Stephen Bowers (b.1954) brings together in his painted ceramic vessels many of the traditions from the history of ceramics. In any one piece, one might find traces of many familiar styles and decorations. In 'Chintz vase with Cockatoos', suggestions of 18th century Indian textile prints and designs from 19th century Japanese dinnerware are surrounded by the gold lustre used by Islamic potters and European porcelain factories. A 'willow pattern' fragment includes the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Luna Park and the Opera House instead of the more familiar pagoda, bridge and teahouse. Scraps of May Gibbs's drawings of the Gumnut Babies are mixed with illustrations from Alice in Wonderland and a few contemporary motifs like light bulbs and band-aids. All are combined with some clearly Australian motifs like cockatoos and gum-nuts against an imitation 'classical' marble background.

Initially from Sydney, Stephen Bowers became involved in ceramics in the late 1970s when looking for a challenge while teaching in a country town in South Australia. He did a traineeship in the Jam Factory's ceramic workshop in Adelaide in 1982, and spent the next five years as an art teacher during the day and a potter at night. There was a strong influence in the early years from the Adelaide version of 'Funk' ceramics. In 1990, Bowers himself became head of the ceramics workshop at the Jam Factory, responsible for both training of staff and the workshop's production output. At the same time he maintained his own practice of painting on vessels and also contributed to some large public art projects including a commemorative birdbath in a park and fittings for the ceiling in an inner city arcade.

His work is almost always functional in its form, and ranges from mugs, jugs, teapots, plates and platters that are mainly domestic in their purpose, to monumental urns and jardinieres intended for large public places. For the large items he usually collaborates with colleague Mark Heidenreich who is an expert thrower of large pots. The forms themselves, large or small, are crucial in the meaning of each work, but at the same time they are the basis for ordering his interest in the decoration of their surfaces. His drawing skills, and the way these are carried out through ceramic materials, are considerable, but the drawings are more than decoration and illustration. They are witty collages that betray thoughtful research and intelligent observation.

Vase, 'Chintz Vase with Cockatoos', terracotta earthenware blend/ underglaze decoration in slip and oxides/ on-glaze gold lustre, designed and decorated by Stephen Bowers on a vase wheelthrown for him by Mark Heidenreich, Adelaide, South Australia, 1989-1994

Terracotta earthenware blend vase, wheelmade (thrown), with a wide flat base, raised rims at the foot, narrowing above the base then swelling out to a large ovoid body with rounded shoulders, and topped by a short narrow neck below a wide thick rim. The foot and rim are decorated with underglaze black bands on either side of a black and brown marbled band. The body is covered with handpainted decoration in the form of coloured slips, underglazes, and oxides. Colours include deep red, browns, yellow, orange, white, blues, all outlined in fine black which after firing was followed by the gold lustre (overglaze) background. The dominant images on one side are three white cockatoos perched on a vine with a tiger pattern, and on the opposite side foliage with the same patterned vine and a number of labels, eg. "BENT", "FOLD". The whole vessel is heavily covered with motifs which combine Bowers's interest in textile, Australian iconography and porcelain (cf. Designed Notes). The maker, designer, and year are painted in black underglaze in two captions against white just above the foot: "MARK HEIDENREICH - STEPHEN BOWERS - 1993" and "ADELAIDE S.A".

Designed and decorated by Stephen Bowers in Adelaide between 1993-94, on a vase wheelthrown for him by Mark Heidenreich at the Pump and Crank Pottery at Taren Point, Sydney in 1989. Intended as one of a pair, the other to have black cockatoos on it; the second vase was made at the same time, but will be decorated in 1995. Bowers will probably commission Heidenreich to make pedestals on completion of the second vase. Bowers has been interested in design and decoration using sources from porcelain, textile and Australian iconography for many years. For example, on this vase, apart from his signature cockatoos, the leaf, vine, and flower motifs are derived from C18th Indian Kandahar printed textiles (hence the name "Chintz"), an early C19th ball pattern from Japanese ceramic dinnerware, the blue-and-white underglaze patterns from Chinese ceramic exportware, such as the the willow pattern mixed with the Australian icons of the Sydney Opera House and May Gibb's characters Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. Figures inspired by Tenniel's illustrations from "Alice in Wonderland" also feature on the vase, along with other symbols like the light globe, pegs on a rope (washing line?), insects, seahorse.

The vase was wheel thrown by Mark Heidenreich at the Pump and Crank Pottery at Taren Point in Sydney in 1989, one of a number that were thrown for Bowers at this time, including the two 'Palaceware'jardinieres already in the Museum's collection. It is made from a terracotta-earthenware blend devised by Heidenreich. Bowers usually makes his own smaller plates, teapots etc, but prefers Heidenreich to make the bigger pieces. Heidenreich has enormours competence as a thrower and has since also moved to Adelaide, running a successful business making large garden urns. This vase was taken to Adelaide, and Bowers decorated it in 1993-94. It was signed and dated in 1993, because that was before the glaze firing, and before the later lustre firing. Bowers handpaints all the decoration, using coloured slips and oxides, including commercial and industrial stains.

The vase was completed in 1994. It was thrown in Sydney in 1989, and decorated in Adelaide between 1993-94. The vase was signed and dated in 1993 prior to the completion of the glaze and lustre firings in 1994.

Exhibited at the Robin Gibson Gallery, Sydney, between 16 November and 3 December 1994. (See: flyer on Blue File).

Purchased with funds donated by Philip J Davenport, 1995

The maker, designer, and year are painted in black underglaze in two captions against white just above the foot: "MARK HEIDENREICH - STEPHEN BOWERS - 1993" and "ADELAIDE S.A".

95/4/1

1989

860 mm

560 mm