BrisVegas glass artist Joanna Bone is a graduate of the prestigious Royal College of Art in London and winner of Australia’s respected Ranamok national glass prize. Her internationally regarded work includes the annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards.

Tell us bit about your work?

Mainly I work with glass when it’s cold, doing what’s called ‘surface work’. I use cutting, grinding, polishing, engraving and a little bit of sandblasting to create my pieces. I love collaborating with other glass artists who use different techniques like glass blowing as this allows me freedom to explore and experiment.

My work is inspired by the patterns, surfaces and skins of nature, extending into unseen worlds populated by microbes and fungi. Each pattern has its own story to tell, a unique configuration that may even warn of danger.  I am passionate about the environment.

Marine environments, in particular, have always held my fascination. I love the ocean -  being in, around and under it. The serenity of being in another world, that pure focus on the visual, no noise, just inspired concentration.

My Dad is responsible for sparking this intense passion of mine. When I was a kid, he and I would buy shells and he would make me write out the Latin names. I remember he’d call them ‘gems of the ocean’.

Over the past year working with scientist and fellow glass artist, Aaron Micallef, I have finally come to realise why I am so drawn to nature’s surface patterns and intricacies. I discovered that this ‘natural order’ gives me a great sense of balance and mental peace. This ‘aha’ moment has had quite a profound influence on my work.

 

What do you like about BrisVegas?

I just love the vibrancy of life, light and colour in Brisbane.

When I arrived here from the UK I couldn’t get over the intensity of colours, just the birdlife alone takes my breath away.

It goes without saying that I really love working close to the natural environment.

Also, I love the climate here, there’s just the right balance for me between the steamy tropics and a cooler Mediterranean climate. When you are a ‘cold worker’ you have your hands constantly in water. Working in the UK, meant I’d spend my days feeling cold and damp. There’s a sense of freedom that comes from Brisbane’s warm air.

The light in Brisbane is really something else. Those two hours before dusk when everything seems to turn gold is my favourite time of the day.

Living and creating so close to nature has a huge influence on me. It’s really easy in Brisbane, no one seems to be more than 15 minutes away from amazing bushland and green space. I think if we take more time out to observe the wonderful detail of nature, we all might take more care of our environment. Often, I lose hours watching a St Andrew’s Cross spider weaving its web, totally absorbed by its methodical pattern-making.

My BrisVegas

Places & Things

Mount Cootha Botanical Gardens

Mount Cootha Botanical Gardens are just magic to me. I love going there with my sketch book. Often I’ll take my car up to the back lake and watch the giant eels wrestling or the lace monitors basking in the sun. Or I might venture into the Tropical House to photograph the veins of those big lustrous leaves. Or I go and sit and gaze at the African Sausage Tree. If I’ve got time, I’ll walk from JC Slaughter Falls, finishing up at the Mt Cootha Café for an ice cream overlooking the city.

Street’s Beach, Southbank

Coming from the UK, the fact that Brisbane has a beach in the middle of the city really tickles my fancy. I love the concept of taking your family into the city to go to the beach.

Green BrisVegas

I reckon our green spaces make Brisbane super-special. It’s so easy to get amongst the natural world in your neighbourhood.

I have a dead tree across the road from my place. It’s like an apartment block and a natural ‘reality show’ all rolled into one. I watch ‘Life on the Tree’ from my verandah every day. I see the rainbow lorikeets fighting with the corellas on the upper ‘storeys’, while the ducks take the ground floor. You’ll know when there is a snake nearby from the commotion and often I’ll hop over the road to see what all the fuss is about.

BrisVegas Skies

Brisbane skies often take my breath away. We have the most amazing sunsets and electrical storms. Those silent storms, the amazing clouds light up for only a second or so at a time, it fills me with wonder.

Elixir Coffee, Stafford

 OMG!!!! Their coffee is sooo nice! These guys design the finest coffee in Brisbane

Creators

It was really tough to single out my favourite BrisVegas creators as I love the works of loads of Brisbane artists and designers:

Julie Sheppard – Ceramicist 

Julie’s work really connects me to my childhood. Her work is inspired by the skeletons of very tiny creatures, diatoms and protozoa. My Dad had a very old microscope and I always remember looking at this one slide of diatoms blown up to 500x their size and their incredible structure.  And then I met her and we discovered we are both crazy about nature’s patterns.

Wayne Singleton – Relief Block Printer 

I first saw Wayne’s work some years ago at a Brisbane Grammar fundraiser where he was the featured artist. This began a mutual admiration between us and we both have many of each other’s pieces. He is an absolute master of patience and I love that his works are inspired by places around Brisbane.

Wendy Bailye & Sharyn Hall – Textile Artists

I love what these artists do with textiles, their passion for natural patterns, the interesting surfaces, their beautiful line and mark making. Wendy and Sharyn have this amazing tension between perfection and imperfection, consistency and inconsistency that makes their work so powerful.

Marc Harrison -  Product Designer

Marc is such a clever and creative guy who has taken the shells of the macadamia nut, an agricultural waste product and pioneered a process to transform this material into exquisite beauty and design. I have always loved Husque, the idea behind it and Marc’s original designs.