2011 was creatively a very rewarding year in the studio. SODA had the pleasure of hosting several fabulous International ceramics artists in WA including Robert and Elaine Shay from Kentucky, Alexis Gregg and Tanner Coleman from California and Lesa Farrant from Australia. In March I flew to Europe for 8 weeks to do a ceramic residency in the studio of Karin Widnas in the artist village of Fiskars, Finland. It was a great privilege to share Karin’s magical studio overlooking a frozen lake in a hazel tree grove with Alana McVeigh from Perth, Laura Mckibbon from Canada and Karin. The residency culminated in a show at the Karin Widnas Gallery in Fiskars.
2011 was also a year to sadly bid farewell to the permanent resident artists that we hosted at SODA for 3 years. Alana McVeigh, Karen Miller and Rachel Zimmermann. All three artists brought unrivaled energy, warmth, generosity and great creative focus to SODA. Their presence and amazing talents will be missed gracing the corridors of SODA. Thank you to these three inspiring artists for their contribution to the growth of the Ceramic Arts of Western Australia. They are three Australian artists to keep a close eye on in the future so if you would like to follow the careers of Alana McVeigh, Karen Miller and Rachel Zimmermann all three have great web presence through the following:
- Alana McVeigh: www.ceramicarts.dhmedia.com.au
- Karen Millar: www.karenmillar.com.au
- Rachel Zimmermann: www.rachelzimmermann.com