She’s a shooting star. A gold and silversmith who designs well beyond her years. An artist who makes Canberra proud.
We’re talking about Alison Jackson and her first solo exhibition on now at Craft ACT: Craft and Design Centre.
‘Table Tools’ is a new collection of individually handcrafted tableware, serving ware, vessels and kitchen utensils. It’s all lovingly made and in line with Alison’s desire to create pieces that are simple, refined and pared back, yet still beautiful and functional.
The exhibition features around 48 high-end pieces, some grouped in small sets, and made with quality materials, such as fine silver, silver, copper, brass and even steel wire—spoons and scoops of various shapes and sizes, quirky whisks, pouring vessels, bowls and more.
With Table Tools, Alison used age-old silversmithing processes and techniques, which she says are fast becoming a dying art. She raises each piece of hollowware from a flat sheet and continues to work it through to finished form, hammering and shaping along the way. It’s time consuming and demands great skill and patience.
While she doesn’t create all work this way, Alison wanted to for Table Tools, to challenge herself and give herself the freedom to explore different ideas and ‘processes ticking over’ in her head.
While each piece in Table Tools has a name, Alison won’t dictate how they should be used. Instead, she wants people to develop their own bond with each piece. ‘They’re designed to be flexible and I want people to be inspired by their imagination,’ says the artist.
The exhibition also features ‘Ten vessels in ten days’. ‘I created one vessel each day for ten days, and all within working hours,’ says Alison. ‘Some days were longer than others and some days harder than others. And while not every piece is 100 per cent perfect, they each hold special meaning and value.’
Alison is inspired by how simple objects can make every day experiences special, like eating a bowl of cereal. ‘I often hear from those who have bought my work that a particular bowl, spoon or knife is their absolute favorite and how much joy they get out of using it over and over,’ says Alison.
Alison works full-time out of her own fully equipped silversmithing workshop, affectionately called Pocket Studio, where she also teaches short courses. She discovered her love of silversmithing at an early age and was accepted to study at the Australian National University of Art, Gold and Silversmithing Workshop.
Table Tools was made possible in part because of an Australia Council 2015 New Work Grant and artsACT project funding. This must-see exhibition also features a video of Alison creating ‘Ten Vessels in Ten Days’.
Table Tools—11 September to 24 October
Craft ACT: Craft + Design Centre
Level 1, North Building, 180 London Circuit, Canberra City
Tuesday to Friday 10 am to 5 pm
Saturday 12 pm to 4 pm
