Inga Hamilton in the Studio

Call and Response

opens at the Angie Newman Johnson Gallery at Episcopal High School
May 12th 6.30pm - 7.30pm, featuring a performance by the National Chamber Players.
1200 North Quaker Lane, Alexandria, VA 22302

Our three woman show featuring my work, that of Jessica Beels and Elsabe Johnson Dixon was instigated by gallery director, Elizabeth Vorlicek.


Elizabeth, herself an accomplished ceramicist, wanted us to create a dialogue in 3D. A conversation of elements, if you like. So whilst we all are exhibiting our individual installations, we are also creating a collaborative piece that will develop throughout the show's run.

Each of us has supplied elements, and they are coming together, morphing with each other and creating a 3D drawing that covers a whole wall.
Although the conversation was intended to take place between the three of us in person, due to my absence, Elizabeth is my proxy, placing pieces for me as instructed by email or over FaceTime. This has brought a fourth voice to the conversation, which is developing a great sense of play.

Please do visit the show, which runs to the end of June. Experience Elsabe's wonderful cocoon structure, Jessica's delicate flax forms and of course meet The Ancients, La Pachamama Santa Maria and Old Broc.

La Pachamama Santa Maria is the goddess of all - animal, mineral, vegetable. Share with her your joys and she will capture your woes in her whispering pots.

Made of textile, ceramic, bone, resin & polystyrene, she is 125% human size. Created entirely by me over the course of a year, I've hand- spun, dyed, crocheted, woven & felted the fibres right from fleece. I've cut every piece of leather, shredded every explorer sock, cast the tusks & eyes, sculpted the horns and even thrown all the whispering pots.
The entire installation is designed to be worn. You can see me modelling the head above.

Pennsylvanian Solo Show

Pennsylvanian Solo Show

January saw Old Broc, the 2nd in my God/dess series, The Ancients, join La Pachamama Santa Maria for my solo show in the Foster Gallery, New Wilmington, PA.

An Ancient storyteller and keeper, Old Broc, roams the land, shape shifting between the worlds of light and dark. Stories told stick to his pelt like pernickety burrs, travelling with him til eager ears lean closer and steal them back.
Traditions pass through realms under his guardianship.

Hand-thrown and built ceramic vessels and artifacts accompany Old Broc; storytelling bowls, capturing the Ancient's tales; leather lashed water carriers for divination;

scented oil vials, antler drinking cups and animal 'familiar' spell holders.

Story elements, puppets and plant roots are captured in his pelt, moustache and beard.
His thought lures tales in danger of being lost, just as an angler fish lures its prey.

The show ran until 27th March 2015 before shipping to the greater DC area.

 

 

 

Solo Show, 'The Ancients', Opens in Pennsylvania

Wow! What a way to start a new year...My solo show, 'The Ancients' has opened and I've created an entirely new sculpture for it. Meet Old Broc.

Old Broc is both Ancient storyteller and keeper.

Roaming the land, shape shifting between the worlds of light and dark. Stories told stick to his pelt like pernickety burrs, travelling with him 'til eager ears lean closer and steal them back.

Traditions pass through realms under his guardianship, collected in tokens and runes tied in his plaits.(Seen here in this rear view.)

He dangles his hand-carved thought lure, just like an angler fish, capturing stories as they float from peoples' mouths and minds.

Everything about the piece is handmade. I've processed my fleece, dyed it, spun it and crocheted it. Tucked in his sock-waste moustache and fur are hand-cast resin tusks and eyes.

I

 wheel-throw and handbuild the artifacts before firing them in my electric kiln or fire pit. There is over 3 months' constant work in 'Old Broc,' excluding the artifacts.

I've created ancient herbal potion vials in the shape of story characters; a trio of water carriers and their leather strapping;

a scented oil carrier with Viking carvings;

ritualistic antler cups for mourning ceremonies;

and a loving cup, to heal the heart when woes are foretold.

Old Broc is the 2nd in 'The Ancients' series. He follows on from La Pachamama Santa Maria.

Who for the first time, will be displayed with her head suspended over her body.

Eventally there will be 12 Ancients in total - number 3 is already in the making.

If you wish to see the first two together, with their artifacts, then head to the show!

 

INGA HAMILTON SOLO SHOW

THE ANCIENTS

Foster Gallery, Westminster College, New Wilmington PA, USA

Dates: January 14th  - March 20th 2015

 

 

New Year, New Challenge

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2015. I hope it's a wonderful year for you.

I'm so excited to announce that my pebble rug pattern has been chosen as the 2015 crochet and knit along for
the brilliantly crafty blog and podcast.

Join us all, as we create, swap, chat and crochet along together over the next year.

There's a special discount for iMake listeners, too. So pop over to iMake and read on...

 

You can now find my blog on bloglovin'

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3029429/?claim=8qdzzdgefn2">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

The Opening!

 

A sunny June evening, lots of vistors - including the Portuguese Ambassador, Bernardo Futscher Pereira and his engaging wife, who I wish I'd had more time to chat to - attended the VISUAL Carlow Materialisation: Mapping the Making opening.

 

Only hours before, I'd been primping and puffing the last few bits of the installation. The very weight of the cape means it has to be sewn shut to stop it slipping off the dummy.

 I know it's my own insanity played out in public, but every stitch and shell and fringe must be in exactly the right place for me to feel balanced.

I

 The backdrop makes the perfect setting of calm and serenity. 

 

 A short film plays at the entrance to the gallery documenting each of our progressions through the project.

Alongside my sculpture, a vitrine shows examples of my practice and materials - how I dye, spin, throw, fire and make every element of my work. (One friend joked that she wouldn't put it past me to know the sheeps' names. That is taking it a bit far....although I could name each of the Alpapcas I've met if I tried hard to remember...)

When I'm working, I feel like an alchemist, adding a little of this and a little of that to make the perfect potion combination. So I put all my base materials in little apothecary jars.

The opening was a great success, with 400 visitors, and many more set to stream through the gallery during its run. 

It's open until the 31st August, is free, and is well worth a visit. Vasconcelos' work is AMAZING!

 

 

 

Finally! Materialisation: Mapping the Making opens!

 If you'd like to see La Pachamama Santa Maria in the flesh (so to speak) Then it's time to take a trip to VISUAL Carlow, Ireland, anytime from the 6th June - 31st August.

 If you want an idea of scale, that's my shoulder you can see above. I'm in there.

You'll have a 360 degree view of her in the gallery. From lefhand side...

To righthand side...

 Ahe's 2m 50cm long from the seaweed front (I've cut every single piece by hand).

To the tip of her padded beaver tail...

Thank you to the Arts Council of Northern Ireland

 and Bridgedale Socks

for helping to make this piece possible.

And to my ceramics and willow weaver collaborators, Patricia and Neil Millar, Gus Mableson, Bob Johnston and Peter Meanley. I couldn't have done it without you.

La Pachamama Santa Maria will be travelling to Washington DC in the spring of 2015.

So without further ado, here's the full Eigse Festival Programme.

I'm so proud to be a part.

 

 Here's a link to the full programme. 

Hope to see you there. x

Materialisation: Mapping the Maker update 8

Welcome to May!

 

(I nearly don't dare saying it, but..) La Pachamama is almost finished. It's been such a mammoth task that at times it felt never ending, even though I knew I was on schedule.

 

The cape is finished and just awaits the whispering pots, for which I'm currently designing the leather hanging straps.

A whispering pygmy pot (just 3cm high)

 

 As you can see, it's filled the room I'm temporarily working in whilst my studios are built.

 

 

 

As for her head, I want to adjust a bit of her under mane, which will be visible due to the tilted display angle proposed by the gallery. And her nose is still an undecided factor. Not sure if I want her to have one or not.

 

But the ice tusks work well for me.

So really, just a few minor tweaks to go.

 

The show opens on the 6th May at Visual Carlow, Ireland, and continues til the 31st August 2014.

La Pachamama Santa Maria at Visual - update

Hello All, well, what a week!

I could not have dreamt how much a trip to Orkney would influence my work, and in such a different way than I thought.

I went to learn about neolithic ceramic techniques (which I did). But I came back with a wider understanding of the people that lived in both Orkney and Ireland more than 5,000 years ago.

What beautiful, funny, talented crafts people they were! They didn't just make course, functional pots, but produced sparkling, highly-decorated vessels to cherish, that still work today.

And as for their beads, combs, clothing adornments, architecture and furniture! I am astounded. I can only guess at what their clothing must have been like. It's a shame that textiles don't last the way ceramics do. I think we would all be begging to learn their weaving skills.

I'm humbled by their work. The trip will inform my practice for many years to come. And as Orkney archeology is in the hands of the finders, it's very informal, so I was able to handle all these items rather than stare at them in a case under subdued lighting. A priceless experience - to hold eagle talon and whale teeth beads.

Work on La Pachamama Santa Maria is moving forward. This week I have concentrated on documenting my trip to Orkney for the gallery book and making her beaver tail.

 

I'm going to attach pictures of just two things this week - neither my work. Firstly, the Ring of Brodgar as darkness falls, amidst the 66 standing stones. And the other of something that blew me away. It's a button, shiny and black, made from bitumen rock. It was found in the Tomb of the Eagles on Orkney and is either Neolithic, or possibly Megalithic... I think you'll agree that these were not primitive people 5,000 - 8,000 years ago... til next week,

Materialisation: Mapping The Maker update 6

 

A muted palette this week.

I've been doing a lot of cut leather work and adding it to the front of La Pachamama Santa Maria's cape. The cream and beige pieces here (hopefully) echo sting rays and feathers alike as they tumble to the seaweed.

 
The pit firing was spectacular. It was entrancing. And as you can see, the whispering pots that came out of it were beautiful. The salt flashed red and orange on the surface. The pit also yielded onyx-like blackness on some beads.

The creamier coloured beads were brushed with a simple willow ash paste, which formed a natural glaze in the electric kiln. 

So I'm about to jump the plane to Orkney in half an hour, to experience the land and peoples who invented the technology that I've been exploring on this project. Expect lots of pictures of standing stones and rock carvings next week....

Take care

Inga

Materialisation - Mapping the Maker - update 5

I'm beginning to realise that by mapping my making for the gallery (and on this blog) in this public manner, I am for the first time, truly revealing the inherent madness of my personal practice with my need to make every element from scratch ...

The week began with me hand-making over 400 beads of varying sizes.

 

 I saggar-fired a test few with seaweed, dried dog food (don't ask!), copper carbonate and salt, and once beeswaxed, the boring little grey lumps revealed their hidden colours. I particularly like the 'fusili' style bead, which was made by rolling the clay on St Patrick's reeds at an angle. 

 

The beads will be strung across La Pachamama Santa Maria's cape, echoing the draping of Vasconcelos' Valkyrie in the main hall of the gallery.

Then it was time to get sewing. I concentrated on the red seaweed base 

 

and the blue shoulder areas of the cape this week. A bit of colour therapy after sewing brown leather seaweed all last week.

 

And just to top it off, Andy and I spent a day with Neil and Patricia Millar building a 'mash up' between a Neolithic and a Nepalese kiln. She's not pretty, but underneath her dome lays a woven willow former. Thank goodness I had a lesson with Bob Johnston! We will be finishing the kiln this week (whilst we pit fire alongside) and then virgin firing her over the Easter break.

 

'Til next week,

Inga