ON EXHIBITION @ The Centre Beaudesert

ARTIST'S JOURNEYS

POTTERY PROSE & PHOTOGRAPHY: Personal and community stories

24 JUL - 7 OCT 2020

OPENING

Friday 24 July 2020, 6pm for 6.30pm
Guest speakers:
Jean-Jacques Vaschalde and Ben Allmon

RSVP

5540 5050 |

WHERE

The Centre Beaudesert, 82 Brisbane Street, Beaudesert

ALL WELCOME

Scenic Rim artists share both personal and community journeys through their exhibitions Jean-Jacques Vaschalde Potter Craftsman: 40 Year Retrospective and Black & White Braid: Roads, People, and Stories of the Scenic Rim by Ben Allmon & Carin Garland

Jean-Jacques Vaschalde Potter Craftsman: 40 Year Retrospective

This exhibition presents Jean-Jacques' personal journey as a master potter and craftsman spanning 1971 - 2010. It features the many factors in the development, making, glazing and firing of pottery in Jean-Jacques studio 'Woodhouse Pottery' situated in Tamborine, South East Queensland. His studio was organised for all aspects of production, teaching, demonstrations and delivering talks about the craft and art in general.

His domestic-line pottery is influenced by English potters, Bernard Leach and Michael Cardew (1901–1983) and New Zealand potter Peter Stichbury (1924-2015). Producing the domestic pottery was a necessity to sustain a living, however one off pieces gave an emphasis from the practical to the artform.
An extensive collection of small to largescale pottery pieces are displayed chronologically giving the viewer an understanding of progress and development of ideas, as well as the manipulation of material produced to create the work. A series of photographs by Beechmont photographer Cal MacKinnon are featured alongside the pottery along with a collection of historical materials chronicling Jean-Jacques extensive career.

Black & White Braid: Roads, People, and Stories of the Scenic Rim

Ben Allmon shares personal and local stories illustrated by spectacular photographs of Scenic Rim history by Carin Garland: these stories and photographs are from a unique perspective – walking along the roads of the region and recording the stories of both people and place. The title 'The Black & White Braid' alludes to the intertwining of our region’s indigenous and non-indigenous people, the fact that we are all connected, not just by the black and white roads, but through history, through stories and through the place we share.

"I live on Macdonnell Road, which, as I was informed by a third-generation avocado farmer, was known as the 'Do-it-Yourself Road', due to the residents of Tamborine Mountain growing tired of waiting for a road to the coast to be constructed and taking matters into their own hands. The realisation that I can walk out my front door onto a piece of early settler history was the catalyst for the premise of these stories – to walk around the Scenic Rim, exploring the history of the place through the history of the roads, and more importantly, through the stories of the people that live along them".

"Roads are like stories, like people; one leads on to another. 

My road connects with my photographer’s – Wongawallan Rd - which gives us the chance to move from early settler history to the story of this fascinating Indigenous figure, and by extension the Wangerriburra people of Tamborine Mountain.  From there we could walk past Curtis Road, and a window into the pioneer history of this place, before the majesty of Main Western Road, and the view of the story before us – the Scenic Rim in its entirety, the layering of the mountain ranges one upon another. This layering is another element of the story, both the geological layering of lava flows that have shaped the Scenic Rim, but also the layering of people – from the Ugarapul, Mununjali and Wangerriburra people 40,000 years ago through to the first settlers, the wartime generations, the townsfolk, through to the modern residents. This has to be a story centred around people; how we make a place…and in turn how the place makes us", says Ben.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jean-Jacques Vaschalde 
Potter, Craftsperson, Educator

Jean-Jacques worked as a master potter and craftsman for over 40 years and established his production studio 'Woodhouse Pottery' in the Beaudesert region. He contributed significantly to the local community and wider Queensland community as a craftsman and educator. His work is represented in state and regional collections including Queensland Art Gallery, has featured in Craft Australia, he has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions and has won numerous awards across Australia. Jean-Jacques has an extensive teaching career conducting pottery classes across Queensland and New South Wales with Flying Arts School, Queensland Arts Council and NSW Craft Council, and from his studio. 

Benjamin Allmon 
Author, Freelance Journalist, Musician, Audio Engineer, Film Producer

Ben has written three books; Foot Notes (Odyssey 2016), Mr Ordinary Dons a Disguise (Odyssey 2018), and The Saltwater Story (Cairn Tor 2018), the latter shortlisted as a Work of State Significance at the 2018 Queensland Literary Awards. 
He produced the feature documentary The Saltwater Story and composed the bulk of its award-winning soundtrack.  A songwriter and audio engineer with over twenty years’ experience, he has released two albums.  A member of APRA, the ASA, the APA, and the QWC, he has written for numerous national and international publications. 
He has one wife, one son, and two left feet.

Carin Garland
Photographer

A long-term resident of the Scenic Rim, Carin Garland is a professional photographer whose work has appeared on the cover of Pump Magazine, is the exclusive photographer for Outland Denim (and Outland Journal), and O’Neill Australia amongst others.  A strong sense of community governs her approach to her work, and she has done shoots with many local businesses to help them raise their profile, including Scenic Road Magazine, Dasha the Label, and Zanzibar Hairstyling to name a few. 
With a focus and passion for portraiture and place, her photography has taken her to the USA, Vietnam, Bali and New Zealand, as well as around Australia.