A world within a world
- Shannon is inspired by the natural world which she renders as drawings
- She makes both decorative and everyday objects
- The history of her craft is important to her inspiration
Shannon Garson first began her creative career with a bachelor degree in visual arts, majoring in painting. While studying, she was invited by artists Monica Usher and Clairy Laurence to paint for their new gallery. While working with them, Shannon began to learn to throw clay. From this point onwards, she turned her drawing and painting skills to ceramics, discovering the durable medium of porcelain and the possibilities for layered, textured surfaces. "My objects are anchored in a tradition of wheel throwing, as the high-fired, durable porcelain contrasts with the detailed paintings on the surface of my works," she explains. Shannon’s vessels are simultaneously pots that can be used and 3D canvases for drawings. All surfaces of the vessels, from inside to under the foot, are decorated. “If you unfolded the pot, it would be an unusually shaped, enormous drawing,” Shannon says.
Interview
- Do your works have a conceptual meaning?
- I am a feminist artist and I work in a landscape tradition. In addition, as I create objects in porcelain, there is a material philosophy and history to my material. Even in nature, if we see a pure white stone or the moon, we consider it a powerful symbol.
- What is it that you love about porcelain?
- As a painter and a drawer, I find the colour response on porcelain truly beautiful, making it the perfect canvas for expression through drawing. I also love the history of this material. In Europe no one had ever seen white clay until they went to China in the Middle Ages and brought it back. In this context I still consider it a magical material.
- Where do you draw inspiration?
- It comes mostly from nature. Sometimes my drawings might be more of a literal translation, and sometimes more abstract. I might zone in on something literal, like a leaf, a moth, a bird or a microscopic view of moss. From this concrete point, the drawing can expand and become more abstract.
- Is there a series that has been most influential for you?
- I did a series based on Tasmania’s Tessellated Pavement, which is an amazing rock formation along the coast. It goes on for kilometres. It is a space between the land and the sea, and the cracks in the rocks are full of life.
Shannon Garson is a master artisan: she began her career in 1990 and she started teaching in 2005
