Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Axolotl!
From all of the Axolotl team, we wish everyone the best wishes for the holiday season.
A special thanks to all of those who worked with us this year, we look forward to working with you again in 2015!
Axolotl will be closed from Wednesday 24th December and will reopen Wednesday 7th Jan.
Year in Review
2014 has seen Axolotl work on some amazing projects including Barangaroo, the Nan Tien Temple, No1 Pacific Place, and our 4th Tiffany & Co store to name a few.
It saw the launch of new products including Axolotl Sheet Metals, and our award winning Axolotl Terracotta, as well as the launch of new consultancy Axolotl Art Projects.
Since the launch of AAP we have been lucky enough to collaborate with artists including Dale Jones Evans, Pamela See, Jane Cavanough and Jade Oakley. It has been a successful year that has seen many artworks shortlisted, commissioned and installed.
As you may have noticed, we don't like to sit still here at Axolotl. Stay tuned as we are sure to dream up and release exciting new products to our range in 2015! And as always get in touch If you have a new project or artwork opportunity that you would like to discuss with the team.
2015 will see some changes to the Axolotl team, with designer Ben Wahrlich leaving to run his own company Anaesthetic, and Sophia Conradi re-joining our team full-time after completing her studies.
We look forward to working with you and the other amazing Australian architects, designers and artists we have collaborated with again in the new year.
Ginkgo, Lily, Monsteria
Axolotl were delighted to be involved in the creation of this beautiful series of 2 metre tall sculptures by artist Jade Oakley, commissioned by the new Westfield's Miranda Shopping Centre.
"My creative process began with a visit to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. I sat on the ground and made detailed sketches of the pattern of leaf veins" says Oakley who hand illustrated each of the detailed leaf designs in ink. Each drawing was then digitised, scaled and precision laser cut in Mild Steel by Axolotl.
The leaves were individually rolled and carefully hand forged to create the rippled surface before being welded to its stem and wrapped around the custom polished concrete base.
The sculptures were treated with an Axolotl Bronze Lunar coating, aged with a florentine verdigris patina and hand polished to highlight the bronze and accentuate the forms.
"The patina that Axolotl has applied to these sculptures is so beautiful, and just what I had in mind. In places the bronze paint shows through the patina, creating a deep lustre, and in other areas the organic patina glows green against the metal." Jade Oakley.
Jade is truly a pleasure to collaborate with, her engagement throughout the entire creation of her artwork from inception through to manufacture is testament to the highly crafted works she creates.