Trial & Fire by CLeed - Foundry exhibition 26th of April

East Gippsland has something for everyone this coming week. There are markets, music and adventure on offer. 

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Join Foundry to celebrate the opening of CLeed’s body of work Trial & Fire!

Local artist Callie Leed (nee Whelan) is set to showcase a selection of her enamel art and jewellery at an upcoming exhibition titled Trial and Fire. This will be held in the hallway gallery at Foundry and all are welcome to attend the opening on the 26th of April - from 5 - 7pm. Exhibiting as CLeed, this will be a celebration of her dedication to observation and experimentation. It represents a combination of her two great loves: enamelling and succulents.

The exhibition tracks CLeeds progress as an enamel artist with over a thousand enamel enamel colour samples on display as well as test pieces and finished works. One of these works, Echeveria Afterglow, is made up of 49 brooches that required over 300 firings at 800 degrees celsius to build up the enamel layers. Some inspiration is drawn from Limoges enamelling techniques as well as botanic art, but she extends this with an innovative use of materials and techniques she has developed herself. 

CLeed has been building a profile of her enamelling expertise internationally. She has recently had two works accepted for The Enamelist Society 2024 Alchemy7 Exhibition, a biannual exhibition in the United States which will represent 69 enamel artists from all over the world.

CLeed is a collector at heart, and this is a consistent thread in her work: from the materials and enamel colours she finds, to the personal themes and subjects she is driven to capture and immortalise in enamel. She also enjoys the challenge of using found and repurposed objects wherever possible, like industrial offcuts from a whiteboard manufacturer in Melbourne. This abundant supply has given her a lot of artistic freedom to explore new techniques and cuts down on the number of kiln firings required.

You can expect enamel works with the colours, forms and patterns of unusual succulent hybrids and cultivars grown in her xeriscape garden. The enamel colours are as true as possible to what she has photographed in her garden. To the uninitiated in weird and wonderful succulent
hybrids, the plants look otherworldly and fantastical. Some of these rare and unusual succulents that inspired her work will be exhibited and available for sale in sgraffito pots by ceramic artist Cindy Tong.

CLeed’s exhibition is on at Foundry from 26/4/24 until 28/06/24, 75A Nicholson St, Bairnsdale.