I will be showing 20 still life wall works at Artisans in the Gardens 2026 (Lion Gate Lodge) 24 October – 1 November, 10-4pm. Click on the button below for more info. This is a great opportunity to see a huge selection of artworks from a varied group of artists and makers AND… it’s in support of the Botanic Gardens.
My works below will be available through the Artians in the Gardens. Please direct all enquiries to them – crayon and glaze on ceramic.
I’m excited to be bringing my work (for the first time) to the upcoming Bundanon Artists and Makers Market on Saturday 3 October from 10am-3pm. Check out the lineup of stallholders via the button below.
Hey Hi... I'm excited to show you some of the pieces I have been working on for the last few months This collection is all about the flowers – found and foraged.
Works will be available to purchase online via the link below on Sunday 7 June 2025 at 5pm (Sydney time) Australia wide shipping only. During online checkout you will be able to choose from flat rate shipping of $25 Australia wide or Local Pickup (Botany or Bondi). If you choose pick up, please get in touch to arrange a time and location.
I am excited to be a stallholder for the third time with this fantastic Market. I will be bringing new still life wall works.
Looking forward…come and say Hi! See all details below and get tickets online via the button below, for fast tracked entry.
Hello Hi...
First... a warm welcome to new subscribers and followers on instagram! I have had such amazing feedback on my wallplate still lifes and so many enquiries, especially from those of you who couldn't get to my gallery popup last year or to Sydney Ceramics Market 2024.
So, I thought it would be great to do an online release of a few new pieces from my 2025 body of work.
Unfortunately, I have made the difficult decision to only ship within Australia and not to risk these one off pieces with overseas shipping. Thanks for your understanding.
My work is a personal exploration of everyday life, captured through still life compositions that blend the intimate with the universal. Using ceramic plate-like forms (made to hang) as the foundation, I create scenes inspired by moments and objects that hold personal significance. These works are rooted in the intimacy of my lived experience, yet they resonate with broader human themes, offering a quiet reflection on the familiar, the fleeting, and the often overlooked.
To capture these moments, I use my phone to document scenes from my environment – simple, yet meaningful fragments of daily life. I then apply these images to the ceramics, allowing the tactile, enduring nature of the clay to give permanence to the fleeting images from my digital snapshots.
Through this work, I aim to connect with the viewer, inviting them to reflect on their own experiences and memories. The objects and scenes I capture are both deeply personal and widely relatable, reminding us of the shared beauty in the quiet moments of life.
Vanessa Holle (2025)
Wire hanger is threaded through the foot so the work sits off the wall
So excited to have been chosen as a finalist for this year’s National Emerging Art Prize with my work - No Fruit Bowl is Sacred – 2024 (ceramic wall work, crayon and glaze on stoneware)
My family are dumpers! All those little bits and pieces that spill out of pockets and somehow find their way into the closest receptacle, mostly the fruit bowl. Flowers and fruit often get all the love when it comes to still lifes and I am also guilty of making them the heroes, but the other stuff of lives is also beautiful in its mundanity and the juxtaposition of the two creates a magic for me.
Out of 1700 entries just 78 painting and 28 ceramics finalists. Chuffed to be in such talented company!
A collection of still life ceramic works on plate forms, created to hang. These are not just everyday objects and moments, on objects we use every day, they are windows into life. (photos: Anna Kucera)
I am excited to be a stallholder for the second time with this fantastic Market. Following on from my successful recent exhibition, Little Big Life, I have decided, for this one, to show only my still life wall works. Looking forward…come and say Hi! This year is bigger and better than last year, over 2 days with an incredible lineup. See all details below and get tickets online via the button below, for fast tracked entry.
1-2 June 2024 – Block J Studio Shop, 1605 Botany Road, Botany
This collection of still life wall and standing ceramic works (on plate forms) celebrates the beauty and solace in the objects that surround us and the everyday tasks we perform; an open drawer of utensils, a shared meal, fruit chopped on a board, washing sorted...These are not just everyday objects and moments, on objects we use every day, they are windows into life.
Wall works (with hanging device)
Hand built stoneware with crayon and glaze
Standing works (with foot)
Hand built stoneware with crayon and glaze
If you’re in Sydney, I would love you to come to my exhibition pop-up…
at the Block J Studio Shop, 1605 Botany Rd, Botany
It’s on just for 2 days
Sat 1 June till Sunday 2 June, 11am – 4pm
A collection of still life wall and standing ceramic works on plate forms.
This body of work began with my series 'A Little Life' which was a finalist in STILL: National Still Life Award 2023. Inspired by an extended period of time spent at home during cancer treatment, these works reflected my reduced world.
The expanded collection celebrates the beauty and solace in the objects that surround us and the everyday tasks we perform; an open drawer of utensils, a shared meal, fruit chopped on a board, washing sorted...
These are not just everyday objects and moments, on objects we use every day, they are windows into life.
Hope to see you there!
I'm back in the studio and starting off the year with a LOVE gift!
20% off everything with the code LOVEBIRDS24...hurry offer ends 12pm on Valentines Day (14 Feb 2024)
Apply code at checkout. If you are not in Sydney, Australia, you will need to use World Clock to calculate the time difference so you don't miss out. Enjoy
My last Shop update for 2023 (where did this year go!) will be live on Sunday 19 November at 9.30am (Sydney, Australia time) World clock is very handy for working out what that equates to in your country. Check out the preview via the button below.
For those of you in Sydney, Sunday 12th November... come and visit our little laneway market. Great chance to get to know the work our talented tribe and snag some treasures for the gift giving season. This year shop local and handmade and help creative people keep creating!
Hope to see you there!
So excited to be a finalist in The National Still Life Award 2023 currently showing at the brand spanking new Yarrila Arts and Museum on Gumbaynggirr Country/Coffs Harbour.
‘The award that pushes the boundaries of the still life genre’, 1100 entries were submitted with only 63 finalists chosen.
A Little Life – In this collection of painted ceramic plates, I am exploring everyday objects and moments, on objects we use every day. This work of 10 pieces was inspired by an extended period of time spent at home during cancer treatment. No visitors due to Covid, my world was further reduced. There is so much solace and beauty in the objects that surround us. These are plates but they are also windows into life.
I'm super excited to be taking part in Sydney Ceramics Market next weekend and have been making, making, making. For those of you in Sydney, Saturday 7th October... come and say hi. It's only $5 entry fee and you will be treated to more than 90 ceramicists in one place. Check out my instagram @vbean and @sydneyceramicsmarket for updates. I'll be adding pictures to my stories showing all the available pieces right up till opening.
Hope to see you there!
I'll be taking most of the pieces listed in my online shop so if there's anything you would like, please purchase by 4th October. For those of you unable to attend, I will be listing the remaining pieces and making more work in time for Christmas (can't believe it's almost that time again, this year has whooshed by)
Excited to add new things to my shop on Sunday 21 May at 9.30am – Sydney Australia time. View the preview via the button below.
It's been a while... but here they are! New Vase Peeps and Bowl Peep Sets landing in my shop on Sunday morning 16 October at 9.30am – Sydney Australia time. View the preview via the button below.
Spring has arrived for those of us in the southern hemisphere, a time for growth and renewal – so very relevant for my latest work – new forms, surfaces and glazes. I am coming back to health after cancer treatment and experimenting and exploring has re energised me. There's something about the process of joining, smoothing and shaping clay that is so cathartic. These works will be available online on Sunday morning, 18 September at 9.30am – Sydney Australia time. View the preview via the button below.
“The use of the hands is a powerful medicine...the cure for many ills is to make something ”
It's June already! – before I wing my way overseas for an old friend's wedding (postponed twice, thanks to Covid), I'm squeezing in a shop update. New Peep Lights, Birdy Juglets, Jumbo Planters and a few Fairybread Tumblers. These will be available online on Sunday morning, 5 June at 9.30am – Sydney Australia time. View the preview via the button below.
