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11
F O R T R A V E L E R S , T H E R E ’ S G R E A T
com fort in a grid. Adelaide, A u s -
tralia, is a tight square mile, snug-
ly bordered on all four sides by
streets called “terraces” : N orth
T errace, W e s t T errace, and so
on. T h e old-fashioned architec-
ture, like the city’s old-fashioned
nam e, soothes. Parks and gar-
dens surround this lattice, co n -
centrating grow th in the urban
core. Considerable suburban
spraw l is invisible here. A t the
approxim ate center is a vast
indoor food m arket, further balm
for visitors. If you ’re not ogling
fresh produce, you ’re likely on
foot in the northern parts o f
tow n. Since crafts are your goal,
you ’re on the w a y to JamFac-
tory, near the northw est com er.
Y o u m ight w alk w est on
N orth Terrace, past governm ent
buildings and museums. Y o u can
see them later, particularly the
outstanding room s on art and
culture o f the Aboriginal A ustra-
lian peoples in the South A ustra-
lian M useum . But do stop at the
InterContinental H otel, w here
a D ale Chihuly installation from
the early 1980s rests in a pool at
the bottom o f the grand stair-
case. E njoy it w ith the k n o w l-
edge that every six w eeks, one
o f Australia’s pioneering and
prom inent glass artists, N ick
M ount, and his w ife, Pauline,
clean the sculpture b y hand, in
a generous b o w to a colleague.
O n Saturday m ornings, you
can w atch N ick b lo w glass at
Jam Factory, a fe w blocks aw ay.
A t other tim es, different hot
shop crew s are visible through
floor- or balcony-level w in -
dow s. T h e three-story facility
also houses a store, gallery, and
a m ultitude o f w orkspaces for
glass, metal, clay, and w o o d
artists w h o are staff, associates,
or independents renting space.
A s k if you can w ander around.
In A p ril, I spent five nights
in Jam Factory’s guest apartment
as a visiting curator under the
auspices o f the national ad vo-
cacy group C raft Australia, part
o f an intense th ree-w eek tour o f
the coun try’s craft com m unity.
A n y o n e getting such a focused
crash course in Australian crafts
w ould think that the country
N ick M ou n t
Soft Bob # S B
j
50910
(left)
and Soft Bub
# S B 010910
(right),
2010; b lo w n glass,
m ixed m edia
approx.
6 x 1 ft. dia. each
aug/scp
america craft
109
