Avis Gardner (formerly Avis Murray)

BA.Hons Degree in 3 Dimensional Design Specializing in Silversmithing.Secondary subjects: Ceramics, Textiles and Painting.

Awarded the Goldsmiths Hall Scholarship placement at the Dutch Chain Works, Voorschoten, Holland.

Trained in Ceramics at John Cass College, London.

Professional member of Craft Victoria

Member of Professional Art Development Forum, Art Play

Member of Ceramics Victoria

I’ve been in Melbourne now for over two years. My Jewellery is sold through several galleries in Victoria and as I finally have my own workshop and kiln, I have been able to expand my range of work to my sculptural pieces and memorial ware. It has also meant that I have been able to offer workshops.

I took part in the Summer Herring Island “Oasis” Exhibition and entered a piece called Resting Place”. A symbolic “oasis” for small creatures in the urban environment due to their loss of habitat. I went on to develop this idea further, making more totem like sculptures and am hoping now to take this concept into making ceramic sculptures with children. I have done several workshops with children over the last year and have found it very rewarding. I realised it was an area I wished to pursue as an addition to my practice.

I went on to exhibit in the Walker Street Gallery with two sculptures entitled Coming of Age and Marriage. A new body of work entitled “Gifts of Transition”. There has been an ongoing theme in my work for several years, around the effects of transitions in our lives.

The nature of my work is suited to being gifts for stages of transition. I particularly like to make pieces that have meaning, whether it be for a joyous occasion or a sad one. The value of these gifts goes beyond a monetary one. I heard a review of a book Called “The Gift” by Lewis Hyde, back in 2006. It touched on areas I was working on at the time and was a fascinating read for me and it is this theme that I have become engaged with.

There are many times in our lives when we experience times of transition…these can be from events which alter our circumstances and also by our natural progression through life…these involve a symbolic death of our old selves, allowing the new to enter. The giving of Gifts at this time is especially important to ease and safeguard the transition into our “new life”. “To make visible the giving up we do invisibly.” Lewis Hyde

Not only are the gifts themselves significant, but so too is the spirit in which they are given. There are also other types of gifts, such as finding something inside oneself…or receiving love from another.I became aware that the transition of myself from England to Australia has coincided with the transition of my sculptural pieces being wrapped to having open arms.

PRECIOUS JEWELLERY. TREASURES OF THE EARTH

During this first year in Melbourne I have been absorbed in developing my range of jewellery. I have been focusing on beads and accent pieces using unusual combinations of ceramic and silver. I have been using traditional methods and experimenting with new techniques.

The end result is a unique contemporary expression of the very ancient desire to ornament ourselves with beautiful,valuable and spiritually resonant beads.

Every piece is individual, hand made by me.

The painstaking processes and attention to detail required for my work needed discerning beads to mix with it. My husband Alan helped me with the research for this enormous task. Opening a door to a vast new world of immense fascination and much to learn.

Alongside beautiful contemporary natural stones of which many are still Hand-fashioned, I have been naturally drawn to Ancient and Old beads. Excavated beads along with Old Trade beads, their having travelled journeys covering several continents, many of them Treasured and Sacred.

As well as being totally inspired and influenced by these beads, I also became aware of their significance and a sense of responsibility in their use.

They lay comfortably next to my beads… even though their makers are separated by lifetimes, cultures and sheer distance.

“As many artists are I am consistently inspired by the natural world, with its abundance of texture, pattern, colour and organic forms. At the same time I am very much aware of its double-edged character and power to transform. This sensitivity to our existence as humans within this world, with all the strengths and vulnerabilities of physical form coupled with the intricacies of interpersonal relationships, results in work that I would hope is not only aesthetically pleasing but also touches one emotionally.

The materials I choose to work with are predominantly clay and metal, the alchemical processes required for both being the key to my affinity with them. There is always that random element beyond my control that determines the end result; rather like life itself.

BIO

In 2004 the time came in my life when I needed to return to creative work that was truly personal.

“Allowing myself the time to find my own path again was quite challenging but very exciting and I was fortunate to have great support from my children. After experimenting with different ideas I developed the memorial ware range. I also came full circle by returning to my love of mixed media jewellery which I began at college.

I participated in several joint exhibitions and was offered a solo exhibition at The Gallery in The Friars (Canterbury) in November 2005 encompassing all of my disciplines. My chosen theme was Expressions of Love and Transformation. My work became available through different outlets (see stockists). I regularly took part in the annual Teignbridge Open Studio event “9 Days of Art” and became a member of “DesignGAP”.(The Directory of British Designers).

In 2007 Avis made a decision to relocate to Melbourne. The whole process of moving was quite consuming during that year arriving in Australia in early December. The contents of my workshop arrived here in February 2008 and with the encouragement, friendship and support from old and new friends here, I have begun the challenge of establishing myself in Melbourne!”

JEWELLERY is the most ancient form of personalisation and creative expression... often holding so much emotion…

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My CERAMIC FIGURATIVE PIECES are descriptive of tender moments and expressive of the precious and fragile qualities of humankind.

My FUNERAL/CREMATION URNS evolved entirely from my sculptural pieces. My own experience of loss has given me a level of empathy I would otherwise not have had. It has also made me aware of the changes within our society that have left us lacking in certain areas, creating a need to find new and meaningful ways for marking ceremony and rites of passage. This range was taken up by the Co-Op Funeral Service in South West England and is being produced by Lauren Gray, a potter in North Devon.

RESUME

After her training Avis lived in London, exhibiting and selling her work through various shops and galleries including Liberty in London. She moved to Dartmoor in 1979, attracted by the inspirational landscape with diverse natural habitats and steeped in history.

Art/Design

Combining work and children took her on a different path and she became a freelance designer/illustrator, this work included designing greeting cards for some of the best known names in the U.K. High Street, Smiths, Boots, Hallmark etc, nine books for Readers Digest, and kitchenware designs for Creative Tops a company supplying well known retail chains such as Matalan, Betterware etc.

Her design experience and wide knowledge of a whole range of disciplines has been acknowledged across the world and many designs are currently still in production.

Also, designed Miniatures for Popular Imports of Shanghai, Needlepoint for Louie of San Francisco and took private commissions for Illustration.“

As a designer one has to have the ability to translate other peoples concepts into reality and assist them in the process of finding out what it is they really want. The years I have spent working as a freelance designer have proved invaluable in terms of self-discipline, perseverance, observation and draughtsmanship.”

Dartington Pottery / Ceramics

Avis’s natural affinity with clay when introduced to it at college led her to gain experience in a wide range of ceramic techniques. This included hand building, modeling, mould making and experimenting with all kinds of decorating styles as well as different firing cycles.

The “Rainbird” design launched in 1993 marked the beginning of Avis’s relationship with Dartington Pottery. It was taken directly from one of her greeting card designs. The pottery has played an important role in her life as one of their designers and for One-Offs, which have become highly collectable. The news of its closure in 2006 was made easier by its relocation to Grayshott Pottery in Surrey. Avis continued to decorate large one-off pieces and exhibit with them. In 2007 she was asked to design and teach the decorators a set of Limited Editions for the pottery to continue in production after her departure to Australia.

Designs for production included:

Specials: Rainbird, Leaf (using lustre), Dreamweaving, Tropic.

Tableware: Pansy and Fig (in collaboration with Clare Woodhall), Stripe, Rowan

“ I have been fortunate to have had the unrivalled experience of reduction stoneware at Dartington, offering a palette of alchemical colours with which to experiment and explore my passion for painting and drawing.”

This led on to work with many other Potteries using different processes i.e. Island Pottery (Bermuda), Grayshott, Dartmouth, Naya, English Country, Honiton, Leo Ceramics.

Avis also worked with Original Style as colour consultant in the development of their hand painted tile range and training of outworkers.

“Working with Clay is to combine all elements, it is the Earth itself mixed with Water and as such is the most malleable of substances.Air and Fire transform it into an entirely rigid structure locking within it the memories of time.”