Deborah Halpern Sculptor

Deborah Halpern

Mali Art piece in Deborah's studio

Smoke from the wood heater hangs lightly above the valley, the forest silence broken only by the occasional screech of a cockatoo or a kookaburra sharing a bawdy joke. The earthen presence of eucalypt and wet grass liven the nostril and the Birrarung Marr (Yarra River) winds an ancient course past gum, rock and bend singing its watery chorus to the hills. An Autumn shower approaches the hand built studio where a father patiently instructs his daughter in glazing technique - “just a little, not too much, one colour is best”...but the young hand is adventurous with  brush and stroke. Searching out some bright disused glaze hiding on a shelf, a myriad of colours appear, then on the outside of the pot - eyes, nose, teeth - colourful, whimsical, unusual…
The father fashions a patient smile and wonders where this is leading… Forty years later, downstream, it leads to more singing on the Birrarung Marr as Angel’s voice rises to the evening sky with life, joy and humanity.

Deborah Halpern’s “Angel” in its current location Birrarung Marr

Born in 1957, Deborah Halpern absorbed the values and instinct of the unique creative Warrandyte community she grew up in. Both her parents were potters, and founding members of Potters Cottage. She remembers playing hide and seek with Inge King’s daughter amongst her sculptures, seeing Inge assemble large pieces using a block and tackle and taking art classes in Stonygrad. It was a vibrant and enriched artistic environment. She attended an alternative secondary school and said that “in form five and six, when everyone was hunkering down and churning through the curriculum, we were just having a great time”. LaTrobe University took an interest in the school because of the unique approach to learning. Deborah acknowledges the important role her informal education played in her life - “when you grow up with parents that just do what they do and love it, the outcome of your education is that it gives you everywhere and anywhere to go”.

For a while Deborah was a singer in a cabaret act and performed a whip cracking yodelling Country and Western spoof routine. Her parents had hoped that she would one day take over the running of Potters Cottage but she wanted to be a writer. She began a course in journalism but found university to conservative for her radical approach to life. She produced colourful sculptural works through the 1970’s and at the age of twenty one, first exhibited her work in the Potters Cottage Gallery in 1978.  In 1981 she held her first solo exhibition in the Meat Market Craft Centre which generated a lot of interest in her work. Throughout the 80’s interest continued to build as she exhibited paintings, thrown and hand-built forms including a two-spouted teapot. In the mid-eighties when Deborah was overseas in the Netherlands studying outsider art and art brut, she received a letter detailing a commission for her largest work to date -  a sculpture to sit in the moat of the National Gallery of Victoria on St Kilda Road.

At first, Deborah found the idea of the commission overwhelming. Here was a 27 year old studio potter looking at creating a massive sculpture in a location of national significance. She almost didn’t take it on, thinking “I don’t have what it takes to do this”. Digging deep, she found the view that it was an opportunity not to be missed, even if she “failed”. Angel ended up taking form in a Melbourne warehouse, standing about 10 meters tall. It took 3 years to complete, having a steel armature with ceramic tiles as a skin. On describing Angel, Deborah says ‘I could show you things I did ten years ago that are that shape...Two heads? One is pointy, looking upwards and aloof: the other is benign, sensual and rounded. Male-female, yin-yang, nature-art; it’s about the union of all creatures; the crocodile that spans one of the leg arches, the spirit figure, the duck, the angels, the fish and the leaves that weave it all together 1”1. The Angel project left her feeling anything is possible.

"Ophelia" on Southbank

Deborah describes herself as an artist, sculptor, print maker, painter, glassworker and bronze worker. When asked about her approach to art, she kindly gave the following responses for this ASV article.

Where do you go, or what do you do to maintain your creative enthusiasm? 

Living on this extraordinary planet inspires me. The wonder and the challenges are infinite. A good example is country Australia, especially Victoria – spending time in nature is always an energy booster to creativity.

Are there any processes you apply to your creative work...e.g. “in the studio by 10am no matter what”?...

I am creating all the time. I can be exploring ideas in my sketchbook; making a flotilla of small models and imagining them BIG; I love a deadline and a challenge. It may be an exhibition, a commission, a competition. Gardening and house-building are creatively fulfilling. I get into the studio when I need to, and will stay there for as long as it takes

How do you handle creative “failures”, disappointments or negative feedback? What do you think or say to yourself? 

Firstly I might make that situation(person) wrong! Then I will let it go and move onto life-affirming and fun things. Generally a disappointment will spur me on to a better idea or project. Jon Michail, my business partner and adviser has been a positive influence in re-shaping perceptions around mindset, art and the ‘business of art’

 Do you have a philosophical/spiritual aspect to your work….? 

I believe in the connectedness of all things, and everything else too.  I believe that creativity should enhance and enliven life.

What would you say to aspiring sculptors? 

Keep playing the game, however that looks. Always question fixed mindsets knowing that the process of ‘creating’ originates from disrupting established ideas.

Who are three people you have found to be inspirational in your work or life. 

Pablo Picasso; Jean Michel Basquiat; Meryl Tankar

What is the funniest thing that has happened in your career?

When I told a photographer that I had made “Angel” as he took a photo of it in the moat of the NGV. He said “Sure!” implying that I hadn’t.

"Portal" at Pt Leo Sculpture Park

Deborah Halbern’s work has been described as “contesting the establishment with a whimsical mix of naivete and sophistication. Through its cheekiness, her work at once challenges and enchants; it is exuberant, vivacious and mischievous”1.

Of her purpose on the planet?... “My intention is to make a difference on the planet - to leave it in some way, in better shape than when I came in”.

Deborah continues to produce work in her Warrandyte studio and we wait eagerly to see what’s around the corner….

For more information visit https://www.deborahhalpern.com/

References 1 Deborah Halpern - Angel (Book ) National Gallery of Victoria 2006

Thanks to Michael Adeney for this article

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And in case you are in need of further inspiration - check this article from Esther Anatolitis Art Creates the Future