RANAMOK GLASS PRIZE 2006 Underwriter of the 2006 Ranamok Glass Prize

RANAMOK GLASS PRIZE 2006 Underwriter of the 2006 Ranamok Glass Prize JOHARKO INTERNATIONAL Coal Preparation and Handling Services RANAMOK GLASS PRIZE SPONSORS 2006 v Contents The Ranamok Glass Prize 2006 2 Miki Kubo 52 Reflecting on Ranamok 3 Ruth McCallum-Howell 54 Nudibranch Art Glass: Finalists Laurie Young and Tricia Allen 6 Christian Arnold 56 Nicole Ayliffe 8 Wayne Pearson 58 Andrew Baldwin 10 Denise Pepper 60 Annette Blair 12 Rachel Ravenscroft 62 Ayelet Brooks 14 Matthew Ryan 64 Christine Cathie 16 Morgan Shimeld 66 Richard Clements 18 Carmen Simmonds 68 Cobi Cockburn 20 John Skinner 70 Zara Collins 22 Crystal Stubbs 72 Hilary Crawford 24 Mark Thiele 74 Estelle Dean 26 Zoja Trofimiuk 76 Marcus Dillon 28 Emma Varga 78 Hamish Dunlop 30 Janice Vitkovsky 80 Evelyn Dunstan 32 Bethany Wheeler 82 Craig Ellis 34 Richard Whiteley 84 Tegan Empson 36 Robert Wynne 86 Wendy Fairclough 38 Finalists’ Biographies 88 David Hay 40 Glossary of Glass Terms 98 Derise Hemmes 42 Ede Horton 44 The Judges 100 Robyn Irwin 46 Ranamok 2006 Tour Dates 101 Nigel Jones 48 Acknowledgements 101 Sue Kesteven 50 The Ranamok Glass Prize 006 Ranamok has touched a lot of lives. The annual exhibition gives artists a vehicle to show the world what they are doing and the catalogue forms a permanent record that ‘keeps on giving’ year after year. I also know from first hand experience that, because of Ranamok, many people now take an active interest in the glass scene; buying, collecting and following the careers of artists who they’ve taken a shine to. Glass inspires that sort of passion… I’ve seen more than a few hard-bitten mining types, who you’d not naturally expect to see in any sort of gallery, enthusing about technique and form and spending big money on pieces that complement their growing collections. Ranamok continues to grow in stature and authority thanks to the efforts of many people. Obviously, the exhibition wouldn’t happen without the artists. However, the people who administer the Prize and create the catalogue each year are just as important… without their efforts as cheerful (most of the time) volunteers, there would be no Ranamok. Our financial sponsors form the third leg of the stool. As with most things in life, it costs money to do things properly, so without the sponsors’ enthusiastic financial support, none of this would be possible. As my immediate responsibility with Ranamok is raising the money, I would like to use the rest of my allotted space to acknowledge and thank the people behind the organisations noted on the frontispiece and, in particular, my colleagues at Excel Coal, who have shared the passion for glass since the Prize was started in 1995. All of these people have helped to make a major and disproportionate impact on the contemporary glass scene in Australia and New Zealand, showing that effective arts philanthropy doesn’t necessarily have to come with a big price tag. So, thanks to all… you’ve made a difference. I’m proud of what we’ve created and you should be too. Andy Plummer Once again, a surge of creativity as emerging and established artists respond to the call of Ranamok. Welcome, to our ever increasing audience and many thanks to our growing number of volunteers, artists, sponsors, administrators and judges who contribute towards Ranamok’s success. Maureen Cahill Glass Artists’ Gallery Co-founder, Ranamok Reflecting on Ranamok ...Glass is liquid, sleeping. pieces of art glass, was made. A 1st Century A mirror to the future – The line you make goes through the sheet AD Roman cameo glass vase, it has served 2006 Ranamok Prize like a wave through water, or a voice calling as an inspiration for glass makers since the In 006 the Prize attracted a record number in a dream, but calling only once. 18th century to the present day. of 11 artists. Of these, 41 artists have been If the glazier knows how to work without Until the 1th Century stained glass was selected for the 006 tour. hesitation, glass begins to remember...1 not widely used and only reached its full Artists included come from every state and Sand, soda, lime, heat and the glass artist’s flowering during the Late Gothic and territory of Australia (excluding NT and creative imagination are the essential elements Middle Ages in cathedrals such as Chartres QLD) as well as New Zealand. The exhibition needed to make works of art in glass. and Notre Dame. provides an up to date survey highlighting the The Ranamok Glass Prize, now in its 1th The 14th Century saw Venice assume its robust and healthy nature of contemporary year continues to celebrate this last critical role as the glassmaking centre of the glass art in the Antipodes. element; the glass artist’s creative imagination. Western world and the island of Murano The technical virtuosity demonstrated by lucratively exported its unique dinner The genesis of Ranamok represents the all works in this year’s Ranamok Prize continues ware, mirrors and luxury items to an ever too infrequent co-operation between big to be of a high order and the Prize celebrates demanding and status conscious world. business and the visual arts. The meeting of the ability of today’s glass artists to push the two visionary minds, glass artist and gallery The resurgence of high quality art glass boundaries of their chosen medium. director, Maureen Cahill and Executive in the 19th and early 0th Centuries is The exhibition includes established artists Director of Excel Coal Ltd, Andy Plummer inextricably linked with the names of such as Richard Whiteley, Wendy Fairclough, has resulted in an enduring celebration of Baccarat, William Morris, René Lalique Mark Thiele, Richard Clements and the beauty of glass making and the and Louis Comfort Tiffany. Robert Wynne as well as up and coming extraordinary skill of glass artists. However the history of early 20th Century artists such as Matthew Ryan and Zara Collins. Glass is an amorphous solid material which glass is also about the democratisation of The 49 works in the exhibition also becomes molten at high temperature. It can the glass object through the advent of mass encompass a wide range of age-old and be made into almost any shape. It can be production. In 1908 Carnival Glass made modern techniques. transparent or opaque, clear or coloured and its auspicious appearance, dubbed ‘poor can reflect as well as refract light. It is an enigma. man’s Tiffany’; it bought for the first time Until recently glass artists tended to specialise affordable decorative art glass to the masses. in one technique e.g. kiln formed, cast or A mirror reflected – blown. The artists in the 006 Ranamok Since 1945 many countries have been an incomplete history of glass Prize confound this expectation and clearly involved in the development of what demonstrate their mastery and ability to The history of man-made glass stretches is now called the modern glass art successfully incorporate many and varied back over 5,500 years. movement including Finland, Sweden, techniques in their work. The earliest glass objects found by Italy, Czechoslovakia, the United States and Similarly their work is inspired by a myriad of archaeologists are glass beads from more recently Australia and New Zealand. sources including landscape and architecture, Mesopotamia dated to 500 BC, whereas Important names associated with this political and social issues, literature and the advent of glass blowing occurred in development include Lino Tagliapetra, folk tales and fine art movements such as the Sidon-Babylon area some time Kaj Franck, Tapio Wirkkala, Dale Chihuly, surrealism, abstraction and pop. between 7 BC and 14 AD. Klaus Moje and Bertil Vallien, though many more names could and deserve to Clear glass was first made in Alexandria Reflected glory – be mentioned. about 100 BC and had become by 100 AD some works in the 2006 Prize This is the briefest of histories of this an essential architectural element for the Ede Horton with Big Red brings together amazing material; even more amazing windows of any luxury Pompeian villa. two age old techniques, kiln formed glass is that its basic elements are only sand, Alexandria was also where the Portland and decorative flocking. This unusual soda, lime and heat. Vase, one of the earliest and most famous combination results in an astonishingly Reflecting on Ranamok (continued) large decorative button, similar to Cinderella story to the contemporary world and the symbol of Horus and the gods, Claes Oldenberg’s blown up pop sculptures. of rave parties, text messaging, stiletto flip Vishnu, Brahma, and Lakshmi, the flower is Horton imbues the ordinary object with a flops and the Big Brother household of also a part of Buddhist philosophy with the fine art status. vapid beauty. flower’s unfolding petals at sunrise equating to the unfolding of wisdom from the Buddha. Zara Collins, also known as a fine art jeweller, Tegan Empson’s deadpan Bared Bunny Wynne draws on the perfect geometry of has an abiding interest in all things oriental, and Long-eared Lagomorph are reminiscent of nature and the passage of light to suggest in her beautiful Pillowbook Series. Classic erotic some post modern Cycladic fertility figures, the symbolic emanation of wisdom from Chinese images, drawn effortlessly in copper part self portrait and part contemporary this wire, float in a sea of glass, performing their idol/worry dolls, the defenceless and utterly most beautiful of flowers. sexual gymnastics for eternity. cute rabbits look singularly nonplussed at New Zealand sits on the edge of two tectonic being raised to cult status.

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