The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 48 No 3 November 2009

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Profile places. The surfaces of his vessels reflect an ongoing passion with the South Australian countryside - dramatically expressed through bold graphic interpretation of the patterns and colours of the region . This can be seen in his more recent works that have evolved from his memories of a childhood spent exploring the Coorong, at the mouth of the once great Murray River, the patchwork fields of the Fleurieu Peninsula and the forested valleys and ranges where he now lives in the Adelaide Hills. Anna Grigson, director of Sabbia Gallery, says of Mincham's current work, "His imagery now extends beyond a snapshot of the landscape, and focuses on the elements of nature, whilst exploring details in the simplified arrangements of colour and form." Recognised for his often monumental vessels, Mincham's forms reference the pure lines of the Japanese aesthetic and are the perfect space for his multi-glaze and textural surface techniques. His vessels are coil-built and rise from refined bases that often seem to float above the surface they are standing on, belying the weight and impressive aspect of their size. Dry Lake, high walled bowl 2009, is a classic example of the Japanese aesthetic that Mincham evokes in these large bowls. Acutely defined sides rise from a pared down base that gives the illusion of a 'floating' bowl. Watching Mincham build his large elliptica l forms, deftly rolling out the long coils by hand, and then quickly merging each coil row upon row until the form has shape and height, one is taken in by the physicality of the effort taken to build these masterpieces. He has refined this form to a point where they are now slimmer and increasingly two-dimensional. Mincham has used raku and mid-firing earthenware clays from Keane Ceramics for many years, only changing in the early 2000s from the low-fire clay that he used for his raku-fired works to the mid-fire clay Keane's Special K he now uses. After more than 17 years of raku firing, this dramatic shift to midfire clays and techniques came at a time when he was questioning his further interest in the possibilities of raku . He quickly found a new way to express the subtleties that he was looking for in his landscapes, allowing experimentation with surface glazing and textural techniques.
Decoration of the surface comes after the form has been refined and the surface smoothed. Textural effects involve repetitious carving and gouging with tools to reproduce the windblown grasses of the Coorong sand hills around the vessels or the staccato patterns all over a surface often found in rock formations and plant life. These textures are enhanced, exaggerated or subtly coloured with glazes which accentuate the details of these effeds. In the early 2000s Mincham started to experiment with the complicated layering of glazes built up over two to four mid-temperature firings, a challenging contrast to the one-fire tenet of mid-fired ceramics. The painterly treatment given to the glazes by multiple applications gives a moody glow opposite page: Sea of Grass, 2009, multi-glazed, mid-fired earthenware, h.50cm, w.60cm, d.20cm; photo: Grant Hancock above: Dry Lake, 2008-09, multi-glazed, mid· fired earthenware, h.25cm, wAOcm. dAOcm; photo: Grant Hancock right: Dry Lake (detail) THE 10URNAl OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2009 13
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The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 48 No 3 November 2009

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