intriciate collages

Tell us a bit about Tara Shackell Ceramics?
I make ceramic objects, plant pots, vases
and tableware. I‘m interested in the
relationship between form and surface,
and try to make work with subtle, beautiful
interactions between the clays and glazes.
Tell us about yourself and your
background? What sparked you to create
your business?
I’ve always loved making things. Right
after school, I was accepted into the VCA
(Victorian College of the Arts), to study
for a Bachelor of Fine Art, majoring in
photography. It was just before digital
photography really took off and I loved
spending hours in the darkrooms, exposing
and processing black and white and colour
photos.
In 2007, I took an evening class in wheel
throwing at Box Hill TAFE. Then I took
another one.. I loved it so much, I couldn’t
wait to get to the next class, so the next year
I enrolled in a Diploma of Art in the ceramics
department. There was a great focus
on skills development there, and I learnt
invaluable techniques in throwing, creating
glazes firing kilns, and complimentary
skills including some drawing, design and
photographing products.
While studying, a class project to create
a breakfast set for Craft (formerly Craft
Victoria) led to my first range of tableware
and my business has grown from there.
What processes are involved in creating
your pieces?
The thing I love about making ceramics is
how process-based it is. I love (almost) all
the different parts of making a piece (but
hate glazing). Most of my work is thrown
on the wheel and made from high-fired
stoneware or porcelain clay.
First, I blend and wedge clay and weigh
it into balls ready to be thrown. I usually
prepare enough clay so I can sit at the
wheel and work until my whole work-table
is covered in wet pots. They then need to
dry out enough to be flipped upside down
and trimmed. This can happen the next day
in summer, but I often have to wait a week
in cold or wet weather. Then more drying, a
bisque firing, glazing and back into the kiln
for their final, high temperature, firing. The
whole process can take more than a month
for an individual piece.
What inspires you in your designs?
I’m strongly influenced by Japanese
traditions in ceramics. I try to make pieces
with a strong sense of materiality.
I make glazes that interact with the different
clay-bodies, to create depth in the surface.
I spend a lot of time working on proportions
and shapes and mixing endless glaze tests.
I think the best ceramic work has a basis in
art or thoughtful design and always try to
consider this when making.
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