All posts by Michael Burge

Journalist, author, artist
Art, Artists

Ceramic flair in the high country

2 Comments

AN EXHIBITION OF new ceramic work will open at Glen Innes’ creative hub The Makers Shed in June, featuring the work of local ceramicist and potter Anita Stewart.

Stewart has regularly exhibited work at The Makers Shed since the venue opened in 2018, and is well-known to locals as part of the Glen Innes Pottery Club, situated like the Shed on Grey Street. ‘Winter Clay’ captures some exciting new directions with the ceramicist’s form and style.

Anita Stewart, Glen Innes-based ceramicist.

“Discovering clay for me was like a fish taking to water,” Stewart said. 

“I studied Fine Arts in Western Australia for three years. Like many artists, I had been practicing before I actually decided to do formal training. 

“At Fremantle Tech I did units in painting design and drawing, then in 1995 I travelled to the New England region and discovered the wonderful ceramics courses run by Max Powell at the Glen Innes TAFE.”

Stewart’s newest work features an array of fresh forms – evocative black tiles, ceramic ‘breasts’, and stylised platters – in addition to some classic styles she’s already well-known for, such as her vibrant citrus squeezers.

“The inspiration to create a new body of work usually comes when working on new forms at the wheel,” she said.

“For instance, the last federal election inspired my ‘message in a bottle’ series. Using the surface of the pot as a canvas I add multiple layers to create an image that speaks. The New England Landscape has also given me great inspiration for my work.”

According to Stewart, the Glen Innes Pottery Club was established about 30 years ago and has remained a vibrant part of the community. 

“Lots of well-known potters have been a part of the club,” she said. 

Winner of multiple awards for her ceramics, Stewart laughs when asked to define what it takes to be a practicing artist, adding that “stamina, determination and absolute passion” are essentials for anyone wanting to make a long-term career of creativity; although she believes people should never be shy of signing up for a workshop and having a go.

“It’s really nice teaching people how to work with clay because it’s a very tactile medium and they usually seem really pleased when they’ve created a functional and colourful work of art,” she said. 

“The wheel can be a bit more of a challenge, but they are overjoyed when they manage to throw a pot on it.”

Winter Clay opens at The Makers Shed, 123 Grey Street Glen Innes at 2pm on Saturday June 19 and runs until August 28.

LGBTIQ Equality, My Story, Write regardless!

Tank Water in the Pipeline

4 Comments

IT FEELS LIKE a lifetime ago that I embarked on my dream to write a novel and have it published. In fact it is… in 1988 I received the first of many rejections over three decades, for a Young Adult novel I wrote when I was 15.

If anyone had told me I would wait thirty-three years to see my first novel in print, I would probably have taken myself off to acquire a trade with a better strike rate for success.

But I never came close to giving up. Was it grit, ego, refusal to accept that my storytelling might be unworthy, or a combination? I’m not sure, but I will undoubtedly write about it one day because that’s how I am hard-wired.

Here is the announcement about my coming-of-age thriller set in rural Australia – Tank Water – from Books + Publishing, March 26 2021…  

MidnightSun acquires Burge debut novel

MidnightSun Publishing has acquired debut novel Tank Water by Michael Burge, a story of homophobic hate crimes and the dangers of growing up feeling different in rural Australia.

Burge met MidnightSun publisher Anna Solding at a pitch session hosted by New England Writers Centre in 2018.

‘From the first time I met Michael, when he pitched his manuscript to me in Armidale, I’ve known that Tank Water is an important Australian novel,’ said Solding, adding that ‘it delves into themes that don’t often appear in our national literature’.

‘Through the taut and haunting narrative spanning two decades, Michael articulates what it can be like to grow up gay in the country and how prejudice and hate crimes are an extension of people’s fear of difference. We are so honoured and proud to be publishing this book.’

Born in the NSW New England region, Burge returned to live there in 2017. He said Tank Water has a fictional rural setting and is not based on any one case.

‘In the country, there are many stories about gay hatred leading to extremes of violence, and fiction is a way to start the difficult but necessary process of telling them at a relatively safe distance. I’m so excited and grateful that Anna acquired this tale about how three generations of a country family deal with toxic masculinity and must dig very deep. Taking a risk on such edgy subject matter is a testament to MidnightSun’s vision.’

Burge is a former Fairfax journalist and is currently the director of the High Country Writers Festival, which takes place in the rural region of Glen Innes in northern NSW each October. He self-published his nonfiction debut Questionable Deeds: Making a stand for equal love in 2015.

Tank Water will be published by MidnightSun in October 2021.

Art, Artists

Reflections of autumn in Glen Innes highlands

2 Comments

A JOINT exhibition of paintings and leadlight panels by two longstanding Glen Innes artists is set to open in March.

LIGHT & SHADOW ‘Morning Light Wattle Bend’ by Tanya Robertson-Cuninghame

Painter Tanya Robertson-Cuninghame and leadlighter Greville Wilton are creative icons of the New England region, and their new show ‘On Reflection’ is at The Makers Shed, Glen Innes, throughout autumn.

“The theme of this body of work is based on light, water and reflections,” Robertson-Cuninghame said. 

“It has culminated from my recent experience of environmental issues, which include drought and bushfires.

“I have chosen compositions that have a calming effect on me and hopefully also the viewer.”

According to Robertson-Cuninghame, this collection of her landscapes and seascapes is an attempt to convey a sense of solitude and tranquility in the natural environment, where the viewer has the desire to pause, look and ponder at the beauty of nature. 

“A view when one doesn’t have a view,” she said.

Robertson-Cuninghame has a strong connection to Glen Innes region reaching back to 1839 when her ancestors settled on “Wellington Vale”, Deepwater.

Born at Glen Innes, she attended Emmaville Central for primary before secondary and tertiary schooling in Sydney. She gained a Fine Arts Certificate at East Sydney Technical College in 1981, majoring in oil painting. 

LOCAL REFLECTIONS ‘Big Hole Severn River’ by Tanya Robertson-Cuninghame

Citing 16th century European and 19th and 20th century Australian Artists and practices, Robertson-Cuninghame’s creative process includes handmade canvas preparation and oil-paint making.

The works in ‘On Reflection’ include paintings featuring local waterways, including Pyes Creek and the Severn River, captured as the drought broke, restoring life-giving water to the region. 

Robertson-Cuninghame has also completed a series of seascapes on the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers regions that illustrate the interplay of light and water in reflection.

Enduring collaboration

Over the past three decades, Robertson-Cuninghame has designed leadlight panels for Greville Wilton featuring in commissions and an exhibition of their work at Maitland Regional Art Gallery in 2013.

Wilton was born in rural New South Wales and moved to Sydney where he completed his education and began his working life in retail.

“Regular visits to family properties over this period consolidated my belief that city life was not for me,” he said. 

“I then travelled extensively through Europe and Asia where my appreciation of handmade crafts was ignited. 

CAPTIVE COLOUR ‘Green & Orange’ by Greville Wilton

“On my return to Australia I moved to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and established a craft supply and gallery business.

“While in Katoomba, I tried my hand at several different crafts before attending a community college course in leadlighting and my life course was set.”

Wilton purchased land near Glen Innes on the Northern Tablelands four decades ago, describing it as a region of largely unspoiled nature, abundant wildlife and clearly-defined seasons.

“I moved my studio several times in Glen Innes before taking over the Butter Factory and creating a gallery and workshops that exhibited contemporary art and was a venue for many local and travelling musicians,” he said.

“My collaboration with Tanya Robertson-Cuninghame over the past thirty years is enduring.

“Our current show at The Makers Shed is a mix of panels designed by Tanya, and others influenced by the Art Deco movement, particularly Frank Lloyd Wright.

“The interaction of light with the colours and textures of glass is ever changing and a constant fascination.

“As we move into the 21st century I fear that many of the skills associated with traditional crafts will be lost, as technology overwhelms us and it becomes more difficult to earn an income through the arts. Computers can’t make leadlights… yet!” Wilton said.

On Reflection opens at The Makers Shed, 123 Grey Street Glen Innes on Saturday March 6 at 4pm, and runs until the end of May. A selection of works is available to view and buy online www.themakersshed.org