Tactus; a sense of touch.

Join us for an exploration of tactile quality and deft touch explored through various media; timber, glass and paper. Featuring award winning artists Saxon Rudduck furniture maker and Annie Rudduck Verre Eglomise artist and debuting Philip Jones, anthropologist and author.

Mark-making, in its infinite forms, begins at the point of an artist applying pressure to a surface - ranging from rigorous to soft. ‘Tactus’ shows us that full range of touch, from high friction timber sanding, the gentlest kiss of gold leaf to smooth glass and controlled rubbing over undulating natural surfaces. Together we learn how the artist can convey their thoughts and ideas by simply controlling pressure between their hands and materials.

SAXON RUDDUCK (SAXMADE) - award winning furniture-maker
“Retiring from being an architect and designer I couldn’t wait to develop my own ideas. Under the "SAXMADE New Australian Furniture" banner I have been able to use my expertise to produce new and original furniture (and sculpture) with an Australian spirit. My work derives strongly from an understanding of the structure within boats and aircraft. My methodology is, frankly, old fashioned and laborious relying almost entirely on hand work -  computer free design, sketching, drafting and hours of hand-sanding. SAXMADE continues the use of environmentally sustainable Tasmanian Oak veneered composite board with its stable, strong and light weight qualities."

ANNIE RUDDUCK - award winning emerging Verre Églomisé artist
“Working with gold leaf requires the patience of a saint (ie a busy mother of young children). The fragility and technical challenges of working with gold leaf excite me as a maker. My studio becomes a DO NOT ENTER zone, as a heavy breath or sudden movement, can send the leaf twirling and disintegrating across the room. Here I show some of the many ways gold leaf can be applied to the reverse side of glass including techniques such as water gilding, oil gilding and embossing. In between soccer games and sleepovers, my childhood was spent in this very workshop; experimenting with my hands, their dexterity and discovering the wonderful things they could do. This wonder is what I have hoped to capture in this work”.

PHILIP JONES - emerging environmental visual artist
“Sinuous insect tracks meandering across ancient logs lying in the mallee forests of the Murray Scrub catch my eye. My graphite hand rubbings of these designs provide the canvas for botanical inks brewed from the mallee flora - leaves of eucalypts, black oak, leafless cherry, bluebush, mistletoe, quandong and sandalwood. An autumnal and earthy palette.
The labyrinthine art of the soft-bodied, iron-jawed larvae of the longicorn beetle is infinitely variable. These gestures and convolutions somehow chime with the human aesthetic, sensual and ancient".