ART: Branching out into the light

Initially, Shirley Cameron-Roberts, with her misty evocative landscape paintings, seemed an odd partner to be sharing an exhibition with Marika Osmotherly's very physical sculpture.

In the event, until November 1, the works complement each other in surprising ways.

The tracery of tree branches inspires the drawing skills of Shirley Cameron-Roberts in multimedia paintings. Delicately questing twigs are silhouetted against hazy suggestions of landform. These studies of organic growth must be among the most accomplished works of her long career.

Linear structure is also a key feature of Marika Osmotherly's tribes of spindly figures. Whereas in the past they have been bowed down with their weighty burdens, here, suddenly, the stone is lightweight pumice and the winged figures seem on the verge of flight. In fact, the surprisingly light constructions of wire and plaster-coated fabric suggest an ease of being, rather than the heavy existential weight of earlier work. Maybe next time there will be aerial dancers?

- BRISBANE textile artist Sylvia Watt is trying something new at Timeless Textiles until November 15.

The dogs that provide the subjects for her exhibition were photographed and sketched during a residence in Italy. The painted fabric was then augmented with small embroidered episodes, producing hybrid images calculated to charm lovers of staffies and greyhounds.

- SEVEN potters come together to create the latest exhibition at Back to Back Galleries until November 23.

Each responds to the challenge of creating ceramic vessels to use with food. White plates can be boring, while a visually interesting platter or bowl can enhance a meal. There are several considerations for the artist: Is the glaze hard-wearing? Is it toxic? What about the dishwasher? How much weight of clay is acceptable? Is the patterning too dominant?

Barbara Greentree maintains the apparent simplicity of Japanese tableware. Heather Campbell and Denise Spalding turn from sculpture to functional pieces. Anne Gazzard produces the sole tagine.

Joan Robinson and Nicola Purcell use contrasting forms of surface decoration, from vibrant colour to intricate designs. Grant Keene's free form platters invite crudités.

- UNTIL November 7, Nanshe is showing for the first time the tiny whimsical collages of Anna Buxton Soldal.

Sketched characters, fey and theatrical, are embellished and combined. Experiments with sculptural additions give more scope for displaying inventive patterns, taking this highly individual artmaking to the limit.

- ONCE a year the artists with studios at the Newcastle Community Arts Centre come together with a shared show of strength. This year, at NAS until November 8, the mix seems more varied than ever.

Established painters such as John Morris and Pablo Tapia display their classic gifts. So do the black and white photos of Joerg Lehmann with their pin-up vibe. The Strutt sisters create their acidic blend of fun and nostalgia.

Meredith Woolnough's lace-like ammonite extends her range. Gina Ermer is now working with textiles. Knitting, inventive hats and jewellery are additions. Rachel Milne again shows her insouciant skills, now widely recognised. Olivia Parsonage has an exuberant fabric collage, surprisingly maintaining apparently spontaneous fun in meticulously sewn panels.

- SHE can also work big. At Maitland Regional Art Gallery is an elaborate installation for children.

Here Olivia Parsonage has a wall-filling inhabited landscape in quilted fabrics invaded by aliens. More fun is provided by fifty foam blocks in various sizes that can be piled up and knocked down or formed into trains, tracks or houses. Many have embroidered or collaged building details or those detached heads, bodies, legs and feet that the Paris Surrealists liked to oddly mismatch as an evening entertainment.

Few artists would provide such a loving wealth of detail. This playful soft sculpture should tour to other child-friendly galleries when Maitland's children farewell it on January 24 next year.

- TODAY is the annual open day at Newcastle Community Arts Centre with the opportunity to visit artists in their studios.

An open studio next weekend at Lake Macquarie has well-known Aboriginal artist and designer Saretta Fielding opening a two-day pop-up gallery at 14a Jindalee Street, Toronto.

It is open from 11am to 3pm on November 7 and 8.