Graham Hay

Perth, Western Australia

Website
www.grahamhay.com.au

Email
gwh@grahamhay.com.au

Studio Description
Light-filled studio is within a renovated, intercity park, in Perth, Western Australia (see www.robparkart.info/studio.html).

My art practice is based upon two simple things: Paper and clay. I create and kiln fire paper clay sculptures, and carve compressed paper sculptures. My ceramic paper clay work is an attempt to illustrate this on-going interest in the organization of the arts and crafts, and society. I am inspired by architecture and local plants (see 6 February 2008 entry in my blog), while trying to suggest the cycles, rigidities, and dynamic nature of our society, and myself. My compressed paper sculptures are a by-product of office work, research, everyday correspondence, and junk mail. Since 1994, it has been a way to create silence in a world of information overload. Despite the promise of the "paperless office" we still keep paper to hand, and it can become a symbol of emotional attachment and a link with loved ones. Read more.

To satisfy an overwhelming demand for free information and images, I created this website. Last year, it received about 1.095 million hits (120,000 visitors). In response to requests, I have posted videos, which are viewed by about 20,000 people on on Youtube and Vimeo, each year.

However, these are still a poor substitute for personal interaction and learning. After my first demonstration in 1993, I began to receive regular requests for workshops and demonstrations. The number of requests has been consistent for the last two decades, at about a dozen per year. I accept most interstate and overseas requests, but with a young family I limit these to about a month per year. Local people wanted community classes in pottery and sculpture techniques, so I started these in 1998. The growing interest in my work has resulted in a number of invitations to speak, demonstrate and participate in international and national level conferences and symposia, as well as interstate and international exhibitions. All these have fed my appetite to learn further about how the arts and crafts, and society are organized. I hope you enjoy the work and find the 120+ pages in this website useful, entertaining and informative.

A big "thank you" to the many people who have kindly shared their experiences and information with me.

I hope this website will in some way repay their kindness, by sharing with you what I have learned from them.