Pottery In Australia Vol 12 No 2 Spring 1973

.
..... OTTERV
IN AUSTI {ALIA
VOL. 12, No.2, SPRI NG

FRONT COVER
MARRA GAZZARD; "Mallia" I, n, III. Stoneware clay, white opaque glaze. Height 49· 51 em.
Exhibition National Gallery of Victoria.

With the compliments of
Pottery in Australia
published by The Pottery Society of Australia

POTTERY
I N AUSTRALIA
Published by the Potters' Society of Australia
Editorial Committee
Wanda Garnsey: Editor
Peter Travis: President
Shirley Maule, Alan Peascod, Janet Mansfield, Margaret Tuckson
Jeanie Paynter: Advertising
Barbara Austin: Business Manager
Vol. 12, No.2, 1973
Please address a/l correspondence 10 The Editor of "Pottery in Australia",
30 Turramurra Avenue, Turramurra, N.S.W., 2074. Telephone: 44.2043

Contents
EDITORIAL
Marea Gazzard Kenneth Hood p.4
Lithgow Pottery, its First Craftsman Potter,
James Silcock, and his Diary Jocelyn Kalokerinos p.7
Yoruba Pottery Jenny Isaacs p. 14
Harry and May Davies p.21
Saving Kiln Space Brian Kemp p.23
Gut Feelings about Clay Beverley Dunphy p. 25
Fujiwara Yu Connie Dridan p. 28
Recent Work p. 33
Ethnoarcheology in Chotanagpur Judy Birmingham p.45
Mervin Feeney Geoffrey C. Curtis p. 53
The Ceramic Study Group discovers new Raku techniques
with Joan Campbell Mollie Grieve p.55
Autumn School, May, 1973 Beryl Barton p. 61
Professor Said EI Sadr Alan Peascod p. 62
Glaze Chipping, with particular reference to Chinese Porcelain
J. H. Myrtle and 1. J. McMeekin p.64
Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education Michael Ford p. 7 J
German Pots at Karlsruhe Renata de Lambert and Hildegard Anstice
Hamada and Leach in London Janet Hamer p.76
The Design and Operation of Two Small Downdraught Kilns
using L.P. Gas R. R. Hughan p.77
Book Reviews p. 82
Exhibitions p. 85
Lectures p. 86
Competitions
Announcements
p. 86
p. 87
p. 75
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Editorial
" ... a pot in order to be good should be a genuine expression
of life. It implies sincerity on the part of the potter and truth
in the conception and execution of the work. By this reasoning
we are thrown back upon the oldest of questions, but there is
no escaping fundamental issues in discussing problems of art
at a period of break-up and change. Art is an epitome of life
experience and in searching for a standard in pottery elastic
enough to cover both past and present we are compelled to
look far afield and to examine the principles upon which the
best pots of East and West have been based. In a broad way
the difference between the old potters and the new is between
unconsciousness within a single culture and individual consciousness
of all cultures ... "
Bernard Leach, A Potter's Book, page 20.
"It is an unfortunate fact in all parts of the world that the
hands that hold the purse strings, if they are not those
primarily concerned with the maintenance of quality and
retention of the best craft skills, sometimes over emphasise
"return for money", and, in the case of pottery, pressure to
increase production results in the introduction of wheels,
electric kilns and glazes. This would be disastrous for such a
project [as YorubaJ. As Ibigbami said to me about one such
development in Northern Nigeria "why bring an orange tree
into a mango patch? They both bear fine fruit but find it
difficult to grow in the same climate. There are many fine
mango pots produced all over Nigeria, the oranges are not
needed."
Yoruba Po/rery, Jenny Isaacs, this issue.

4
Marea Gazzard
Kenneth Hood
It is likely that within the next few years the familiar but artificial divisions
existing between the various crafts will be broken down, and craftsmen freed of the
restraints now imposed by working in only one material will move easily and
naturally from clay to silver, from silver to wood or from wood to fibre. It is not
unusual even now to find sculptors making soft shapes in canvas or cloth, jewellers
working with wood or plastic and potters becoming interested in the malleability
of glass. Marea Gazzard, recently appointed Chairman of the Crafts Board and
Vice President for tbe Asian Region of the World Crafts Council, is a foremost
proponent of the notion that crafts must be revitalised by interaction and interchange
between them, that craftsmen must take what they need from each other
and tbat the creation of the useful and the functional-whilst an essential part of
craft activities-need not be considered as more than one aspect of a craftsman's
work. Not only are the dividing lines between the various crafts becoming increasingly
indistinct but so too is the more rigid and traditional barrier between arts
and crafts and in her exhibition held in company with Mona Hessing, at the
National Gallery of Victoria in August, Marea Gazzard's pots assumed imaginative
qualities far beyond those normally associated with utilitarian pottery. This
exhibition was conceived as a complete entity and both Marea Gazzard and Mona
Hessing were at pains to ensure the integration of the two sympathetic materials
into an essentially coherent whole.
For Marea Gazzard it is craft itself which is her main inspiration. Although
she has admitted the influence of Greek pottery (and it is not difficult to find a
reflection of the precisely calculated outlines of an Attic pot in her work), pre­
Columbian and primitive pottery, she has also said that she finds more stimulation
in a tapestry by Mona Hessing than in most pots. It is in " people, their work and
in past and present cultures" that her involvement with crafts is at its most intense.
Born in Sydney, Marea Gazzard studied at the National Art School, East
Sydney and then went to London where she worked at the Central School of Arts
and Crafts and the group of potters with which she was associated there were
Gillian Lowndes, Gordon Baldwin, Ruth Duckworth and Dan Arbeid, all potters
whose primary concern was form. Marea Gazzard has never abandoned this
fundamental attention to form and her interest in glaze is, she admits, entirely
secondary. In her most recent ceramics she has declined to use glaze at all ; a fine,
'pure white stoneware clay has been hand-built (she almost never uses a wheel)
into thin, tautly waving shapes which have an inner tension and spring reminiscent,
not only in shape but in surface texture, of the inner part of a nautilus shell. Massive
as these pieces are tbeir shell-like delicacy suggests a peculiar fragility, a suggestion
reinforced by the small bases on wbich they sit. One large group, hand-built in
single and double S-curves and varying in height from a few inches to about three
feet are designed to be shown standing in sand which serves, in a sense, to
strengthen the comparison with whitened shell-like forms.
Other recent ceramics use a thin white glaze on white clay; these are large,
circular pots whose depth is often no more than a few inches or pots which spring
MAREA GAZZARD
Photograph : Leslie Gerry.

5

6
outwards and upwards from a ~ mall base with a vitality and tension wh!ch, surprisingly,
is never lost during the long hours of hand-building.
Marea Gazzard's output is comparatively small. Neither her considerable
involvement with craft activities in this country and overseas nor the rhythm at
which she naturally works allow a large production. She enjoys working in groups
or fami lies of pots and in watching the often subtle changes from piece to piece
as a cycle progresses. A group of related pots will display not only distinctly
connected characteristics but small, subtle variations which indicate the development
and unfolding of the initial inspiration from a simple to a complex statement.
Or the process may be reversed-a series may culminate in a shape of breathtaking
simplicity, the final reduction from an initially more intricate concept. Yet, though
her commitment to form is almost complete, Marea Gazzard never totally abandons
the traditional origins of her craft. Uninterested in functional wares her work never
entirely becomes sculpture although she has had pieces cast in bronze using the
lost wax technique.
Most Australian State galleries hold pots by Marea Gazzard in their collections
and she has received important commissions both here and overseas. In 1971 she
was elected a member of the International Academy of Ceramics at the Ariana
Museum in Geneva. Whilst Marea Gazzard's ceramics are so idiosyncratic in style
as to have had few successful imitators it is in the wider field of stimulation of the
present climate for crafts that her influence will be most strongly felt. Involvement
in total craft is, for her, an essential part of the creative process and it is not
improbable that her imagination and enthusiasm will forcc us all to seriously
reconsider the impact of crafts on our lives and in the community.
KENNETH HOOD is Curator of Decorative Arts and Senior Curator at the National Gallery of
Victoria. He is also a member of the Crafts Board.
Lead in glazes
Choice, the journal of the Australian Consumers Association, carries an article on
"Lead in Pottery" in its March 1973 issue. Recommended reading.
At its seventy-sixth session in May 1973 the National Health and Medical Research
Council approved the following recommendation: "Council recommended that in
the teaching of pottery crafts in primary and secondary schools, lead compounds
should not be used in the making of utensils that could be used as containers for
food and beverages."

7
Lithgow Pottery, Its First Craftsman
Potter, James Si1cock, and His Diary
Jocelyn Kalokecinos
"Lithgow", a name synonymous with perhaps the most prized of early New South
Wales pottery, and yet until now, no publication has revealed just why Lithgow
pottery has long continued to attract serious antique dealers and collectors of early
Australian ware. In his article, "Pottery of Lithgow, New South Wales", republished
in the Australian Antique Collector, No. 12, 1972, and perhaps the most descriptive
on Lithgow pottery itself, the late John Burden records: "For fifty years, I have
pursued my inquiries and conducted my investigations. It is a tragedy that reliable
information is so difficult to come by and examples so hard to collect." Had
Mr. Burden known of the existence of Silcock's diary his work would have been
less frustrating and perhaps Lithgow pottery would have been placed in four or
more categories, namely Silcock's, Halford's, the catalogue periods of 1885 to
1895/ 6, and the Brownfield period of 1906.
Both John Burden and W. Lawson (ref. Industrial POJJery: Journal of the
Royal Australian Historical Society, March 1971) mention Thomas Halford as
being the first potter at Lithgow. There seems little doubt that James Silcock gave
Lithgow Pottery the opportunity to extend from brick and pipe manufacture in to
the production of quality domestic ware. Records do not clearly indicate who
carried on from the time he left in 1881 until 1883 when Thomas Hal ford arrived
from Staffordshire to work for a brief period as chief potter. Lithgow Library files
have copies of the only available catalogues. The first is dated 1885 and subsequent
catalogues were issued in 1889 and 1895/ 6. Mention is made in Lithgow records
of James Brough, a potter and John Burden gives the names of two other throwers,
James Daly and Mr. Tully. Other names are listed as mould makers and decorators.
The pottery closed its production of table ware in 1898 but reopened for twelve
months in 1906 when the potter named Brownfield attempted re-establishment.
The name of Patrick Higgins is associated with management and is mentioned by
James Silcock in his dia ry. Also mentioned by Silcock is the name of Robert
Abbott who was either foreman or manager but not a potter. Miss Margaret Kl am,
librarian of Lithgow, has carefully collected many records and relics of the Lithgow
Pottery and she is currently searching for information on Brownfield, the last of
the known potters. It is Miss Klam's theory that much of the standard form s were
"thrown" within moulds on the wheel to achieve continuity and regul ar sizes for
catalogue purposes. In presenting the following detail it should be noted that this
has been transcribed direct from the handwritten personal di ary of James Silcock.
The diary is a small hard-covered pocket sized book, kept in the possession of
octogenarian, Mr. Harry Silcock, a retired potter, and son of James Silcock. It has
been necessary to leave out great detail relating to the long voyage by sailing ship
from England. These notes have been adequately recorded in articles by Mr. E. J .
Braggett and published in the Newcastle Morning Herald 1968. Also omitted from
this publication are Silcock's vivid descriptions of his regular weekend hunting
expeditions in the valleys and mountains. Notes more relevant to his trade as a
potter are here recorded with occasional side issues. Words that were crossed out,
words that were difficult to read, or words obviously left out have been entered in
brackets. James Silcock determined to emigrate to Australia at the age of 27 years.

8
He left Sheffield, England, with his wife Anne and children on 26th November,
1878, and sailed in the "Blair Athol" via South Africa.
DIARY NOTES:
"We anchored in Sydney Harbour on 4th March 1879 having been 96 days out.
The entrance to Port Jackson is most magnificent, the natural scenery being most
lovely. After spending several days on board ship (Blair Athol) my friend Joe Lee
came to me and we went in Sydney but could not find work for me at the Potterys.
We went down to Parramatta 14 miles from Sydney. There are some very large
orangerys there; we saw one very large one and it looked very beautiful for the
fruit was nearly ripe. We were again unsuccessful in getting work so I determined
to go with Joe to Lithgow Valley 96 miles from Sydney. The line runs over the
Blue Mountains by means of a zigzac railway which is a marvellous piece of work
for the line goes up one side and down the other and as you look below you see
the line far beneath you; from the foot of the summit the Mountain is nearly a
mile high. Lithgow Valley lies at the foot of the Mountain and is considered to be
one of the healthiest places in the Colony. The Valley is surrounded on all sides by
high mountains. There is no twilight here as soon as the sun goes down it is dark.
I got work at Lithgow Pottery and I began to erect a calico tent, the cost being
about thirty shillings. House rent being so very high and no better than the tents.
We had no coal to buy as we went and felled the nearest tree when we wanted any
firewood and we had no rent to pay for the ground. The first week I was hired I
went with Joe Lee and several more hunting. We took two dogs and an American
axe with us. The dogs soon found some possums up a large tree . . . they make
splendid rugs of their skins.
(references to horses being very cheap, the local Chinamen's irrigated vegetable
garden, hunting Koala Bears and finding exotic ferns)
I am thankul for all that that we came out here as 1 get good wages and we live
well and if only fo r the sake of Polly (eldest girl) I feel I have done right in coming
as she was so very delicate at home and now she is quite robust.
Wednesday May 21st or 22nd 1879. A memorable day in Lithgow Valley as it was
the first time there had been any pottery made there. The master asked me to make
some large garden pots and some vases. I got the wheel fitted up and began with
some clay that I had got ready myself, running it through a fine sieve as I had not
the means of washing it. I then mixed it with water and put it through a Pug mill
twice, it then worked up pretty well . . . as before they could not make it for
anything. I made 22 dozen of pots and the saucers to them and though I had not
made any before I never broke one pot out of the lot. The men were surprised at
the number I made in so short a time although I made the balls and wedged the
clay myself. Every meal time they were collected round them. The master brought
several Gentlemen in to see me make them . He asked me if I could make anything
else so I made them several things such as bottles, jars, etc. Both the master and
the Gentlemen expressed their surprise. The next day he brought his daughter and
another young lady to see me make ware. They were delighted and asked me if I
could make them a vase. 1 drew a sketch of one which pleased them very much so
I made two very large ones. The Shareholders had no idea that I could make such
a variety of Pots and on Saturday and every day in the week I had numbers of
people coming to see me make different kinds of pots and they were very much
surprised . 1 made several large vases and turned them. The Shareholders were so
pleased with them that they asked me to get some more clay ready of a better kind
and make many more and said they thought they should go into the Trade. Several
Lithgow tradesmen came to see me and they gave me four and sixpence as they
said they never thought of seeing anything like that in Lithgow Valley and said

that I was No. I there. It was very pleasing to me to give such satisfaction and I
thought of the great difference between being here and at home as there the
masters never did appreciate a good man. I may safely say in N.S.W. as they do
not know what (throwing) is and they (can) only make a few kinds of (ware ).
(I may safely say without boasting (crossed out) that I am the finest potter in
N .S. W.) I find it very useful here being able to both turn, throw and finish for if
I had not been able to turn I could not have made the vases and if I had not been
able to finish I should have been no use here as they do not know what (turning)
means.
Saturday 26th May, Queens Birthday, reference to big bon fire celebrations, birds,
and parrot pies.
When I came up to Lithgow Valley 1 did not expect to see my branch of the trade
started so soon. In the first place they asked me to make some flower pots and as
there are so many visitors who come here I was asked if I could make anything
else. One Saturday the Shareholders came up and they were so pleased with what
I made that they called a meeting and they decided to go out into the Trade at
once. On the Monday following, one of the principal Shareholders came and sent
for me to give them some idea of washing the clay which I did and they began to
work at once. I washed some white clay by hand which is very good and equal to
our fine ware clay at home. I made some vases of it and figured them which greatly
pleased the company. They asked me to make anything I liked as they should send
them to the Exhibition and if I can only get the material for making Glazes I am
almost certain to carry ofT the first prize for pottery ware in N.S.W.
Thursday June 19th 18,9-1 washed the first clay for the purpose of making
pottery ware in Lithgow. We used the old system of working by horse with the
exception of one or two Ilaws in the arrangements we got on very well and washed
two large sump kils or pon(d)s.full of slip. The master was so pleased with the
process that they are going to build a kiln for my pottery ware and go thoroughly
into the business. We had bad accounts from our friend Joe Lee this week who
left here a while ago to go to Melbourne Victoria he traversed a great deal of the
Colony over but could not succeed in getting work as trade was so bad. So we sent
him money for him to come back with. 1 think it is a great mistake and a sin to
send so many emigrants out here as it was a pitiful sight to see so many unsuccessful
in getting work from our ship, and it must be worse for every boat that comes
out. What is greatly wanted here are Capitalists and if they could be brought here
about a dozen men like Mark Firth from Sheffield, things would be far different;
as it is there are a great deal too many employees for the number of employers
but the Colonels will not admit this but it is their boast in the press that they have
room for many thousands of emigrants which is very true but they have not
employment for them.
I sent to England by todays mail for a few other ingredients for making glazes
which I could not obtain in the Colony.
Friday June 20th-I had some visitors to see me make pots. They were very much
pleased and surprised at the way in which they were made. They gave me three
shillings.
Saturday lune 21 st. The Shareholders came up from Sydney and brought many
Gentlemen with them. I had the shop almost full of them.
Sunday June 21 st. As a case of necessity r worked today fixing a chimney to our
tent as I had no time in the week days, it being dark so soon. The weather is bitter
cold and I thought it was no sin to build it on the Sabbath as it was so cold for the
children.
9

10
Monday June 22nd '79. I made a few large jars. The first lot of jars were drawn
out of the kiln. The jars that 1 had made out of a new bed of clay that 1 found
came out first class. It was equal to our brown salt glaze at home. Worked a lot
more clay. Had a lot of the Shareholders up and had another consultation about
kilns and pottery in general.
Monday July-l started to make a pattern for a very large chimney pot. The
engineer who is a very clever man said he could make it. He got a piece of wood
and made a drum of it and put it on a lathe but when he had got part of the clay
on it all fell off as I had told them it would so then the Boss came to me and asked
me if I could make it. I told him I would try. I knew I could not throw it so I built
it up about the proper height and thickness and got a wooden pattern made in two
parts for the base and the cap. 1 then turned it while it was soft to pretty near the
shape, then I held the pattern to it like a rib. 1 made it in three parts, the base,
the drum and the cap. I accomplished it quite to my surprise and beyond expectations
of them all. The Engineer was so vexed because I had made it and he had
failed that he went off drinking. The height of it was four feet and the width of the
base and cap in the widest part was 21 inches and is to be three feet six in height
when burnt.
Saturday July 5th I had many Gentleman from Sydney to see me make pots.
Saturday July 19th I was very sick but it being Saturday 1 thought I would try to
go to work as J have always some visitors corne on Saturday and so it proved for
in the morning several of the Shareholders came amongst them was one named
Mr. Cumes a very wealthy man. He had only just returned from Paris where he
had been sent as the Representative of the Colony of N.S.W. He stayed in the shop
while 1 made several pots. When he went out tbe Manager carne to see me in the
shop and said Well Jim, that is a Gentleman just returned rom the Paris Exhibition
and he says that the clay is quite equal to any that he has seen in Flanders and
that your pots are quite as good as any that he has seen at the Exhibition or
anywhere else while he has been travelling. So I was very much (pleased) as also
was the Boss. 1 wanted someone to come as understood the work afar. Now they
know what sort of a workman they have got. I have made one very large jar about
six gallons for the Exhibition and several more things besides.
Friday August 9th-last week I started making filters of different shapes and they
are the first that have been made in the Colony.
Tuesday 12th August my birthday-we had a large plum pudding and a roast of
beef. Invited Joe Lee and Arthur Boot for dinner.
Friday August 15th. A remarkable day in the history of Lithgow as we were
honoured with a visit from the new Governor Lord Augustus Loftus, Sir Henry
Parkes, Bishop Barker, Commodore Hoskins the Governor's Aid de Camp. They
came straight from the Station to the Pottery and into my workroom. There were
at least thirty of them and all men of note in the Colony. There was not room for
them all in the shop and some of them had to stand outside. I had everything
ready. f made a bottle, a jar and a bowl, one ginger beer bottle and a flower pot.
There were many expressions of surprise at the work and his Lordship said that
he was delighted with what I had shown them and said he should have liked to
have stayed a little time longer but they were pressed for time as they had a many
places to visit and it was after two o'clock when they came. Mr. Higgins shewed
them a great quantity of my work such as Filters, Fountains, Jars, Bottles, Fancy
Inkstands, churns, vases, etc. And they then took them into the new warehouse
where there was all my work stored away on shelves and they had a table set out
and a champagne lunch provided for them. It was a proud day for me and the
greatest honour I ever had. I got great praise for the cool way in which I got

through my work and the satisfaction I had given. When they had gone I had a
many Parties of less note come to see my process. U my workshop had been large
enough I should have had at least an hundred people in at once, a great many
looking through the windows.
Friday 29th August-the great sculling match between Trickett and Laycock was
rowed and was easily won by Trickett. The same day the long kiln was began of.
New South Wales International Exhibition opened on 17th September. We packed
our exhibits on the 12th Sept.
There has been some very heavy rainfall ... nine years since there has been so
much . September . .. I and Arthur Boot spent a week in Sydney, visited the
Exhibition and saw my exhibits there and a grand collection of almost everything
from every country. (reference to family of Simpsons with whom they stayed in
Sydney. Polly went too. Bought a horse for 2 shillings and 5 pence, a good price.)
We have burnt the long kiln for the first time this week with flower pots. Burnt
the first kiln of brownwarc in Lithgow at Christmas. It turned out truly fair for
the first time. Up to this I have had about six hundred visitors at the Pottery.
Scarcely a day passes that there are some visitors, there will be five or six parties
in One day. It is now January (1880) and the weather is very hot.
January 15th I made out a list of ingredients for making glazes. We are sending to
Liverpool for them. I sent for two tons 7 cwt. The other week I had two foreign
Commissioners to see me at the Works, one [rom Belgium and the other from
The Netherlands. They asked me to make them two Tobacco Pots, both alike.
I made two combination ones of white clay and they looked very well when burnt. I
have had a severe illness which lasted several weeks but am getting all right again.
The Notorious Bushrangers, Scot (Scoot) and Rogan paid the extreme penalty of
their life yesterday.
January 23rd. One of the Shareholders sent a large beer bottle up from Sydney
and said it was the very best make in Sydney. I weighed it and it was 14 (ozs)
heavier than mine and 1 oz heavier than mine before they were burnt.
April 1 st 188~were made the first full sized railway rails in Australia at the
Eskbank Iron Works, Lithgow.
June 17th-Teddy Fox arrived at Lithgow and I got him work at the Pottery.
June 27th ... we visited an aboriginals camp and had a long chat with them as
they can speak English tolerably well.
Wed. 23 June-total eclipse of the moon.
Monday 29th June 1880. This was a remarkable day as being the day that the
Kelly Gang of four were captured. (long account)
July 1st, made the first Australia vase. The Temora rush is causing great commotion
in the Colony. Within about a month 11,000 people have flocked onto the
field which promised to be one of the richest and most extensive gold fields ever
found in the Colony.
Saturday August 21st. We received a visit from Lord and Lady Loftus, this being
the second visit of his Lordship. I was again requested to make some pots on the
wheel and her Ladyship expressed her pleasure and surprise at the operation.
October 6th. wrote home to enquire about the plan of the round kiln. Joe Lee left
us again on Monday, October 4th.
Soft Porcelain is an artificial combination of an alkaline flux with bone ash, sand
and chalk or gypsum. Hard (petunze) Porcelain is composed of Kaolin, both
natural products. Bone Paste-first a glass was formed with one part of either
potta"h, [eroash, pearlash, kelp or any other vegetable . .. salt and one part of
sand .. . or any other stone of the vitrifying kind, this being reduced to powder
was mixed with China Clay.
II

12
Nov 17 1880. Found a very long Centipede in the blankets, it was six inches long.
Ned Kelly, the Notorious Bushranger was executed.
December 23rd. 1 and a companion had a very narrow escape of our lives. We
went to get a particular kind of clay from under some rocks.
Dec. 28th and 29th. All the hands at the Pottery were turned away with the
exception of six, owing to their having taken half a days holiday. 1 had to burn
the Pipe kiln and was threatened by the others for doing it. However, I finished it
in spite of them and when it was opened it proved to be as good a kiln as ever
was burnt.
Feb. 8th I made a sample of crucible for the Sydney Mint for smelting gold in.
We have started a series of concerts in Lithgow and are about to start a Cooperative
store. We donate the proceeds of concerts to Charitable Institutions and
to cases of distress in the district.
Feb. 19th sang my first song in public .. . received plan of Round Kiln.
Round Kiln finished building on 14th March.
March 15th was born at half past one a.m. our 5th child, a boy.
March 22nd ... tempered clay and made 80-3 gallon jars and lids, turned 1 doz
Filter bottles, made I doz Filter Top lids.
April 5-was drawn the first kiln of ware out of the new Round Kiln. My stone
glaze was used and turned out first class, the first glazed ware yet produced in the
Colony. Prepared the first kiln of Bristol Ware for the next kiln. Filled up Census
Paper.
April 12th 1881-Drew the first kiln of Bristol ware manufactured in the Colony
of N.S.W. It turned out excellent ware and we got great credit for it.
April 28th-Drew the second kiln of Bristol ware-it was better than the first as I
used the Black Top glaze. It was equal to the English make in every respect.
May 8th Sent the first sample of Bristol ware to Sydney, one 5 gallon Bottle was
sent to Elliott Bros. to be tested. It was filled with sulphuric acid and is to stand
the test a fortnight.
May 9th-we lost our baby two months old-taken with inflammation of the lungs.
May 27th-another sad death. Anne's sister Elizabeth was taken with fever and
after suffering for 21 days she succumbed. This has been a very trying time for us.
June 11th. Made out tenders for Pottery, Chimney Pots, Syphons, Bends, Elbows,
Junctions, Pipes, etc. The 5 gallon bottle sent to Elliott Bros stood the test of the
strongest acid and they admitted that our ware was superior to ware they got out
from Doultons of London.
June 18th-Got a letter from a Mr. Potter offering me 10 shillings per day and
the option of having piece work.
July 1881-Had a trip to Maitland 90 miles up the Coast in the Northern District.
I was offered a good situation there and went to see the place. ] was offered
10 shillings per day for a start and could take piece work if 1 liked.
July 16th Gave in my notice at Lithgow. Left off work on 19th. On 20th was
offered terms by a Gentleman, one of the Company. Same day was invited to go
and make some ware for the Princes, Albert Victor and George (later King
George V). Sir Henry Parkes and officers of the Fleet were there. The shop was
crowded, a many being outside. The Princes experienced great surprise at the
process.
July 17th-set out to Mount Walker and prospected for gold, followed the river
8 miles.
July 25th J 881-Left Lithgow and went to work at East Maitland about 180 miles
from Lithgow. Mr. Abbott I found had proved a treacherous man and also instilled
the poison into the mind of Joe Lee. However I did a good thing by leaving

13
Lithgow and shall be better without them. Maitland is a pretty place, a tine agricultural
country where all kinds of fruits grow to perfection.
August 20th bought two pigs, 21 weeks old for 14 pence or 7 pence each.
Saturday October IS-For several weeks have felt a great depression of spirits . ..
and I shall be very uneasy until the English mail comes in as I am afraid of having
bad news from home.
October 17th Started making the first kiln of flower pots at Maitland. Have up to
the present made six Kilns of Ginger Beer bottles and 100-2 gallon bottles, 2
gross of Blackeys, 2 gross of I qt jars and 4 dozen 1 gallon bottles.
April 21st (1882) A daughter born.
August 20th 1882. I left Maitland and went to Mr. Turton's Pottery as General
Manager. Like the place very well.
August 6th. Tom Hall and wife arrived at Waratah. I got him a situation with us
at the Pottery.
December S-made 920 Ginger Beer bottles.
December 6th-made 1000 and 36.
December 7th-started at 10 o'clock and made 100-1 gallon jars and lids."
Here ends the diary notes. Mr. E. J. Braggett writing in the Newcastle
Morning Herald records: "Once more his business acumen was apparent and within
6 years he had combined as Messrs. Silcock and Hall to buyout from Turton, and
eventually he became sole owner. He remained active in the business until 1929
but retired in favour of his son. Tn 1901 he toured England representing Australia
in the first Australian Bowling Team."
The Silcock Pottery, begun by Robert Turton about 1866, continued in production
until March 1973 when it was closed down due to air pollution control
and urbanisation. Previous mention of James Silcock appeared in an article
"Trendy Stoneware Pottery" (Jocelyn Kalokerinos) published in Pottery in
A uSlralia, Vol. 8, No.2, 1969. Also by the same author "Pottery in the Hunter
Valley", an article published in a booklet, "lrrawang, Australia", by the Hunter
District Water Board, 1969.
James Silcock's assumption that he produced the first stone glaze, the first
filters of different shapes, the first Australian vase and the first kiln of Bristol ware
suggests that this is now the time to review all that has been written on early
pottery in the colony of New South Wales.
JOCELYN KALOKERINOS is a potter who lives at Belmont, N.S.W.
Galleries and Potteries to visit
The present address of tbe DESIGN ARTS CENTRE is 37 Leicbhardt Street, Spring Hill,
Brisbane, Qld. 4000. Hours: I I a.m.-S p.m . Wednesday and Saturday, Tel. 212360.
PASTORAL GALLERY run by Hiroe and Cornel Swen at Queanbeyan, features the work of
Hiroe as well as prominent Australian potters. Opening in November, 1973. All enquiries to
P.O. Box 381 , Queanbeyan 2620. Visitors are welcome between 2 p.m.-5 p.m. dai ly, except
Wednesday.
The WARRNAMBOOL ART GALLERY is situated at 214 Timor Street, Warrnambool,
Vic. 3280. Tel. S I 78. Director: John A. Welsh. Hours are Sunday to Friday 2-S p.m. Closed
Saturday.
The LABURNUM GALLERY at 9a Salisbury Avenue, Blackburn, Vic. 3130. features
ceramics among most other crafts and welcomes visitors.

14
Y oruba Pottery: An Experiment
in Adaptation
Jenny Isaacs
One often hears now of various "enlightened" attempts to improve, adapt, or make
economically viable traditional village pottery in many parts of the world. Master
potters, used to their own clay and its exact reactions in drying, the vagaries of
bonfire firing, and with the experience of tradition to draw on, are introduced to
new clays, wheels, glazes and modern kilns, either in the village or in the nearest
capital city or government-run pottery training centre. These projects are generally
initiated with the best intentions of providing competitive domestic pottery for an
increasingly demanding market which will not be satisfied with the porous, easily
breakable village pots. The results of these experiments vary immensely in quality.
More often than not, however, they tend to result in a lessening of impetus in
production of traditional wares in the villages affected and in some areas even its
unjustifiable destruction.
At He in Nigeria, the heart of Yoruba land and the site of the earliest known
pottery production in Nigeria, Mr. Raphael Ibigbami, a research fellow of the
Institute of African Studies, is attempting quite a different, and I feel more
successful, experiment to assist the production of traditional pottery to become
more generally saleable and to increase its level of acceptance in the community,
not only as functional ware but as an art form of high quality. Amongst the Yoruba
and indeed throughout Nigeria, there is still a strong demand in villages and in
towns for domestic pottery for cooking pots, sauce pots, water pots, and vats for
dyeing, although imported metal utensils and containers are strongly competing.
The porosity of the clay pots is valued greatly. It prevents the soup from "sleeping"·
and keeps water fresh and cool.
Mr. lbigbami's aim is to increase firing temperature and firing techniques so
that a ware can be produced which will not break easily and so that the number of
casualties in the bonfire will be minimal.
He has largely achieved this in the first 8 months of operation, the first phase
of the project. Temperatures in traditional ware were not usually above 500-600°C.
Now Mr. Ibigbami reaches over 900°C regularly in a traditional kiln, minimally
altered. The potters who work with him will return to their villages and introduce
this method.
Description of Pottery Project:
At present three potters work at the Centre, representing three distinct pottery
styles. The first, Felicia Adepelu from Igbara Odo, a master potter, was persuaded
to leave her village and work in He as her family had grown up and she was
unhampered by other ties. She could also be sure of a regular income. The second
potter, Felicia Ogusan, is 14 years old and from Ishan pottery centre and the third,
Michael Olu, is 20 and was selected from a group of secondary school pupils to
come to the pottery as he had shown a flair and imaginative skill in art classes.
"Felicia Adepelu, the master Yoruba potter said that in metal containers soup always "went
to sleep", hence the preference for clay pots. This fact has been noted in our world also where
the values of low fired earthenware casseroles for slews are extolled in every cookbook. Clay
retains an even heat and cools slowly so that the thick soup does not settle quickly.

15
I. Felicia Adepelu
commenci ng a large
water cooler. Clay is laid
Over an inverted bisqucd
pot and rolled with a
smooth pebble.
Photograph: Frallk Speed.
His style is a blending of the other two with the addition of his own active
imagination.
/gbara-Odo Pottery:
Felicia Adepelu is what is known locally as a "dancing potter", i.e., she moves
constantly while working, around the pot being made, rather than turning the clay
in front of her. Clay from her area is brought to lfe and she uses this as it is,
refusing to try any other. The clay is first kneaded with her feet and set aside to
mature for perhaps a week. The pot is made in 3 stages.
I. First a round ball of clay is thrown on ashes on the ground and the potter,
turning in a circular movement, presses it into a round slab with the flat underside
of her foot. This is then flopped over an inverted bisqued dish which acts as a
mould, and beaten down, always in a circular motion with a rounded smooth stone
(see photo I). At this stage the pot is left in the sun to sti.ffen for about an hour.
2. In the next stage the semi formed pot is removed from the first mould,
turned right side up and placed in another supporting rounded mould. Ashes are
used to prevent sticking. The potter then uses coils of about 2" thickness to build
the pot up to the rim. The pot is placed at her standing height for ease of working
on a series of inverted fired pots which are used as a pedestal.
She moves slowly and unfalteringly backwards and clockwise around the pot,
laying and securing the coils as she moves. Her inside foot remains flat on the
ground and is dragged around as she steps with the outside foot. This acts as a
steadying point and enables her to achieve speed and symmetry. The coils are
smoothed down with thumb and fingers as she moves and then the pot walls are

J6
2. Laying the roll for the neck.
3. Decorating. using a
piece of rope twine and
applied clay.
Plrotograplr: Frank Speed.

17
thinned by being dragged upwards from the inside by a curved stone or a seed pod.
When the coils have reached the desired height of the neck the pot is again
left to firm in the sun.
3. The final stage is the making of the neck and rim. This is done again with
coils which are then spread with the aid of wet leaves or a rag saturated with slip
(see photo 2). The decoration consists of incising, appliqued clay and rolled
indented designs using dried corn cobs, sticks, etc. (see photo 3).
In some ritual pots clay is applied and moulded in low relief to form faces,
figures, etc. Pots of Igbara Odo style made by Felicia Adepelu at He include water
pots, cooking pots, dyeing vats, and ceremonial pots such as bridal water pots and
fetish figures.
I shan Pottery:
Felicia Ogusan from Jshan is what is termed here a "sitting potter". She sits on
the ground rotating the pot being made in front of her and is mainly concerned
with producing bowls and small lidded casseroles. She uses a mixture of clay from
her own area and from another. The mixture is necessary to allow the clay to
sustain the new firing procedure.
Stages:
1. A very wet ball of clay is placed in a shallow mould, again on ashes and
pinched into a low hollow cylinder the height of the rim leaving a very heavy
rounded base. This is left to stiffen.
2. Coils are applied and smoothed to bring the pot into the neck and form
the rim. Like Felicia Adepelu, a wet rag or leaf is used as the tool for smoothing,
the pressure of the fingers and the turning mould acting exactly the same as a
potter's hands on a wheel.
3. When Jeathe·r hard the pot is removed from the mould, turned over and
the bottom scraped with a bamboo tool to a smooth semi-circle. 11 is burnished
with a pebble and a design is incised.
4. The lid is made from a ball of clay, the size required placed on the mould
and "thrown", i.e., the mould is turned with the left hand, the right hand spreading
the clay to the required width. When this is leather hard it is inverted scraped, and
a knob is attached or carved.
Felicia makes bowls of varied sizes and lidded pots using this method.
New Directions:
Michael Olu works in the same manner as Felicia Adepelu but his shapes and
decorations are in the main his own. He has been greatly influenced by the older
woman in his work since he joined the pottery and in the 6 months since he
started he has shown amazing inspiration and ability in handling clay. He
decorates large bowls, water pots, water carriers and jugs with low relief appliqued
clay animals and faces of his imagination. Some pots may tell a story of how the
hunter killed the snake, for example, and others are simply decorative. AU
however have a quality of fancy quite unusual in traditional pottery in Nigeria.
The teapot shaped like a chicken is a particularly fine piece. In another, characters
of his dreams or imagination, like winged humans, birds and lizards pursue each
other around the form.
The Kiln:
The "kiJn" is partly permanent, and partly composed of the stacked pots themselves
covered by a wall of shards. The permanent structure is a low circular wall of clay
and small shards approximately 2 ft. high, 1 ft. thick and 5-6 ft. in diameter.

18
Thrown bottomless pots, 10" in diameter, are inserted through this wall at 3
equidistant points to form fire boxes (see photo 4).
Stacking:
Three or four of the largest water pots or vats are placed in the kiln upside
down on the ground and then successive layers of pots are stacked, all upside
down, on top of these to a height of approximately 4t feet. The walls of the kiln
are also used as supports and the pots when stacked form an almost solid arch.
Lids of casseroles and small pots are placed over the mound and these are then
covered by 2 layers of large shards of pots. The kiln is then ready for firing.
Firing:
The fire is started in the 3 fire boxes simultaneously using one large disc of
cow dung. This gives a steady low heat for about 20 minutes. Small sticks are then
used together with the cow dung for the remainder of the first t hour. Then the
temperature is increased rapidly by burning very large pieces of dry bamboo. These
are cut into long poles and poked in at the fire boxes until the desired temperature
is reached. (Generally by guesswork and the length of time of firing.) Both firings
I witnessed took 4 hours.
Immediately the firing is complete the kiln is dismantled slowly with sticks
acting as tongs; and the pots are quickly dipped or splashed with a hot juice made
from the bark of the "ira" tree and pods from the "iru" tree. This juice takes some
time to prepare and I was told the older it is the better. The bark and pods are first
pounded with a large mortar and pestle until crushed, and then they are boiled
4. The kiln during firing, showing: placement of the 3 fire boxes, use of bamboo as fuel,
creatIon of arch of potsherds forming kiln wall.
Photograph: Frank Speed.

19
5. Examples of pottery produced in the workshop. Most are of tbe Jgbara Odo style.
In tbe front line of photo two of Michael Olu's pots are seen: the round fat teapot and the
decanter with a face. The influence of Felicia Adepelu can be seen in the applied clay
decoration.
Photograph: Frallk Speed.
slowly in a large cauldron until the solution is an orange-brown thin soup. The
leaves and pods are removed and the juice is left for as long as possible and used
when hot. The application of this liquid gives a sheen to the pots, which with the
smoke patterns and applied decorations, makes the final products very beautiful
indeed. It also apparently helps to seal the clay.
The pottery produces about 75 good pots per week, sometimes more. The
problem remains of how to approach the second aim, Le., to achieve recognition
and acceptance for these pots so that village people, town dwellers, professionals,
academics and collectors will equally value them and by their patronage ensure
that the craft survives. This has already been attempted by the use of exhibitions
-a most successful exhibition was held at the University of He in May 1973-
but much ground remains to be covered. The work of Michael Olu is most
important here. As there are few practising "artist potters" in Nigeria the
emergence of Michael who is an artist in his own right and whose work bridges
the gap in people's minds between just a "village pot" and the work of art, may
have a strong effect on the recognition and therefore collection of all types of
pottery in Nigeria. In addition, the higher temperatures reached at He, and
elsewhere if this kiln and other modifications spread as is hoped, mean that the
traditional pottery can be shipped and transported to interested buyers whereas
with ware fired at only 500°C th is was almost impossible.
The success of the scheme so far can be judged by the satisfaction of the
potters firstly, and their willingness and eagerness to build a similar kiln in their

20
own villages, and also by the excellent public reaction to their first exhibition.
Mr. lbigbami hopes the pottery will be able to achieve self-sufficiency. This would
be a necessary and significant achievement, as it is an unfortunate fact in all parts
of the world that the hands that hold the purse strings, if they are not those
primarily concerned with the maintenance of quality and retention of the best craft
skills, sometimes over-emphasise "return for their money", and, in the case of
pottery, pressure to increase production results in the introduction of wheels, electric
kilns and glazes. This would be disastrous for such a project. As Ibigbami said to
me about one such development in Northern Nigeria, "why bring an orange tree
into a mango patch . They both bear fine fruit but find it difficult to grow in the
same climate. There are many fine mango pots produced all over Nigeria, the
oranges are not needed."
JENNY ISAACS is at present at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ife, Ife, Nigeria.
She hopes to arrange an exhibition of traditional Yoruba pottery in Sydney in mid-1974 and
has asked the Potters' Society for their co-operation.
6. Kiln before /iring half stacked.
Photograph: Jenny Isaacs.

21
Harry and May Davis
Extract from a leller from May Davis, December 1972 from New Zealand, and
from Harry Davis, JlIne 1973, from HlIancayo, Peru.
In 1970 Harry and I went to Peru for a holiday as I have for a very long time had
a great desire to see Machu-Picchu. We were fascinated by central Peru, and the
Andean Indians. We were fortunate in making friends with the Mayer family in
Huancayo, and through them were able to visit potters and weavers, etc., in their
homes. The weaving is at a very high standard, technically and aesthetically, but
pottery though lively and attractive, is fairly primitive, albeit adequate for the needs
of a simple people. They use no wheel-as we know it-shaping the pots on a
saucer-shaped biscuited disc which is rotated by hand on a flat stone--and no
glaze. Coloured slips are used for decoration. The idea was born that perhaps we
could help start a village pottery, and after 2t years of gestation and planning this
is coming to pass.
Harry left for Peru on 17th November, 1972, and reports that he has been
well received in Government circles. They were incredulous and thrilled when he
showed them the Peru sample pots-stoneware and porcelain.
I am busy sorting and storing and planning for a 6 (?) year absence. I am
quite horrified at the amount of material goods one can accumulate, the piles of
things kept for sentiment, the crates of papers and the complication of our lives,
and get a real kick out of reducing this.
For several months Harry was very busy making machines to take with uS-=
two wheels, a vacuum pug, blunger parts, press, ball mills, blower, etc. , and he
also re-conditioned a Pelten wheel for water power. He deliberately refrained from
using the modern aids available in Nelson, and has made these items by older
methods (very hard work) . Methods which should be used in rural Peru. The only
concession was a welder. These pieces of equipment really look as though they had
just arrived from a modern factory.
We have talked of community activity with raw materials processed, and pots
fired , in a central workshop, but made in the homes of the people. We do not want
to disrupt or disturb the existing potters, whose work has a valid place now,
although it may be doomed along with the way of life to which it belongs.
Peru has one of the biggest popUlation explosions in the world, and very little
is being done for the rural economy. The result is a steady drift to the capital,
Lima, where 1 million live in slum conditions in the desert outside the city. These
people leave behind their traditions and skills, their dress, their crafts, their songs
and festivals, all those cultural aspects of their lives which bound them to their
Inca forefathers. They become factory-hands, and wear western clothes and
consume western industrial products. Like migrant workers in other parts of the
world the first generation does however retain strong links with their Andean
home, sending money to the family and returning for major fiestas. 11 is an eternal
tragedy, it seems, that will all the goodwill in the world (which mostly isn't there)
the West does not know how to put food into the mouths of these people except
by assimilating them into our industrial-capitalist system, with all its exploitation
of mankind and the world of nature. If Harry and I can show a few how they can
use the materials around them to obtain a livelihood without having to live in the
city, and without having to dance to the tune of some foreign capitalist we shall
be doing something more worthwhile and satisfying than living in this paradise of

22
New Zealand, and making pots for the rich who strictly speaking do not need them.
It will be a real wrench for me to leave lovely Crewenna and the three girls.
I have so many friends and my activities cover such a wide field-but I console
myself that every major move we have made we have recognized in retrospect as
having been a good thing. It is easy to stagnate--easier as one grows older. Coming
to New Zealand widened our field and increased our knowledge--life has been
enormously enriched as a result. Perhaps Peru will be the same--and this time we
are keeping Crewenna as a base. The house only will be let. One could say that
the Peru project will only be a success on the day when we can hand it over to
them and bow gracefully out. How many years this might be is anyone's guess.
And from Harry . ..
"I spent six months in Lima in almost daily contact with officials trying to get
an official acceptance of the plan in such a form that the Peruvian Ministry of
external affairs would grant us long term visas to work in the country. It was not
difficult to persuade individual officials at a fairly high level of the value of what
we were proposing, but arter that there was always a ritual of formal written
statement and a rigmarole of checking and counter checking which took weeks
and weeks. The awful part about it was that this sort of thing had to be repeated
in six different ministries. Anyway, as each ministry applied its seal the thing
became more certain of realization and in the end we got our visas. We were given
some sort of diplomatic status which included a diplomatic driving licence, and we
are now on the second leg of the project which is the finding of a site somewhere
in central Peru.
The hunt for possible properties is proving most interesting. We have found
mills of every shape and size and with every degree of disrepair. So far we are not
committing ourselves to any nor going into the possible cost of rent, etc. It is just
a matter of making a list of properties and totting up the merits and demerits of
each one. Many are in the most exquisite places near villages that look quite
lovely to the eye. They are not always too good on the sense of smell. One nearly
always gets a friendly welcome from the village people. At first they seem dour,
but this usually turns out to be sheer shock reaction at seeing two gringos wandering
around in such unlikely places. When one tells them the nature of our business
they are o ~ ten quite touchingly pleased and interested. The reaction when shown
the specimens made (at Crewenna) from Andean materials is usually: 'please
come and do it here'."
Correction to caption, p. 48, 1211.
BEVERLEY DUNPHY.
New Members' Exhibition, Potters' Gallery.
Freedom. White matt glaze poured over shapes cut from heavily sanded stoneware body
These are set on perspex rods 2 em in diameter (tallest 25 em)
and arranged on a perspex slab 53 em x 68 em x 2 em.
POllery in Australia has issued a revised (3rd printing) "Materials and Equipment
List" for N.S.W. potters. Obtainable from the Editor. Price, 75 cents.

23
Saving Kiln Space
Brian Kemp
If you had a kiln that could easily accommodate 4,000 pots it is most likely that
your problem would be filling the space rather than finding enough space for the
pots. Jf however you only fire the kiln every three or four months and your livelihood
depends on the number of pieces you have for sale then space becomes of
paramount importance.
At Minato Kama (a Folk Craft pottery) in Kurashiki, Japan, three space
saving methods are used regularly and I feel that they are worth passing on. All
three techniques owe their origins to the ancient kilns of Korea, but over the
centuries they have been adapted and refined to meet with the approval of the
buying public. The success or failure of all three methods is dependent upon the
craftsman's ability to make pieces of uniform height and diameter-but after all,
isn't this a part of the craft of potting?
The first method is used for small diameter, shallow dishes. In Japan these
are used for pickles, shoyu and a thousand and one other things. These are thrown
a little thicker than usual for strength but the rims are angled quite sharply to
allow only tbe minimum of contact with the next dish. Usually a white or brown
slip is poured into the inside and some form of simple decoration is poured,
brushed or incised. After the bisque firing the rims are first brushed with a thin
mixture of alumina and water then this is immediately covered with a coating of
wax-kerosene is added to paraffin wax in a small container and this container is
floated in a shallow pan of water kept hot on a hotplate. Glaze is then applied to
the inside of the dish but the underside is left unglazed. The glazed dishes are
then carefully stacked rim to rim and bases to base, four high. After firing the
dishes come apart with gentle finger pressure. The rims and bases are lightly
sanded with emery paper. Some people may find the whitish, unglazed rim offensive
but this certainly doesn't bother the Japanese.
Method two is basically the same except it is used for saucers, bread plates
and other flatware and sometimes even for larger dinner plates. After bisque firing,
each piece is centred on a banding wheel and a circle of alumina and water is
brushed in the central area. The diameter and thickness of the circle is determined
by the diameter and width of the footring that will rest upon it-they should all be
exactly the same .. . . This circle is then coated with wax. The footring is also
brushed with alumina and wax to make doubly sure that the points of contact
receive no glaze.
At Minato Kama the whole piece is dipped in glaze so that even the inside
of the footring is glazed but it is not very often that the glaze runs and sticks to
the piece underneath. These are then stacked one inside the other six high. After
firing if they are a little reluctant to part, a flat piece of wood is used to prise them
apart but usually finger pressure is sufficient. Once again it depends on your
aesthetic values as to whether you can accept a piece that has an unglazed ring in
the centre but after all why should we attempt to hide the fact that the pot is made
from clay.
Method three is used when bowls are to be fired one inside the other.
Originally the halves of small bi-valve shells were filled with fireclay and after the
bowls were glazed three of these were used to form a seating for the footring of

24
Moulding the fireclay
cones (Method 3).
Applying the cones of
fireclay to the base of a
glazed bowl (Method 3).
The fireclay cones that
are left after dinner
plates are fired together.
Later these are rubbed
away (Method 3).

25
the next howl. This was sufficient to keep the bowls apart during firing and the
shells and fireclay were easily ground away later.
At Minato Kama a simple plaster mould is made by drilling small holes with
a sharpened stick into a block of plaster. Plastic fireclay is pressed into each hole
and forms small cones approx. t inch high and t inch in diameter. The bases of
six of these cones are then moistened and they are stuck at regular intervals around
the footring of the bisqued and glazed pot. They point down like little spikes and
when the bowls are placed carefully inside one another these spikes keep the
glazed surfaces from touching. These are usually only stacked four high. After
firing, the bowls separate easily and the fireclay cones can be rubbed off with the
fingers. The small impressions in the glaze that mark the points of contact are
lightly rubbed with emery paper. Personally I find that a tiny drop of household oil
used as a lubricant avoids the possibility of any scratch marks being made.
I would certainly not recommend that you stack all your pieces rim to rim
or inside one another in your next firing. Try one or two pieces first, using the
method that appeals to you. The type of glaze you use will have a great bearing
upon the success of these methods. At Minato Kama the majority of glazes are
ash glazes and for these space saving methods small additions of manganese, iron
or copper are made. The pieces are fired to 1300°C in light reduction or oxidising
atmospheres and failures are comparatively rare. "un ga ii" (good luck ) .
BRIAN KEMP, a Victorian potter, has recently returned, for the second time, to Japan for
further study in ceramics.
Gut Feelings about Clay
Beverley Dunphy
I want to write about clay, that is, how I feel about day. Although I've been potting
for about 5 years I've only just begun to really feel clay, and to use it as a way Qf
expressing my feelings about people and the world around me.
The critical incident that changed my attitude occurred at a recent Autumn
School organized by the Potter's Society where Malina Reddish triggered off [in me]
an adventure with clay that I hope will never end. She first asked us to "limber up"
with some simple physical exercises. Then with an immense mound of clay each
and a stick as our only tool we were asked to express "anger" directly into that
dead mass. We moved from anger to expressing comfort, frustration. joy, sadness,
depression and calm, and we did this by rolling, pushing, pinching, smoothing and
squeezing the clay. 1 found this very exhilarating for the exercise released very
strong feelings in me. I became aware while doing this that if 1 stayed with my own
feelings and was not concerned about others around me or what "the teacher"
might expect, real feeling seemed to flow through my hands and the clay became
an extension of myself. As a result, the "joy" I made felt incredibly joyful to me.
I had thought until then that it was impossible to express such intense feelings in
clay.
Malina asked us to be aware of the patterns and textures that we created in
the clay, and after this experience I am now much more aware of the communica-

tion of feeling in a pot or a piece of ceramic sculpture. We comblOed in groups of
four or five to make large murals for "a children's home" and a "home for the
blind". 1 found this a very exciting and moving experience-working in a group
and trying to communicate through clay to neglected, unloved and blind people.
Finally we were asked to make, individually, something we loved very much. Just
to be able to feel and make something that was not going to be kept, gave me a
sense of freedom that I have never felt before. We always seem to expect ourselves
and others to "produce something" or "deliver the goods" (for someone's approval
or disapproval) rather than en joying the making for its own sake. Wha t has stayed
with me since then is daring to plunge in and make something, not knowing
exactly where it will take me or how it will end up-but most of all enjoying the
process.
Another change in my attitude to clay is that I don't feel that 1 have to master
or conquer it any more. Instead I feel a basic affinity with it, so that I work with it
rather than against it. I guess this has something to do with my decision to try and
satisfy myself rather than please someone else ... which brings me to the subject
of competitions. I entered a competition last year and hated so much what I let
it do to me that I vowed then, and I am now more convinced than ever, that
competitions are not for me. I am far too competitive! 1 found I couldn't "see"
anyone else's work because I defined it all as a threat.
I didn't like myself reacting like this so I have decided to stick to exhibitions
where there are no first prizes. I was talking over these thoughts with Arthur Cross
in at the Potters' Gallery in Sydney the other day and he was reminded of when
he had a very beautiful garden. Someone suggested he enter it in a competitionso
he found he was planting sweet peas here and zinneas there, and it wasn't really
what he wanted to do-he was doing it to impress someone else. I find these
thoughts creeping into my mind sometimes-wondering what some "big name"
would think of this or that, and I try to dismiss such thoughts and be myself,
whatever anyone else thinks. Peter Travis said to a group of us last January "do
what you want to do". Up till then I think I had felt the need to find some special
niche in which to excel (and then I presume feel trapped), but suddenly I felt a
great sense of freedom and said to myself "why not do what I want to do, after
all, if I don't enjoy what I'm doing, I can't communicate joy!
For me at the moment it's a struggle to find new ways to express myself-I
guess mainly because I keep changing and I have to keep up with myself. I think
1 get most of my ideas for sculptural forms from experiences with people. For
example, I have a friend who became very defensive for a time. He seemed unable
to be hurt and I imagined that he had surrounded himself with shields. This led
me to develop a series of forms starting with a simple expression of shielded shapes
but leading to a balance of openness and mystery. Also, feeling depressed myself
recently and seeing depression in friends made me aware of how we turn inwards
and close ourselves off from others, and this gave me the idea of a form with all the
lines directed inwards. So these experiences spark off ideas but I don't consciously
portray "defensiveness" or "depression"--once I begin, the form takes on a life
of its own. I think the most exciting part of this is that I feel I am working on a
knife-edge between success and failure--one minute I feel like throwing it into the
bucket and the next minute I think it's brilliant!
I always feel disappointed when I finish a sculpture because it never expresses
all of the feeling I have invested in it. While something is unfinished there is still
hope, it can still grow, there is a chance it really will satisfy me, but once it's
"finished", I have a terrible let down feeling, and to me it's dead.

27
I do have periods when it seems there's a drought and I have no ideas. I find
the most helpful way of handling this feeling of being "stuck" is to go back to making
mugs, which 1 love making, and gradually build up some confidence. The last time
this happened my approach to mug making completely changed-instead of making
sets, I felt like making them all different and I did. I feel the "loosening up" has
affected my domestic pottery as well. This loosening up was further confirmed by
a weekend with Joan Campbell. Her openness to the whole of life is something J
am learning to be aware of. Ceramics is so much more than making pots!
The challenge of finding new ways of expressing myself is the only challenge
I feel like meeting right now. I have probably written things here that I'll reject
tomorrow, but I guess that's part of growing, and the fact that I've written them is
important to me.
BEVERLY DUN PHY is a member of the Potters' Society of Australia. The light hearted verse
telow is from her husband, Dexter.
What a babble, what a gabble
Oh no,
They're talking again of Irabo and Seto,
Of Kudo, Kaki and Temoku
What the hell does it all mean I ask you?
Does frabo sound at all real?
Is Seto an international political deal?
Is a celadon a man who knows his wine?
Is Kaki something delicious on which to dine?
What about Cone 5 glaze as well as 8?
You wouldn't think ash and oatmeal would even rate.
Hell, I'd rather volunteer to work in the tower of Babel
Than join the clan with the pottery label.
• • •
I was proud to be married to a potter
Till the pace of her firing grew hotter
As the house filled with ceramics
I tired of her antics
Came home one dark night and shot her!
• • •
My potter wife was amazed
When in the heat of my anger I crazed
Threw her in to her kiln
And recited A. A. Milne
As her eyes became celadon glazed.

28
Fujiwara Yu
Connie Dridan
Mr. Fujiwara Yu came to Australia in June 1973 under the auspices of the
Department of Foreign Affairs, Canberra, through the Cultural Award Scbeme
of the Australian Commonwealth Government. In his own words, his main aim
was to be "the orientation of Australian people to the spirit of pottery nurtured in
the two thousand years tradition of Japan, with emphasis on the theme of how to
love pottery rather tban how to make it. And to observe the Australian way of
pottery, including its native forms." Fujiwara wanted to observe the Australian
approach to the craft, not only in technical schools, museums and galleries, but
by visiting individual potters and by learning something of the crafts of our native
Australians.
Fujiwara Yu was born in Bizen in 1932. He is the eldest son of Fujiwara Kei,
who started pottery at the age of 39 years and continued in the footsteps of Mr.
Toyo Kanesbiga; it was Kaneshiga who had revived the Traditional art-craft of
Bizen. Fujiwara Kei suffered many hardships as a potter, and was 60 years of age
before he was fully accepted and rewarded. He is now a Living National Treasure.
Fujiwara Yu was educated at Meiji University, Tokyo, and received an Arts
degree. His field of study was 1 apanese Literature. He worked for a publishing
company, but later became a student of pottery under the guidance of an exacting
teacher, his father. He was awarded a prize at the Japan National Art Craft
Exhibition in 1958. Subsequently he received further awards in Japan, and in 1961
achieved the Grand Prix at the International Ceramic Exhibition at Barcelona.
Fujiwara has had one-man shows in Canada and New York, and was invited to
Dartmouth University, U.S.A., as guest lecturer in 1965. He was invited in 1968
to participate in the Exhibition of the New Generation of Modern Pottery at
Tokyo and Kyoto; in 1971 he was represented in the Japan Pottery Exhibition
held by the Mainichi Shim bun.
Kozo Yoshida, Chief Research Officer of the National Museum of Modern
Art in Tokyo says that "his work is not merely a copy of the ancient styles and
techniques, he is endeavouring seriously to create Bizen ware which will fit in with
hope in the modern age while preserving traditions as well. This is a particular
point in his work."
Accompanied by his wife Kimiko, Fujiwara Yu lectured in Canberra, Sydney,
Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide and Brisbane. He showed a superb film and a series
of slides, and there were some demonstrations and discussions. They were welcomed
wholeheartedly in all States, and the hospitality from Australian potters,
Japanese Consulates and the Department of Foreign Affairs was most generous.
Yu delighted us with his infectious enthusiasm and vitality, his quick sense of
humour and his joy of living.
Bizen pottery originated in the Prefecture of Okayama and has been in
existence for over a thousand years. The pottery was first used in offerings to the
Gods at the seasonal celebrations. The ware was found to be ideal for water
containers, keeping the water clear and pure, and because of its durability it also
was useful in cooking food. One of the chief uses for Bizen ware was in the Tea
Ceremony, for its appearance was unpretentious and subdued in tone-desirable
qualities in this Ceremony of quiet contemplation.

29
FUJIWARA YU demonstrating.
THE CLAY. The town of Bizen is in a deep valley, where it is thought that the
clay had been washed down the mountains into the valleys many thousands of
years ago. Two or three metres beneath the paddy fields 30 centimetres of dark
grey clay is exposed, dug and allowed to weather for twelve months. It is then
broken up for the removal of large impurities. After being slurried it is placed in
very big earthenware bowls to dry a little, until it is ready to be kneaded by the
feet with "conscious effort". Then it is left to "sleep" for two years in a clay shed,

30
maturing until it has reached the required plasticity. It is only the best, "the
essence" of the clay that is used for Bizen, and it is four years from the paddy field
to the wheelhead. Fujiwara said that one "must start with the very best of clay to
make good pots, and Bizen will survive longer because of no glaze".
THE FIRING. The very artistic film shown by Fujiwara depicted the life of the
potter and all aspects of the work done in Bizen. We saw a climbing kiln that was
more than one hundred years old being inspected by Yu's father, Fujiwara Kei.
It was covered by creepers and other plants, and seemed to be part of the hillside.
The kiln built and used by the son is a three-chambered climbing kiln approximately
10 metres by 5 metres. There is a "secret chamber" in the kiln, and the best
pots come from it. Red pinewood only is used, 15 tons per firing ; there are two
firings per year, each of 12 days' duration. The wood is chosen meticulously, and
if too "oily" it may cause the ware to crack, while wood that is too dry deposits
too much ash; the rise in temperature would be retarded, making it most difficult
for the ultimate temperature of 1300°C to be attained. The wood must be straight,
for ease of loading into the firebox. Many of the pots are packed with rice straw
around and between them. A minimum of shelves are used in the packing, and the
majority of pots are placed one on top of the other, and resting side by side. Little
pats made of clay and rice husks are placed on the pots so that other pots actually
rest on them, causing colour patches. There is a decreasing amount of ash from the
first chamber through to the third, so charcoal from the red pine is used to side
stoke in the last chamber in an effort to get ash deposited on the pots; this is
usually done on the )) th day of the firing. It takes five days for the kiln to reach
600°C, and a further four days for the terminal temperature of 1300° to be
achieved. For a period of up to three days this temperature is held. Flame path
and ash deposits are being watched continuously. The yellow glaze results from the
deposition of ash, but there may be two or three deposits during the firing, and
melting is controlled by eye, while the effect is a layering of glaze. Stoking takes
place in the small firebox for the first five days, and then in the large firing chamber
for the final six to seven days. Pots are also placed in the large firebox, where ash
comes down heavily. At 1200° the secondary air vents are opened at the side of
the kiln, giving an increased rise in temperature and putting a high gloss on the
pots. This is called "freezing" the glaze. It often causes cracking and exploding,
and to quote Fujiwara, "we feel sorry for the exploding pots". The flame may be
30 to 40 feet above the chimney, and five feet in front of the firebox. "The pots
have a hard time being exposed to the changes in temperature, as do the potters.
The kiln begins to cry or weep at times, especially at 1300°, and the pots keep on
breaking." The kiln is packed with up to 800 pieces. Forty per cent melt or crack in the
kiln, while others may be adequate, but always the search is for beauty in the one
piece. The ultimate aim is a sublime pot. The kiln takes one week to cool, and
the impatience felt prior to the opening can only be likened to awaiting the birth
of a child-the kiln opening is the ultimate after the hard labour of firing, the
outcome is always unpredictable and expectations are always foreshortened. The
saleable product from each firing would be about 20%. The view is held that
"there is always a feeling of self destruction with inferior products, therefore these
pots must go under the hammer". To sell or give away "shameful" products is
never contemplated. Fujiwara told us that he stays with the kiln, consoles himself
with sake and sleeps very little during the firing, only about two hours per day.
A religious ceremony takes place before each firing, and if the firing is a good one
prayers of thanks are offered.

31
There are four finished effects from the firings:
"Sesame" or "Goma" pots have the heaviest deposits of ash, the glaze being very
yellow to light brown. These pots are closest to the firebox .
"Kasegama" or "subtle seed", where the yellow glaze is more subdued.
"Hidasuki", meaning fire or flame streak. Streaks of reddish colour against a plain
background, attained by wrapping rice straw around the pot and putting it
into another pot to protect it from the fire; ash from the rice straw combines
with the alkaline constituents of the clay and the iron in the clay, leaving
orange streaks. ("Hi" means fire, and "Tasuki" is the cord which is used to
tie back the sleeves of the kimona when Japanese women are working- hence
fire cord or fire streak.)
"Yohen" or "fire change" are pots immediately above the firebox. They are
exposed to intense heat and to cold air, giving a colour pattern but no glaze
forming. These pots are lucky to survive--perhaps one in two hundred.
In a slide, a closeup of glaze layering showed a build-up of a crystal formation,
possibly due to a long cooling period and a spangle glaze in some cases. The
second chamber seemed to produce mainly a deep blue-grey, with flashes of lighter
blue to browns and reds.
Fujiwara Yu, in speaking of his own approach to pottery said that a person
must become so involved in his craft that it becomes his life, and life itself. Nothing
else matters except one's involvement with the clay, the pot, and the fire. With this
complete involvement comes a strong and dedicated person, unpretentious in
character. A student training in his workshop must acquire an understanding and
appreciation of all art forms, and the search is always for subtle beauty. Masters
and students alike must undergo periods of meditation as practised by the Zen
religion. He did say to me that he felt Australian teaching need more "soul", and
that we are too concerned with the techniques and physical side of the craft.
Two assistants, six workmen and two students are employed in the workshop,
but of these workers only the students make pots. The student is given menial
tasks in the pottery during the first year, and he then proceeds to the wheel; the
teaching of each basic shape takes one year. At the end of that period the student
is requried to make a replica of a shape by the master. If he fails he repeats the
year of endurance and patience. Students have to make their own pots between
eight and eleven o'clock at night; they are then set before the master for criticism.
Time is taken out for music, drinking sake, and observing shapes and forms;
drawings are made, and poetry may be written. The successful student is permitted
to exhibit publicly, and Fujiwara selects the pieces. If the student wins a prize he
may then have his own clay and his work will be introduced to the public at large.
Sometimes a very outstanding student is given a kiln by the master. Many of us,
Fujiwara believes, do not understand their appreciation of the simple unpretentious
Bizen pot and their long meditations on pottery. "Kodai" means something old
and special, and people in Japan spend many hours first appreciating the "Kodai",
the underside of a pot or tea bowl, both thick and thin areas. They contemplate
Nature in their pottery.
When Fujiwara Yu was demonstrating to potters in Melbourne he threw
several basic shapes, including a "pillow pot". But the one that impressed me most
was a simple bowl with a purposely thrown uneven rim, and Fujiwara explained­
"bringing the shape of the mountain into the bowl is more human and more
interesting".
Australians can learn much from the Japanese potter, particularly in the
philosophical approach to their craft. Perhaps we are in too much of a hurry to

32
achieve the ultimate. We could stop and think a little about finding our own
tradition and our attitudes and responses to a philosophy that is purely Australian.
Fujiwara said HI don't want you necessarily to copy what 1 am doing, but to get
some ideas and use what you have that is Australian, not Japanese".
Fujiwara brought with him a small collection of his own pots showing the
different decoration and ash effects. He presented each State he visited with a
piece which will be a valued addition to each collection. He visited many studios
while in Australia, and pleased potters by purchasing and exchanging work. A
visit was made to Bendigo potteries, which Mr. and Mrs. Fujiwara found most
interesting. The visitors said they were saddened to see such small displays of
Australian pottery in National Galleries.
I would like to thank, on behalf of the Potters' Society of Australia, those
responsible for the organisation of the Fujiwara visit in each State. My personal
thanks to those who sent reports and photographs-Beryl Barton, Peter Rushforth,
Milton Moon, Penny Smith, Alan Peascod and Trevor Woods.
CONNIE ORlDAN is an associate member of the Potlers' Society of Australia, and Publicity
Officer of the Victorian Ceramic Group.
SCULPTURAL CERAMICS
I am collecting information for a book I'm about to edit. It is a coverage of
sculptures made in clay or combined with another media, by sculptors working
in Australia.
I want it to be as comprehensive as possible and I'm looking for co-operation
in various ways to ensure no one is overlooked.
Size will be 9t" x 12" wide with full double pages devoted to a sculptor's work.
I would like visuals and personal statements accompanying them. Slides,
coloured photographs and black/ whites are acceptable, no smaller than post
card size.
At least 1 0 visuals to choose from, to obtain a view of the sculptor's concepts.
Date made, size in centimetres and name of objects for each photograph.
Include also biography and important exhibitions and prizes. These will be
compiled in the rear of the book alphabetically.
All material will be returned when the book goes to publication. Unused
material will be returned immediately.
Please submit work as soon as possible . .. last date to receive work will be
31st DECEMBER, 1973 .
Ron Rowe, 39 Maldon Avenue, Mitchell Park, 5043, South Australia.

33
Recent Work
HEROE SWEN (A.C.T.).
Photograph: Gab Carpay.

34
Recent Work (continued),
PAMELA MORSE. Exhibition Potters' Gallery. Tall pot: ash glaze, height 48 em.
Olhers: ash, iron glazes and dolomite. Applied oxides. Photographer: Pete Goodwin.

35
ALAN PEASCOD (A.C.T.).
Blue and red glaze with green flashing.
Mall glaze fired at 1300· C. Height 56 em.

....
'"
Recent Work (continued)
JOHN G ILBERT.
The mural was first set out as one large slab 7.5 metres by 2.7 metres. The design was
applied with an Ollter crllst of engobe and manganese. Cut to suit the design and then allowed
to dry for 3 months. After bisque firing. glazed wit.h ash, fe ldspar-{)xide colourants
(copper, iron, cobalt) and taken to 1300· C. The evolutionary theme included interwoven
shapes of primitive organic forms leading to symbols representing the scientific development
of man. Location- Library Foyer, Ballarat Instilllt.e of Advanced Education,
Mount Helen, Victoria. (Below: detail)

37

38
Recent Work
( continued)
RON ROWE (South Australia) .
Acrylic painted, and fi red on stoneware body. Height 57 cm.
(opposite)
RON ROWE.
Acrylic painted stoneware. 52 x 28 cm.
(below)

39

40
Recent Work (continued)
PENNY SM ITH.
Exhibition Potters' Gallery.
High-fired earthenware made in a mould. Electric kiln. Height 43 em, width 40 em.
Photograph: Doug/as Thompson.
(be/ow)
PENNY SMITH.
Exhibition Potters' Gallery.
Heavily-textured stoneware, iron oxide slip. 1280· C. Height 127 em.
Photograph: Doug/as Thompson.
(opposite)

41

Recent Work
( continued)
PETER DOBTNSON.
Stoneware,
ash-type glaze,
incised decoration.
Reduction, l300· C.
Height, 33 cm.
Exhibition:
Cook's Hill Gallery,
Newcastle.
MICHAEL FIFIELD.
(Tasmania) .
Casserole, finger
decoration, semi-matt
titanium glaze.
11 60· C. Height, 20 cm.

DENNIS PTLE.
Stoneware form, incised and inlaid with white slip, and vanadium.
Gas ki ln, reduced, 1300· C. Height, 50 cm.
Photograph: Brl/ce Hamilloll.
43

44
The Potters' Society of Australia
The Potters' Society of Australia continues to fulfil its aims to "encourage and
foster the development, appreciation and recognition of pottery made by individual
craftsmen and designers in a ceramic medium".
It does this through its publication, Pottery in Australia, technical brochures,
monthly newsletters, vacation schools (four in January and one in May, '73),
sponsoring lecture tours, providing premises for a gallery with a continuing exhibition
as well as special monthly exhibitions and for the society's school with 130
students. It also provides, through its office, "on the spot information" in answer
to an incredible number of telephone enquiries.
As well as these continuing activities, this year, in answer to a request from
the Foreign Affairs Department, the society co-ordinated the Australian tour of
famous Bizen potter, Mr. Yu Fujiwara. In Australia on a cultural exchange grant
from the Commonwealth Government, Mr. Fujiwara visited Canberra, Melbourne,
Hobart, Adelaide and Brisbane, as well as Sydney, showing films and slides of
Bizen and talking to students on the philosophy of Bizen. As a token of his
gratitude, Mr. Fujiwara presented the Potters' Society with a copy of the Bizen film .
The Potters' Society expects to take delivery in the very near future of three
other films at present being processed from video tapes made at the University of
New South Wales. The Bizen film is an important addition to what will be a
valuable film library-the films will be available for use as teaching aids to potters
throughout Australia.
The Potters' Society of Australia members' 7th Biennial Exhibition opened on
17th October at the C.M.L. Gallery, 55 Macquarie Street-an important project
of the society planned as part of The Opera House Opening Festivities. At the
same time a special exhibition of domestic pots at the Potters' Gallery was held.
A special "Index of Australian Potters" together with Pottery in Australia,
Vol. 12-2 will be published by the Potters' Society to coincide with these
exhibitions. The society's membership continues to grow and branches are now
well established in Canberra and Tasmania.
The Potters' Society offers membership in the following three main categories:
l. MEMBERS-should work creatively in a ceramic medium at a professional
standard. Applicants should apply in writing and will be required to submit
examples of recent work and/ or slides and photographs to the Membership
Committee, which meets four times each year in February, May, August, and
November. When applicants are elected to membership, they may exhibit
selected work in any of the Society'S exhibitions, or at the Potters' Gallery.
Annual Subscription $8.00.
2. STUDENT MEMBERS-must be full-time ceramics students or apprentices.
They may, at the discretion of the committee, be invited to exhibit pots at some
Society exhibitions. Annual Subscription $2.00.
3. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP-is offered to all who are interested in pottery
and in furthering the aims of the Society. Applicants may be amateur potters,
part-time students, archaeologists, collectors, etc. They may be invited by the
committee to exhibit selected pots at special exhibitions and they may subsequently
apply to be members. Annual Subscription $4.00.
Members in all categories receive the Society's monthly newsletter and become
eligible for preferential bookings for schools, lectures, seminars, etc., run by the
Society.
Applications for all categories of membership should be sent to The Honorary
Secretary, Potters' Society of Australia, 97a Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo,
N .S.W. , 2011 . Please give a brief outline of your training or interest in pottery
and mark the envelope "Membership". Telephone 357 1021.

45
Ethnoarchaeology ill Chotanagpur
Judy Birmingham
Chotanagpur is a mountainous, still jungly area of Eastern India which lies largely
in south Bihar. Its population is predominantly tribal of whom the majority are
either Munda 1 or Oraon, and although it lies close to India's main coal and steel
industrial centres large areas remain virtually untouched by the disruptive forces
of industrialisation. It is moreover an area of what might be termed diluted
Hinduism, and culturally differs substantially from more orthodox north Indian
situations. While the region was missionised in the mid-19th century, with a comparatively
high rate of success in converting the under-privileged to Christianity,
the majority of tribal people remain conventionally Hindu while retaining many
elements of their own tribal organisation.
One of the rewarding by-products of fieldwork in a non-industrialised region
is the archaeologist's opportunity to observe such artefacts as pottery actually in
use as part of both the human and natural environment he may well be studying.
This involves not only pottery manufacture but also its marketing, use and subsequent
re-uses in a human setting, all of the recent, if not the distant, past. Thus
on a recent field trip to Ranchi, the centre of Chotanagpur, I and my colleague,
A. N. Sandhwar of Ranchi University Department of Anthropology, were able to
devote a substantial amount of time to the study of the manufacture, marketing
and use patterns of locally-made pottery with results which were both interesting
in themselves and potentially of considerable archaeological interest to workers in
the same area.
For at first sight the contemporary traditional domestic pottery of Chotanagpur,
like its historic and prehistoric wares, and indeed like the pottery of so
much of India, is daunting in both its quantity and in its apparent lack of decisivelydifferentiated
shapes and decorative styles. In the villages the repertoire essentially
consists of a large number of wide-mouthed round-bottomed cooking pots, called
variously karahi, Iowa or hanrya, apparently used interchangeably for cooking
vegetable curry, rice or dhal, or indeed for setting curd, or even roasting grain.
An equally large number of narrower-necked more globular vessels called kohia,
ghagri or ghyalla can be used for water, liquor or dry goods storage, or for fermenting
rice to make harya, rice beer.
I n fact no amount of questioning could get the consumers-the ordinary village
householders- to contradict in any way this appearance of extremely unspecialised
use of their domestic containers, except for the most obvious categories. The
narrow-necked jars could be used for collection, storage of dry or liquid contents
or for cooking, with a certain agreement that on the whole the narrow-necked
ghagri was really primarily intended as a water pot. The open-mouthed cooking
pots again were agreed to be used for a range of different cooking forms including
most of those just mentioned. Only occasionally was the primary use of a pot
universally agreed-usually those bought for seasonal use, such as the wide flat
bread dishes often bought at the time of the maghwa harvest in September (tai),
the kohia or ghaila used for the extensive brewing of rice beer just after the padi
harvest, the large mudhi pots in use further to the south east for a special type of
roasted rice again just after the harvest, or specially-decorated ghagri intended as
water vessels at a wedding. More rarely the secondary or tertiary use of a pot was

46
Beating a cooking pot, Ranchi. This is usually done by a woman of the family. She keeps
waler and sand beside her, to soften the clay or prevent sticking as required, and turns the pot
slowly in the concave base block, beating from the inside with the anvil. The process takes
scarcely two minutes.
agreed-for example, that old water pots, clearly blackened by the cooking of
many years, were considered to impart a particularly good flavour to harya.
Only among the town potters was there more evidence of specialisation among
the repertoire, and especially in the smaller pieces some were definitely made for
specific purposes. These included tea-cups, money boxes, the chuka or chukya for
the selected burnt bones buried in a Munda death ceremony, and a selection of
small pots and lamps for use in Hindu house worship, weddings or special festivals
such as diwali for sweets, as well as some more specialised forms of hanrya
(cooking pot) variously called dal hanri (pulse cooking pot) , larkar hanri (vegetable
cooking pot) and bhat hanri (rice cooking pot). Our impression remained
that these potters were nevertheless more aware of such differences than many of
their customers.
In terms of appearance also the pottery at first seems comparatively uniform,
md to some extent undistinguished. Virtually all is coated with a haematite slip,
very little is decorated beyond this except occasionally with incised dashes or fine
lines, while rim forms appear thick and shapeless. This time however the impression
of uniformity is misleading. Gradually one becomes aware of the myriad shades
of red, red-brown and crimson in the glowing red slip finishes, the unobtrusive
regional styles of incised, pricked, painted or applied decoration, and the subtleties
of profile variation especially in the large water jars that significantly affect the
practical problems associated with tipping and pouring. Gradually too one comes

47
Village potter (Hesar, near Khunti) decorating a water jar (ghagrj) with bamboo comb.
Note tbe beatus and anvils (here of stone, without knob) beside the pot, which is cradled in a
pottery base set on a rope ring.
to appreciate the superb craftsmanship of these vessels, above all of the great water
jars beaten out for hours by the potters of the more isolated villages. Often 40 cm
or more high, with spherical or hemispherical bodies, they are of flawless shape
and finish, ringing like a gong when rapped by their potential purchasers.
Our work began with the potters of Ranchi itself, an urban group since Ranchi
now has a population approaching 250,000. As throughout India, the potters
belong to the kumhar caste, marrying essentially only in their own caste and in
fact with little contact of any kind outside it, a system which on the one hand
assures the kumhars of a livelihood of a kind almost anywhere, and on the other
makes innovation and external stimulus virtually an impossibility. Pottery skills
are rigidly transmitted from one generation to the next with no possible discernible
mechanism of change but one-that of migration of a family or part of it to a new
area.
The family we visited was one of many- perhaps 30 or 40 households working
in the potters' quarter of Ranchi. The total family involvement was clear here as ill
virtually all potting families throughout India, Nepal and indeed most parts of the
world where traditional pottery is made. The old man, the head of the family, threw
on the wheel, and the various women of the household completed the pots by
rounding the bases, drying them, preparing and applying the red slip, and,
together with their children, loading and overseeing the bonfire firing. The small
boys of the household aged about 8, 10 and 11 were aJready learning their trade

48
Boys of the potters' family, Ranchi. Their training begins with throwing teacups, vast
numbers of which are made all the time. These three made all the cups drying behind them.
on the wheel by throwing the vast numbers of teacups fired every other day, while
both women and men in the household took the pots to market twice a week and
stayed most of the day to sell them. Potters' households invariably consist of
parents and married sons with their children, unless the parents have died leaving
a group of brothers to run the co-operative.
The form of manufacture we observed here is basically the standard one for
a very wide area of eastern India. 2 All pots are begun on the wheel, which is a
spoked one low on the ground turning around a fixed spike, and usually spun with
a stick. The larger pots have carefully-made rims with thick, finger-ridged bodies.
The base is often incomplete. The pot is then expanded in shape, the walls
thinned and the base completed by a beating process. It is then dried, red-slipped
and fired in a bonfire or sometimes in a horseshoe kiln which is only one stage
beyond a bonfire. Not until we visited other pot-making families both in near and
distant towns, and then in the small Munda villages, did we become aware of the
considerable possibilities for minor but significant variation in every stage of both
manufacture and decoration.
These variations occurred to our knowledge in the forming process, in the
decoration of the pot, in finishing the rims, in making the slip, and in firing, and
almost certainly, I suspect, would be revealed by further study to exist at every
stage from the collection and preparation of raw materials to the final packing of
the pots on a banghi stick to take to market. The unexpected feature is that such

49
Stages in the firing of the bonfire, Ranchi. A circle of broken sherds is set out, on whi ch is
laid wooden strips and coal, arranged as shown. Four old pots are pl aced in the centre,
to aid in the construction of the central flue which is to come.
a range of variations should occur over a comparatively restricted geographical
~rea.
A major distinction in forming for example became apparent soon between
the urban potters of Ranchi, or the small town of Khunti some 20 miles away, and
the village potters of the interior. Whereas the Ranchi women beat out the halfmade
pots using the pitna (anvil) only inside the pot against a concave depression
in a wooden or stone block, the village potters complete their own much larger
pots by themselves by beating them with both pitna and wooden paddie in a series
of time-consuming processes, As a result the village potters are able to make much
larger pots, since the urban potters are limited by the length of the arm reaching
into the pot. It seems likely also that the long and regular processes of beating
impart additional strength to the pot, although this is something we have yet to test,
Similarly a distinction in repertoire between town and country potters follows, very
evident in a place like Khunti market where the town potters of Khunti (Meladanr)
with their piles of lids, cooking pots and dishes sit at the north end of the market,
while the country potters from the yillages of Chalom, Hesar and Senegutu have
their place at the south end in a sea of nearly globular water and beer jars, and
deeper rice-cooking pots, Another variant method occurs in the mountainous
region of Neterhat to the west, where vegetable cooking pots similar to the hanrya
made by the Ranchi and Khunti potters are moulded over a previously-made pot
after being started on the wheel, and are called tawa.

50
Stages in the firing of a bonfire. Ranchi. A ring of holed pots is placed around the outer edge
of the circle. and a central flue of holed old pots is built up through tbe middle of the pile.
Regional distinctions in decoration are equally apparent. The potters of
Ranchi use no additional decorative motif except a brilliant crimson slip. and this
is always applied leaving the circular base of the pot its original warm orange body
colour. the lower edge of the red slip forming a bold swirling line. The Khunti
potters use an almost si mil ar red slip which covers much more of the pot. The
potters of the villages near Khunti decorate their pots with lines of dashes around
the shoulder incised with a sharp bamboo point. and with sets of fine lines incised
with a fine-toothed wooden comb made from bamboo in a series of motifs which
appear to have considerable antiquity, while the village potters near Lohardaga
(at Newera) about 50 miles to the NW also use the fine-toothed comb but instead
of slinging it compass-fashion from the neck of the jar in a loop of cloth prick
orderly rows of points in zigzag lines. Further west again on the Neterhat plateau
one, two or three cordons or "chains"- applied strips of clay-are applied to the
shoulders of large pots and indented, while combs are used to produce a wavy,
grained effect in bands of white paint placed around the shoulder of water pots.
Another form of minor but significant variation can be found in the way in
which the universal red slip is made and applied. The Ranchi potters, whose
brilliant crimson pots are easily the brightest for miles around, go to considerable
pains in the preparation of their haematite slip which takes some hours to make.
The specially collected red earth is actually boiled in an open metal pan with water,
soda (kuth) and pieces of mango bark until a sticky deep blood-red mass results.

51
More wood is placed around the edges on the pots.
Stages in the firing of a bonfire, Ranchi. Here the bonfire is alight, the covering straw
smeared with dung and ash.
This is then turned out like a flat cake on to a stone, and beaten by one of the
women with a heavy stick until it gradually softens and can ultimately be mixed
with water and applied to the dried pots. The village potters near Khunti, on the
other hand, merely mix their red earth with water and mango leaves achieving a
much softer brownish red, while potters of other towns and villages use different
combinations of the same basic technique-mango bark or leaves, red earth either
soaked or boiled, kuth sometimes added. It seemed to us that it was the kuth
probably more than the mango which aided in fixing the red colour, the mango
perhaps being more for ritual purposes, but clearly there is a wide field here for
experiment and checking.
These are only a few of the many minor variations in manufacturing technique
over an area of 50-100 miles or so that we began to distinguish, and it became a
matter of some interest to us to construct a working hypothesis to account for such
diversity. Enquiry from the potters themselves revealed something of their family
history, while an independent study of local settlement patterns in the region, based
on the distribution of Munda monuments and cemeteries, gave some insight into
local history and prehistory (otherwise virtually undocumented). This made it
clear that while the Munda village potters (still technically called kumhar but
most of them indistinguishable from the Mundari-speaking Munda themselves)
had no recollection of any period when their ancestors had not made pots in their
own respective vi.llages, the urban potters, of Khunti, Lohardaga and Ranchi, all
maintained that some generations ago their families had taken up their present

52
residence after migrating from somewhere else. The small-town groups had usually
come from Ranchi, but the Ranchi potters said that some six or seven generations
before they had come to Ranchi from Patna.
This primary distinction suggested to us that a simple model can be formulated
of a local Munda potting tradition pre-existing in the Chotanagpur villages, using
paddle, anvil, simple red slip, bonfire firing, and bamboo and comb incised decoration,
on which has been superimposed an intrusive urban pottery tradition from
North India, probably arriving in the area in the later 18th century (which accords
well with local historical traditions) and gradually fanning out along main roads to
major urban centres. Techniques in this group are more allied to the standard
Hindu ceramic tradition of North India.
At successive analytic levels it is evident that there are further subdivisions
in each of these two traditions, viz., the village and the urban. Among the village
potters-in which our investigations have so far been comparatively limited-the
use of the bamboo point and comb seem to extend over a wide area although in
specific sub-areas they are employed in different ways and combinations. It seems
likely also that such sub-areas must be natural social ones, corresponding with
marriage and market areas, i.e., the total region over which the potters and their
families are themselves likely to move. For our major assumption, based on
observation, is that variation in decorative style and/ or manufacturing technique
is rarely if ever in this region transmitted by imitation, innovation or in any other
way than through the movement of the potters themselves.
Our model then assumes an overall region of former ceramic homogeneity
which has gradually been broken by later inroads into isolated pockets developing
slightly individual variations where they are cut off from each other. Superimposed
over the whole region are splinter groups of both Munda and urban potters who for
various reasons have transferred themselves and their skills bodily from more to
less populated areas. Each of these superimposed groups has itself had a varying
length of time to develop and spread, each time carrying variant ways of doing
the same basic methods into a region which already has its existing network of
potting groups. This at least is our suggestion, and we hope in further fieldwork to
test this construct.
(1) S. C. Roy. The Munda and thei r Country, 1912.
(2) B. Saraswati. Pottery Techniques in Peasant India, 1966.
J UDY BtRMINGHAM is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Sydney.
Photographs are author's copyright.
Almost 2,500 years ago, Lao-tze, speaking of Lao, the "Way", said, "The Way is
like an empty vessel .. . We turn clay to make a vessel, but it is on the space
where there is nothing that the usefulness of the vessel depends . . . Just as we
take advantage of what is, we should recognize the usefulness of what is not."
From the Penguin Book, Lasl Worlds, by Leonard Cottrell:-"It is not easy for
the layman to appreciate just how important pottery is to the archaeologist, and
why he rates bits of earthenware so highly. Some half century ago, an Oxford
scholar appraised its value to the researcher:-
For 'tis not verse and 'tis not prose
But earthenware alone
It is that ul timately shows
What men have thought and done."

53
MERVIN FEENEY.
Photograph: Bob Powter.
Mervin Feeney
Geoffrey C. Curtis
1 n Brisbane, one does not have to be associated with pottery for very long before
the name of Mervin Feeney is encountered. The first time it is heard could happen
like this-"That's a beaut looking pot, what body did you use?" The answer,
"Merv's 60 mesh stoneware"-or something similar.
One of the last of the "old-time" potters, Mervin Feeney has been, and
continues to be, a source of great help and inspiration to many local potters, and
in the early days of their careers to well known potters Milton Moon and Harry
Memmott, both of whom bear testimony to the fact in their books.
Born in Marburg, Queensland, Mervin grew up in Ipswich, after the family
moved there, and attended tbe North I pswich State School, one of the longest
established State primary scbools. In 1931, Mervin was apprenticed to the late
John Ramsay, senior, as a thrower. John Ramsay bad a pottery at Byrne Street,
Bundamba, near Ipswich, and Mervin worked there until the closure of the pottery
in late 1938, due to the still depressed state of the industry as an aftermath of tbe

54
great General Depression. (Little did Mervin think at the time that one day he
would own this pottery.)
An interesting connection arises here between Queensland and Victorian
potters. John Ramsay, senior, served his apprenticeship under one James Agnew,
who came from Bendigo, and established a pottery in Ipswich Road, Annerley,
opposite the present day Princess Alexandra HospitaJ. Some time after serving his
apprenticeship, John Ramsay went to work for Bendigo Pottery, and other potteries,
before starting his own pottery at Bundamba.
Having completed his apprenticeship, but while still working at Byrne Street,
Mervin studied Industrial Chemistry in night classes at both the Ipswich TechnicaJ
College, and the Central Technical College, Brisbane.
Following the closure of Ramsay's pottery, Mervin worked for a variety of
other potteries, pipe works, and brick yards, among which was Stone's Pottery at
Coorparoo (now long closed) , where he was employed as a thrower, making
general domestic and industrial ware, and doing also modelling and mould making.
During the .Second World War, because of his knowledge of Industrial
Chemistry, Mervin was placed by the Commonwealth Government into chemical
work in explosives factories at Ballarat in Victoria, and Salisbury in South
Australia; later working as a chemist in the factory of a company of South
Australian paper manufacturers, where he remained until the end of the war, after
which homesickness for Queensland brought him back to the Sunshine State.
On his return to Queensland, in 1947, Mervin entered into partnership with
George Sandison, who operated a pottery started by his father, J. T. Sandison,
in Frederick Street, Annerley, making a range of bread crocks, flower pots, etc.,
aJl hand thrown. Soon after Mervin joined George Sandison, the throwing of flower
pots was discontinued when Mervin designed and made machines to do the work
quicker and cheaper. The making of bread crocks and glazed ware was also
terminated around this time, due to the closing of other potteries in Brisbane,
leaving a large flower pot trade, which suited admirably the machines' type of
production.
While still in partnership with George Sandison, Mervin purchased the old
Ramsay pottery in Bundamba, still lying idle and in non-operative condition, and
set about rebuilding it in his spare time. 1956 saw the commencement of potmaking
at Byrne Street, with all production being marketed through the partnership
at Frederick Street, where some production was continued until 1958, when
all production transferred to the Bundamba works, and Frederick Street became
solely the marketing centre.
Around 1960, upon the retirement of George Sandison, Mervin, in partnership
with his wife Joyce, took over the whole business, still trading as J. T. Sandison
and Company, and producing a wide range of flower pots, sewer-pipe fittings, etc.,
by machine, some being reshaped by hand.
Today, apart from producing around 45,000 articles per week, on machines
all designed and/ or built by Mervin himself, he is also marketing a range of ten
different clay bodies mainly for studio potters, and studio pottery wheels, the
demand for which far exceeds the supply capabilities of his engineering workshop.
On top of all this, Mervin often gives throwing demonstrations; and endless,
patient advice to those of us who seek it, being in no way reticent to pass on and
share his vast knowledge, both practical and theoretical, of the subject which has
not only been his occupation for so many years, but also his hobby, and in fact,
his whole life.
GEOFFREY CURTIS is on the staff of the Technical College in Coorparoo, Brisbane.

55
The Ceramic Study Group discovers new
Raku techniques with Joan Campbell
Mollie Grieve
ORA WINGS BY JOHN WHITIE.
Everyone was excited to see a collection of Joan Campbell pots resting quietly in
a green and golden Sydney autumn garden - pots born in dry, sandy Western
Australia - pots which had travelled across the continent - strong simple forms
with a grandeur not usually found in raku fired pots.
This was the introduction to the Ceramic Study Group Symposium conducted
by Joan Campbell in May 1973.
Joan has a wonderful gift of being able to share with others her feeling about
her work with clay and fire. Most of her knowledge has been gained by trial and
error, by experiment, by pushing herself and her materials to the limit, by making
pots a little bigger, a little wider and always being alert to new possibilities. Joan
gave us a new concept of raku firing, she gave us a desire to explore the limits of
fire and clay, to find out what we could do with smoke and she also gave us a
very real understanding of the value of craftsmanship. "Craftsmanship is caring, it
is caring with-the hands, feet, eyes, mind, the whole of the body and it is caring
about-the foot, the lip, the handle, the mechanics of the wheel, the burners, the
mixers, but is more than all these, it is caring about life." As Joan worked she
talked and so revealed to us just how much she does care about life and her "fight
to keep alive the creative spirit of man in my time". .
During the symposium Joan used two kilns-a lift-off kiln which can be raised
at the height of the firing, and a pit kiln. As the kiln is raised, allowing the potter
to quickly remove the glowing pot, the heat is dispersed and the potter does not
receive a blast of heat as is the case in the side loading kilns. Pots can be removed
quickly with tongs, or, as Joan Campbell does, with asbestos gloved hands, usi ng
another pair of gloves as pot mits and protected with an asbestos apron. The pit
kiln, built partly in the ground was lined with firebricks and topped with a plough
disc. At the right moment the potter can quickly remove the lid, push bricks away
and lean over to lift up the pot with tongs. This is not a strain on the body and
quite a large pot can be handled in this kiln.
Joan stressed the need to use our bodies correctly and to avoid muscle strain.
Correct tongs are most important "My tongs are an extension of my hands" she
said. They were made to suit her height and built by an old blacksmith, after he
clearly understood what she would be doing. The tongs are very light, weighing
only 21 Ibs., are 24" long with sensitive points. One pair (D) with a grooved grip
is ideal for holding pots by the neck or gripping round a pot, the other pair (M)
grip the top opening of a pot, carrying it to the smoke pit with ease.
The I ift-off kiln is made from a 44-gallon-drum, cut down to two-thirds, with
a 3" spy hole cut in the side (H) and a 6" flue hole cut in the base (0) . Pins are
welded inside the drum to support the 2" lining of "Unicast", a castable refractory
(P) . This material is mixed with water and plastered inside the drum. The drum
is inverted and the base becomes the roof of the kiln. Three lugs are welded to
the rim to take heavy gaJvanised chains. The kiln is suspended from a 5' long,
3" x It" channel iron (Q) with a 21" socket welded in the centre and two 3"
pulleys fitted on the ends. Slots may need to be cut, into which these pulleys will fit.
The channel iron cross bar is supported by 2t" galvanised pipe. The 3' top

56
The Lift-off Kiln.

57
J
s- --+-
1-
- H
K
section (S) is screwed at both ends - the lower 5' section is screwed one end.
These pipes are joined with a 2! " galvanised socket (I) which allows the whole
kiln to swivel sideways for easy removal of pots. A 12" length of 3" galvanised
pipe is concreted into the ground and the 2!" support pipe drops into this pipe.
Two stays of 1" galvanised pipe, 2' long with holes drilled each end, are fitted at
a 45° angle to support the weight of the unit (R) . The kiln hood is balanced with
a 12-gallon-drum (G) filled with water. The kiln is raised, lowered and balanced
by adding a brick or two to the drum (J) . Fifteen feet of i" galvanised flexible
•

58
The Pit Kiln.
braided wire holds the kiln and the drum, thimbles protect the loops and the ends
are secured with two rope grips.
The base of the kiln (L) is built on a platform of 45 firebricks laid on sand.
The next course (K) requires 19 firebricks laid on edge, in a circle, with an
opening left to take the burner. The third course fits around the outside of the
hood and is sealed at the joints with refractory cement.
A shelf (N) 12" square is set on three bricks on end. A round shelf WOUld,
of course, be ideal.

59
A
o
~ ~
I -----~== I
I
E
'- - B
- D
During the Symposium the kiln was fired with L.P. Gas, using a portable
Ellis burner. It took approx. two hours to reach 1000 0
using a pressure of 10 p.s.i.
Joan showed how the flame must be directed towards the side of the kiln, to send
the heat swirling and spiralling around the inside of the kiln. The burner was not
turned off while loading and unloading. During firing it was found that the chains
supporting the hood became very hot and asbestos gloves must be worn by anyone
working with this kiln. To deflect the heat, three bricks were placed round the flue

60
hole and a shelf was placed on top. This is a very exciting kiln to use, there is very
little heat loss during loading and unloading, it is easy to place pots in position
and easy to see when pots are ready for removal.
Joan directed the building of the pit kiln, which required a hole dug 18" deep
and 30" in diameter, with an angled trench off one side the same depth and
24" wide (F). The floor was levelled and the hole was lined with firebricks which
were continued for five courses above the ground (E). A plough disc (A) acts
as a lid. Joan finds these discs ideal as the light weight and centre hole make
removal quite easy. It was necessary to raise the disc on one side for a flue, and
a small disc requires the two top courses of bricks corbelled in to fit it. A shelf
placed on the ground completes the kiln.
The firing of this kiln was commenced with a fuel soaked rag and then
continued with distillate, using Joan's burner. The illustration of the burner shows
the needle valve to the fuel line (B) and the gate valve to the air line (C). A
vacuum cleaner was used for the air supply and this was adequate for a temperature
of 1000 0 • Joan prefers a variable speed blower and she believes it is essential
when firing with oil to have more air than is needed. The whole factor of the firoe
is the air flow and "the only factor which governs how high you can go is how
much air you can get". Joan fires to 1300 0
with ease but could never reach that
temperature with a vacuum cleaner air supply.
Again in this kiln the flame must be thrown at the side wall helping it to
spiral. The flame rides round and as the wall becomes hotter the flame sticks to
the wall and comes out the hole in the plough disc. If the flame is directed straight
into the kiln is liable to impinge on the pot. Joan usually protects the base of
her pot with pieces of broken shelf. This is an extremely simple kiln-as Joan said
"those ancient people sure knew a thing or two"-and it is ideal for firing tall forms.
While the pot is firing Joan prepares a bed of combustible matter in the smoke
pit. The pit is simply a wide trench, deep enough to hold the pot (and sometimes
the potter) with a sheet of iron to cover over while smoking. Joan always uses
natural combustibles, leaves, lawn cuttings and even horse manure if the leaves are
scarce. She watches her pots carefuly and at the peak time quickly removes them
from the kiln to the smoke pit before they cool. She takes care how she places
the piece in the hole for smoking, gets in the pit, rolls the pot for maybe ten seconds
while flames are in the hole. She sees whether the pot picks up smoke by placing
a handful of grass on it. Sometimes pressing the pot into a bed of hot ashes gives
a dark smoking on one side while the rest of the pot receives only a light smoking.
Lustres and oxides brushed on the pot can be heavily reduced by pressing hard
into hot ashes.
"Anyone can smoke a raku pot, but to smoke it with sensitivity takes a
human working at their optimum."
The idea of shutting a pot in a tin of combustibles and leaving it was
abhorrent to Joan and rarely does she dunk her pots in water. Tn order to "freeze"
a glaze effect she may splash water on a pot and sometimes pots are swung round
and round on the end of the tongs to cool quickly and to induce a crackle glaze.
Joan often works over white slip - using some thick and some thin on the
same pot and depending on the effect of smoke to create subtle tonal changes.
All her pots are glazed inside. One simple glaze is Cesco Frit 2 + 4% iron oxide.
Two recipes given were Cesco Frit 2180, Flint 10, Kaolin 10 and the other Cesco
Frit 2150, Borax 30, Silica 10 and Kaolin 10.
Glaze is often applied with a sponge. Joan talked of firing a sealing coat and
then building up the glaze until satisfied with the effect. She fires her pots over
and over some going into the kiln five times, until the desired result is achieved.

61
When working with large forms Joan found there was nowhere to preheat the
pots, so it was necessary to make better clay to withstand the shock of going cold
into a kiln of 1000°. It was common to load clay with talc, and a ceramic scientist
Joan met by chance told her that up to 15 % addition in a body is satisfactory and
beyond that does no good. A shock resistant body was prepared with local clay,
talc, high aluminous grog and some Kalgoorlie felspar and lor a time she worked
with this body. During a visit to Carnarvon tracking station Joan saw the nose
cone from a rocket, made from a thin metal which was able to absorb heat shock
during re-entry of the earth's atmosphere. This prompted Joan to explore the
possibilities of a clay body able to absorb shock. She removed the talc and opened
the clay with grog and after many tests found a mixed size grog opens the body
well and gives the pots a pleasant texture. Pots stand all the rigors of firing with
hardly a pot lost in a number of years. It is preferable to use sand, which is round,
to open a body used for throwing as clay will not cling to grog and tears away
during throwing.
Most of Joan's pots are handbuilt, sometimes bases are thrown and the pot
completed by coiling and pinching. Joan works on her forms until they are resolved,
she does not leave them to stiffen during making as once the clay becomes rigid
the whole feeling of movement in the pot is lost. This feeling of movement is very
important to Joan as she creates pots which have a feeling of life within.
Joan works in a cycle-a period of forming, then bisqueing, then glazing and
finally the raku firing. She starts a work period by making big simple round pots
-they must be rich and full and after making one or two, or maybe three, of
these, suddenly forms start suggesting themselves and so new pots are created.
Joan reminded us that the pots which have pleased people for thousands of
years are very simple forms. "We need simple pots, which evoke a response in
another human being, and sometimes it is difficult for people like us, with our
complicated lives to see this."
MOLLIE GRIEVE, a practising potter, keenly interested in the activities of The Ceramic Study
GrouP. offered her home as the venue for the Symposium. The kilns remain in the garden
and will be used by members of The Ceramic Study Group.
Autumn School, May, 1973
Beryl Barton
One of the most important aCtlvltles that the Potters' Society undertakes is its
involvement in conducting pottery schools, where a very concentrated and comprehensive
period of time is spent listening, observing, participating, discussing,
criticising, not only with the tutors but also among the students themselves, of
projects presented.
The Autumn School conducted at Gymea Technical College, during the May
vacation, was concerned with a very large number of students, some of whom may
at times have felt they were not receiving sufficient individual assessment. But by
intimate involvement with fellow students, and by appreciating the tutors' remarks
and criticisms, an extensive instructional experience was experienced. The tutors
were approached, and were approachable at all times to listen to the students'
Ihoughts and reactions.

62
For those who were unable to attend, what was the school about? Handbuilding
with a difference, soft-slab and strip-building, the Japanese art of neriage
(a studiously contrived form of mosaic) and emotional murals. What a tremendous
adventure into "clay-land", putting emotions into clay with the projects of a wall
mural for a children's play centre, a mural for a blind children's school. A quiet
day for concentration on decorative brush techniques in both wash and oxides, a
picnic lunch on the final day in the grounds at Gymea, and all concerned voted it
a successful and educational experience.
The tutors for the school were Sonya Ankatell, Shiga Shigeo, Malina Reddish,
and Ivan Englund-the director and co-ordinator, Beryl Barton.
BERYL BARTON, a practising potter, is a teacher at Gymea Technical College and a tutor for
the Arts Council of Australia (N.S.W.).
Professor Said El Sadr
AJan Peascod
Said EI Sadr was born in Cairo in 1909, a member of a family of eight. From as
far back as he can remember he has been interested in the arts.
After completing four years of study at the College of Arts and Crafts in Cairo,
he started his career in earnest when he won a scholarship to Burslem College in
Stoke-on-Trent in 1929. However, casting and figurine production were not to his
liking, so he transferred to the Camberwell School of Art and Craft in London,
where he studied design and craft for two years.
In 1930 he met Bernard Leach at the exhibition Leach shared with Tomimoto
in London, and tmbsequently spent 8 months at St. ives as part of his final stay in
England. "They were very happy months", he recalls, "hard work, but good. He
gave me free board in exchange for my labours-with 15 minutes for questions on
Wednesday afternoons."
In 1931 he returned to Cairo where he started the Ceramics Section at the
College of Applied Art. He recommenced his studio work in lustre glazing in 1932,
using a gas kiln made in England. He also taught slipware techniques at the College.
1932 was also the year in which he held his first one-man exhibition in Cairo.
He has taken many exhibitions of craft produced in Egypt since early Pharonic
times overseas - to China, France, [taly, Russia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia,
Germany and Japan. He won a Gold Medal award at the International Academy
of Ceramics Exhibition in Cannes in 1950, and again in Prague in 1962. He was
invited by Leach to the Dartington Hall Conference in London in 1952, where he
again met Hamada and also Dr. Yanagi.
He has a marvellous sense of humour and I remember when we were talking
about kilns, "You know", he said, "[ once sold a kiln to a man for £4. I had just
built it and it cost me £60. My father died and it is our custom to move when one
of the family dies, so I sold the kiln. You know, 1 was glad to get rid of it - one
layer of bricks, then one layer of scorpions all the way down to tbe bottom. I hate
scorpions!"
On another occasion he recalls, he got into trouble as a young boy when he
played a violin very badly on his balcony to a Jewish gathering at the Synagogue
next door. "It was during the feast, you know - they were singing and clapping

63
PROFESSOR SAID EL
SADR is guest teacher at
Canberra Technical College
or 5 months, concentrating
on Islamic pottery and
history, with special
empbasis on research in
lustre glazes.
Photograph: Bill Vennard.
every night - I couldn't sleep, so 1 got my violin out and played to them - it
worked, you know. But I got into trouble from the Rabbi."
The Jewish/ Arab problem depresses him a great deal. "It's stupid. Stupid
politicians. There is so little time to work in one's life without wasting time in
arguing. Suddenly, because some politician decides, you find you are supposed to
have enemies. It's very bad you know, 1 have a lot of Jewish friends."
His attitude to his work is lypically Egyptian. "J use natural materials-from
the ground. L prepare my own clay with material from Aswan. My glazes are from
natural materials- look at the work of the old Islamic potters-all from simple
materials."
His studio is now situated in the Pottery district in Cairo, where he loves to
be amongst the Bedouin potters. He still produces work for exhibitions, the most
recent being in Cairo in June, 1973. His work is in the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London, the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, to name but two of
the important collections in which he is represented.
His pots are not for the timid. They are robust and strong. His glaze surfaces
can often shock our orientally conditioned tastes. They are vibrant in colour,
Islamic in flavour, and confident in treatment.
ALAN PEASCOD is in charge of the Ceramics Section of the Canberra Technical College.

64
Glaze Chipping, with particular reference
to Chinese Porcelain
J. H. Myrtle and I. J. McMeekin
From the transactions of the Kao Ling Hui, a society of collectors.
I. INTRODUCTORY
One aspect of the study of Chinese porcelain, or for that matter of any ceramic
wares, which is of great importance, is the study of technical defects.
It happens to be of particular interest in the case of Chinese porcelain because
of the ingenuity shown by the Chinese, not necessarily in eliminating them, but by
bringing them under control and turning them to good decorative effect. Examples
are glaze crazing or "crackle",· the accidental contamination by copper which
probably resulted in the controlled use of crimson splashes on Chiin wares of the
Sung dynasty, "oil spot" temmoku glazes, and the peach bloom glazes of the K'ang
Hsi period.
Other defects, not necessarily with any claim to beauty, were considered by
later connoisseurs to be signs of authenticity so that pieces exhibiting them were
prized accordingly. Typical examples are the spotting and "heaped and piled"
effect on some 14th and early 15th century porcelain decorated in underglaze and
the "earth worm" marks on some Chiin wares.
However, there is onc defect which must have been of particular annoyance
to the Chinese potters and which has no aesthetic merit whatsoever. Moreover, it
detracts from the practical use of any piece on which it occurs and has nothing to
recommend it at all.
The defect in question which is the subject of this paper, is the tendency for
sharp edges, such as the rims of dishes and bowls, to chip. This is referred to by
the Chinese as "hairy edges". Sometimes it is accompanied by brown or blackish
discolouration and also by other characteristic signs. Even when no chipping of
the glaze has occurred, such evidence indicates that the edge is tender and susceptible
to chipping.
Although Chinese porcelain never seems to have been entirely free from it,
the defect was much more prevalent in some periods than others. Wares of the
15th and early 16th centuries do not often show it, but it appears to have reached
a peak during the middle and late Ming'"period.
Many of the square jars of the Chia Ching, Lung Ch'ing and Wan Li reigns
exhibit it on the corner edges and it is interesting to note that on many of the
excellent modern Japanese copies of tlJese wares, which are much sought after in
Japan, the defect has been faithfully reproduced. The Japanese refer to it as "mushikuri",
meaning "insect eaten". The export wares of the 16th and early 17th
centuries, particularly of the type usually attributed to the Tien Ch'i reign which
were exported in vast quantities to Japan, nearly all exhibit the defect in its most
vi rulent form.
It continued through the K'ang Hsi reign and the 18th century though to a
steadily decreasing extent.
It is not impossi ble that the uncontrolled and unpredictable phenomenon of
"tender edges" was at least partly responsible for the development in the 17th
century of the so-called "enamel on biscuit" technique of decoration.
It is also noteworthy that Ming monochromes, particularly the yellow, were
applied over glaze up to some time in the second halF of the 16th century . Thcre-

65
after, they were usually applied to the unglazed ("biscuit") surface of the fully
fired article.
The defect is of interest for a number of reasons. It is one of the few difficulties
which the native ingenuity of the Chinese potter was unsuccessful in overcoming.
It must have been responsible for innumerable throw-outs, and complaints from
the Court and other customers. It does not appear to have aroused any enquiry or
special interest from modern collectors or students of Chinese porcelain. This is
surprising as it has proved to be of considerable technical interest as a ceramic
oroblem.
J n fact, as will be shown in the following notes, it has been the subject of
research by industry not only in relation to production of porcelain, but also to
stoneware and lower-fired wares.
J. H. Myrtle
II. SOME TECHNICAL NOTES, AND EXPERIENCES
Though the defect has been a very common one in Chinese and Japanese porcelain,
it also occurs in some of the earlier wares, especially in the Celadons of the Sung
Dynasty. The earliest occurrence we have seen is in a Han Dynasty YUeh celadon
jar. It has occurred more rarely in European industrial ceramics, so that far less
study has been given to it than to other glaze defects such as "crazing" and
"peeling". In fact, in many books on glazes and glazing it is not mentioned.
However, it is apparently now becoming more common among European and
American industrial potters when they develop low-temperature vitreous wares
using the "single-fire" technique (as was the habit of the Chinese porcelain makers)
instead of the established European practice of a "biscuit-firing" followed by a
"glaze firing". The Americans call it "rough-edging" or "dry edging"; it is also
known as "buckling" and "ruclding".
In its most pronounced form the defect occurs in a way that is quite unique
and easily recognisable: the glaze and the "interaction layer" (a layer of material
developing between body and glaze as the glaze melts) are seen to be wrinkled,
looking very like the skin of cooling coffee. The wrinlding is often heavier on the
inside of the piece, and occurs particularly on rims and other glazed edges, where
the glaze and interaction layer will often be seen to have been pushed up clear of
the body, so that there is an easily visible cavity between them and the body.
]n porcelain the pronounced form of the defect rarely develops wrinkles, but
there is often a surprisingly large cavity at the rim or on other edges of the piece,
and even occasionally on an uninterrupted surface. This cavity may only be
discovered many years after the piece was made, when the glaze becomes fractured
in use. Sometimes the cavity is discoloured : this may be due to the gradual
accumulation of dirt which penetrates the fine cracks in the glaze while the piece
is in use; or it may be "Hash"-i.e., it happens towards the end of the firing and
early in the cooling of the piece, when alternation of firing conditions between
oxidising and reducing produces a reddish- or yellowish-brown colour at any part
of the piece where the glaze layer is very thin or where the unglazed body is
exposed. (The effect is more frequently seen on foot-rings, and in stonewares, and
is described by the Chinese as "iron foot".) In its milder form the defect may
appear simply as a weakening of the rim or edge, so that the piece chips easily in
use. No wrinkling and no cavity may be visible. I believe that this mild form of
the defect has been common in traditional pottery wares, and has often been
wrongly attributed to other causes--to insufficient vitrification of the body or to

66
"peeling" (a defect due to a differential coefficient of thermal expansion between
body and glaze) .
The defect only occurs in wares in which there is an appreciable firing
shrinkage of the body, and it seems that it is caused when this firing-shrinkage
occurs after the glaze has started to melt and to form the interaction layer. At this
stage the glaze is in a semi-molten or "pyro-plastic" (i.e., softened by heat)
condition, and when the body shrinks there is no longer room for the glaze layer
on the now smaller surface area of the piece. Consequently, depending largely. it
seems, on the physical condition of the interaction layer, glaze and interaction
layer together may wrinkle up; or, in the case of porcelain, apparently the bodyglaze
bond is strong enough to prevent wrinkling, and the too-large layer of semimolten
glaze and its interaction layer overlap the shrinking body. When this
happens on two glazed surfaces which meet at an edge-as, for instance, the rim
of a bowl-the glaze layer is pushed out clear of the body, often leaving quite
large cavities. Although at the subsequent higher finishing-temperature of the firing
the body has become quite pyro-plastic and the glaze quite liquid, the air-filled
cavities inside the wrinkles or at the edges prevent body and glaze from melting
together again at these points. It seems only in exceptional cases, when unusual
fluidity is developed in the glaze by hard- or over-firing that it becomes mobile
enough for the cavity to disappear and the defect to heal. This may have happened
in the case of some Temmoku glazes, although often the glaze has become so fluid
that it has almost run right off the rim, leaving only a very thin coating of glaze
there, and collecting in heavy rolls and drops towards the base of the piece. The
copper-red is another hard-fired effect which in some pieces shows indication of a
cavity having formed on the rim of the piece, of it subsequently collapsing as the
glaze became very fluid , and leaving as evidence of its existence some large discoloured
bubbles and other discolorations on the rim of the piece.
My first personal experience of the defect was at the Sturt Pottery in Mittagong
when we started to develop a local equivalent of the traditional red-bodied, lead
glazed "slip-wares" that were made in England between the thirteenth and nineteenth
centuries. It turned out that one big difference between the ware we were
developing and the traditional wares was that we were using an Illitic clay which
vitrified and shrank (about 10% ) at about 1000°C. The white slip that we were
using was not vitreous at this temperature, and as we were using the "single-fire"
technique, the fusible lead glazes were well started when the body did its 10%
shrinkage, and with the semi-rigid slip between them and the shrinking body,
conditions were right for the defect to develop in a pronounced form, and heavy
wrinkling and large cavities were formed. We were, in fact, reminded of the way
in which the shell of a hard-boiled egg stands clear of the meat inside, and at
times our ware could have the glaze "shelled" off the rims by tapping much in the
same way as you would "shell" an egg!
At first we attempted to correct the fault by alterations to the slip, adding
flux so that it would shrink when the body shrank; but the situation was more
complex than we thought, and these experiments were not successful. Finally, we
solved the problem by using draw trials to determine the temperature at which the
body shrinkage occurred, and by biscuit firing the ware to this temperature. If this
is done, when the glaze is subsequently applied and the ware refired to glaz.e
temperature very little further body shrinkage occurs and the defect does not
develop.
My next experience of the defect was in the porcelain which we were making
at the same pottery in Mittagong. This was in some ways rather a mediocre
porcelain, not very durable and not very translucent, and a material that was very

~ - ------ ~ --------------
67
difficult to work. But it was at times capable of considerable beauty, and it interested
us also because the body consisted of a single naturally occurring clay which we
mined in a valley only a mile from the pottery. The clay contained the right
proportion of clay mineral, feldspar, and quartz to make a pale grey, slightly
translucent porcelain at 1260-1 300°C. The same body clay could be used in
appreciable quantities in the glaze giving a rather beautiful pale blue colour, and
it was a source of continuing wonder and pleasure to us that we were able to get
this result by the very simple treatment of a local material. It left me with no
doubt in my mind that this was the way in which Chinese porcelain had originated.
But to return to the "tender edges", it was a body with a short firing range: below
1200°C it was still porous and above 1300°C it started to squat. As with the low
temperature ware, we were using the "single fire" technique, and were applying
glazes containing up to 35 % of the body clay, some whiting (in some cases
wood-ash) , feldspar and quartz. These glazes started to melt at about 1160°C,
before the main body shrinkage (again about 10% ) had occurred, and when the
de ~ect occurred-which was most of the time-it did so severely. There was no
sign of wrinkling but large cavities developed at the edges of the ware and the
rims were very "tender" indeed.
At first 1 did not connect this defect with the wrinkling that had occurred on
the low temperature ware; the two occurrences appeared quite dissimilar, and in
my own mind 1 had associated the low temperature defect with the fact that we
were using a slip. I had not read or heard anything about it in connection with
porcelain although I had, of course, seen it on many Chinese and Japanese pieces.
So at first in rather a simple way, I thought that the glaze was not adhering
properly in the green state. Gwyn Hanssen (then Gwyn John) who was at that
time my assistant, had just made her own translation of the letters of Pere
d'Entrecolles, and we noted that the Chinese potters were in the habit of applying
bamboo ash and other dressings to the rims of their pieces to improve adhesion,
and though this was something we did not try, we did try lightly sponging the rims
with water prior to dipping. This did in fact seem to lessen the fault, but I suspect
that it may have simply been that the glaze layer became thinner on the rims and
the fault therefore less pronounced. In some cases, we ground the glaze off the
rims after firing, leaving the smooth porcelain body bare, and I began to suspect
that this may have been the reason why the rims of some Chinese pieces were
ground; it would seem to explain why rim and foot-ring are sometimes both bare:
-the foot-ring because the piece was fired standing on its foot (it would have
stuck to its support in the kiln had it not been free of glaze) and the rim ground
after the piece had left the pottery, and in some cases by the user after the tender
edge had chipped and become rough and dirty.
(A Chia-Ching bowl in my possession has had its rim imperfectly ground and
some evidence of the cavity between body and glaze is still to be seen in several
places. The foot-ring is bare, and evidence of its being fired on its foot is provided
by a few grains of coarse setting-sand embedded in the glaze where it terminates
at the foot.
It is not sugested that this is the invariable explanation of bare rims : in some
Ting wares completely glazed bases with no spur marks, and the direction of
glaze-runs, indicate that these wares were, in fact, fired up-side-down on their
bare rims.)
Later, we tried sponging the glaze off the rim before firing-this only took
a fraction of the time taken to grind it oft' after firing-and we continued this for
a time, getting rather a pleasant brownish flash on the rim where the sponging had
left a thin smear of glaze. But often these rims were rather rough and in due

68
course we discontinued this treatment too. In fact, we never completely overcame
the defect in the porcelain: sometimes it occurred and sometimes it did not, much
in the same way, I imagine, as it had done in the Chinese potteries of Ch'ing-techan.
It was the third and final occurrence of the defect that made clear, by the way
it occurred, the connection between the wrinkling in the low temperature slip-wares
and the "tender edging" of the porcelain; it also suggested, in the same way, that
another solution to the problem could be used in the higher temperature wares.
This time the defect occurred in the celadon glazed stoneware, and only became
really noticeable when we made two alterations to the body: one was a change in
the digging of the clay-we took it from further down in the weathered sequence
where it was freer of iron-compounds and a little more refractory; the other was a
change to a higher proportion of coarsely milled quartz in the body. Both these
changes had the effect of delaying the firing shrinkage of the body as it vitrified,
and this was apparently enough to make the fa ult appear in rather a severe form
when these bodies were glazed with our standard celadon glaze. This glaze contained
some 35 % of a rather irony clay, which probably contained a higb
proportion of Illite as it was a levigated fraction of the mottled-zone of the same
weathered sequence which served as our main clay supply. This being a fusible
material it made the glaze an early melter, and so with early melting of the glaze
and late vitrification of the body, conditions were right for the defect to occur, and
it did so. The glaze had another feature which, though I didn't realise it at the time,
influenced the defect: it had a high lime content, almost 0.8 molecular parts.
The first feature of this occurrence of the defect that put me on the track of a
solution in the higher temperature wares was that some slight wrinkling occurred
in association with the edge cavities, and I reaJised that the "tender edges" of the
porcelain and the wrinkles of the low temperature slip-ware were simply different
forms of tlus same defect with the same underlying causes. The second was that it
occurred very clearly and obligingly with some glazes and not with others, and it
then began to appear that with these higher temperature wares a solution other
than biscuit firing might be possible : that perhaps the glazes could be modified so
that they did not start to melt until the main body shrinkage had already occurred.
Experience of the last few years has indicated that this is in fact an effective
solution to the problem, but it seems also to be linked with another aspect of glaze
composition: with the proportion of calcium, strontium and barium in the RO
group (the fluxing components) and the effect of this on the interaction layer.
The effect of this factor in one particular type of ware has been described
in detail in a paper by R. C. Hannon and C. J. Koenig published in the Bulletin
of the American Ceramic Society, Vol. 30, No.3, 1951. The title of the paper is
"Single Fire Glazes for Low Temperature Vitreous Ware", and in it the authors
describe how they overcame the defect in a lead-glazed, single-fire vitreous ware
firing at about 1 I 80°C. They note that wet-milling the body eliminated the defect
in some cases by simply lowering its vitrification temperature; but their main
concern was with glaze composition, and they established that with this body (it
contained some 50% of nepheline syenite) and firing to I I 80°C the defect could
be eliminated if the oxides of calcium, strontium and barium were kept below a
figure of about 0.04 molecular parts-i.e., if virtually no appreciable amounts of
these oxides were present. These oxides were shown to have the effect of "openjng"
the body below I I 70°C (i.e., decreasing vitrification) the operative effect of this
apparently being to "stiffen" the interaction layer.
The results achleved by Hannon and Koenig are quite definite in their 1180°C
ware; my own experiences, workjng both at 1100°C and 1250-1300°C indicate

69
that the effect of calcium oxide (lime )-1 have no glaze materials containing
strontium or barium-is complex and apparently variable. In stoneware firing at
12S0-1300°C an early starting glaze with 0.4 molecular parts of CaO showed no
sign of the defect; another glaze which was a later starter with 0.77 molecular parts
of CaO exhibited the defect very badly on the same body and in the same firing.
By and large, in about a dozen glazes for this ware, those with about 0.45 and
less molecular parts of CaO were free of the defect whether they were early or
late starters, and those with 0.7 or more molecular parts developed the defect, some
of these being earlier starters than others. I am afraid the position remains rather
obscure, but at 12S0-1300°C it would seem that if you use a glaze with a high
melting point in relation to the vitrification temperature of the body and keep the
CaO figure down towards 0.4 molecular parts that the defect may be avoided:
and that there is a good chance of avoiding it even if your glaze is a very early
starter when the CaO figure is really low. On the other hand, some of my recent
experiments with "single-fire" lead glazes for a vitreous ware tiring at 1100°C
showed the defect just as badly after 1 had cut the CaO figure down to O.OS in one
and 0.04 in the other. The body used in these experiments was a mixture of
Puggoon clay (a plastic "ball-clay" type) and an impure nepheline syenite
containing up to S% Fe20S' The body vitrified and carried out its main firing
shrinkage (about 7%) between 9S0-1000°C; the composition of the two glazes
was as follows:
KNaO
CaO
MgO
PbO
A
B
.161
.228
.044
.OSO
.lS6
.IS0
.628
.S66
.060 .02
.04
.33
.28
2.80
2.20
These glazes started to melt between 900-9S0°C, i.e., before the main body
shrinkage had taken place, and in spite of the virtual absence of calcium, strontium
or barium, the defect occurred as badly as it had done with the high lime glazes
previously in use. At this lower temperature there may be some other oxide or
oxides that have the same stiffening effect.
So it would appear that lime in the glaze has a variable effect: in this last
case at 1 100°C apparently slight; at I I 80 °C a strong effect; and at l2S0-1300°C
also a strong effect. It would seem that the key to understanding the defect lies
in considering the physical condition of the glaze and interaction layer at the time
tbat the body shrinkage is occurring; that at different temperatures, different oxides,
or differing amounts of the same oxide, may be responsible for establishing the
physical condition which causes the defect.
Turning to the Oriental wares, I feel it is very unlikely that they would have
used glazes from which virtually all calcium, strontium and barium had been
eliminated, especially in view of their habit of using wood-ash and/ or burnt lime
in their glazes. This applies, of course, to both stoneware and porcelain glazes.
However, it is likely that some of their wood-ash may have had appreciable replacement
of CaO by MgO (this happens apparently in some rice-straw ash, and,
incidentally, in some Australian wood-ashes) and this may have helped to prevent
the defect.
The defect is quite common in the celadons of the Sung dynasty, and I assume
that it occurred whenever the stoneware body in use happened to be a late starter
(vitrification and shrinkage at a high temperature) and this was coupled with the
necessary physical conditions of glaze and interaction layer: i.e., early melting,

70
with sufficient stiffness or semi-rigidity at this temperature. This physical condition
would almost certainly have been related to the ash content of the glaze, the ironcompounds
(early acting fluxes, and always present in celadons), and possibly the
clay content. On the other hand, when the stoneware body in use vitrified and
shrank at a lower temperature, this in itself may have been enough to prevent the
defect from occurring. In other cases it may not have occurred because the glaze
had a lower CaO figure due either to the use of less ash, or a variation in the
composition of the ash. With these wares we know that great variety existed in
the composition of both bodies and glazes.
As far as the porcelains are concerned, similar but narrower variations in
bodies and glazes would have occurred. Vogt's "Recherches sur les Porcelaines
Chinoises" record clearly the diversity of body materials and body recipes, of glaze
materials and glaze recipes which were used by the Chinese porcelain manufacturers
in the nineteenth century. Though these diverse materials and recipes
would have been compounded to produce vitreous translucent bodies and welJmatured
giazes at their firing temperature of 1280- J 320°C, this same end result
could have been reached by a variety of paths-some of these bodies probably
vitrified early and others late, depending on the actual mineral constituents and
the particle size distribution. As far as the glazes are concerned Vogt gives analyses
of their materials: one "yeou-kou", a rock containing quartz, muscovite and albite,
and the other "hoei-yeou", a mixture of bracken ash and lime. He goes on to say
that the proportion in which these materials were mixed varied between 9 rock to
1 ash/ lime and 3 rock to 1 ash/ lime. The materials were apparently mixed in slip
form , so it is difficult to tell exactly what the glaze formula would have been,
but it is certain that the ones high in ash/ lime would have had a high CaO figure
(probably about 0.8 molecular parts) coupled with less AI 2 0 a and less Si0 2 ,
than those with a higher proportion of the rock. They would consequently have
melted at a lower temperature and given a clearer glaze at the finishing-temperature.
They were, of course, the glazes used with the underglaze cobalt decoration, and it
seems likely that the commonest cause of the defect in porcelain was the use of
these clear "high-lime" glazes with a body that vitrified rather late. On the other
hand, the same body could probably have been used with a "high-rock" glaze
with the possibility of the lower CaO figure coupled with higher Al 2 0 3 and Si0 2
(from the rock) getting them clear of the trouble. (This, incidentally, is the way
we are avoiding the defect at the University: our porcelain glaze has only 0.35
molecular parts of CaO coupled with high AJ 2 0 a and Si0 2 • Jt only starts to melt
at I 180-1200°C and so far we have been free of the trouble.)
The biscuit firing technique has never been in general use with Chinese
potters: the main part of the porcelain made at Ch'ing-te-chun has always been
once-fired. Therefore, the disappearance of the defect from time to time cannot
be associated with biscuit firing to the requisite temperature--at least prior to the
twentieth century.
(Mention should be made, however, of certain special effects for which the
Chinese potters did use a twice-firing technique, which, as far as the defect is
concerned, had a similar effect to the European practice of biscuit firing. The use
of this technique in making the wares described as "enamelled on the biscuit" is
noted by Pere d'Entrecolles in his second letter, written in 1722. In paragraph XIV
he de£cribes an initial firing of unglazed cups (presumably to normal porcelain
temperature) after which lead glazes or "enamels" were applied and the ware fired
a second time to a lower temperature "at the bottom of the kiln and underneath
the airhole where the fire is the least active". When pieces were fired with a partial
application of feldspathic glaze (in the initial firing) the fact that the application

71
was partial would tend to keep it free of the defect; the high temperature of this
initial firing could be expected to keep the lead glazes or "enamels" free of it also.
As mentioned in the introductory section this may well have contributed to the
development of the ware.
The use of a twice-firing technique for the copper-red effect also is noted by
Vogt in his "recherches sur les Porcelaines Chi noises", in 1900, when he states that
the ware "is fired in the biscuit state before it is glazed". No indication is given of
the temperature of this preliminary firing, but after the application of the copperred
glaze, Vogt states that "In firing, the piece is placed in the hottest part of the
kiln". He gives an analysis of the glaze, which is very fusible and contains some
lead; so that if this subsequent firing to the highest temperature available were to
cause additional body shrinkage, one could expect the defect to occur. Indication
of its having occurred in some pieces has been mentioned earlier in the paper.)
It is easy to see then, how the defect could have occurred and disappeared
at Ch'ing-te-chfin in an apparently incomprehensible way, especially as we know
from the letters of Pere d'Entrecolles that the suppliers of raw materials were at
times unreliable and unscrupulous. This, coupled with the need for clear glazes
for the cobalt decoration (= high lime), must have made a knotty problem of it.
No doubt from time to time an able man with sufficiently broad control over the
entire process would have been able to work out ways of avoiding the problem by
empirical means, or a chance alteration in body materials, glaze composition, or
firing technique would have caused the defect to disappear of its own accord. But
at other times the conditions under which they worked and the limitations imposed
by the character of the ware must have made the problem virtually insoluble.
I. J. McMeekin
Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education
Michael Ford
Due to the growing enthusiasm in ceramics over the last decade and the increasing
number of people wishing to participate or make their livelihood with pottery,
many tertiaty schools now place ceramics high on their list of significant courses
of study.
The School of Mines, Ballarat (Victoria) , now clinically known as the
Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education, of which I am a student, is fast gaining
a reputation as one of the foremost J nstitutes incorporating an Art School in which
to study ceramics at diploma level. During my four years at the school the emphasis
has changed dramatically from that of straight well-thrown domestic ware, to an
exciting and diverse range of ceramics containing large sculpture or free form.
This has probably been the general trend throughout Australia, and in fact the
world, as artists experiment and search for new inspirations and ideas or tryout
new materials and techniques with clay. All students, especially those in final year,
are encouraged to pursue their own styles which promote individual quality and

72
MICHAEL FORD.
Arts and Crafts Society of
Victoria 1973 Student,
Craft Exhibition. First Prize.
character in their work, whether it be a teapot or piece of sculpture. The inclusion
of a thesis in the final assessment also gives the student the opportunity of wider
knowledge of the pottery of other races and cultures. This thesis deals with the
ceramic art, religion, and mythology, social structure and everyday life of the
particular culture which has been chosen.
Throughout the course every aspect of ceramics is covered, either practically
or theoretically. One great advantage to us is the fact that, geographically speaking,
we are ideally situated (except for the weather) in an area where, within a radius
of about J 0 miles, nearly all the raw materials required (or producing ceramic
wares are available. When weather permits clay can be dug, in almost ready-tothrow
condition, from the clay pits which border Ballarat, giving the students a
closer, more personal contact with the deliciously plastic stuff, in its natural state
somewhere hidden in the bush. I can't say that I ever enjoyed the same satisfaction
peeling back the plastic on a 28 lb. pack of clay with its firing speCifications on an

enclosed paper slip; but inconvenience and lack of time restricts the city schools,
I suppose. Being only 1 t hours away from Melbourne makes it easy for us to see
exhibitions or participate in them-an interesting and informative experience.
Recently, another student and myself were invited to represent our school in an
exhibition of ten student potters' work from allover Victoria at the Melbourne
University Art Gallery.
During the three years which precede final year diploma, each facet of pottery
is examined in the form of detailed reports or papers. Clay composition, methods
of production, glaze composition and application, kiln construction, firing techniques
and fuels and design are covered with the hope that by the time a student
has reached final year he or she can go out to dig the clay, prepare it and produce
a ware decorated with a glaze individually tested and composed, and ready to fire
at any temperature under the student's personal control.
Under John Gilbert the course is directed towards the practical application
of an individual's particular talent. Some students are more proficient at thrown
domestic ware, diverging occasionally to clay sculpture and instilling added freedom
to their work. Others work mainly in clay sculpture while occasionally turning to
thrown ware as a disciplinary side-line.
As there are several throwing wheels and four kilns everybody can pursue
their individual line of practical study in almost any direction. Recently a Raku
kiln constructed by the students aroused special interest, as the only contact many
of us had had previously with Raku had been during a visit to Paul Soldner's
demonstration some time ago. At that stage, and probably because of the succession
of his exploding pots, we did not fuUy appreciate the possibilities of Raku.
A few of us have discovered the spontaneous beauty and excitement of the
technique with surprisingly good results and, not so surprisingly, burnt fingers.
It has, in fact, led one student into a study of Zen and its relationship to Japanese
pottery.
The need to keep in touch with both national and international trends in
ceramics is an essential facet of our studies. The study of one or a number of
artists lends itself to the discovery of alternative methods of applying our ideas to
manipulate our medium. We are encouraged to experiment with other materials
if we feel that they may add to a piece. Through using glass, metal, wood, leather
and plastic, we can judge for ourselves whether or not we can employ them in
sympathy with, to compromise, or to destroy a piece.
In Australia a student potter has the opportunity to study the characteristics
of other types of national pottery without the blatant influences that would otherwise
be almost forced upon him. By that I mean that we are now living in a
cosmopolitan-type society with an intermingling of ideas, which logically run into
our art and in fact our ceramics. We have the advantage of having many individual
styles which cannot be categorized as easily as, say Scandinavian, English, Oriental,
or American. This keeps our art fresh and exciting and prevents us lapsing into the
neutrality of English ceramics (a student's opinion, mind you), or the flood of
extroverted, far-out "pop" ceramics of the United States.
By examining the ceramics of a particular country or in some cases of a
State, we can, I feel, gain some reflection of the society which has produced the
ware. For example, some of our potters reflect the harshness of the elements in the
application of texture to their pots; we see in them the earth cracking under the
heat of the sun, and the colour subtleties of our earth, bark, rocks and native forms.
I ndividual approaches to pottery are evident wherever we look in most teaching
areas now, and our Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education is no exception.
73

"VASE" by Hubert Griemert. Height 24 cm. Grey stoneware, thrown. Crystalline zinc
barium glaze, coloured with nickel oxide, manganese and iron oxide. Oxidised firing in electric
kiln to 1280°-1300°. Photograph by courtesy T. H. Wolf.
"MUSSEL CLUSTER" by Beate Kuhn 1968. Height 33 cm. Width 34 cm. Red stoneware
thrown, brushed white mall glazes, electrically fired to 1260°. Collection: T. H . Wolf.
Photograph by Sue Phillips.

75
German Pots at Karlsruhe
Renata de Lambert and Hildegard Anstice
Sometimes one is very fortunate when travelling to foreign countries if one happens
to arrive when an event of great interest is taking place.
So it was last year when Suzanna Phillips and I came to Germany.
One of the two major Pottery Collections of this country which have been
assembled over the last 15 years by Mr. Wolf (Hinang bei Oberstdorf) was touring
Germany at the time of our visit. The 300 pots by approximately 50 German
potters were beautifully displayed in a well-lit spacious room within the Badischen
Landesmuseum in the old castle in Karlsruhe.
The overall impression: Quiet, harmonious. Not always good forms but
honest. A number of strong sturdy shapes, rocklike, round, oval, square, asymmetrical
with just a small opening; many bottles and bowls with beautiful glazes,
some sculptural forms well executed and balanced.
As in all exhibitions of this kind there were just a few outstanding pieces
which one remembers clearly. Most of these were made by Beale Kuhn and Karl
and Ursula Scheidt, whom we had visited the day before at Duedelsheim. It was
interesting to follow the development of their work over the years. Some of the
names Beate gave to her pieces together with the photograph might give a slight
idea of her work. "Platetower", "Crowd", "Receptacle", "Group of Eyelashes",
"Artichoke". Many thrown pieces of different sizes and related shapes were
combined to form one work of great beauty and harmony. There were a few
murals similar in execution, none very large.
Karl and Ursula Scheidt's pots were outstanding through their extremely
elegant, cool, meticulously finished forms and beautiful glazes. Stoneware and
porcelain-bottles with straightsided, round or square bases and long extravagant
necks, to name only a few.
There are many other potters worth mentioning which space does not permit
here.
II is well worthwhile visiting either of the two large Pottery-Collections, the
second being at Deidesheim owned by Mr. Hinder - as they both portray the
pottery situation in Germany over a period of 30 years or so.
TWO CERAMIC COLLECTIONS IN GERMANY:
Collection Wolf: This large collection of over 900 ceramic pieces represents the
work of 70 to 80 German potters made between 1955-1973. The collection is
owned by Mr. and Mrs. T. H. Wolf, Hinang, near Obersdorf, Post AJtstaedten.
It may be viewed by appointment.
Collection 1. W. Hinder: Exhibition and sale of ceramics, weekdays 10 a.m.-
12.30 p.m., 3 p.m.-6 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays. Museum of Modern Ceramics,
times as above, also open on Sundays 11 a.m.-12.30 p.m., 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
J. W. HINDER, Weinstr., Deidesheim, Postf. 54.
There is also a book available entitled: Modern Ceramics from Germany,
36 pages of text in German and English, with 148 full page photographs. Price
DM 42.00. Write to the above address.
RENATA DE LAMBERT recently visited her native Germany with SUE PHILLIPS.
HILDEGARD ANSTICE adds details of collections she saw when she also was on a return visit.

76
Hamada and Leach in London
Janet Hamer
"The Art of the Potter"-not a new title but a new film about Hamada, world
famous Japanese potter.
Mr. and Mrs. Shoji Hamada and Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Leach were present
at the theatre of the Royal College of Art, Kensington, for the premiere of the film,
an occasion organised by the World Crafts Council.
Michael Casson introduced the guests of honour to an invited audience of
potters. Bernard Leach gave a short introduction to the film.
The film itself is concerned with the message of East meeting West, unchanging
Oriental thought acting as a brake on galloping Western technology. This is the
philosophy which Bernard Leach brought to Europe at a time when a few lone
potters and weavers were making a last stand against the tide of the machine age.
New values were found through this first real appreciation of Oriental ceramics.
This theme is presented in a straight forward way in the film (i.e., no sun flashing
through tree-tops or close-up leaf skeletons) .
From his sitting room in St. I ves, Bernard Leach talks about a few favourite
pots and introduces Hamada. In Mashiko the humanly circumscribed work cycle
is observed. Hamada folds himself down to his wheel, stirs it round by jabbing a
stick in a hole in the wide head and between frequent stirs gently opens out a
bowl. Four or five people help to produce pots and fire the huge climbing wood
burning kiln. The attitude is a negation of self-expression but the tradition is firmly
based and dependable. The firing cycle has evolved to a point of perfection for
"classic" reduced stoneware.
After the film an attractive Japanese girl acted as interpreter to Hamada
although his command of English is really very good. Like a prophet of old he
spoke in parables. He spoke with great enthusiasm of the spectacular Chinese
acrobats (London Festival Hall). He admired the dedication to practice by which
they had achieved the impossible.
Finally Leach and Hamada answered questions. Hamada said he might try a
power wheel when he got old, and Leach, challenged about his high prices by his
grandson Jeremy, said one was forced into it by dealers, and in any case his pots
fetch 4 times as much in Japan as in Britain!
BERNARD LEACH was awarded the "Companion of Honour" in the Queen's Birthday Honours
List, June 1973.
NEW ZEALAND POTTER
Published at Wellington by the Edlto,ial Committee, twice ye .. ,Iy
In August and Decembe,. The yearly .ubscriptlon b $A2.20
Gnd the magazine may be obtained from
New Zealand Poffer, P.O. lox 12162, Wellington North, New Zealand.

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77
The Design and Operation of Two Small
Downdraught Kilns using L.P. Gas
R. R. Hughan
Purpose
The two kilns described in these notes and drawings have been designed and
tested to meet the needs of ceramic laboratories and studio potters who require
minimal temperature gradients throughout the working area, and economical
operation using a convenient but expensive fuel, viz., L.P. gas.
Choice of Designs
The smaller kiln is a top loading rectangular downdraught type of three cubic foot
working capacity, and the larger is a twelve cubic foot semi-catenary arch design.
The choice of downdraught operation was made because of the inherently better
temperature distribution of this type. Economy of operation is also good. The only
initial disadvantage of the downdraught type of kiln is the greater volume of
brickwork required for the collector flue system at the base of the working chamber
compared with simple updraught designs. Top loading was chosen for the smaller
kiln for simplicity of design, since front loading would have necessitated placing
the whole kiln on a plinth or frame to raise it to a convenient level. In the case of
the twelve cubic foot catenary kiln the height is sufficient to make it a conventional
front loader. Catenary arch design offers no more complexity in building than other
arched roofs, and has the advantage of sufficient stability to require little or no
bracing.
It is considered that both designs could safely be scaled up or down in size
by a factor of about 1.5 without having to make changes in the flue or burner
dimensions. The burners suggested in the drawings are working in the mid-range
of their rated capacity at 1300°C held.
Materials
It is essential for the sake of fuel economy to construct the main working chambers
of the kilns of hot face insulating refractory bricks. These are sold by several
manufacturers and are graded according to their maximum recommended temperature
of use. For earthenware firing say up to 1200°C the 2300°F or 2400°F type
are ideal (i.e., 2300° Fahrenheit maximum temperature). For stoneware firing up
to 1350°C the 2600°F type are recommended, and better grades, e.g., 2800°F or
3000°F are necded for laboratory kilns which may be used in the 1400° to 1500°C
range. In general the insulating value of this type of brick deteriorates as the
maximum allowable service temperature goes up. Hence it is false economy to
use a brick with a temperature specification much in excess of that likely to be
encountered in service.
The main flue does not need to be made of insulating bricks, but may be
constructed of common firebrick, with the proviso that different kinds of bricks
will not necessarily match well in size when it comes to laying. In the drawings of
the smaller kiln the main stack above kiln level has been shown as six feet of
5 inch diameter steam pipe lagging. This is a quick, convenient, but somewhat
fragile method of constructing a stack and should not be used if the kiln is to be
fired at 1300°C or above, owing to the temperature limitation of the material.
A plain firebrick stack 4t inches square internally is recommended for higher

78
temperatures. It is permissible to economise in brick cost by using lower heat duty
bricks in the cooler under floor area.
External insulation of the kilns using materials able to withstand at least
600°C is essential for fuel economy, as the figures for kiln operation show (Table
2). Slab insulation available from several manufacturers is convenient for the small
kiln, and such slabs have also been shown in the drawings between the concrete
foundation and the first course of bricks. The same degree of floor insulation may
be achieved using twice the thickness of insulating bricks, the only consideration
being the relative cost. The catenary kiln arch is more easily insulated with a
mineral wool blanket several inches thick. The correct type of material can be
specified by the several manufacturers, remembering that the "cold" face of the
bricks may reach a dull red heat in a stoneware firing. Either an air-setting or
heat setting mortar may be used. The latter is preferred for temperatures above
I 300°C. The brick manufacturer's recommendation should be followed when
purchasing.
The multi-slab lid of the small kiln is made of insulating bricks bolted
together with threaded rods. For maximum life the rods should be set somewhat
towards the cool side of the centre of the bricks. Stainless steel is not desirable for
stoneware temperatures, and for higher temperatures again it is recommended that
the bricks be used vertically in order to have at least four inches of brick between
the rods and the hot face. Insulating slabs may be used on top of the brick lids
remembering however that this will raise the temperature of the support rods.
A useful gasket material to place between the top of the kiln wall and the lid
slabs is ! inch thick "Kaowool" strips cut from "Kaowool" blanket. The kiln may
also easily be temporarily raised in height by laying further loose courses of bricks
on top of the existing walls using "Kaowool" strips in place of mortar. See Figure I .
The door of the catenary kiln is bricked up in the conventional manner using
the same bricks as the kiln structure. Basting over with sand and clay may be
avoided by the more expensive method of sealing shown in the diagrams, viz. , high
temperature calcium silicate slabs faced with "Kaowool" and held firmly against
the front of the kiln. Suitable cut-outs for burners and spy holes are easily made
with the appropriate tools.
Construction
The dimensions of the kilns shown in the drawings are identical with those actually
built and tested, and were chosen to be modules of standard bricks as far as
possible. The lower portion of the stack of the smaller kiln is non-modular by
virtue of the necessity of transforming the flue dimensions to those of a modular
stack while retaining smooth gas flow lines.
In the above case, and also in the case of the tapered bricks of the catenary
arch, some cutting and trimming of the standard bricks is necessary. Fortunately
the insulating bricks specified are easily cut and filed by standard wood-working
or metal-working tools. The wear of the tools is however very severe, and the
type with replaceable blades is recommended, e.g., "Eclipse" sheet saw No. S6
and "Stanley Surform" planes and files. The bricks must be dry for easy cutting.
The ·~ atenary arch requires a simple form made from building boards and timber
laths. The requisite curve is drawn (upside down) by hanging a light chain against
a vel '(ical sheet of building board, adjusting to give the required span and height,
and marking with a pencil. Alternate courses of bricks need tapering to allow the
brickwork to conform closely to the curvature of the catenary arch. Also, for
stability, the alternate courses should contain half bricks to break the continuity
of the vertical joints.

- - --- -- ----------------------- -----------,
79
Because of the non-radiant nature of the L.P. gas flame the bag walls need
only be vestigial. Their purpose is to establish proper gas flow and protect green
ware from too-direct contact with flame. One inch thick walls made from the next
best grade of brick to that chosen for the kiln structure has been found to be
satisfactory. One inch "wafers" can be cut from standard bricks and cemented
together with the ordinary refractory mortar being used, or larger blocks may be
puchased and cut into approximately one inch wafers.
The third course of interior brick-work in the small kiln (fourth course in
the catenary) consists of loose blocks varying in width, which are placed in such a
pattern that the spaces between them provide the minimum gas flow consistent
with achieving desired temperatures. Larger apertures cause low gas velocities with
attendant loss of heat pick up at the base of the kiln, and an undesirable radiant
path from the cooler collector flues below. The secret of even temperature distribution
lies in careful spacing of these blocks. No infallible rule can be given, as
the optimum open area and distribution of spaces will depend on a number of
factors such as available stack daught, maximum temperature requirement, degree
of oxidation or reduction needed, and the time allowable for the heating-up cycle.
The dimensions shown for each kiln in the drawings are recommended as starting
points. The operator should be able to find the optimum settings for a particular
kiln and situation by trial and error, within the first few firings. Larger spaces
promote faster firing cycles and a greater tendency to oxidation, at the penalty of
lower bottom temperatures, and vice-versa.
The stack dimensions shown in the diagrams are considered to be the
minimum desirable for kilns designed to achieve 1300°C. Dampers are an essential
feature of the stacks. They provide control over the stack draught which in turn
determines the amount of secondary air drawn in around the burners. In standard
pottery practice oxidation means in effect that some 20 to 50 per cent excess air
is passing through the kiln . Effective reduction depends on a small percentage of
partially burned fuel passing into the stack-the higher the temperature the less
excess fuel is required to produce reducing conditions. Slow cooling is also
generally a requirement of ceramic firings, and here too the dampers are essential
in providing a method of closing down the kiln. For small kilns of the kind
described here the dampers are most conveniently made of refractory slabs. In
larger installations metal slabs are more satisfactory because they are not prone to
crack.
The three cubic foot rectangular kiln should be braced by placing angle irons
at the corners, and tying these together in mild compression with hoop iron or
steel wire binding. Many commercially made kilns are completely encased in a
sheet metal box. This provides a neat appearance but does not give any significantly
greater support for the brickwork. As indicated previously a full catenary arch
kiln does not, in theory, require bracing, however the kiln shown in the accompanying
drawings has short vertical sides below the arch. These need some form of
bracing against tbe disruptive effect of repeated expansion and contraction. In the
example illustrated the bracing consists of a substantial stack on one side and a rock
pile on the other. This simple expedient avoids the necessity of having removable
bracing rods across the door of the kiln.
It must be emphasised that the thinnest possible mortar joints are essential in
order to prevent excessive shrinkage and consequent wide cracks. The bricks are
not laid in the conventional way, but are given a thin smear of mortar and then
firmly rubbed into place. In this way excess mortar is squeezed out.
The external sheet insulation can be attached to the brickwork using airsetting
refractory mortar of the kind used for laying the brickwork.

80
Burners and Fuel
Several makes of burner are available for L.P. gas, and that noted in the drawings
is the only one which has been tested in these kilns. They are readily available
and have proved to be satisfactory in use. The design features which allow (a) easy
replacement of the stainless steel nozzle and; (b) control of kiln atmosphere by
blocking off primary air ports, are of especial value in this application.
The choice of size and number of gas cylinders which must be joined up to
the burners depends on the anticipated rate of gas consumption. The lower limit is
set by the fact that too heavy a drain on a cylinder of gas causes it to freeze up
because of evaporative cooling. This effect is most severe when cylinders are
nearing the empty state. As a general guide it can be stated that the smaller kiln
will just run satisfactorily, at full flow, from one 60 lb. cylinder, when more than
half full. In practice this means that not less than two 60 lb. cylinders should be
connected together on a manifold. The larger kiln requires two or preferably three
100 lb. cylinders on a common manifold if freezing in cold weather is to be
avoided. The level of liquefied gas in the cylinders is usually easily detected by
the layer of condensed water which collects on the outside of the cylinders, up to
the level of the contents. In the absence of condensate, weighing is the only
infallible method of determining content. Several types of pressure reduction valves
are available. The simplest type which provides three pressure steps only, has been
found to be satisfactory. A pressure gauge does not provide the operator with any
essential information.
Regulations concerning the storage of cylinders must be observed.
The burner ports should be carefully made to match in size, and the clearance
around the burner itself should be between t inch and * inch for normal practice.
If insufficient clearance is allowed not enough secondary air will be drawn into the
kiln, on full draught, to give oxidising conditions. Conversely, when reducing
conditions are required, the damper is partially closed to reduce the pull of the
stack, and thus reduce the flow of secondary air. It is better to start with a smallish
clearance, e.g., t inch and enlarge during the first fi ring if necessary. The ports are
flared towards the inside of the kiln as shown, and are merely cut into the
insulating brickwork with a file or abrasive rod. Special refractory burner blocks
are not necessary for this fuel.
Maximum fuel efficiency is achieved when only the correct amount of air
required for combustion is allowed into the kiln. At this point the carbon dioxide
content of the flue gases is between 13 % and 14% (wet basis) . The CO 2 content
falls if eithcr excess air (oxidation) or excess fuel (reduction) is present. In the
table relating to fuel consumption rates the degree of oxidation or reduction is
indicated by th e CO 2 figures. In round terms a "clean oxidising fire" by the
standards of a stoneware potter corres ponds with not less than about 25 % excess
air (1 0 % CO 2 ) , whereas reduction is easily achieved with a few per cent of excess
fuel (11 to 12 % CO 2 ),
Operation
In two-burner designs of the kind described here, it is desirable that each burner
should have separate fine-control by means of needle valves. In this way the output
of each burner can be closely matched throughout the firing cycle, to provide an
even temperatu re across the ware setting. For most ceramic work the firing is
commenced with very low burner settings, and at this stage it may be found that
the dampers have to be partly closed in order to avoid extinguishing the flame by
excessive draught.

81
It is desirable to construct the burner supports in such a way that the distance
between the nose of the burner and the face of the brickwork can be varied fJom
zero to an inch or so. This allows for further control over the admission ot
secondary air, as well as that exercised by the damper.
At temperatures above a good red heat the existence of reducing conditions
in the kiln is not usually accompanied by smoke, as is the case with most other
fuels. It therefore requires a little experience to gauge the degree of oxidation or
reduction, in the absence of equipment for analysing flue gases. As a guide however
it can be said that even a faint smell of partially burned gas in the vicinity of the
kiln is indicative of reduction. In the dark, also, the faint luminosity of reducing
flames emanating from spy holes, and passing damper openings, will be noted.
Thoroughly oxidising conditions are indicated by a clear view and sharp outlines
of objects in the kiln.
Gas Consumption
Records of gas consumption figures have been obtained for both kilns under a
variety of conditions. Representative figures of specific consumption (lb. per cubic
foot of kiln working space) are given in Table 2.
Footnote
The 12 cubic foot catenary kiln has also been fired successfully using natural gas
and bunsen-type burners.
Table I
Material Requirements
Part
Floor insulation
Sidewall insulation
Door insulation
Kaowool t inch
Kaowool I inch
First 2 courses
Third course
Fourth course
Bag walls
Higher courses
(incl. arch)
Lid or door
Stack ( I)
or (2)
or (3)
Burners (2 of)
Other
3 cu. ft. kiln
4 slabs 3' x 2' x 2" or 60 bricks
5 slabs 3' x 2' x 2"
2 slabs 3' x 2' x 2"
6 square feet
2 sq. feet (optional)
60 Insulating, std. size
30 Insulati ng, std. size
( Included below under higher
courses)
4 bricks or 2 block, 9" x 9"
100 Insulating, std. size
36 Insulating, std. size
6' of 5" diameter lagging
(high temp.)
100 plain firebricks, std.
100 rnsulating, std. size
Approx. capacity ea.,
4 lb.lhr. at 30 psi
30' light angle iron
50' clothes line or hoop iron
12 cu. ft. kiln
6 slabs 3' x 2' x 2" or 100 bricks
100 plain firebrick, std. size
2 slabs 3' x 2' x 2"
(high temp. type)
2 square· feet
12 sq. feet (optional)
JOO plain firebrick, std. size
40 Insu lating, std. size
40 Insu lating, std. size
6 bricks or 3 blocks, 9" x 9"
180 Insulating, std. size
40 Insulating, std. size
220 plain firebrick, std. size
220 red brick, std. size
Approx. capacity ea.,
7 Ib.!hr. a t 30 psi
6' x 3' x 3" mineral wool
blanket

82
Table 2
Fuel Consumption Figures
Conditions
3 cu. ft. kiln
Specific Consumption
(lb. per cu. ft. kiln space)
12 cu. ft. kilo
12 hour reduction firing
to 1250· C
-total specific consumption
11.0
7.0 (uninsulated)
5.0 (insulated)
120· C per hour rise at 1050· C
(per hour)
1.5
(neutral atm.)
I .33 per hour (I % excess fuel
uninsulated)
0.8 (5% excess air insulated)
----------------------I----------------~------
l250· C held. neutral atmosphere
(per hour)
2.0
(I % excess fuel) 0.9 (5% excess air insulated)
Hughan Kiln
Contact Potters' Gallery, 97A Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo, sending stamped,
addressed envelope, for further information on firing.
R. R. HUGHAN is Experimental Officer, Division of Tribophysics, C.S.I.R.O., Melbourne.
Book Reviews
HEMISPHERE, an Asian-Australian monthly magazine, features in its July, 1973,
issue a beautifully illustrated article on Chinese celadon glazes by Lorna Grover.
(See also Pottery in Australia, Vol. II, No. 1 and Vol. 11, No.2.) There is
information about the kilns of the Sung which, because of their design, enabled
the potters of that period to consistently produce these unique glazes. Examples of
pots from the collections in the National Gallery of Victoria, the Percival David
Foundation of Chinese Art in London, and from Dr. Leonard Cox, Melbourne,
are indicative of Chinese supremacy in this field of ceramics.
Peter Temm writes about William Adams, who came to Kyushu, Japan, in
1600 and whose life and times are studied by Japanese school children today.
Articles on Central Java, Fiji, and our Indian-Pacific railway are of additional
interest.
Hemisphere is obtainable from the Editor, P.O. Box 826, Woden, A.C.T.
2606. Annual subscription $A5.00 for 12 issues.
A HISTORY OF POTTERY, by Emmanuel Cooper. Longmans. Price $12.95.
Information which is reasonably detailed though not overspecialised is
presented in an outline history of pottery by Emmanuel Cooper, who also produced
A Handbook of Pottery in 1970. His A History of Pottery, published by
Longmans, $12.95, gives a broad outline of the major ceramic areas of the world
together with details of the technical knowledge available in the periods he discusses.
Ten well illustrated chapters, from early Mesopotamia 4500 B.C. , Islamic

83
countries, China, Japan, through to 20th century developments in ceramic attitudes
make a comprehensive introduction to further investigation by the student and
general reader into the art of the potter.
MAKING AND DECORATING POTTERY TILES, by B. D. Southwell. Faber
& Faber Ltd., London. Price $7.70.
Tile making has been a vexing task for many potters. Often the tiles crack,
shrink too much, curl at the edges, the glaze runs onto shelves-all to the chagrin
of the potter.
Some books on pottery have included sketchy chapters on the subject.
B. D. Southwell has established a reputation as a tile maker and believes others
should benefit from the knowledge gained. He found a willing publisher in Faber
& Faber who published a 126-page, well illustrated book, Making and Decorating
Pottery Tiles. No excuses now for not producing tiles by the score, if not perfect
from the start, at least good enough to tile the bathroom and kitchen before tackling
a major work.
The important thing, according to Mr. Southwell, is to be clear in mind why
you are making and decorating tiles-for individual use or that "grand" mural
someone rashly commissioned you to undertake.
Tiles have been used to record history, decorate mosques and harems, pubs
and churches, fireplaces and tables. The simplicity of shapes enables diversity of
design.
It is a stated aim of this book to establish tiles as objects in their own right
and to analyse and make familiar tile-making techniques so that the design is less
inhibited by the purely technical aspects of the craft thereby leaving the designer
free to work in a more creative manner.
Making and decorating handmade tiles is covered thoroughly, as is cast and
moulded tiles, together with the use and decoration of factory-made tiles. Each
technique is explained in an easy-to-follow lucid manner.
Decorative technique, with glazes, including on-glaze and under-glaze, are
gone into in some detail and the author provides many suggestions for coping with
the other associated problems.
The chapter on silk-screen printing on tiles tells how the equipment can be
constructed inexpensively and used to best effect. Suggestions on how tiles may
be used concludes the book.
This book will be a valuable addition to the libraries of both experienced and
beginner potters.-D.P.
A GUIDE TO GALLERIES AND POTTERIES IN AUSTRALIA is published
by Pottery in Australia and can be purchased from the Editor, 30 Turramurra
Avenue, Turramurra, 2074, or The Potters' Gallery, 97A Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo.
Priced at a modest 50 cents, the information given is comprehensive and
clear. All States are well represented with itemised information giving names,
addresses, telephone numbers and visiting hours.
CERAMIC REVIEW is a magazine published by the Craftsmen Potters Association
of Great Britain. It appears every other month and is fully illustrated.
Anyone interested in the making, history or teaching of ceramics will find
something fascinating in its pages. It has contributions from many well-known
potters dealing with all that is happening in Ceramics today, both in this country

84
and abroad. Techniques, trends, opinions, exhibitions and books - all these are
discussed and assessed.
A year's subscription (six issues) costs only £Stg2.50 if you live in the British
Commonwealth. Send your remittance to: Ceramic Review, 5 Belsize Lane,
London, NW3.
THE NEW ZEALAND POTTER is published twice annually, and is obtainable
rrom P.O. Box 12-162, Wellington North, New Zealand, at $2.20 per annum.
The Autumn issue features an article by Harry Davis, "Repaying our Debt to
Man's Culture" and an article by May Davis, describing their reasons for closing a
flou rishing pottery in N .Z. with their intention of building somewhere in Peru a
pottery which would revive the declining craft in that country. Roy Cowan
contributes another of his practical definitions, this time ''The Pollutionists Guide to
the Atmosphere".
CHOICE, the journal of the Australian Consumers' Association, Vol. 14, No.3,
March 1973, features a comprehensive article on "lead in pottery", and gives a
rundown on safeguards.
PUBLICATIONS available from the Editor, 30 Turramurra Avenue,
Turramurra, NSW 2074.
Pottery in Australia (back numbers) 2/ 2 (55 cents) ; 6/ 2 (75 cents); 9/ 1, 9/ 2,
10/ 1,10/ 2 ($1.00); 11/ 1, 11 / 2 ($1.50).
*Materials and Equipment:
1. Checklist for N.S.W. Potters (Revised and up-to-date) , 75 cents.
2. Checklist for Victorian Potters, 25 cents.
3. Checklist [or West Australian Potters, 25 cents.
*Booklets: (postage extra 7 cents per copy).
ELECTRIC KILN (Arthur Higgs): price 50 cents.
GAS KILN, CATENARY ARCH (Les Blakebrough) : price 50 cents.
GAS KILN, TOP LOADING (Ivan Englund): price 50 cents.
RAKU : price 50 cents. (Copies of earlier edition: 30 cents).
A SIMPLE WOODFIRED KILN (Ivan Englund): price 50 cents.
HIGH-TEMPERATURE WOOD-BURNING KILN (Ivan McMeekin):
price 50 cents.
POT BURNERS & VAPOUR JETS (Alan Peascod): price 50 cents.
A 10 cu. ft. OIL-FIRED KILN PLAN (Alan Peascod): price $3.00.
BRISBANE ROCK GLAZES, and
THE BUMBO LATlTE, both by Ivan Englund: price 30 cents each.
GALLERIES & POTTERIES TO VISIT IN AUSTRALIA: price 50 cents.
KICK-WHEEL PLAN (set of four diagrams): price $1.00
A DIRECTORY OF POTTERS: price $1.00.
"These booklets are reprinted from Pottery in Australia.

85
EXlllBITlONS
Maria Phillips Old Fire Station Gallery, Perth September, 1973
Peler Spronk Old Fire Station Gallery, Perth January, 1974
James Hall Narek Craft Gallery, April,1973
Canberra, A.C.T.
Pam Morse Potters' Gallery, May, 1973
Woolloomooloo, N .S.W.
Ray Hearn Hawthorne City Art Gallery, May, 1973
Melbourne, Vic.
Handbuilt Ceramics
Members' Exhibition
Potters' Gallery,
Woolloomooloo, N.S.W.
June, 1973
Alison Littlemore Gallery 16, Sydney, N .S.W. June, 1973
Heleo Whittle
Peter Travis Macquarie Galleries,
Canberra, A.C.T.
June, 1973
Judy Barrett Gallery 16, Sydney, N .S. W. July, 1973
John Gilbert Chameleon Galleries.
Mt. Eliza, Vic.
July, 1973
Peter Travis Realities. Toorak, Vic. July, 1973
Penny Smith Potters' Gallery.
Woolloomooloo, N.S.W.
August, 1973
Ken Leveson Bonython Art Gallery,
Sydney, N .S.W.
August, 1973
Peter Laycock
Phyl Dunn
Potters' Cottage
Warrandyte. Vic.
August, 1973
Peter Doblnson The Hayloft Gallery,
Bathurst, N.S.W.
September, 1973
Shiga Shigeo Aladdin Gallery OClOber, 1973
Joy Warren Gallery 16, Sydney, N.S.w. October, 1973
Members Potters' Society Potters' Gallery,
of Anstralia
Woolloomoo1oo, N.S.W.
October, 1973
Members Potters' Society C.M.L. Building, October, 1973
of Australia
55 Macquarie Street,
(Selective)
Sydney, N.S.W.
Nortb SIde Arts Festival B.M.A. Building, Pacific
Highway, Chatswood, N.S.W.
OCh.lber, 1973
Millon Moon Bonython Art Gallery,
Sydney, N.S.w.
October, 1973
Robert Molr Bonython Art Gallery,
Sydney. N.S.w.
October, 1973
Kathrin McMlles Gallery 16, Syd ney, N.S.W. November, 1973
Alan Peascod Potters' Gallery,
Woolloomooloo, N .S.W.
November, 1973
Sbiga Sblgeo Craft Centre,
South Yarra, Vic.
November, 1973
Judy Barrett The Hayloft Gallery,
Bathurst, N .S.W.
November, 1973
Robert Forster A laddin Gallery Decem ber, 1973
AJan Peascod Macquarie Galleries,
Canberra, A.C.T.
December, 1973
Xmas Exhibition Potters' Gallery,
Members Potters' Society Woolloomooloo, N.S.W.
December, 1973
Mixed Exhibition The Hayloft Gallery,
Bathurst, N .S.W.
December, 1973
Errol Barnes Aladdin Gallery January, 1974
Shirley Storey
Narek Craft Gallery,
Canberra, A.C.T.
February, 1974
Robert Forster N arek Craft Gallery.
Canberra, A.C.T.
April, 1974

86
COMPETITIONS
Goondiwindi AJ1s Festival
Royal Eru.'ter Show, Sydney
Victoria Ceramic Group
Exhibition
Muswellbrook (N's,W.)
Pottery Prize
Beaumaris Art Group
(Victoria) Exb'bition
Port Hacking Potters'
Group (N.S.W.l
Judge: Mervin Feeney October, 1973
Functional earthenware: Jeanie
Cameron
Stoneware thrown pot: Hugh
Broadfoot
Ceramic sculpture: T. Browne
Judge: Derek Smith April. 1973
Ceseo Prize-$30: A. Cohen
Royal Doulton Prize: A. Cohen
Judge: Reg Preston June, 1973
Shell Award: Nell Barker
Diamond Ceramics Prize :
Judy Van Ree
Blyths Award: Sylvia Halpern
V.C.G . Student Award : Greg
Daly
Judge: Margaret Tuckson July, 1973
$ 100 Acquisitive: Suzanne
Moore
Judge: Ian Sprague August, 1973
$150 Beaumaris An Group
Award: Greg Daly and Paul
Davis
$50 Shell Award : Harold
Dover
Judge: Ivan Englund August, 1973
Open- June Lord
Ceramic Sculpture-Claudia
Pivovarov
Decorative Ceramics-Claudia
Pivovarov
Utility Ware-Stella Fletcher
Raku-Janet Ma nsfield
Leichhardt Art Exhibition Ceramics Section- October, 1973
Judge: Ivan Englund
Open: best entry $75
Local potter: best entry $75
Results next issue
$500 Bathurst Ceramic Award: This award is given by the Mitchell
Regional Art Gallery Society, Bathurst, and is organized in collaboration
with the Potters' Society of Australia.
Judge: Bernard Sahm
Results next issue
Bendigo Pottery Award Details from W. Derham November, 1973
Plaque and Award $1 ,000
Bendigo Pottery Ply. Ltd.
Midland Highway, Epsom 3551
Festival of Perth February, 1974
Potters interested in exhibiting please contact Dorothy Crookes,
Gallery Director, Waterways Farm Studio, 2 I-mile Peg, I Gongbrook,
South West Highway, Armadale, W.A. 6112.
LECTURES
Christian Kaufman
Sepik Pottery
Nan Berkeley
Turkish ceramics
Joy Warren
Hiroe Swen
Hand-building techniques
Alan Peascod
Egyptian Pottery
Alan Peascod
Fostat-Old and New
Potters' Society and
Anthropological Society
Crafts Association of N .S.W _
Various pottery groups in
Tasmania
Ceramic Study Group, Sydney
Potters' Society of Australia
Port Hacking Potters' Group
25th June, 1973
6th July, 1973
16-20th July, 1973
26th July, 1973
28th July, 1973
June, 1973

87
Peter Rushforth
Design in Pottery
Clive Murray-White
(Sculptor)
"The exciting mass of primary
colours and sensible architecture
that are Service Stations"
John Giibert
"The Pottery Scene as I saw
it Overseas" and "My
Exhibition in Portugal"
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Crafts Association of N .S.W.
Design Seminar
Victorian Ceramic Group
Victorian Ceramic G roup
23rd August, 1973
August, 1973
October, 1973
INFORMATION FROM CERAMlC GROUPS is welcome. It sbould be sbort and coodscabout
150 words, and should reacb the editor by 15th March for the Autumn issue and by
15th August for the Spring issue.
Australia is to be the host country for the 1975 INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF
CERAMICS CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION which will take place in Sydney in Spring
of that year.
THE POTTERS' SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA initiated the moves whicb resulted in this
decision. The Society has been a corporate member of the 1.A.C. for seven years.
Tbe I.A.C. is a world body, baving consultative status with UN ESCO, with headquarters
in Switzerland. Its membership includes representatives of 48 countries, 23 ceramic associations
and more than 200 individual members who are eminent ceramists.
A DIRECTORY OF POTTERS has been compiled by POllery in Allstralia in response to
enquiries in Australia and overseas, for outline biographies of our potters. Such a listing is
subject to alteration from time to time. Additional names will be printed in POllery in A IIstralia
when required, and a revision of the Directory will keep it up to date at suitable intervals.
Obtainable from the Editor, 30 Turramurra Avenue, Turramurra, N .S.W. 2074. Price: SI.OO.
The POTTERS' SOCIETY SCHOOL at Woolloomooloo from time to time requires teachers
of pottery. Members wishing to be considered for these positions are invited to apply to tbe
Secretary, 97A Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo, N.S.W. 2011. Tel. 3571021.
SHIM PO WHEEL. A new feature of tbe Shimpo Wheel is an adjustable seat for easy attachment
to any wheel, in padded black vinyl. Cost, $25. This wheel can be ordered through the
Potters' Society at a total cost of $364.95 (including seat) . 97A Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo,
N .S.w. 201 I.
FACT ELECTRIC WHEEL. The Potters' Society now has the agency for the Fact Wheel.
There is a IO-day waiting list for this wheel. Cost $285 (includes tax) (S40 deposit) . 97A
Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo. N .S.W. 2011.
THE INTERNATIONAL CERAMIC EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE 1973. Ceramists
from eight countries were singled out by jurors to receive $17,000 in cash awards at the
Ceramics lnternational 73 exhibition which opened on August 28 at the Alberta College of
Art in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
A total of 660 artists from 32 countries submilled 1,493 items for jurying. Tbe international
jury, composed of Walter Droban, Calgary, Alberta; Ruth Duckworth, Chicago,
Illinois; Luke Lindoc, Medicine Hat, Alberta; Maurice Savoie, Montreal, Quebec; Kurt
Spurey, Vienna, Austria; and Peter Voulkos, Berkeley, California, spent three days selecting
the 223 piece. which were exhibited including the prize winners.
Twenty-one casb awards were distributed among 13 Americans, two Swiss and one
winner in eacb of the following countries: Canada, Belgium, Japan, Argentina, England and
Hungary. The work of C. Dionyse of Belgium was chosen to receive the top prize of S4,OOO.
Otber award winners are: Susan Kemenyffy, Albion. Pennsylvania, $3,000; Carol Jeanne
Furioso, Rochester, New York, $2,000; Robert M. Winokur, Horsham, Pennsylvania, a nd
Archibald Ganslmayr, Switzerland, each $1 ,000.
Winning S500 prizes are J. J. William Brown Ill, Schenectady, New York; Christine
Federighi, Alfred, New York; Billie Walters, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Albert I . Borch,
Calgary, Alberta; Tatsuo Daiman., Kyoto, lapan; Leo Tavella, Buenos Aires, Argentina;
Jayme Curley, Chicago, Illinois; and Leslie V. Johnson, Seattle, Washington.
Eight $250 prizes were given to: Peter John Simpson, Hants, England; Tamas Ortatay,
Budapest. Hungary; Heinz Gerber. Bern, Switzerland; Rostislav Eismont. Farmington.

88
Michigan; Paula Winokur, Horsham, Pennsy lvania; Gugo de Vegetales, Montgomeryville,
Pennsylvania; Erik Gronborg, Los Vegas, Nevada; and Vaea, Berkeley, California.
In addition to cash prizes, winners were presented with an official Ceramics International
73 medal designed by Olov Holmsten of the Alberta College of Art.
In association with the Academie Internationale de la Ceramique, the Alberta POllers'
Association co-sponsored the three-day international conference and the month-long exhibit,
the first to be held in North America.
PETER TRAVIS has been awarded the TOWN OF FAENZA GOLD MEDAL FOR CERAM IC ART IN
THE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION OF CONTEMPORARY CERAM IC ART 1973. This is the major
ceramic competition in the world, with representa tives of more than forty countries participating.
T he town of Faenza in Italy is internationally famous as a ceramic art centre. Presentalions
of awards were made in Faenza on July 22, 1973, and Peter was able to be there.
Peter Travis was chosen to officiall y represent Australia by the Australian Government
and his work was sent to Faenza by the Visual Ans Board. Peter also won a major prize at
the GDANSK EXHIBfTION IN POLAND in July.
MILT ON MOON has won the Geijutsu Fellowship in Creative An, given by the Myer
Foundation, Melbourne, for study in Japan. Two aspects of ceramics will be investigated.
Firstly, methods of teaching a nd postgraduate opportunities for potters, and secondl y, a study
of environmental ceramics. Fujiwara Yu has invited Milton to work with him at Bizen. As
well , Milton will spend time in the Kyoto, Haji, Karatsu and Shino areas.
Millon has just completed a Mandala for the University of Adelaide based on the Yin­
Yang, tbe ancient Chinese symbol of the principle of change.
The CERAMICS DEPARTMENT, SCHOOL OF ART, ADELAIDE, has just passed out
the fi rst graduates in the new Diploma course. As in other ceramics colleges older students
are now attracted to the pollery course, some already with art and teaching diplomas and
occasionally university degrees. With Milton Moon the teachers consist of Regi na Jugeitis
and Helen Pluck, who has had experience as a "trouble ' shooti ng" cbemist and clay technologist
at Stoke-on-Trent. Helen Herde bolds diplomas in Sculpture and Design (Ceramics),
and Margaret Dodd has studied in America. The school uses a two-chamber gas and woodfired
climbing kiln of 100 cubic feet, as well as a catenary a rch gas a nd wood-fired kiln.
The laller has a half catenary form at the back and the burners are fired horizontally to the
curved back.
BERT FLUGELMAN, in the sculpture department, is building a very large trolleyloading
catenary-arch kiln for that department. Milton says, "In ceramics the course seems to
centre around the wheel, maybe because of my obsession for the wheel. But students are free
to take whatever direction they wish. There', only one real demand-work. I firmly believe
that the learning is in the working."
ALAN PEASCOD has been appointed in charge of the Ceramics Section of the Technical
College in Canberra. An area has been set aside at the College for the building of a kiln
cnmplex wh ich will represent kiln types used for every available purpose and fuel. A 300
cubic foot oil-fired, tbree-chambered clim bi ng kiln is also being projected.
The Ceramics Sectinn nnw has a staff of twn full-time and six part-time teachers plus a
technical assistant. Professor Said EI Sadr joined the Canberra College in August to teach
research classes in lustre glaze techniques.
Alan will cnnduct a Summer School in Canberra, January 1974. Details from Alan at
Canberra Technical College, Acton 2601.
KEN LEVESON and JUDITH VAN REE are teaching at Latrobe University, Melbourne, in
the new pottery section.
MICHAEL FORD was awarded the major prize for the outstanding entry in ceramics in tbe
1973 Student Craft Exhibition. This is arranged annually by the Arts & Crafts Sociely of
Victnria and held at the Chadstone Auditorium. The exhibits are selected from final year
st udents in all art colleges in Victoria. Michael is this year completing his Diploma of Art
(Ceramics) at the Ballarat Institute of Advanced Education.
NORMAN HORN AND JOAN McPHERSON, with her husband, Lindsay, have built a new
stoneware kiln (designed by Bob Hughan ) at Castlecrag.
After over ten years on the Potters' Society of Australia Committee (most of the time as
Hon. Secretary) Joan has retired frnm the committee.
Norman, a former part-time teacher of ceramics at East Sydney Technical College i.,
and has been for the past ten years, with the Ceramics Engineering Department at University
of New South Wales.
Both Joan and Norman are lonking forward to gelling back to pOlling again. As well as
each producing their own individual pots, they will work in partnership under the seal of
"The Griffin Studio".

89
SUZANNE FORSYTH bas been working at a pottery in Bornholme, an island off tbe coast
of Denmark, designing utilitarian pottery. Travelling through Germany and France, Sue
intends to enrol in an Art School in England and to work for a time there.
Works by the leading Japanese palters, TAKEICHI KAWAI and SHIGEYA IWABUCHI,
have been presented to NEWCASTLE CITY ART GALLERY'S NAGANO COLLECTION
OF JAPANESE CERAMICS by Mitsui and Co. (Australia) Ltd.
The works are a decorated vase and a blue jar by Takeichi Kawai, and a tea bowl by
Shigeya Iwabuchi.
Kawai, who lives and works in Kyoto, the cultural capital of Japan, visited Australia in
1964. His exhibition in Sydney was the first one·man exhibition to be held in Australia by a
leading overseas artist potter. His work is traditional in approach. Into this he has introduced
a certain boldness and originality, offset by great decorative charm.
I wabuchi, who is already represented by several other works in the Nagano collection,
is one of Japan's leading contemporary potters. The Nagano Collection, named after the
Chairman of Nippon Steel Corporation, Mr. S. Nagano, was established last year to encourage
closer cultural relations between Australia and Japan.
All works in the collection have been presented by leading Japanese and Australian
companies. It includes several outstanding examples of the master of Japanese pottery, Shoji
Hamada.
THE BENDIGO POTTERY AWARD. The Bendigo Pottery (Epsom) Pty. Ltd. have
announced an important pottery exhibition which will be held at the Camberwell Civic
Centre in November, 1973.
The major prize will be "The Bendigo Pottery Award", a plaque and cash prize of $1 ,000.
This is planned as the largest pottery exhibition in Australia. All pottery will be for sale
(proceeds to the Southern Memorial Hospital, Brighton) and the "Bendigo Pottery Award"
piece will become the property of the Bendigo Pottery, and will be on loan to galleries
throughout Australia on request.
Further details will be published as they come to hand. In the meantime, enquiries may
be directed to Mr. W. Derham, Bendigo P'oltery (Epsom) Pty. Ltd., Midland Highway,
Epsom 3551.
THE VICTORIAN ARTS AND CRAFTS SOCIETY has moved its address from Crossley
Street to Number 32A Lower Plaza, of the Southern Cross Hotel, Melbourne. We extend an
invitation to all visitors to Melbourne to come to the new premises to view examples of the
Melbourne Crafts Scene. The Society has been very busy in the last few months, with the
shop and gallery move, the Annual Student Craftsmen Exhibition at the Chad stone Shopping
Centre, and in addition to our annual major craft exhibition at the Chad slOne Auditorium,
this year the society also held a large selling exhibition of its members' work at the A.M.P.
Centre in Collins Street.
The Society would like to extend a warm welcome to its many new members and hope
they will join with us in projects of the future.
If any reader is interested in either joining or finding out more about the Arts and
Crafts Society of Victoria, please contact the office at-32A Lower Plaza, Southern Cross
Hotel, Bourke Street. Melbourne, or Telephone Melbourne 63 1644.
THE POTTERY AT BATHURST ISLAND is now well on the way. At the instigation of the
Australian Council for the Arts Ivan McMeekin carried out an investigatory study in 1971.
With the present co-operation of Bishop O'Laughlan of the Catholic Mission, and on his
initiative, the recommendations of the feasibility study are being implemented. A building is
completed, a year's supply of clay has been dug, and storage bays, wedging benches a nd
drying beds have been built. It is hoped to have the wheels and the 40 cu. fl. kiln installed
and the whole unit functioning by February, 1974. There are four Aborigines involved in
the project at present, headed by Eddie Puruntatameri , who started his training with Michael
Cardew in 1968. This is now a Catholic Mission project with assistance from Tvan McMeekin
and one of his pupils, Terry Colvin.
FURTHER RESEARCH INTO THE POTTERY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA. In Aug.!Sepl.
1972 Sonia Farley accompanied Margaret Tuckson to Tumleo Island, Dagua area on the
north coast, to villages in the foothills of the Prince Alexander Mountains and to Marawai,
on the Sepik River. Tn May/ June, 1973, the research was continued with Annette McDonald
of Wewak in the fo llowing areas: Admiralty Islands, Vanimo, Leitre, Tumleo Island , Lumi,
Nuku, Kaiep, Terebu, several villages in the "kunai country" north of the Sepik River, and
the Marienbcrg Hills. The May/ June trip was financed by a grant from the Craft Board of
the Australian Council for the Arts. Poltery was collected for the Museum in Port Moresby
and for the Australian Museum in Sydney.
Again in Aug.!Sepl. 1973 with Sonia Farley, the pot-making villages in the Madang
area and on the Ramu River were examined, also islands in the Milne Bay District.

90
MALINA REDDISH was invited by the Department of Business Development, Port Moresby,
to run a 3-wcek course in the design of domestic ware for the Pottery Project at the Small
Industries Centre in Port Moresby in Aug.!Sept. 1973.
Malina joined Margaret Tuckson for the last 10 days of research in the Milne Bay area.
CERAMIC STUDY GROUP. The enthusiasm whicb is always evident at the Ceramic Study
Group activi ties has been no less evident during this year. Joan Campbell, renowned Western
Australian potter, conducted a three-day symposium for the Group, and working bees were
organized to prepare the area at the home of Mollie and Sid Grieve, staunch Ceramic Study
Group supporters, who offered the use of their garden for the symposium. Ted Jones was
responsible for the building of a "lift-off" kiln, and participants at the school were supervised
by Joan in the building of a pit kiln.
Now, three months later, it is interesting to see the effect Joan had. People realise that
raku pots can be more than pinch pots or tea bowls-they have seen it done- and what is
more important, they are "Daring to Discover" that they too can do it.
The Grieves have now given the Ceramic Study G roup permission to use the lower part
of their garden for kiln building and fi ri ng. Members rallied round and relocated the two
kilns, cleared land , built steps, and made a platform ready for a salt kiln. These faci lities are
available for the use of small groups of Ceramic Study Group members.
The location of the library and the permanent collection at 64 West Street, Crows Nest.
has proved reaonably popular, and the committee hope that members will make increased
use of it. There have been many additions to the already extensive library this year, and its
facilities have been offered to members of The Potters' Society. There has been one new
acquisition to the permanent collection of pottery.
The Spring School was held from 21st to 28th September this year at Westwood Lodge.
Mount Victoria, a charming old two-storied house which has been completely restored, and
is set in several acres of bushl and. The tutors were Alan Peascod, lecturer at Canberra
Technical College, and Kathrin McMiles, lecturer at Macquarie University.
The very informative Newsletter has been of inval uable assistance, particularly to
country members who do not have the same opportunities as city potters.
The Group hold their general meeting on the fourth Thursday of each month, and so far
this year have had potters of the calibre of Margaret Tuckson, Gillian Grigg, Joan Campbell
and Hiroe Swen to lecture and demonstrate. For details of the Ceramic Study Group, write
to Box 5239, G.P.O., Sydney.
THE VICTORIAN CERAMIC GROUP bas had a rewarding year, under the leadership of
our President Noel Flood and with the co-operation of an enthusiastic, hard-working
committee. Lectures have been stimulating and thought provoki ng. Workshops have included
sessions for beginners with the fi rst being a successful day on Majolica and Wax Resi.t
Decoration and the second on Mould Making. Reg Preston conducted an excellent workshop
on Stoneware Glazes and Glaze Techniques. There were three of these sessions and all were
booked out. The visit of Mr. and Mrs. Fujiwara to Melbourne was a highlight and we spent
a very exciting and stimulating five days learning about Bizen and the Japanese approach to
pottery. The Annual Exhibition was held in June, when fo ur Acquisitive Awards were won
and these will be added to the Group's growing collection. Four more pots by the following
were purchased this year-Alan Caiger-Smith, Peter Travis, Phyl Dunne and Reg Preston.
We are in the throes of findi ng a home for the collection and hope to announce this in the
New Year. The "Kiln Crawl" has been arranged for October this year and will interest all
members who intend to bu ild their own kilns.
Enquiries re membership or information can be directed to the Secretary, P.O. Box 4096,
Spencer Street, Melbourne 3001.
June, 1973, must surely go down as a landmark in the history of the QUEENSLAND
POTTERS' ASSOCIATION. It included a three-day workshop with Ivan Englund, a visit
from Bizen potter, Fujiwara Yu, and the signing of a contract on a lovely old bouse in
Red Hill, the permanent address of Queensland Potters' Association.
Ivan Englund's School included a throwing demonstration, the building of a 9 cu. ft.
gas kiln and lectures On middle-fire glazes a nd once-fired work.
For the kiln the metal casing was made beforehand and bricks cut and laid, then lid
sections assembled. The kiln has since been fired several times and is a beauty.
We had lectures on middle-fired glazes and on once-firing and raw dipping technique •.
Ivan turned and glazed the pots he had thrown, demonstrating the special techniques required
for glazing leather-hard ware. He also explained how to calculate a glaze using a local rock
- Toowoomba basalt.
It was a stimulating and informative weekend, made all the more enjoyable by his
outgoing personality and sense of humour. Enquiries to M. McN aught, C/ o 173 Latrobe
Terrace, Paddington, Qld. 4064.

91
The GOONDIWINDI AND DISTRICT CREATIVE ART GROUP had its first vacation
school from 21st to 29th July, 1973, with special emphasis on the youth of the district.
Mervyn Feeney judged the pottery section in the 1972 Goondiwindi Arts Festival, prizes
going to Ieane Cameron (Buderim), Hugh Broadfoot (Toowoomba), T. Browne (Mooroochydore).
Enquiries about the Group to Moira McMaster, "Jindabyne", Bungunya, Qld.
4316.
The GLADSTONE AREA POTTERS' GROUP, GLADSTONE, QLD. formed in March this
year with 40 members, held an exhibition at Easter, just nine weeks after the Group formed,
called "A Festival of POlS". It ran for eight days and was a great success. A pre-Christmas
exbibition is also planned for November.
Two members, Bette Mack and David Robinson, have a joint exhibition at the "Gallery
Up Top" in Rockhampton. Enquiries to: Jennie Elliott, 16 Golding Street, Gladstone, Qld.
4680.
CENTRAL COAST POTIERS' SOCIETY. During the year there was a varied programme
-debate on local clays by Ian Gregory, Norm Bannard and Ivan Englund; displays by Joan
Matthews, Belte. Beazley and Ruby Trevaskir of pots purchased in New Zealand.
In the May holidays we participated in a weekend school conducted at the Terrigal
Workshop by Malina Reddish. Her sense of humour and command of her subject helped
even raw recruits to enjoy the whole weekend.
The July weekend school taken by Lois Rodrick concentrated on glazes-their ingredients
and application. Lois patiently took us through the process of calculating the necessary
quantities for a glaze recipe from the molecular formula given in Daniel Rhodes' took. An
easier method of selecting a glaze by using "line blends" was used in our experiments during
the weekend for formulating leadless glazes. The fact emerged that all lead less frits for
earthenware glazes contain Boric oxide, which tends to give a blue tinge to clear glazes
made with them. When copper oxide is used as a colorant the result is usually turquoise.
Kulnura Basalt dust and wood ash were other ingredients with wbich we experimented.
During August we had a Raku Day at Joan Rogers' home, Chillamurra Gardens, Terriga!.
The bus trip by our society on 28th July, to visit Peter Dobinson for the opening of his
salt glaze kiln at Allendale, was most interesting. From there we visited Wyndham Estate,
Dalwood Winery for a barbecue lunch and the juice of the grape, and then to the very
modern winery, "Rotbbury's", also in the Hunter Valley. To finish off a very enjoyable day
we called at the new Pokolbin Art Gallery housed in an old cburcb tbere.
We participated in an exhibition and demonstration at a "Back to Pioneering Days
Happening" at Henry Kendall Cottage grounds, West Gosford on 20th October, as part of
the 150th Centenary Celebrations of the first land grant on the Central Coast. Enquiries:
Narelle Howard, 64 Sunrise Avenue, Budgewoi, N.S.W. 2263.
Our Annual Pottery Exbibition will be held on Saturday, 10th November and Sunday,
11th November at the Pre-School Kindergarten, Gosford Waterfront. Enquiries to Joan
Matthews ( Publicity Officer), 637 Pacific Highway, Narara, N.S.W. 2251.
The NEWCASTLE CERAMIC GROUP is having a very busy fund-raising year. During
February we decided to purchase a building at 57 Bull Street, Cooks Hill, which is to be
known as the "Newcastle Ceramic Centre". When final council approval is given we hope to
use it for most of our major activities. We are currently holding our monthly meetings at the
Centre on the third Saturday of each month.
This year has brought forward several special events - a bus tri p organised to inspect
Shiga Shigeo's workshop, and three successful weekend schools at which the guest potters
were Gillian Grigg, Roswitha Wulff and Shiga Sbigeo. Two more schools are planned before
Christmas. The Raku day in July gave many pleasing results from the reduction of our copper
and "mystery" glazes.
Our membership is now close to 100, over one-third of our members having joined the
Group this year. Our annual exhibition will be beld in October. Enquiries: Ken Harder,
7 Alderson Street, Shortland 2307.
PORT STEPHENS POTTERY GROUP. The Annual Meeting was beld at the "Den" on
Friday, 4th May and was well attended. A review of the work done and the busi ness of the
Group was given by the President, Mrs. Peg Newman. She outlined the progress throughout
the year from the garage of one of the members to our present abode, the " Den", Anna Bay,
also through the good offices of one of our members. After a great deal of self help the
Ministry of Cultural Activities backed our efforts by two grants which put us on our' feet
and which is being used further to purchase an electric wheel to sUl'plemenl the home-made
one now in Use. This will be a very valuable addition. Tbe small kIln, also a member's gift,
has been put in order and will make the firing and glazing of pots a much faster process than
has been possible formerly. Enquiries: V. McBean, Tel. 811641 OR K. Munkley, Tel. 811175.

92
THE ART AND CRAFT CENTRE AT COOTAMUNDRA, now entering its eighth year,
conducted a weekend pottery school recently at which twenty of the members participated.
The tutor, Alan Peascod, opened the school with a slide evening of his travels in Egypt,
the focus being on pottery through the ages in the Middle East. He gave instruction in
handbuilt slab forms and in making pots using various coil techniques. The members were
inspired with new ideas on design and are looki ng forward to another successful school in a
few weeks. This time the emphasis will be on the building and firing of kilns.
NORTH-WEST POTTERS' SOCIETY OF TASMANIA. 1973 has been a good year for the
Society- indeed for the whole State and there are now Societies in Launceston and Hobart.
In June a demonstration weekend at Burnie was given by Edward Shaw of Hobart, who
had spent 4 years in European and U.K. potteries. In September, Les Blakebrough took a
weekend school at Devonporl.
Good films have been shown including: "Potters of La Borne" (France), Bjorn Wiinblad
(Denmark) , Barry Brickell (New Zealand) Scandinavian Ceramics, and "Animated Clay".
In May, Gerald Makin of Ulverstone had an interesting exhibition of small scale ceramic
sculptures. Currently in Burnie is the N.S.W. Travelling Craft Exhibition with its strong
ceramic entry. In October the Society will mount its third Annual Exhibition-this year at
Devonport's Little Gallery.
During Sept.IOct., at Sabemo House, Sydney, a selection of representative pottery was
on show in an exhibition of Tasmania's craftsmen.
It has been a fillip for our Society that local craftswoman Cons Edbrooke has gained
mention in the MusweJlbrook competition for the second year running and this followed a
double success at this year's Sydney Easter Show.
The most important local development has been the successful establishment of "sub
regional" groups in each of the North-West Towns and also some West Coast mining
towns. T his move has helped to overcome some of the problems posed by the highly dispersed
settlement pallern of North-West Tasmania.
THE CRAFT CENTRE in Toorak Road, South Yarra, will reopen on the 7th January, 1974,
under the new directorship of Gordon Thomson, previOllsly associated in London, Adelaide
and Melbourne with the travel industry.
The aims and intentions are to painstakingly maintain the high standard of work
presently being shown at the Craft Centre and basically the work handled will be the same
but with the addition of paintings.
Two new aspects of the Centre will be however, the full usage of the allracti ve area
upstairs and the Japanese style courtyard at the rear of the building.
The opening exhibition will include the first Melbourne showing of the work of
Adelaide-born artist Christopher Coventry - this combined with pottery from some of
Australia's leading potters. Alan Caiger-Smith is also sending work from Aldermaston.
Exciting new jewellery will also be included in this opening show .
• Gift Vouchers - for the purchase of pots from the Potters' Gallery, or for
the annual subscription to Pottery in A ustralia, are available from the "Potters'
Gallery, 97A Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo". Please mark envelope "VOUCHER",
and state amount - $2 to $2.000.
AGENT FOR SHIMPO WHEEL
The Polters' Society of Australia is agent for the Shimpo Wheel.
Demonstration model can be seen at the Potters' Gallery, 97a Bourke Street,
Woolloomooloo, NSW Telephone 357-1021

93
THE
POTTERS'
GALLERY
97a BOURKE STREET
WOOLLOOMOOLOO NSW 2011
TELEPHONE: 357.1021
THE POTTERS' SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA
Now open five days a week-Tuesdays to Saturdays (closed
Sundays and Mondays) 10.30 am to 5.30 pm
Stoneware, Earthenware and Porcelain pots by
Members of the Potters' Society of Australia
Gilt Vouchers ayallable for pots or lor subscriptions to Pottery in Austraila
NEW SUB S C RIP T ION Application Form
Pottery in Australia
30 TURRAMURRA AVENUE
TURRAMURRA NSW 2074
Annual Subscription
(including postage)
Two issues per annum
SA3
SUSS
SCanS
£Stg.1.50
Name (block letters)
Mr./Mrs.!Miss .
Street
Town .
.. State .. Postcode
Subscription to commence with Issue No . .
(Cheques. Money Orders and Postal Notes should be made payable to
Pottery iu Australia. Stamps are not acceptable.)

94
THE POTTERS' SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA
SUMMER SCHOOLS, JANUARY, 1974
at
THE NATIONAL ART SCHOOL
EAST SYDNEY TECHNICAL COLLEGE
THE POTTERS' SOCIETY SCHOOL,
WOOLLOOMOOLOO
and at
THE CANBERRA TECHNICAL COLLEGE, A.C.T.
Earthenware and Stoneware courses for beginners,
experienced and advanced students.
All tutors will be leading Australian potters, presenting their own
speciality in design, making technique, firing etc.
For enrolment forms and jurther details-
The Hon. Secretary for Summer Schools
97a Bourke Street
Woolloomooloo, N.S.W. 2011
Telephone 357 1021
The Potters' Society School, Woolloomooloo, has engaged two new tutors-Janet
De Boos and John Turvey-who, with Head Teacher Peter Travis, and June Lord
are conducting classes covering specific needs for all ceramic students, both
advanced and beginners.
The classes at the School cover all temperature and clay ranges-earthenware,
middle range, and stoneware, and all aspects and methods of ceramic technique,
using both oxidising and reducing firings.
Classes:
Peter Travis: Monday Evening 1
Tuesday Evening General and specialist classes covering
Tuesday Morning appraisal, glaze, and mural design.
Tuesday Afternoon
June Lord: Wednesday MOrning} General classes for beginners and some
Thursday Morning experience leading into clay glazes at
Thursday Evening stoneware temperatures.
John Turvey: Wednesday Evening General class.
Janet De Boos: Saturday Afternoon General class.
A II enquiries :
The Potters' Gallery, 97a Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo
Tel. 357 1021.

9S
CLAY
RUSSELL COWAN PTY. LTD.
GLAZES
Materials and Equipment for the Craft Potter
White Earthenware and Stoneware
Terra Cotta-Plain, mix and Tile Mix
Fine Milled Terra Cotta 13M
Stoneware Clays-Red and Buff-with or without
grog. White and coloured Slips
Extensive range of all types, Ferro, Podmore and
others, Ferro Frits
RAW MATERIALS A complete range of raw materials for bodies
and Glazes. Colouring Oxides and many sundry
materials for the Craft Potter
COLOURS Meirswann Underglaze Colours, Body Stains, Glaze
Stains, Onglaze Colours. Ferro Glaze Stains
GOLD AND LUSTRES Hanovia Liquid Bright and Matt Golds.
Palladium and Lustres, etc.
KILN FURNITURE Acme Maries Kiln Bats, for all Kilns
Kiln Props, plain and castellated
Kiln Prop Fittings
Gimson Cranks for Tableware and Tile Setting
Stilts, Spurs, Saddles, etc.
Cones-Standard and Miniature
KILNS
WHEELS
TOOLS
BOOKS
Ward Kilns-Complete Range of all Ward equipment
Ward-Bailey Kick Wheel, Turntables, etc.
Large range of Tools in wood, wire and steel for
Craft Pottery, Mouldmaking, Sculpture, etc.
Books on all aspects of Pottery and other crafts
SUNDRIES Corks, Taps, Tile Punches, Cutting Bows, Tongs,
Calipers, Slip Trailers, Rubber Kidneys, etc.
Supplies to Government Departments and Schools throughout
Australia, New Zealand and T.P.N.G .
128-138 Pacific Highway, Waitara, N.S.W. 2077
Telegrams: RussellCowan Phone 470294

96
aladdin's
specialising in australian and old ceramics
current exhibition:
"THE QU IET GLORY OF KHMER"
re prese nt ing th e fou r major ceramic chronological
groups fr om th e Ko mboya culture:-
• KUlEN
10th Cent.
• BAPHUON 11th Cent.
• ANGKOR WAT ea rly 12th Cent.
• BAYON
late 12th-13th Cent.
tol 3SB 4493
aladdin gallery
4S elizabeth boy rd $Ydney
Day and Evening Pot1ery Classes
WORKSHOP
ARTS CENTRE
Instruction In preparation of clay. slob-built pots.
coil pots, wheel work, various glozlngs, stacking and
firing.
Trud; Alfred 328 1037
John Turvey 5298461
Term 3
Te rm 1
10 Sept.· 1 De

97
HI-TEMP FURNACE COMPANY
PTY LTD
3 Cambridge Lane Paddington 2021 Telephone 31-3365
Inspect our kilns and ceramic equipment at the above address
in use in a production pottery and in school conditions.
MANUFACTURERS, SUPPLIERS, AND AGENTS FOR
HI-TEMP KILNS GAS AND ELECTRIC FOR POTTERY,
GLASS ANNEALING, FURNACES. INDUSTRIAL KILNS,
CUSTOM BUILT TO FIRE TO 150QoC
HI-TEMP L.P. GAS BURNERS AND ANY GAS OR ELECTRIC
KILN COMPONENT PART REQUIRED
HI-TEMP KILN CONTROL PANELS FOR ELECTRIC KILNS.
KILN REPAIRS AND REMOVALS
REGNU ELECTRIC WHEEL, STUDIO PUGMILL AND
DE-AIRING PUGMILL
VENCO KICK WHEEL, PUGMILL, VARIABLE SPEED ELECTRIC
WHEELS, STANDARD AND TABLE MODEL
NEWBOLDS BRICKS AND ANY OTHER REQUIREMENTS
WALKERS CLAYS, STONEWARE AND EARTHENWARE
GLAZE, OXIDES AND LIQUID WAX
FOR HIRE: TABLE MODEL PORTABLE WHEEL
Brochure available on request

98
narek craft galleries
Canberra
Representing Australian Craftsmen Working in:
Pottery Silver Leather G lass
Weaving Furniture Batik Prints
66 Carnegie Crescent
Narrabundah A.CT.
Phone: 959063
Karen Beaver
Betty Beaver
POTTERY SUPPLIES
262 Given Terrace, Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland, 4064
• Clays-Local, Southern and English.
• Wheels-Craig, Fact, Shimpo and Venco.
• Kilns-Ward (Electric), Cockram (Gas).
• Pugmills-Venco and Wengers.
• Glazes-Powdered and Brush-on,
Cowan, Cesco, Blythe, Ferro and Wengers.
• Minerals, tools, kiln furniture, bungs, taps etc.
China blanks and colours. Coppershapes, shim, findings
and colours.
Distributor for-RUSSELL COWAN, WENGERS LTD. FACT WHEELS
Agent for-ALEXANDER, BLYTHE, CESCO, CHINACRAFT
Phone: 363633
laburnum gallery
for
quality australian handcraft
ceramics
copper
graphics
jewellery
pewter
weaving
woodcraft
workshop
9a salisbury avenue
blackburn, 3130
-_____________________ ~
__ ~

99
SHIMPO ELECTRIC POTTERS' WHEEL
(Now monufactured in Australia)
MODEL RK'2
Price: $297.00 ex Factory
Plus Sales Tax
(larger drip troy with storoge copacity)
OPTI O NAL EXTRA:-Detcchable seat with adjustable height.
Price: $18.00
Wheel Head speed 0-200 RPM
Clockwise and anti-clockwise rotation
This compact wheel utilizes Ring and Cone principle to ensure
smooth and accurate running
Fadory:
Automatic Accessories Pty. l td .
27·29A Hall 51, •• 1
Hawthorn fad, Vidori a, 3123
20·7891
Sales Offices:
VICTORIA
Automatic Accessories Pty. Ltd .
27·29A Hall 51, •• 1
Hawthorn East, Victoria. 3 123
20·7891
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Au toma tic Accessories pty. Ltd.
58-60 King William Street
Adelaide, South Australia, 5000
63·5307
WESTERN AUSTRALI A
Meg Sheen
42 The Avenue
Ned lond s. W.A. 6009
862457
N.S.W.
The Potters' Society of Austra lia
970 Bourke Street
Woolloomooloo, N.S.W. 2011
357·1021- 95·1448
Automatic Accessorilis Pty. Ltd.
27 G rosveno r Street
Neutral Soy
N.S.W.2089
90-4502 - 90-4495
finance can be arranged
Motar t HP 240 VAC
Weight 106 Ibs

l
100
I
WOODROW & PARTNERS PTY.
OFFICE & WORKS:
2 WAINE STREET, HARBORD, NSW, 2096
TELEPHONE :
93.1220, 939.2242
• TOP QUALITY KILNS ON
REASONABLE DELIVERY.
• LITERATURE ON REQUEST
WITHOUT OBLIGATION.
• APPROVED BY AUTHORITIES.
• WRITTEN GUARANTEE
• PYROMETERS STOCKED.
• UNITS AVAILABLE FOR INSPEC·
TION.
• UNITS CURRENTLY IN USE IN:-
QUEENSLAND
TASMANIA
• STANDARD DESIGNS & CUSTOM
DESIGNED UNITS.
N.S.w.
A.C.T.
PAPUA
NEW GUINEA
• STANDARD DESIGNS FOR L.P.
GAS & ELECTRICALLY HEATED
UNITS.
• CUSTOM DESIGNS
FOR ALL FUELS.
VICTORIA
FIJI
NORTHERN TERRITORY
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
The EK MK II Earthenware
Electric Kiln.
Inexpensive to Purchase.
Simple to Operate.
Totally Reliable &
Inexpensive to use.
Widely used In State
& Private Schools.
2'14 cu. ft . capacity.

101
I MIT E D I Kiln Manufacturers
• POTTERY KILNS
• CHINA PAINTING KILNS
• ENAMELLING KI LNS
• KILN REPAIRS
• KILN REMOVALS
ALSO AVAILABLE THROUGH
~ ROCKLEY MACHINERY CO.
PTY. LTD.
742 Beaudesert Road
Coopers Plains, Queensland
~ ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING
SERVICES
Church Street, Kingston
Tasmania
~ CRAFTS CENTRE
20 Pickerings Arcade
Charlestown
~ CRAIGLIE POTTERY
Cook Highway via
Port Douglas, North Queensland
~ COMMERCIAL ELECTRIC CO.
167 Newcastle Street, Fyshwick
Australian Capital Territory
L.P. Gas Fired
Stoneware Kilns.
Multi-Purpose
Electric
Stoneware Kilns.

102
Colour Slides
35 mm Colour Slides reproduced from the original large colour
transparencies used in the book Australian Pottery will soon be
available. Price: $1 .00 per slide - 75c per additional sl ide of the
same picture.
Black and white prints are also available from the same book.
Price: 10 x 8-$2.50, 12 x 10-$3.50. Large display prints also
obtainable.
Commissions to photograph pottery and other illustrative and
commercial work undertaken at reasonable rates.
Full details from:­
DOUGLAS THOMPSON
22 HUNTER STREET SYDNEY PHONE 282282
ONE-MAN OPENING EXHIBITION 7NOV-7DEC/73
VISit this unique artists! gallery
(set among rolling hills and over.
looking the National Capital)
with its emphasis on top
qual ~ y sculptural ceramics
Besides a permanent displayof
hiFOOSWener
a wide range of sophisticated
Australian souvenirs can be
inspected daily between 2·5pm
Closed all day Wednesdays
Pastoral Gallery is within
easy reach and easy to find
Just look for the distinctive
orange-tWhite emblem-flags on
the rih side of 0J0ma Road
travelling towards RoyaJla •
The gallery1s entrance is
4Y2miles south ofQ.Jeanbeyan
Please address enquiries to
PO Box 381 Q!beyan 2620
Telephone (Canberra) 971515
(STD areacode062)
Directors H+C S'NEN
pastoralga

103

104
00
ALAN PEASCOD
* POTS
* KILN DESIGNS
* BURNER DESIGNS
* CONSULTATION: KILNS, BURNERS AND
FIRING PROCEDURESt
27 SELLWOOD STREET
HOLT, A.C.T. 2615
tCONSULTATiON SUBJECT TO FEE
STAN GAS
MANUFACTURERS OF GAS FIRED
POTTERY KILNS
Special ists in L.P., Town Gas, and
Natural Gas, fired kilns
Earthenware to Stoneware kilns to suit
Professional and Home Potters
Custom designs to suit Schools and Colleges
For Information contact
THE MANAGER
STANGAS
84 MOLAN STREET, RINGWOOD 3134
Fantasia Gallery
7 Broadbent Street, Scullin, A.C. T. 2614
PERMANENT DISPLAY
POTTERY
JEWELLERY
WEAVING
PAINTINGS
SCULPTURE
REGULAR ONE MAN AND MIXED EXHIBITIONS BY
LEADING ARTISTS AND CRAFTSMEN
AGENT FOR DILLY WHEELS-ENQUIRIES WELCOMED
Director: Susan Gillespie
Monday- Wednesday-Friday-Sunday 10 am·6 pm or by appointment Phone 54 2038

---- ------ --
105
THE DILLY POTTERS' EQUIPMENT
THE "DILL V" MARK III
POTTERS' WHEEL
This sit-down, low-slung model, with foot
operated variable speed (O-120 rpm) makes it
the ultimate in the pottery field. The new
adjustable (removable) seat for height and leg
room is most suitable for home-school-teaching
studios and commercial applications.
Motorised with 240V AC '14 hp Vibration-Free
Motor, having a maximum throwing load of
25 Ibs. Patent No. 288112.
Table and stand up models also available.
THE "DILL V" ELECTRIC
POTTERS' KILN
A top-loading kiln with a capacity of 60 Ibs.
Inside measurements 15" x 15" x 18" deep.
The lid can be raised to accommodate tall pots.
Temperature range to 1280' C on either
single or two-phase power.
Sturdy metal Frame with heat resistant
asbestos cladding.
Top quality K23 Bricks with Kanthal Wire
Elements. Drying Rack on Lid.
Pyrometer and Temperature Gauge extra.
Delivery-14 days.
THE "DILL V" GAS POTTERS'
KILN
A top-loading kiln with a capacity of 4.8
cubic ft. Inside measurements 20" x 20" x 21 "
Can be operated on L.P. Gas or Town Gas.
1st Quality Insulation. Economical Single
4 Jet Burner.
Uses only approx. 20 Ibs Gas per firing.
Temperature range to 1300' C.
Lid can be raised to accommodate tall pots.
Drying Rack on Lid.
Weighs only 320 Ibs. (Portable).
Pyrometer and thermocouple Extra. Delivery
14 days.
Enquiries to Manufacturer DoAIl Service Ply Ltd, 12·14 Nile Street,
Wooloongabba, Brisbane 4102. or
Austral Engineering Supplies pty Ltd P.O. Box 78 Paddington 4064.
Bill Reid. Studio 21 Beach Parade, Surfers Paradise 4217.

106
I
POTTERY
JEWELLERY
HANGINGS
SCULPTURE
JOANNA ANDERSON
HOURS: 10 AM TO 5 PM TUES. TO SAT .
• 16 Elizabeth St., Paddington 2021 Phone 31 4687
THE POTTER'S WHEEL
Neutral Bay
Day and Evening Pottery Classes
Beginner, Intermediate & Special Classes
also Children's Classes
Tuition in small groups
Excellent facilities available
Hire Facilities available to Potters
Electric & Kick Wheels
Glazing & Kilning
Quality Pots For Sale
Tiles and Large Pots a Speciality
THE POTTER'S WHEEL PTY. LTD.
27A Grosvenor Street
Neutral Bay 2089
Phone 909 3583

GAE BLER IN DUSTRI ES
Manufacturers:
Terracotta and Stoneware
Clay Bodies
Gaebler Potters' Kick
Wheels
Gaebler Electric Wheels
Pugmill-700
Banding Wheels
Easy-Flow, Brush-on
Glazes
Stoneware Glazes
Kiln Shelves and
Supports
Industrial and Foundry
107
PUGMILL
KICK WHEEL
ELECTRIC WHEEL
Suppliers:
Raw Materials
Oxides
Potters' Tools
Agents for Blythe Colours
G I azes-Stai ns-F rits
On-Glaze Colours
Underglazes
COPPER ENAMELS
Gaebler Industries Pty. Ltd. 128 Devonshire St. Surry Hills 2010
Tel: 699-8686

108
WALKER CERAMICS
N.S.w. Agent: BORONIA ROAD, WANTIRNA, VIC. PHONE 729-4755
Alison Madd rell
Manya Pottery
3 Cambridge Lane
Paddington
Tel. : 313365
S.A. Agent:
H. A. Mickan
74 Henley Beach
Road
Mile End
Tel.: 51 3982
A / H: 563476
ALL POTTERY SUPPLIES
Prepared Earthenware, Terra Cotta, Ironstone and
Stoneware Bodies ready to use on wheel or
handbuilding. Specially formulated for
Exhibition Potters, Art Potters, Technical Schools and
Primary Schools.
Nineteen different bodies listed in a catalogue
on request.
POTTERY WHEELS
Sale or Hire
Agent for-Fact
Venco
GLAZES, COLOURS, ENAMELS
Agent for:
Blythe Colours (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.
Ferro Corporation (Aust.) Pty. Ltd.
Oegussa
MANY A POTTERY AND SCHOOL
3 Cambridge Lane, Paddington, 2021
ALISON MADDRELL
Business Hours 9 am to 5 pm Telephone 31-3365 .
HANDMADE STONEWARE TILES, WALL PANELS,
DOMESTIC WARE.
MURALS DESIGNED
Instruction in all aspects of pottery, including
Handbuilding, coil and slab
Modelling and Sculpture
Glaze application
Kilns, packing and firing
Glaze testing, assessing results for Stoneware glazes
All School work in Stoneware and Porcelain.

109
LEACH POTTER'S WHEEL
Made in Australia by arrangement with the Leach Pottery,
St. Ives, Cornwall, U.K.
The Wheel made by Craftsmen for the discriminating Potter.
Oiled timber construction
Copper tray 41/2 ins. deep
10 inch dia. C.1. head
Adjustable leg action
Motorised wheel also available.
from
J. H. WILSON
68a Christian Road
Punchbowl, N.S.W. 2196
Phone 750-8369
DIAMOND CERAMIC SUPPLIES (N.S.WJ PlY. LTD.
for
POTTERS' EQUIPMENT AT THE RIGHT PRICE
VIBRATORY SElVES
GAS KILNS LPG
ELECTRIC KILNS
ELECTRIC POTTERY WHEELS
KICK WHEELS
BANDING WHEELS
PUG MILLS
BALL MILLS
CASTING SLIPS & MOULDS
ENAMELLING
BRUSH ON GLAZES
GLAZES & FRITS
TOOLS & BRUSHES
CONES
CLAY - DIAMOND & BULLEEN REFRACTORIES
RAW MATERIALS
BURNER & COMBUSTION EQUIPMENT
PYROMETERS & TEMP. INDICATORS
AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST RANGE OF KILN FURN ITURE
FURNACE BRICKLAYERS FOR HIRE
HIRE OF ELECTRIC AND KICK WHEELS
12 Bridge St., Rydalmere, N.S.W.
6385946 - 638 3714
(A division of Ellis Furnace & Incinerator Co. Pty. Ltd.)
Distributor for "WENGERS" Products

110
Bl}!the COLOURS (AUSTRALIA) PTY. LTD.
With International reputation for quality, now offer the best
in imported and Australian­
GLAZES-STAINS-FRITS- COPPER ENAMELS
ON-GLAZE COLOURS-UNDERGLAZES, RAW MATERIALS AND MEDIA
Available only through the following agencies:
NEW SOUTH WALES
' Gaebler Industries
128 Devonshire Street
SURRY HILLS
Handcraft Supply Ply. ltd.
· Copper Enamels Only
33 Brighton Avenue
CROYDON PARK
VICTORIA
' Ceramic Craft
126 Fordham Avenue
HARTWELL
'Deans Art Wholesale Pty. ltd.
673 Spencer Street
WEST MELBOURNE
' Walker Ceramics
Boron ia Road
WEST WANTIRNA
QUEENSLAND
• Pottery Supplies
262 Given Terrace
PADD INGTON
· Sparex-Australia
430 Ross River Road
TOWNSVILLE
SOUTH AUSTRAltA
' Ceramic Art Supplies
Basement-Thorngate Building
57 Pu lteney Street
ADELAIDE
·Gilberton Gallery
2-4 Walkerville Terrace
GILBERTON
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• Jackson Ce ramic Crafts Pty. Ltd.
393 Hay Street
SUBIACO
' Carrolls Pty. ltd.
566 Hay Street
PERTH
Ceramic --4rt SuppltM
BASEMENT, THORNGATE BUILDING, 57 PULTENEY STREET, ADELAIDE
Telephone 23-3284
Where you can obtain every possible requirement lor the potter and
enamellist from fhe one source 01 supply.
Country and mail orders attended to.
Australian Distributors 01:
Thomas C. Thompson's USA Copper Enamels; Duncan Ceramic Products
USA; Low-fire Ceramic Pottery G lazes and Casting Moulds.
Stocks always on hand of Wengen glazes and materials; Dawson
Automatic Kiln Setters; Cesco clays and glazes; imported chemicals
and minerals.
WARD
Wanda Avenue, Findon, S.A., 5023
Telephone 56-8271
Pottery kilns, stoneware kilns, china painting kilns, enamelling
on copper furnaces, potter's wheels-power driven and kick,
banding wheels or whirlers.
-___________________________ _

II I
Potters .
CRUDE PUGGOON CLAYS
Are now available direct to you from our quarries
MILLED PUGGOON CLAYS
are available direct from Puggoon
Our current range consists of seven Puggoon clays and one semi-Puggoon clay. Sample
kits available containing all c lays are obtainable on request-Price $2.00, which includes
packing and postage.
Note: Competitive prices - Characteristic Puggoon plasticity - supplies true-to-samplecontinuity
of quality - bagged or bulk - delivery to your railhead or door.
Full details and price lists supplied on request.
Large Industrial Users - please enquire re bulk supplies of our major lines. All trade
enquiries are very welcome.
Contact: The Manager
PUGGOON KAOLIN COMPANY
P.O. Box 89
Gulgong, N.S.W. 2852
"The Town on the Ten Dollar Note"
AUSTRALIAN MADE
tor the Australian Ceramic Industry
CESCO
•
STAINS
CASTING SLIPS
GLAZES
EARTHENWARE BODIES
ENGOBES STONEWARE BODIES
TURNTABLES RAW MATERIALS
• FRITS
TERRA COTIA BODIES
• CONES KILN FURNITURE
• UNDERGLAZES ONGLAZE COLOURS IN MEDIA
•
CESCO "FLOW-RITE" BRUSH-ON GLAZES & OXIDES
Cadmium Red - Orange - Yellow 980°C - lO60°C
759-3891
CERAMIC SUPPLY COMPANY
6 1 lAKE MBA STREET, BElMORE
N.S.W., 2 192
759-1344

PRINTED BY EDWARDS'" SHAW PTY LTD 184 SUSSEX STREET SYDNEY NSW 2000