Last week I spent an afternoon with artist Hilary Herrmann at her studio in Bangalow, NSW and left reminded - again, why studio visits sit at the heart of how we work at Otomys.
Hilary and I sat at a long wooden table on the verandah, tea and biscuits between us, her dog Shelley sprawled across the armchair beside her. Ginger and banana plants pressed in close, chickens wandered the garden underfoot, and somewhere in the rafters a python dozed, entirely unremarked upon by Hilary, just another resident of her home. The verandah doubles as part of her studio: an outdoor table layered in paint and brushes, several easels holding works in progress at once. Inside, every room tells a story, books, artwork and objects gathered across a life of travel.
"I've been busy working with a new medium," she told me, opening a drawer to reveal a set of exquisite small ceramic works, now soon to make their way to the gallery. It's this interdisciplinary restlessness, moving between paint, clay and whatever comes next - that keeps Hilary inspired, and keeps a certain lightness and playfulness in how she moves through life and work.
We spoke, too, about earnestness - a quality Hilary has come to value more since navigating some of life’s hurdles. Not earnestness as heaviness, but as a kind of honesty with oneself and one's practice.
New ceramic and painted works from Hilary Herrmann will be arriving at Otomys soon.
Written by Megan Dicks
