Today marks my first photo blog about a person. This person is Alice Potter, one of the busiest people I know, and also one of the most talented.

She is at the Gray Street Workshop in her workspace, creating some pieces for an upcoming exhibition “Theirs Yours Mine”, which opens on 4^th May at the Light Square Gallery in Adelaide.

Work ready for "Theirs Yours Mine"

Alice describes herself as an art jeweller – that is an artist whose medium is jewellery.

Alice has been at Gray Street since 2007. Her work station reminds me of her - it too is very busy (but not untidy, everything has a place) and is also colourful, welcoming and most definitely enthralling.

Every space is taken with materials or tools that will create the next piece. Suddenly some inspiration will strike and Alice will busy herself in a box, bag or the cupboard to find something that fits in with her latest piece – a look of concentration as she teases and tweaks the latest object into it's chosen place.

I couldn't resist asking Alice a few questions to go with this blog.

Q: Have you ever been the subject of a photo blog before?

Blog? Yes. Photo blog? No. It's nice to have my work space (and dorky concentration faces) documented. I'm a believer in the 'the more photos you have of you around the more likely there is to be a good one' motto. And I think this correlates with artwork and studio progress as well. One day I'll look back on this and think "Was I really that messy?".

Q: How was it for you being my subject today?

Great! I hope I wasn't being too rude running around making making instead of sitting with tea and contemplating the meaning of it all. It was lovely to have someone to talk to whilst I was in my work mode, although I don't think everything I said during conversation could have made sense... My head goes through a million things and to a thousand places when I'm knee deep in plastic food, silver chain and sequins.

Q: What has inspired you this week?

This week? I am currently researching emotional communication through colour for an Honours assignment and I picked up a very simple and straight forward piece of writing about colour association, which in turn gave me a bundle of ideas for studio experiments. That, and I also made a neckpiece out of a slice of fake white bread and a beautiful playing card which I absolutely love, and think will change the way I design and make for a while.

Fake white bread has many uses...

Q: What makes something a success for you?

When I am truly visually satisfied with what I have made.

Q: Where would you like to be in 5 years time?

Jewellery wise: Still making as feverishly as I do now, exhibiting as often as time and energy permits.

Location wise: I love South Australia, but am not as opposed to wandering as I used to be.

Alice wise: I think this seems to be everyone's eternal dream, but I would love to be living on a property somewhere secluded enough to forget what day of the week it is. Just excuse me while I bake a cake / collect the duck eggs / read my book / rummage about in my home-studio.