Craft / A Place and Time. At the  Suburban Land Agency Display Village, Whitlam. Until December 14. Reviewed by MEREDITH HINCHLIFFE.

As viewers, we generally see art and craft in groupings in an exhibition – either groups of similar work, for example along thematic lines, or in a body of work by one artist.

When we visit the homes of others, they will frequently have a selection of artworks they have collected over the past years.

The works on display in these newly built houses enhance the potential living spaces, along with the furniture – they give the spaces an attractive and warm feeling, and encourage visitors to imagine how they might live in the space. The artworks are on shelves or hanging.

Seven local artists are exhibiting in the sustainable houses, an exhibition arranged through Belco Arts.

Nathan Nhan completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts at the School of Art and Design at the ANU in 2019. He uses the vessel as a basic “foundation”, which he sits on a small block – sometimes ceramic, sometimes from other materials. He gives them titles, and numbers, as trophies. The lips and walls of the vessels are manipulated, so they appear as if they might have been squashed during the firing process.

Clare Jackson is showing several etchings and lithographs. Two depict a wild weather event, and you can feel the wind sucking your breath away. This artist has created perfect, relatively small works on paper for this show. She has undertaken residencies in several countries, and is currently the artistic director at Megalo Print Studio in Kingston, where she is also a collaborative printer.

Jacqueline Bradley, who completed a residency at the Canberra Glassworks recently, is showing Seed Crown, a circular work made from cast glass. The seeds have been cast from seeds from an apricot tree which grows outside her bedroom window.

Another artist who had a residency at the Canberra Glassworks, Rosalind Lemoh, is showing several works in glass. Skin of the moon, a piece of fruit – perhaps rock melon – in clear glass rests on a flat circular piece of black glass. The seeds remain in the centre, and the bumpy surface of the skin of the fruit is clearly seen. This is a calm work, and it is pleasing to see her working in glass.

Jessika Spencer uses both traditional Aboriginal weaving, and contemporary fibre techniques to create her art. She is showing a cluster of dillybags, as well as five separate dillybags on a wall. They are made from traditional materials.

This is an excellent opportunity for people who may not go to exhibitions, to see the artwork of local artists, and to imagine it in their own homes.