Kayla Amos
Outback Arts
Kayla Amos is an emerging artist based in North Bourke, in the far north-western corner of NSW. She graduated from the University of New South Wales, Sydney in 2019 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours. In 2020, she initiated her small business, New Hope Studios, and has parallel practices of exhibiting ceramic artworks and unique ceramic homewares. Kayla has exhibited across NSW and was recently awarded first prize in the Ceramics/3D category of the Outback Archies Art Prize in 2024. She has also exhibited as a finalist in several other art prizes including the UNSW Jenny Birt Award 2017, Mini Series Art Prize 2021, and Regional Landscape Prize 2024.
Kayla was first introduced to ceramics at age 13 and has continued to develop her skills, knowledge, and love of the medium. Her work focuses on the outback Australian landscape and its stories of resilience and hope. She delicately intertwines personal narratives throughout her work and sensitively uses the Australian landscape to relate and give expression to experiences and emotions in both a personal and collective sense. Kayla provides an encouraging perspective as she creates work reflecting the landscape, people, and celebrated spirit of resilience.
Links
Ceramic Mid-fire Series
Kayla’s Creative Works in Progress
Artwork description
River Trees Series, 2024, mid-fire clays, underglaze, oxide, glaze
Shallow eucalypt blossom dishes, 2024, mid-fire clay, underglaze
Aerial River Plates, 2024, mid-fire clay, underglaze, coloured slip, glaze
Bark-inspired vessel (work in progress), 2024, mid-fire clay with bark impressions and carving
River Trees in the Moonlight (work in progress), 2024, mid-fire clay with underglaze transfers and carving
Artist Statement
‘River Trees’ is an unfolding body of work reflecting on the majestic River Red Gums and Coolabahs that grow along the Darling River near my studio in North Bourke. I am drawn to the sense of constancy these trees maintain. Despite experiencing extreme seasons of drought and flood, they continue to stand exemplifying a strong spirit of resilience. Consisting of hand-built vessels and plates, ‘River Trees’ takes an exciting experimental approach that combines methods I have not previously used together in one body of work. This includes bark impressions from local trees, different clay types, underglaze painting and transfers, hand-cut paper stencils, carving, and oxides. The resulting individual works come together to form a landscape of various shapes, colours, and characteristics drawn from the trees they are inspired by.
I remain captivated by the longevity of these trees in the face of challenges, change, and circumstances beyond control. In creating these works, I continue to explore the personal challenge, “How can I be more resilient like these river trees?”. When completed, it is my desire that ‘River Trees’ be exhibited within a regional gallery context relating to the landscape and experiences from which it was birthed.