Clay reveals its form

When Ilyhana Kennedy first got her hands into some clay as a kid, she was hooked. Many years later she still enjoys seeing the clay come alive in her hands.

“There’s nothing between you and the clay - it’s a direct medium which doesn’t rely on a paintbrush or pencil.”

Ilyhana says she lets the clay and her hands show her what form will emerge as she works with the clay. “I start with an idea, and then the clay takes its own shape as I work with it. The form is already in the clay – it’s about finding it.”

Long-time friend and sculptor Rosalie Hall agrees. She has worked with the human form as a massage therapist and photographer and found the transition to sculpting a natural progression. “As your hands move over the clay, it feels like skin.”

The two Peregian Beach sculptors work together in a shared studio, bringing to life a myriad of mermaids, cats and closed pod forms which will be on show this weekend with five other local artists.

“The exhibition reflects the spirit and beauty of the local sea, shoreline and wallum environment, as well as the grace of the human form as a creature of nature who can also design,” said Ilyhana.

The Maxwell Court clay workers have been meeting for the past five years, supporting each other and sharing ideas with their creative pieces.

“Wonderful things happen when a group of artists work together. We bounce off each other’s creativity, finding new forms of expressing our own personal relationships with nature and the human form,” said Ilyhana.

Inspired by last year’s successful exhibition, the group will showcase their latest clay sculpture forms and photographic images in “Sea, Sand and Form” at the Peregian Beach Community House on Saturday and Sunday. Local artists include Ilyhana, Rosalie, Shelley Tull, Heck Lindsay, Jan Johnstone, Kay Abbott and Denis White.

“I love what the lens of my camera shows me – the light, the colour and the beauty of this paradise we live in,” said Rosalie.

Photo: Peregian Beach artists Rosalie Hall and Ilyhana Kennedy will feature their clay sculpture forms and photographic images at the Sea, Sand and Form exhibition this weekend.

What: Sea, Sand and Form

When: 16-17 April.

Time: Saturday from 11am-6pm (opening welcome at 4pm), Sunday from 9am-5pm.

Where: Peregian Beach Community House, cnr David Low Way & Woodland Drive.