramics – mine or yours.
- join in and make something with me.
- take a moment to slow down and connect through clay.
No pressure. No experience needed.
Just curiosity and a willingness to play.
Come as you are, stay as long as you like.
Where: Ipswich Art Workshop
Dates: 1-19 September 2025
Visiting days: Wednesdays to Saturdays, 10 am to 4 pm.
I’d love to see you there!
Clay on walls
While sculptures command attention on plinths in a show, what can you do with the surrounding bare walls?
You make ceramic wall art, of course.
This piece was my very first attempt, and I really enjoyed the process!
Each of the six components were saggar-fired on their flat ends to encourage a gradation of colour. I was hoping that magic might be possible in the centre of the work, where the materials added to the saggar interact with the clay to provide an interesting variation of colour.
Want to see it up close?
It's on display at ‘paper + clay’ at the Ipswich Community Gallery until 19 January 2025.
♡
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Shadow play
I’m in the gallery every day until Sunday, 19 January.
Pop in any time (between 10 am and 3 pm) to say hi.
Ipswich Community Gallery, d'Arcy Doyle Place, Ipswich, Queensland.
♡
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Sneak peek.
I promised myself I wouldn’t share too many photos of what’s in the show.
But ……
I do love this little piece.
I hope you like it too.
You can see it in person at ‘paper+clay’…..
When: 9 to 19 January 2025
Where: Ipswich Community Gallery, d'Arcy Doyle Place, Ipswich, Queensland
Opening celebrations 11 January 2025, 5:00 pm.
If you visit the gallery I’ll be more than happy to chat endlessly about my work, but don't let that put you off.
Hope to see you there.
♡
@discoveripswich@ipswichartgallery@artbeforehousework #discoveripswich #thingstodoipswich #ipswichcommunitygallery #ipswichartgallery #ipswichcitycouncil #ipswichQLD #qld #artist #ceramic #ceramics #pottery #clay #contemporaryceramics #ceramicart #modernceramics #australianceramics #contemporaryclay #potteryofinstagram #studiopottery #pots #ceramicsculpture #interiordesign #design #handbuildingceramics #ceramicartist
The Ipswich arts scene is starting 2025 with an exciting collaborative exhibition, "Paper and Clay," featuring local artists Andrea Baumert Howard and Donalee Moriarty. #ipswichqld #ipswich
What’s on the workbench?
I’ve been a bit busy lately with the final firings for ‘paper + clay’.
Right now, I seem to be painting terra sigillata in my sleep. My making process seems to already be ridiculously longer than most sane potters, but I do love the silky, smooth surfaces, even when the clay underneath is rough and uneven.
This step takes time (and is a bit meditative), with painting, buffing, and repeat, repeat, repeat. So why do it? You do it because you’re hoping for more distinct colours from the saggar firing process.
Of course there’s another train of thought, that I add steps like this to my process just to spend more time with each pot. I’m a slow maker, but I might be an even slower finisher!
Maybe my New Year’s resolution should be to ‘just finish the thing already!’ 😊
When: 9 to 19 January 2025
Where: Ipswich Community Gallery, d'Arcy Doyle Place, Ipswich, Queensland
Opening celebrations 11 January 2025, 5:00 pm.
Hope to see you there.
♡
@discoveripswich@ipswichartgallery@artbeforehousework #discoveripswich #thingstodoipswich #ipswichcommunitygallery #ipswichartgallery #ipswichcitycouncil #ipswichQLD #qld #artist #ceramic #ceramics #pottery #clay #contemporaryceramics #ceramicart #modernceramics #australianceramics #contemporaryclay #potteryofinstagram #studiopottery #pots #ceramicsculpture #interiordesign #design #handbuildingceramics #ceramicartist
