Where porcelain meets the rugged coast

Craft / Land's Edge – Sarah Ormonde & Jo Victoria, at Watson Arts Centre, until September 20. Reviewed by MEREDITH HINCHLIFFE These two ceramicists live on the south coast of NSW and the coastal environment is the main character in the show. Both have drawn on the liminal zone between the water and the shoreline for inspiration. Jo Victoria works in stark white, crisp porcelain, She is showing vessels – small and large. Many have scalloped, frilled edges and appear impossibly fragile, similar to the seaweed or kelp of their titles. The pure white exterior surfaces contrast with the palest of green glossy celadon glaze on the interior on several vessel forms. A large installation titled Reef is a rich mixture of tiny fragments, with some larger pieces. Glass fronds poke out from the porcelain, giving the whole an even more fragile appearance. The sea floor is represented in this work with seaweed and kelp in many forms, shells, shards, coral and detritus all scattered along the bottom. A slightly different work, Sea Grass Meditation, shows the sea grass captured flowing in one direction. It is simpler than many of the other pieces. Victoria's work is delicate and gentle, seemingly without any of the force that we know lies not far behind the lapping waves. Sara Ormonde's work, on the other hand, is showing large stoneware pieces. There is a pleasing uniformity in their forms – generally tall, flattened bottle forms, many with thin elongated necks. They offer a flat surface for the decoration which depicts the coastline. The colours and marks that run horizontally across the surface, depict the cliffs that are exposed to the harshness of the sun, wind, rain and the ocean. Ormonde is also showing works titled 'platters', generally oval forms with bevelled edges with similar surface decoration. There is a group of small, rectangular works that hang, named after well known places on the south coast: Cuttagee, Wapengo, and Bunga Pinch. The work of these two artists marries well, and compliment each other. Undoubtedly it will bring back memories of many visits to this part of NSW which is such a part of the lives of many Canberrans. News all day, every day at CityNews.com.au.