The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 51 No 3 November 2012

The Journal of 

AUSTRALIAN 

CERAMICS 

513 November 2012 $16 

Focus: Technical 

Les Blakebrough 

Akio Takamori 

Masamichi Yoshikawa

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+ Fast Iring to 13OO"C

Conten ts 

Volume S13 

November 2012 

516 

CO .... er 

IllustratIOn by 

Hugo Muecke 

www.hugomuec.ke.com 

The Journal of Australian Ceramics 

Dates of PubhcallOn 

1 April, 17 July. 20 November 

Publisher 

The Australian Ceramks Association 

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Australia Wide Reports 

Pfease see reports 

lor contact details 

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NSW; Sue Ste'oNart 

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lAS: John Watson 

VJC: Glenn England 

WA: Elaine Bradley 

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2 EDITORIAL 

3 CONTRIBUTORS 

4 NOW + THEN 

S ALL THINGS DIGITAL 

6 AWARDS + GALLERY 

10 AWARD FEATURE 

The 2012 Sidney Myer Fund Australian Ceramic Award 

Alexandra Standen climbing a few ladders 

PROFILE 

14 Les Blakebrough by Jan Howlin 

23 A Slow Boat to China Cory Taylor chronicles Shin Koyama's passion for 

porcelain painting in China and Japan 

28 Niharika Hukku 

30 Paper, Clay, Water, Rock Julie Claessens writes about the art practice of 

her mother, Barbara Cauvin 

FOCUS: TECHNICAL 

34 Flow and Twist Chris Weaver on tools 

38 A Different Approach to Slab Building Kevin Grealy shares his discoveries 

44 What haven't you been doing w ith paper clay? Graham Hay on the 

'dipstick' method 

48 Workshop with Akio Takamori Alison Smiles reports from Adelaide 

54 Web Places A collection of useful technical websites gathered by 

Emily Byrne 

PROMOTION 

56 Ceramix Australia Rohan Udgard shares his passion for pottery 

REGULARS 

60 VIEW: 2012 Cicely & Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award 

62 EVENT 1: Think Up and t he Form Will Follow Susan Frost reports on the 

masterclass with Masamichi Yoshikawa 

67 EVENT 2: Subversive Clay Photo Gallery 

70 COMMUNITY: Tiddas and Bunjies (Brothers and Sisters) A ceramics 

workshop helps Bankstown Koori Elders connect w ith their culture 

75 CERAMICS+: The Moon Project Park Young-Sook and Yeesookyung and 

their collaborative work in Sydney 

79 UP THE WRITING PATH: There is No Still in Real lif e Pru Morrison shares 

the outcome of her participation in Owen Rye's creative writing course 

84 WEDGE: Neville French 

85 CERAMIC SHOTS: Hands as Tools photographic competition 

88 STUDIO: Take Two Bowls Natalie Velthuyzen outlines a simple technique 

90 WORKSHOP: Winter Workshop on t he Sunshine Coast 

92 JOIN THE POTS: from the JAC archives, Les Blakebrough 

94 TRADE: To Sell or Not to Sell (that is the question) Potters discuss their 

experiences with online selling 

96 EDUCATION: The Rainbow Fountain Adrienne Mann writes about the 

Artist in School program at Monash Special Developmental School 

98 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: Miki Oka Brings a Japanese Touch to Ceramics 

Classes in the Centre Patrick Nelson reports on Charles Darwin University's 

latest resident artist 

99 COLLECTION 1: Esa Jaske 

102 COLLECTION 2: Emile Galle: artist, activist, herborist, ecologist 

Patsy Hely discusses a favourite work from the ceramics collection at the NGA 

105 POTTERS MARKS 

106 AUSTRALIA WIDE: State Representative Reports 

THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRAliAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012 1

Editorial 

Cutting the cake for The Journal of Australian 

Ceramics 50th Anniversary celebration at the 

Queen 's Theatre in Adelaide during the recent 

Subversive Clay gathering: left to right. Patsy Hely 

(President of The Australian Ceramics Association), 

Vicki Grima (current Editor). Sue Buckle (Editor 

1991- 2000) and Trisha Dean (Editor 2001 - 2005). 

It has been a busy and exci ting. although at times harrowing. time in the Australian ceramics community 

over the last few months. Several hundred gathered in Adelaide for Subversive Clay to catch up with 

the latest musings about ceramics. Congratulations to the team who managed the Triennale. Their 

commitment to making the event a rich experience was appreciated by all who involved themselves 

in the breadth of activities on offer. I hope you enjoy the two Masterclass reports by young emerging 

ceramic artists from Adelaide, Alison Smiles and Susan Frost. Their enthusiasm for their recent 

experiences comes through loud and clear. 

Of continuing concern to many in the ceramics communities around Australia are the ongoing cuts to 

arts education in many sectors of tertiary arts education. Recent comments to me have included phrases 

such as "our enrolments are dead in the water" to "the most challenging changes we have faced in 

decades" ... not surprising when we are told fees for some accredited courses will increase by 400%. 

There is no easy solution, so we are seeing some creative problem solving in those institutions that have 

retained support from their management team. 

If you love reading comprehensive yet precise profiles on potters, I'm sure you will enjoy Jan Howlin's 

profile on Les Blakebrough, the third in her series for our 50th Anniversary year of The Journal of 

Australian Ceramics. This issue's focus on the technical side of ceramics also brings you an interesting 

collection of articles on toolmaking, slab building, paperclay and selling online. The challenge to keep 

content relevant to our readers is a priority, so your feedback is always welcome. 

And don't forget to check out our web articles on the home page of www.australianceramics.com or 

browse your digital online issue of the maga2ine. If you subscribe to the print issue, around publication 

time you will receive an email with a link to your digital issue. There you will find many extras with direct 

links to websites and online content. We have exciting ideas for developing this side of The Journal 

in 2013, with our focus issues on Ceramics in New Zealand, studio ceramics around Australia (with 

our Open Studio event - see page 127), and Ceramics and Ecology under the guest editorship of Julie 

Bartholomew. 

Stay connected with others in your ceramics community and keep pushing for better ceramics 

education nationally! 

2 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012

Contributors 

Susan Frost completed an Associateship at 

JamFactory in 2010 and continues to work from 

her studio there. She's slightly obsessed with 

social media. but when she is not keeping up 

with her Twitter feed or maintaining her Pinterest 

boards, Susan divides her time between making 

production vessels and pursuing her interest in 

colour and form. 

www.susanfrostceramics.com 

www.twitter.com/Susan_Frost 

www.pinterestlsusanf/ 

Jan Howlin 

I was a writer in 2003 when I picked up clay 

and couldn't put it down. That led me to Sydney 

College of the Arts, which released me in 2010 

with a Master of Fine Arts, and to an ongoing 

search for the way meaning can be embedded in 

form by pushing clay around, which is excellent 

fun anyway. 

E: jan@janhowlin.net 

Hugo Muecke is an artist and illustrator 

currently living in Sydney, Australia. He has 

studied in Mexico and Japan and it is the small 

details of everyday life that inform his practice. 

He is happiest when he is drawing. 

E: hugoblackmuecke@gmail.com 

www.hugomuecke.com 

A lison Smiles 

I began making things out of clay after years 

of drawing and printmaking. It has been a 

revelation . Being able to bring my drawings to 

life means I can create an imaginary world and 

share it with everyone. It has been the best job 

ever so far, and ceramicists are some of the 

loveliest people I have met. 

E: alison.smiles008@gmail.com 

M: 0430 271 222 

http://alisonsmiles.carbonmade.com 

THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012 3

Now + Then 

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the 

Inner City Clayworkers Gallery. We think this 

is a pretty good milestone; fancy still being here I 

As a co-operative, the Gallery has had many 

lives during this time. It is rather like Grandad's 

axe - two new handles and four new axe heads, 

but it is still Grandad's axe. The members have 

come and gone, and the work has also changed 

according to fashions in ceramics, but the Gallery 

keeps on. An exhibition featuring many wellknown 

names in the ceramics field, all of whom 

have been members of Clayworkers, will be held 

in November 2012; www.clayworkers.com.au 

Announcing On the Edge of the Sheff, 

a woodfire gathering to be held 25 April - 

25 May 2014 at Mystery Bay in NSW. 

A website is coming soon. The co-ordinator is 

Daniel Lafferty; T: 02 6493 6724. 

John Tuckwell, Carol Forster, and Tatiana 

Gvozdetskaya have been selected in the 

Ceramica Multiplex exhibition at the Fourth 

International Festival of Postmodern Ceramics to 

be held in Croatia from 25 August to 31 Odober 

2012, and then Kapfenberg, Austria, from 16 

November 2012 until 6 January 2013. More 

than four hundred artists from around the world 

submitted work for the exhibition. 

Websites to check out: 

http://pinterest.com!caroleepp/ 

technical-ceramics 

http://wikiclay.com 

Interested in when pottery was invented? 

On 3 July 2012 on the Australian Ceramics 

Email Discussion List, Owen Rye brought to our 

attention this brief abstrad, which suggests that 

the ea rliest pottery vessels were made in China 

20,000 years ago. 

Early Pottery at 20,000 Years Ago in Xianrendong 

Cave, China - 

Abstrad: The invention of pottery introduced 

fundamental shifts in human subsistence 

practices and sociosymbolic behaviours. Here, 

w e describe the dating of the early pottery f rom 

Xianrendong Cave, j iangxi Province, China, and 

the micromorphology of the stratigraphic contexts 

of the pottery sherds and radiocarbon samples. 

The radiocarbon ages of the archaeological 

contexts of the earliest sherds are 20,000 to 19,000 

calendar years before the present 2000 to 3000 

years older than other pottery found in East 

Asia and elsewhere. The occupations in the cave 

demonstrate that pottery was produced by mobile 

foragers who hunted and gathered during the Late 

Glacial Maximum. These vessels may have served as 

cooking devices. The early date shows that pottery 

was first made and used 10 millennia or more 

before the emergence of agriculture. 

To join the Australian Ceramics Email 

Discussion List, please visit 

www.australianceramics.com.click on 

'conned + chat' and follow the instrudions. 

Two new books on t he TACA office desk: 

Lust re by Greg Daly; Ceramics Handbook Series, 

$36.99, 128 pages, paperback; A & C Black, 

2012; ISBN 9781 408103760 

Lucie Rie: Modernist Potter by Emmanuel 

Cooper; The Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in 

British Art, approx. $50, 384 pages, hardback; 

Yale University Press, ISBN 9780300152005 

Photo: 

Lucille Noble2a 

Refer to this webpage, www.sciencemag.org/ 

contentl336/6089/ 1696.abstract, which refers 

to an article in the journal Science, 

www.sciencemag.org; Science 29 June 2012; 

Vol. 336 no. 6089 pp. 1696-1700. 


All things digital 

Come look! 

Try the OR Codes shown below to visit our Flickr image folders, 

feature articles and online shop. 

A QR (Quick Response) code enables you to view and bookmark a web page using your digital device. 

Download a QR reader app to your smart phonelipaditablet, open the app, point it at the patterned 

squares below and your device w ill scan the QR code. You will then be taken directly to the chosen 

web page. 

The 50th 

Anniversary 

Vase Show 

Subversive Clay 

The Australian 

Ceramics Triennale 

2012 

JAC Web feature 

Articles, Issue 51/3 

November 2012 

Australian 

Ceramics 

Online Shop 

Be sure to enjoy our extra web features 

at www.austraUanceramlcs.com 

from the National Art School we publish an article by Stephen Bird about a collaborative exhibition, 

Ink Earth, featuring work by ceramic and printmaking 3rd year BFA students. 

Karen Weiss reports on Vipoo Srivilasa and his recent community project, Thai-Na-Town - Little 

Oz, part of 'Mapping Chinatown', initiated by Sydney's 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art to 

explore the different minority Asian cultures whose vibrant presence is changing the face of the original 

Chinatown. 

Sophia Phillips shares her thoughts about the exhibition Post Skangaroovian (held during the 2012 

Australian Ceramics Triennale) and the potential legacy of Skangaroovian Funk, a peculiarly South 

Australian reaction against a predominantly Orientalist philosophy and aesthetic in ceramics during the 

nineteen sixties and seventies. 

THE JOURNAl OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012 

S

· 

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' - - 

. 01 

.Ffr.

Award Feature 

The 2012 Sidney Myer Fund 

Australian Ceramic Award 

Alexandra Standen climbing a few ladders 

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) recently announced the winners of the 2012 Sidney Myer Fund 

Australian Ceramic Award. With a combined prize pool of $55,000, the biennial award is one of the 

premier international ceramic art prizes. 

Congratulation to the 2012 recipients: 

Australian Category - Kirsten Coelho 

Emerging Australian Category - Alexandra Standen 

International Category - Michal Fargo (Israel) 

These three recipients were selected from the following shortlisted artists: 

Australian - Kirsten Coelho, Katherine Huang, Penny Byrne, Angela Va lamanesh, Irianna Kanellopoulou 

and Kris Coad 

Emerging Australian - Arun Sharma, Antonia Throsby, Robyn Hoskins, Alexandra Standen and 

Ingrid Tufts 

International - Cheryl Ann Thomas (USA), Michal Fargo (Israel), Suzanne Wolfe (USA), Oliwia Beszcyska 

(Poland) and Wee Hong Ling (USA) 

The ca libre of submissions, the technical expression and the considered statements provided by 

artists was commendable. The new format of the award presents a different challenge, requiring 

artists to conceive and present a whole exhibition rather than just one work. SAM appreciates the 

considerable effort undertaken by artists through the process of application. Each of the winning artists 

was commissioned to produce an exhibition of new work for display at SAM from 20 September to 18 

November 20 12. 

Below is an interview by Elise Routledge, Curator, Shepparton Art Museum with Alexandra Standen, 

winner of the Emerging Australian Category. 

Elise Routledge: Your work is inspired by Italo Calvino's 1965 short story The Distance of the Moon, 

and explores different ways to create a narrative through objects, insta llation and your animation. Can 

you tell me about how you've considered or used narrative in your work? 

Alexandra Standen: I have always thought that objects tell a story whether they are functional or 

scu lptural. This work, inspired by Italo Calvino, was based on a written story but I also found it was hard 

not to imbed my own story in the ladders. Central to this process is identifying and capturing an essence 

of life in objects. The way that they, too, can draw breath, hold volume and space, speak of energy and 

emotion, all of which I believe is an essentia l part of what it means to be human. 

My experiences and reactions to new environments or landscapes became a vital part of the story as I 

travelled between the city and country and, briefly, central Australia. The story has evolved through these 

experiences as well as the making processes. 


Alexandra Standen, The Other Moon, detail. 2011/12; photo: Matthew Stanton 

The creation of the stop motion animation was a way of translating this story into something that 

sat alongside the installation in harmony. I constructed a narrative around my environments and the 

installation set out to create a whole-body experience, to be immersed in the beauty of the placement 

of objects as well as the beauty and strength of each piece. The ladder constructions lend themselves to 

wall installation and produce a greater depth when slightly suspended away from the wall, casting lines 

of shadow behind them. As in Calvino's story, there are two worlds; the world that one chooses to be 

immersed in is initially up to the individual. 

ER: Space is a key idea used in your work. Can you tell me about the recent experiences you've had 

around space and environments that has inspired this work? 

AS: I was fortunate enough to experience ten weeks of remote central Australian landscapes this year. 

While I had not considered this in my initial proposal for Shepparton, I found as I spent more and time 

making the work, and trying to unpack what it means to me, that there was a narrative in the spaces or 

environments I encountered, 

Not only is Calvino's tale beautiful and wistful, it is about going beyond the world itself and finding a 

reverence for the natural world that promotes a spiritual experience, Calvino's story has had a profound 

influence on my ceramics as I have tried to come to terms with the landscape or space in which I exist. 

After reading this story I began to see ladders everywhere in my day-to-day life, drawing me into an 

enchanted landscape, leading my eye up into the sky or into a secluded nook in between buildings. 

There is a connection with a sacred or spiritual experience of space and the relationship of the self to 

the other. 

Ever present in this body of work is the feeling of being trapped and needing a form of escape or a 

means of climbing up to see things from a different perspective. The city is an immense and complex 

landscape, which one can be suffocated by. The ladders are a reaction to this feeling and tie into a need 

for escape, to find a moon of my own where I can sit for just a little while and dream, Or at least to 

emerge above the clouds and see clarity. 

To create this feeling, for the viewer, of being pulled into the life of the objects, the installation and 

the use of spaces become paramount. 

12 THE IOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012

ER: Your objects are very simply constructed objects, and the 

stop-frame also has a delightful DIY aesthetic. What are the 

most important aspects of process and making for you? 

AS: Intuitively I use my hands a lot while making, using my 

fingertips to pinch out the form I want. As a reaction to the 

simple beauty of Calvino's story and the playfulness in his 

words, I made ladders and boats that had a simple, olde 

worlde quality, unpolished and unrefined. I liked the idea of 

producing objects that would usually be manufactured with 

straight edges and making them organic. 

When I decided to make a film based on the ladders it 

Alexandra Standen 

seemed fitting to use a stop motion animation technique. 

Each frame of the stop motion is a bit jumpy and a little bit wonky, but it reflected the hand-made and 

the very human quality of touch. Working with the stop frame idea was a little bit like looking into the 

mechanics of a very old clockwork machine, simple parts that just seem to work organically. 

The importance of the materiality in my making process has allowed me to play with the idea of 

narrative and reflect the simple beauty of Calvino's stories. I have made decisions to leave a human 

imprint on a material so natural and archaic. 

www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au 

http://blogs.cv.vic.gov.au/australian-ceram ic -awa rd 

1 Kirsten Coelho 

Toward the end of the day 

2012, porcelain, pale grey 

white and iron OXide glazes 

various dimensions 

2 M ichal Fargo. Else, detail, 

2011112, porcelain. mixed 

technique. vanous dimensions 

3 (left to right) 

Michal Fargo. Kirsten Coelho. 

Alexandra Standen 

Photos: Matthew Stanton

Profile 

Les Blakebrough 

by Jan Howlin 

"They wanted someone who could get things done," 

In his new home in Coledale, south of Sydney, Les Blakebrough lives in the shadow, and under the 

thrall, of the majestic sandstone escarpment that rises sharply from the narrow strip of coastal land 

beside the Pacific Ocean. Its presence has seeped into Blakebrough's psyche and has emerged through 

it onto his pots. While the imagery is new, the process of ingesting his environment and filtering it 

through into his work is not, and the body of distinctive and highly refined work he has created in more 

recent years charts his responses to his surroundings. 

After living in Tasmania for nearly 40 years, Blakebrough has taken to his new landscape keenly. He 

walks in the bush, swims in the sea, appreciates the wildlife, and at 82 he pads around his new home 

and studio with the ease and energy of a man half his age. But Blakebrough has always been energetic 

- someone who gets things done. He has spent a lifetime creating and exhibiting his work, teaching and 

training apprentices, conducting ceramic research and taking a leading role in ceramics in Australia. His 

achievements include his contribution to ceramic education at Sturt Pottery, Mittagong, in the 1960s 

and at the Tasmanian School of Art over subsequent decades; his involvement in the creation of the 

first craft organisations in Australia; and, more recently, the research project he initiated that resulted in 

the development of Southern Ice Porcelain (a clay body admired for its unparalleled fineness, whiteness, 

translucency and workability), which is now exported around the world. 

As one of Australia 's most eminent ceramicists, Blakebrough's work is represented in all Australian 

state galleries and many international collections, including the British and Danish royal collections. He 

has received numerous awards including a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Ceramic Art, 

Faenza, Italy, in 1974, a Churchill Fellowship in 1992, an Australia Council Creative Arts Fellowship 

in 1997, and nomination as a Master of Australian Craft in the inaugural 'Living Treasures' series 

established by Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design, in 2005. In 2008 he was named Senior 

Australian of the Year in Tasmania. 

Blakebrough's success is unsurprising in the light of the drive, focus and determination that have 

characterised his life . Growing up in Surrey, England, through the 1930s and the Second World War, he 

found solace at boarding school through draWing and painting and "was in love with the idea of being 

a pa inter". Instead of being "swooped up into the army and sent to Germany as part of the occupation 

forces ", the 17-year old Blakebrough went to sea on a tramp steamer, and while he had no intention of 

coming to Australia, when the ship landed in north Queensland on his 18th birthday, he decided to stay. 

By 1955, (with his immigration officially approved) Blakebrough was studying painting at East Sydney 

Technical College (ESTC) but when he switched to the ceramics studio, run by Mollie Douglas and Peter 

Rushforth, he found his vocation. " I used to say I walked in that door and never really came out," he 

quips . W ith the LeachiCardew approach the reigning philosophy, Blakebrough found "the notion of 

being a self-supporting innovative artist quite a compelling thing". A significant mentor to Blakebrough 

14 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOvEMBER 2012


-------- 

at this time was ancient history teacher and Australian history author Harry Nicholson, who had 

provided Blakebrough with accommodation while he was at ESTC, encouraged his artistic ambitions, 

and advised him in his career. 

Towards the end of his training at ESTC, Blakebrough and fellow-student Colin Levy spent a week at 

the pottery at Sturt Craft Centre, Mittagong, NSW, on their way to Melbourne. Ivan McMeekin, who 

was running the pottery at that time, offered Blakebrough an apprenticeship at Sturt and Levy teaching 

work at nearby Frensham school - both Sturt and Frensham had been established by visionary English 

educator Winifred West. McMeekin had trained with Michael Cardew, and Blakebrough says that 

through McMeekin he "ate, drank and slept" the LeachiCardew tradition for nearly three years. " We 

made work with local materials, and made the glazes from locally occurring igneous rocks. It was rural 

arcadia; it was like a dream come true." Another defining force there, he adds, was Winifred West. In 

1959, amid some controversy, McMeekin resigned to teach at the University of New South Wales, and 

West offered the job as head of Sturt Pottery to Blakebrough, the apprentice. "It did cause ructions 

in the ceramics community," Blakebrough admits. "Suddenly I had become one of the villains in the 

piece." In time the storm blew over, and Blakebrough managed the pottery so well that in 1964, West 

appointed him Director of Sturt Craft Centre as well, positions he held jointly until 1972. 

Blakebrough took full advantage of the opportunity handed him. Part of his role as Director of Sturt 

was to develop and expand the centre, and given the concurrent explosion of the craft movement, 

he says he could almost do no wrong. He established a metal workshop, introducing silversmiths Ray 

Norman from Sydney and Ragnar Hansen from Norway. The weaving workshop was very successful, and 

the pottery was "thumping along" . Many potters were being trained and everything they made was 

sold. " At one stage I had five apprentices there," says Blakebrough. "I had regular exhibitions around 

the country and that gave me the opportunity to become established as a player in the field; that was 

the big opportunity at Sturt. Along the way people like Harry Nicholson were a great help, but Winifred 

was a formative mentor, no question about that. "


A year spent in Japan in the sixties, which " Winifred had encouraged and helped finance " had 

provided Blakebrough with" a huge change in outlook and philosophy. One of the things was the 

absolute dedication they brought to the work," he says. On the other hand, "It was workaday, everyday 

business. Any preciousness just fell away from it. Japan broadened the horizon fantastically. It was a 

great experience. " 

Back in Australia, as Diredor of Sturt, Blakebrough was also respon si ble for promoting the crafts 

in general. After failing to persuade The Potters Society to broaden its frame of reference to include 

other crafts, a small group including Blakebrough and Marea Gazzard started the Craft Association 

of NSW. They went on to encourage the formation of similar organisations in other States, which 

were amalgamated in 1971 to create the Crafts Council of Australia. With the advent of the Whitlam 

Government, a million dollars in funding was injeded into the new Crafts Board of the Australia 

Council. "Hey presto, it was like a honeymoon!" says Blakebrough, who was an inaugural Crafts Board 

member. 

By this time, however, Blakebrough had already been lured to Tasmania to start the ceramics 

department at the Tasmanian School of Art, which had just been incorporated into the new College 

of Advanced Education (CAE) at Mount Nelson, Hobart. "They were looking for people with energy 

and ideas. They wanted to light a fire under it, so they dra9ged me down there to do it," he says. He 

ran the new course from 1973 till 1981 along similar lines to Sturt Pottery. He introduced 'geology 

excursions: taking students on field trips hunting for materials, and invited international ceramic artists 

to undertake residencies at the art school so students could be exposed to as broad a range of views as 

possible. 

In 1981, Blakebrough stepped down as head of the Ceramics Studio, which had then become part 

of the University of Tasmania (UTAS), to work in his private studio in Mount Nelson, training apprentices


in the studio pottery tradition he had practised at Sturt, and selling and regularly exhibiting his work. 

In 1987, major illness and a year out of action led him to rethink his life. He scaled back the studio, 

working on his own until 1990, when "Geoff Parr [Director of the School of Art, UTAS, at the time] 

made me such a crazy offer," says Blakebrough, that he couldn't refuse it. As Associate Professor, 

Blakebrough was invited to help develop a research profile for UTAS, a challenge he took up with gusto, 

despite "the whole notion of the University [being] a bit intimidating academically" . As well as teaching, 

he worked in the newly established Ceramics Research Unit with Penny Smith, Ben Richardson and 

others' and when he began submitting research proposals to the Australian Research Council (ARC) he 

"started to round up some serious money" . 

The projects Blakebrough initiated were informed by his studio pottery experience and his increasing 

interest in mass production processes. The major project he undertook, "to interface industrial processes 

with small scale studio production" was aimed at transforming the economic viability of the studio 

system, and the second (much smaller) project grew from a search he had begun in the late 1980s for 

a purer, whiter porcelain than any currently available, one that would result in a beautiful matte finish 

without glaze. Awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1992, Blakebrough took a study tour to Europe - to 

the Royal Copenhagen factory in Denmark, to Arabia in Sweden, and to Royal Worcester in Eng land - 

and spent three or four months in each place. "It was a huge eye-opener," he says, more than anything 

because he found that "this philosophy you'd been brought up with, in the Leach/Cardew mOUld, that 

industry was a really dirty word ... was nonsense" . At Royal Copenhagen in particular, where the highly 

sophisticated production was housed in a fine 18th century building along with Georg Jensen and 

Holmgaarde, he says there was" a completely different aesthetic at work, and you thought, hey, you 

can't dismiss this - Leach got it wrong!" 

It was an aesthetic that had increasing appeal for Blakebrough, and his subsequent search for 

whiteness, translucency and refinement was a far cry from his earlier Japanese-inspired wood-fired work. 

In Europe he learnt about mould-making and slip-casting and drew them into his repertoire. He explored 

decals. He was "like a kid in a playground." he says of the variety of things he worked with. "A lot of


that stuff changed my life and it changed the way I viewed how I was working and what I was doing." 

Back in Hobart, Blakebrough pursued the large ARC project, which entailed reconfiguring the automatic 

roller-head machine the European factories used to suit studio purposes, an initiative that was very wellfunded 

for six years but ultimately abandoned. "We were ten years too late," says Blakebrough, since 

by that stage the traditional studio pottery system had virtually disappeared in Australia. "However, the 

Southern Ice Porcelain project, one of the things I didn't take seriously while we were doing it, proved to 

be a winner." 

With significant funding for the project provided over five years, Blakebrough "had a team of 

people who were prepared to work on it, so every week there'd be a test going through." "You've 

got considerations to meet in the raw state and other considerations to meet in the fired state," he 

says, and often the objectives were in conflict. But "when you get something that's as workable as 

Southern Ice is, and then you fire it [to such whiteness], the bloody stuff is almost pure magic!" Named 

to highlight its purity and its Tasmanian origin, near the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic, Southern Ice 

has been manufactured under licence by Clayworks Australia since 1999. 

Blakebrough himself has used the clay exclusively since its creation, exploring its attributes through 

thrown, slip-cast and slab-formed techniques and incorporating motifs that exploit the fineness, 

translucency and glassy quality of the material. Earlier works were decorated using metallic salts and 

calligraphic markings; but later, highly controlled etching processes were used to vary the wall thickness 

of the pots, creating imagery through translucency. The themes were drawn from his environment and 

experience, and depicted, for instance, the kelp forests of Fortescue Bay, Tasmania; the wind drifting

Pro file 

across the Derwent River; the leaves that fall on the forest floor; or, in a series he called 'In the Long 

Grass with Claudia Rose', a view of life as seen by his two-year-old grand-daughter. " What affects me 

is a local force, a local presence, " says Blakebrough, " but also, it's about the line; it's what a shipwright 

might call fair - creating something t he eye can explore that has some style and elegance to it. I don't 

mind it being sophisticated; it's a lot of things that wood-fired ceramics aren't, and I'm happy and 

relaxed and comfortable w ith that. " 

Along with his environment, Blakebrough credits poetry, certain lines of poetry, as his inspiration. He 

quotes poet and friend Bob Brissenden's line: 'looking down through depths of air: written about the 

view of Hobart from Mount Wellington above, and says, "I find myself being dragged along emotionally 

by such a statement. " He also relates the idea that poetry can contain so much profundity so succinctly 

to his own creative practice. 

"I'm looking for an elegance {using] a sophisticated material that's beautiful to the touch, and touch is 

really important. It doesn't happen easily. It gets harder, and the care, and the attention to detail, is hugely 

demanding. And you need long periods of quiet contemplative time to put it together. Certainly that's the 

way the poets do it. They're able to focus and condense stuff into a few w ords. It's like that wonderful line 

in Shakespeare about being bounded by a nutshell but to count yourself a creature of infinite space ... just 

to count yourself a creature of infinite space ... phew .. ." 

The words don't come, but Blakebrough continues to quietly create. 

Photographer: Anthony Browell 

1 Grace Cochrane. 'ResIdencies and Research,' In It>S Blakebrough, a Berl Gallery Monograph, Ben Gallery Hobart. Tasmania 2010. pp.35-36 

Further Reading: Les B/akebrough: Ceramics by Jonathan Holmes, Craftsman House, 2005, 

written as part of Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design'S 'Living Treasures' series, 

Also Les B/akebrough, a Bett Gallery Monograph, 2010, which contains insightful essays on 

Blakebrough's life and work by Patsy Hely and Grace Cochrane. 



LES BLAKE BROUGH 

1930 

1948 

1955-1957 

1957-1959 

1959-1972 

1963-1964 

1964-1972 

1965 

1970 

1973-1981 

1973-1977 

1974 

1974-1977 

1976 

1978 

1981 - 1987 

1982 

1987 

1988 

1989 

1992 

1995 

1997- 1998 

1998- 

1999 

2001 

2002 

2005 

2008 

2010 

2012 

Born in Kingston, Surrey, England 

Arrived in Australia by tramp steamer 

Studied painting then ceramics at East Sydney Technical College 

Apprenticed to Ivan McMeekin at Sturt Pottery, Mittagong, NSW 

Manager of Sturt Pottery 

Studied in Kyoto, Japan, with Takeichi Kawai 

Director of Sturt Craft Centre, Mittagong, NSW 

Became a foundation member of the Craft Council of Australia 

Represented Australia at the World Craft Council Conference, Dublin, Ireland 

Moved to Tasmania as Head of the Ceramics Studio, Tasmanian School of Art, at the 

newly established Tasmanian College of Advanced Education (CAE) 

Foundation member of the Crafts Board, Australia Council 

Established a private studio at home in Mount Nelson, Hobart, Tasmania; Won the 

Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Ceramic Art, Faenza, Italy 

Foundation member of Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board 

Began working in glass; Member of the Australian delegation to International Design 

Conference, Kyoto, Japan 

European co-ordinator, World Crafts Council Conference, Kyoto, Japan 

Minimising his teaching load, he ran his studio pottery, The Pot Company, at Mount 

Nelson, offering three-year apprenticeships to three or four trainees at a time 

Official visitor to Fujian Province, People 's Republic of China 

Serious illness led him to closure of the Mount Nelson pottery 

Invited back to Tasmanian School of Art, (since 1981 part of the University of Tasmania) 

as Associate Professor and Reader in Ceramics charged with establishing a Ceramics 

Research Unit 

Retrospective exhibition held at Tasmanian School of Art 

Awarded a Churchill Fellowship to undertake study tour of ceramics industries in 

Scandinavia and the UK 

Retired from teaching but continued at the Ceramics Research Unit 

Awarded an Australia Council Creative Arts Fellowship 

Made Honorary Research Associate, Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasman ia 

Southern Ice Porcelain sold under licence by Clayworks, Australia 

Formation of Southern Ice Porcelain Pty Ltd, which developed editioned plates (1-100) 

depicting Tasmanian flora 

Southern Ice Porcelain dinner set created for the Vice-Chancellor, University of 

Tasmania 

Became a member of the International Academy of Ceramics; Named the inaugural 

'Living Treasure' at Object: Australian Centre for Craft and Design and featured in 

Living Treasures, Masters of Australian Craft exhibition and monograph 

Named Senior Australian of the Year in Tasmania 

Relocated to Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW, to join his new partner, 

photographic artist Anne Ferran 

Established new studio in Coledale, south of Sydney, NSW 



A Slow Boat to China 

Cory Taylor chronicles Sh in Koyama's passion for porcelain painting 

in China and Japan 

It was never part of Shin Koyama's plan to end up building a porcelain studio in Jingdezhen, China. Like 

everything good in life, this particular twist of fate came about through a series of happy accidents. 

A painter and printmaker, Shin had always had the urge to branch out and explore other mediums. 

He had a particular passion for traditional Japanese blue and white porcelain. Not that he wanted to 

learn how to make the porcelain, only how to paint on it, how to use it as a surface for his complex and 

wildly funny imagery. The main attraction of porcelain, he says, is its durability. He likes the thought that 



Shin Koyama painting on porcelain 

long after his works on paper and canvas have rotted away, someone might one day dig up fragments 

of his porcelain and enjoy what they see. 

In 2009, he travelled to his native Japan and introduced himself to porcelain makers in Arita. There he 

was able to get his first taste of what it was like to paint on porcelain and he came away wanting more. 

So enamored was he with the whole experience that he even planned to buy land and build a house in 

Arita so he could spend more time there and learn as much as he could about the Japanese blue and 

white tradition. 

Enter Jackson Li, from Sanbao International Ceramic Institute in Jingdezhen. In May 2010, Shin 

attended a workshop given by Jackson at the Gold Coast Potter's Association and was immediately 

diverted from his original intention. Over a cup of Chinese tea at the end of the first day's workshop, 

Jackson invited Shin to come to China the following October to help celebrate Sanbao's 10th 

anniversary. Shin immediately accepted. He'd heard of Jingdezhen and knew of its importance as an 

historic hub for Chinese porcelain, but never in his wildest dreams had he thought he might one day 

visit there. 

Two years later, Shin has a completely self-contained apartment and studio in what is called the 

Shinpo House at Sanbao. Originally financed by the Japanese kiln makers, the house stands at the very 

end of the Sanbao complex surrounded by bamboo and overlooking rice paddies. Every Chinese spring 

and autumn, Shin returns to Sanbao to live and work in his converted rooms designing and painting 

porcelain sculptures, urns, vases, plates, tiles and pillows, anything he can get his hands on. 


--------- 


Shin Koyama at his home in Jingdezhen, China 

His process has evolved over time as he has struggled to find the right sculptors, mould makers and 

slip casters to help him to produce his forms, the right cobalt blue to paint with, the right brushes, the 

right glaze, the right master and the right box maker. In a town brimming over with ceramic technicians 

of every variety and temperament, this is basically a matter of trial and error, so there has been some 

heartbreak along the way. 

What has pleased Shin the most about working in Jingdezhen is the enthusiasm he has found there 

for his irreverent approach to making work. With no technical knowledge, no Chinese language ability, 

no credentials as a ceramicist, Shin has found a ready fan base in Jingdezhen and elsewhere. This is 

probably, Shin says, because he has a beginner's mentality. He isn 't after technical perfection; rather he 

is aiming to surprise his audience with imagery and narratives that one doesn't normally associate w ith 

porcelain. 

Shin's joy at discovering all the methods and processes of porcelain manufacture in Jingdezhen has 

a lot to do with his own background. Growing up in 1950's Japan, Shin is old enough to remember 

a time when his hometown of Isesaki, a silk weaving centre about an hour and a half north of Tokyo, 

resembled Jingdezhen as it is today. He revels in nostalgia for his childhood every time he drives his 

moped into town through Sanbao village and sees the women washing their clothes in the river, or the 

farmers hand harvesting their rice, or the market vendors selling live chickens beside the woman with 

the sewing machine who repairs clothes while you wait. Each of these scenes calls up an equivalent 

scene from Shin's own journey home from school past the tofu maker and the tatami mat maker and 

the tinker and the shoemaker, back before Japan became a rich nation. 



Opposite page: Shin Koyama painted porcelain objects 

I think it needs to be mentioned that these images are what he draws on in his work - the daily trip 

for fresh food and dinner parties. Pottery and food go together. 

He is also able to remember a time when 'Made in Japan' meant cheap, the way 'Made in China' 

means cheap today. One of the major advantages of working in Jingdezhen for any artist is the 

availability of quality materials and technical assistance at an extremely reasonable cost. In general, Shin 

is able to male work in China at about a tenth the cost of making the same work in Japan, which is a 

powerful incentive to maintain a base there. 

Even so, he has lately started to discuss with friends and collaborators the possibility of establishing 

an artists residency in Kyushu, based on successful programs like Sanbao and its urban equivalent in 

Jingdezhen, The Pottery Workshop. His idea would be to try to attract international ceramicists and 

other artists to spend time in both China and Japan. Shin is particularly keen to point out how close 

Kyushu is to China, being less than an hour away by air. 

Or you can take the leisurely boat trip now from downtown Shanghai and be in Nagasaki the next 

day. From Nagasaki, the ceramic centres of Takeo, Arita, Ureshino, Imari and Karatsu are only a short 

bus ride away. 

So the coming years might see Shin return to his original plan, be it in a radically different form. Now 

that he has experienced how to make porcelain in China, he is better equipped, he feels, to explore the 

similarities and differences between the Chinese approach and the Japanese approach to designing and 

making work. It will be fascinating to see what he can do in Japan that he can't do in China, and vice 

versa. In the meantime, he is busy designing more ceramic pillows after a sellout show in May at Jan 

Manton Art in Brisbane. Inspired by traditional Chinese pillows, Shin's Yume Makura (Dream Pillows) 

play with the Chinese belief that bad dreams bring good luck. 

Shin isn't sure if it's true, but he does think that something has been working in his favour in the past 

few years, and that happy accidents are responsible. 

Cory Taylor is a novelist and essayist and a regular contributor to Griffith Review, 

www.shinkoyama.com.au 

Technical hint from Shin: 

" The hardest thing about painting on porcelain is that you have to work very fast. Your brush must 

move quickly over the surface otherwise it dries up and stalls because of the porous quality of the 

surface. Because of this you have to develop a way of allowing your hand to relax and move freely. 

I often use a long stick to rest my forearm on so that my wrist is supported and my hand is nice and 

loose. Also you have to make sure your cobalt is the right consistency by keeping the water content 

at the right level. It helps to hold the brush the way ca lligraphers do, rather than the way you hold 

a pencil. It has something to do with the angle at which the tip of the brush moves over the surface 

and the ease with which you can vary the pressure. " 



Niharika Hukku 

Niharika Hukku's creations are an expression 

of what she finds elegant and beautiful in her 

world, Weaving clay into delicate fabric, she 

creates an impossible form. Her woven bottles 

look skeletal and rigid giving the impression that 

time has stripped away the clay and left only 

what was necessary. Nature also plays a big part 

in her work as is evident in her nest bowls and 

bloom/pod series. 

Born in India, her earliest memory of clay 

was on a train journey drinking tea from a 

'kulhar'. The act of drinking from an unglazed 

earthenware bowl which is then crushed and 

returned back to earth after use, represented 

recycling at its purest. It left a lasting impact on 

her. 

She pursued beauty in painting and evolved 

into a successful illustrator and lived in Indonesia, 

Singapore and New Zealand. It was in Indonesia 

where the red volcanic earth once again 

reminded her of experiences with clay in her 

childhood. Her work is strongly influenced by the 

diverse experiences she has had whilst travelling. 

Niharika has always liked to push herself and 

the medium she works with. After exploring 

forms which seem to trick the eye into believing 

they're delicate, she is currently working on 

combining her passion for illustration with 

ceramics, using her current creations as a 'Sketch 

Book' - drawing subjects that touch and amuse 

on her thrown porcelain vessels. 

She is now at the cusp of finding her balance 

in life through her work and remains humbled 

and absorbed by the process. 

Nih arika Hukku, Woven Bottle, 2012, Southern Ice 

porcelain paper clay, extruded, assembled, h.S7cm, d.9.5cm 

Photo: courtesy artist 

http://cargocollective,com/niharikahukku 

2B THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012


1 Pod, 2012, Southern Ice porcelain paper clay, thrown, extruded, assembled, h.l0cm, d.12cm 

2 Nest, 2012. stoneware paper clay, extruded, assembled, h.9cm, w.1Scm 

3 Sketch Book series, 2012, Southern Ice porcelain clay. handpainted, wheelthrown. h. lOcm 

All work by Niharika Hukku; photos: courtesy artist 



------------- 

Paper, Clay, Water, Rock 

Julie Claessens writes about the art practice of her mother, Barbara Cauvin 

It's a cold six degrees and not the best time of year to 

paint, but the weather in Tasmania is never predidable, 

even in mid-summer. Light rain and mist enshroud both 

hills and lake, camouflaging everything. This is a uniquely 

beautiful place. We come across a clearing in a forest and 

Mum signals to stop. There's a clump of trees. The drizzle 

is persistent so she draws sitting awkwardly in the back 

seat, windows up. Within minutes she has captured the 

essence of the scene. 

At 87, Barbara Cauvin continues to amaze and inspire 

me as I watch her sketching this clump of silver-barked 

trees in a wilderness forest. I envy her ability to observe 

and create. 

Barbara Cauvin, Mt Lyell Surface Series, 2012 

watereolOuT, h.36cm, w.27cm 

Photo: Concept Photographics 

Observing her watercolours and retrospective ceramics 

for her recent exhibition, Tasmanian Traces, at 

Sidespace Gallery in Hobart, the connection with Cauvin's 

environment and the sea is unmistakable. 

Barbara Cauvin is my mother and I came to Tasmania to 

interview her and take her to paint at Lake Pedder for this exh ibition. My sister, Sydney-based ceramicist 

Simone Fraser, curated the exhibition, a culmination of many trips around Tasmania, including the east 

and west coasts, the Bay of Fires, Cradle Mountain and Lake Pedder. 

At Lake Pedder we go to a lookout and she starts to paint. She has a steady hand, sweeping stylised 

brush strokes across the paper, blurring and simplifying the scene, transforming the vaporous mountains 

and grey lake into a misty 3x3 on paper. 

This is a special time for me and I 'look at the view', as I was encouraged by her to do as a child. It 

brings back memories of sitting for hours as her subject for portraiture, surrounded by paint, brushes, 

clay and pots. 

I reminisce about watching her working at the wheel or bench in her Hobart studio overlooking 

Mount Well ington, lost in her world of clay, working layer upon layer, coaxing this way and that way, 

fingers and tools melding and defining the surface into a form echoing the natural beauty of the 

seashore, a shell, rock pool or seaweed. 

Asked about her talent, she reminds me that my great grandfather made his living as an artist and my 

grandfather was a keen amateur photographer. My grandmother was also artistic and liked to draw. At 

15, the young Barbara was sketching and attending art lessons after school, and by 17 she was taking 

commissions for portraits. Laughingly she says some of her boyfriends benefitted for their 21 sts with 

some of her work. 


--~--- - 


Barbara Cauvln 

and her Wave form 

Her watercolours indicate a step away from her ceramics, which she practised for almost 40 years, 

returning to watercolour after the death of her husband, my father, in 1996 after a long illness. 

Cauvin is reluctant to say which medium she likes best. She was attracted to the riskiness of clay " 

there 's always a chance that the kiln has changed the work, anything can go wrong in a firing; there are 

many surprises, and maybe there's an element of lack of control, whereas, with painting, I feel more in 

control " . She says of the comparison between working in clay and paint, "colour and surface texture 

have always been important elements in my work and I think there is still that link" . 

The Rock Scape Series, from a recent visit to Mount Lyell Copper Mine on the west coast, is of 

particular interest as Cauvin is drawn back to the solidity of the landforms. She captures the striking 

vibrancy of these old mine edifices with her imaginative impressions using oranges, greys, greens and 

whites of the mineral and clay rock faces. 



Barbara (auvin, Wave, 1985 

hand-coiled, sculpted form 

stoneware, h.24cm w.SOcm 

Opposite page: 

Barbara (auvin 

three crystalline bonles, 1992 

taliest. h.45cm 

Photos: Concept Photographic 

I know my mother created wonderful ceramics but I want her thoughts about what makes a good 

artist. 

"An artist must see beyond what's in front of her and create a unique interpretation; this comes from 

years of training the eye to observe what many others miss, to be disciplined and to have patience." 

Cauvin believes it's very personal, and vital that people have an intuitive understanding of the correct 

proportions of a pot or sculpture or painting. "As you work you are continuously appraising," she said. 

" I think learning to draw is a very important aspect. I enjoy the rhythm of design and try to transpose 

the drawing into 3D . There's always a danger in being too rigid about technique and breaking the rules 

is very acceptable if technique gets in the way of creativity and spontaneity." 

So how do you gauge when you are up to a standard to exhibit? 

"That's difficult to answer. You set yourself standards and must be self-critical, continually 

striving for excellence. If you're a student, you have opportunities to exhibit with other students, 

to critically analyse and gain valuable peer and teacher feedback ." She says it's a process of 

development, through time, skill, technical ability, practice and pushing through boundaries. It 

takes many failures and frustrations before the final work, which must look as if it was easy to 

produce." 

What sort of value as an artist should a practitioner place on selling their work? 

" Firstly you must be true to yourself. Don 't create for shock value, just for a sale - that's a 

deception. Put yourself out there and show off your hard work to sell, especially if that's how 

you pay the mortgage. But in the end, it comes down to what you create because you love the 

medium. If you don't, it shows." 

Barbara Cauvin has been in many solo and group exhibitions, is widely published in Australian 

and international magazines, and has collections in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 

University of Tasmania, the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, and in 

many private and public collections. 

Julie Claessens has written extensively for the arts and in the areas of health and nutrition, 

and is the publicist for the Tasmanian Traces exhibition. 



Flow and Twist 

Ch ris Weaver on tools 

Growing up in a family of five boys, you learned quickly that if you wanted something you had to make 

it with what you had, or go without. This often meant you had to make the tools first in order to be 

able to make that something that you wanted. 

I built myself a potter's wheel while at high school and taught myself to make pots. While I was an art 

student in Dunedin in the early seventies, I made my first throwing tools and what began as a necessity 

has become a passion. 

I live on the west coast of the south island of New Zealand, which is a fairly isolated part of the 

country and it helps to be resourceful. The nearest ceramic supply store is three hours drive away over 

the Southern Alps and phone or internet orders mean a wait of a couple of days at least. As I made new 

work in the early days, I was often not able to buy tools that were suitable to use. I found the generic 

tools available uncomfortable and unsympathetic, so I began making my own tools from the wood that 

had been swept down the flooded rivers and washed up on local beaches. The driftwood pieces I found 

were quite sculptural and fitted my hands comfortably. The pleasure I got from making and using these 

tools added to the pleasure of making pots. 

I've discovered that the best pieces of wood are found close to the high-tide mark but it is usually the 

shapes that first attract me. What I look for are the hardwoods that invite you to pick them up to be 

handled. I bring an armful home following a visit to the beach and add them to my supply drying in the 

shed. 

Often when developing a new series of work, rather than be limited by what I have at hand, I'll make 

new tools if I need them. I know precisely what I want it for before I start, so from the pile I'll pick a dry 

piece that suits my needs and feels comfortable to hold. The flow and twist of the grain has a bearing 

on the final outcome but I treat each piece as a sculptural objed and work on it until I'm satisfied, often 

reworking it over and over until it feels right. I rough them out first with a motorised disc and drumsander 

and hand-sand to finish. Because the wood fibres swell when wet, I finish the pieces with wet 


Above and below: Chris Weaver tools; photos: artist 

Focus: Technical


Driftwood washed up on the Hokitika Beach after a storm 

Chris Weaver 

and dry sandpaper in water before use. After I began using my new throwing tools, I quickly became 

dissatisfied with my brushes, knives and turning tools so I made replacements for them too. 

Earlier this year, I collaborated with furniture designer Tim Wigmore, who had earlier commissioned 

me to make a tool for a project he was working on. Then he asked for a wood and ceramic tool that 

was relevant to my work to exhibit in one of six custom-made native timber cabinets he would construct 

from the same species of wood as the contents. I chose to make a cutting wire attached to Rimu ends 

with porcelain plugs. For the wire I used a guitar string from the local music store twisted up with an 

electric drill and a vice. 

I use these tools not as replacement for, but as an extension of my fingers and they allow me to do 

more than I can with just my fingers . They also offer an excuse to indulge in my passion for making in a 

material other than clay. 

www.chrisweaver.co.nz 

f inished tool 


------------------- 

Focus: Tech nical 

1 Sliced tea set, 2009 2 Cutting wire with glazed ceramic inserts 3 Driftwood tools 4 Detail showing the ceramic bung and 

wire attachment 5 Metal tools with wooden handles. The cutting wire is made from a guitar string and stones from the beach 

6 Made to measure teapot, 2011; All work. by Chris Weaver; photos: artist 

6 



_._------- ------- ._----- --- ----------- 

Kevin Grealy. completed objects 

using the formwork method 

A Different Approach to 

Slab Building 

Kevin Grealy shares his discoveries 

As a construction method, slab building has its problems as well as its merits. The most common 

approach, which appears to be advocated in the many how-to publications, is to cut and stiffen all the 

pieces to be assembled, bevel their edges and then assemble the object using a 'glue' of clay slip at the 

joints. And there lurks the devil! 

Stiffened clay is mainly clay with a little water, whereas slip is mainly water with a little clay. As a pot 

dries, it is the water that disappears, leaving the joints the weakest part of the pot. The subsequent 

actions of drying, shrinking, heating and cooling are clever at seeking out these weakest parts for the 

release of tension and so the pot is damaged. 

By comparison, if 1 construct a pot by joining slabs of plastic clay with pressure only, the joint is usually 

stronger than any other part of the pot. The only problem is how to manipulate sof t slabs of plastic clay 

and apply pressure at the joints. For me the solution was suggested by a neighbour whose trade was 

constructing wooden formwork for poured concrete on building sites. Plastic sheets of clay can be cut 

to size, laid up on the inside of wooden formwork and joined with plastic clay coils and considerable 

pressure. Soon after, the formwork can be dissembled, so the exterior of the newly made object is 

available for a variety of decorative and textural treatments best performed on plastic clay. 



There are upper and lower size limits for this method. The lower limit is determined by the hand. 

There must be room for the hand and fingers to apply coils and pressure inside the pot. The upper limit 

is determined by the arm. You must be able to reach over the top of the formwork and down to the 

base of the pot for applying plastic clay coils with pressure. 

My first attempts were to construct square saggars Which, when made by the stiff clay and slip 

method, had an unacceptable failure rate ... at the joints! 

Project 1: A square saggar 

Construct a wooden box which has inside dimensions equal to the required outer dimensions of your 

saggar, allowing for drying and firing shrinkage. For easy dissembling, use screws not nails. The box need 

not have a base, but should sit unattached on a piece of fibro cement sheet. (Diagram 1) 

Step 1: On the sheet of fibro cement, cut a slab of clay w ider than the base of the wooden box or 

formwork . Place the box on the clay slab and trace a line on the clay around the inside of the box. This 

represents the base. 

Step 2: Remove the box. Cut away and remove the surplus clay. Replace the box over the clay. This is 

the base of your saggar. 

Step 3: Cut slabs for the four sides and lay them up inside the box. 

Step 4: Make coils the thickness of your little finger. Place them in the angles of each joint and apply 

pressure until the coils have disappeared into the slabs . 

Step 5: Clean up the insides of the saggar w ith a scraping tool then trim the top edge with a cutting 

wire. 

Step 6: Unscrew and dissemble the box or formwork. Imperfections can be repaired with plastic clay and 

a scraping tool, or burnished with a spoon. Alternatively, you could leave the saggar inside the formwork 

to shrink and then remove the 

formwork. 

Step 7: Allow the saggar to dry 

slowly, away from drafts, strong 

sunlight and heat sources. At the 

cheese-hard stage, sharp edges 

can be trimmed with a potato 

peeler. 

Hint: If you intend to make 

multiples of this or other projects, 

cut cardboard templates for each 

clay slab. Templates allow for 

faster and more accurate cutting 

to size . 


Focus: Techn ical 

One clay slab inside the 

formwork being joined 

to the base with a coil 

Project 2: Tall, partly enclosed pot 

A tall pot with a partly enclosed top requires a slightly different approach. The formwork for this pot can 

have wooden sides and base, but fibro cement sheeting is required for the larger areas of front and 

back. Follow making directions for the saggar formwork. 

Step 1: Unscrew and remove the front face (diagram 2) and lay the formwork on its back. 

Step 2: Apply and join slabs inside the formwork to the back, sides and base. (Diagram 3) Insert and 

press coils into each joint as you did with Project 1. 

Step 3: Place the front face fibre cement sheet on its back. Cut a slab of clay to roughly the size of the 

fibre sheet. 

Step 4: Measure the inside dimensions (A) and (B) of the clay work inside the formwork. 

Front and back 

clamped together 



Step 5: Cut the slab to these dimensions 

and remove the surplus clay. (Diagram 4) 

Step 6: Raise the formwork upright. Raise 

the front fibro sheet and clay slab upright 

and push it into place. Screw the front 

face onto the formwork. (Diagram 5) 

Step 7: Apply and press coils into the 

new jOints with pressure. The pot is 

complete; however the top edges are 

prone to warping inwards as the pot 

dries. To prevent this, you need to fashion 

an inward-turned lip. 

Step 8: Apply fat coils to the inside of the 

top of the pot. (Diagram 6a) 

Step 9: Place a block of wood across 

the rim of the pot and press the fat 

coils upwards against the wood block. 

(Diagram 6b) 

Step 10: The inner edge of the top is 

likely to be irregular. Allow it to become 

cheese hard then trim it neatly with a 

sharp, thin-bladed knife. (Diagram 6c) 

Step 11: Unscrew and dissemble the 

formwork. Allow the pot to dry slowly 

away from wind, strong sunlight and heat 

sou rces. 

® 

THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 20.2 4'

------- 


----------------- 

~LI:::=::i::===:::U 

Project 3: Slab pot with wheel-thrown neck 

The pot in Project 2 could have been almost completely enclosed so a wheelthrown neck could be 

added. However, the pressure used to firmly attach the neck could also cause the flat top to collapse. 

The solution is to give the pot an upwardly curved top. (Diagram 7a; above left) 

Two fibro faces are cut with the desired curve and screwed to the formwork. (Diagram 7b) 

Step 1: Remove the front fibro face and construct the insides as in Project 2. 

Step 2: Add the front face as in Project 2, making certain that all joints are well pressed with coils . 

Step 3: As in Project 2, add fat coils inside the top of the rim, starting from the narrower ends. Hold a 

block of wood firmly against the top of the formwork and press the coils upwards towards the block of 

wood. Continue until you can no longer place a finger inside the pot. 

Step 4: Allow the pot to reach the cheese hard stage before adding a freshly thrown neck with slight 

pressure. Do not use slip for the joining - to minimise damage to the top of the pot, throw the neck 

with softer clay than usual. 

Project 4: A narrow slab pot 

You may wish to make a slab pot which is too narrow from front to back for your hands to be inside 

for joining by the plastic clay and pressure methods used so far. The solution is a compromise. Most 

of the pot is made by the methods used in Projects 2 and 3 but the remaining face is added by using 

pressure and a thick clay paste that is thicker than slip but thinner than plastic clay. 

The formwork for this pot has a thin plywood, curved top, two wooden sides and a wooden base, and 

a back face of fibro cement. It has no front face. 

Step 1: Construct the insides as for Project 1, that is, a top, a base, 2 sides and the back. 

Step 2: Cut a slab slightly bigger than the back. 


Focus : Technical 

Step 3: Make a thick paste of clay (like peanut butter) and apply a thick bead to the top edge of the 

clay in the formwork. 

Step 4: Turn the formwork over and carefully place it on top of the slab, applying pressure to join. 

(Diagram 8a). I usually use a block of wood and hammer to apply sufficient pressure to squeeze excess 

clay paste from the joint. (Diagra m 8b) 

Step 5: Unscrew and dissemble the formwork. Trim away excess clay and fettle the pot. Add a wheelthrown 

neck if desired. 

Summary 

Projects 1, 2 and 3 using plastic clay and pressure joints give me around 90% success rate. Failures are 

usually caused by carelessness - wind, drying, strong sunlight, damp pot in the bisque firing. 

Project 4, combining plastic clay, firmer clay and clay paste, gives me around 70% success rate . Failure is 

always at the paste-joined edges. 

When the intended pot will be too small or narrow for these methods, I slip-cast. Success rate is 100%. 

For making formwork, unpainted timber is fine for bases and sides, but larger areas or faces require a 

porous material such as cellulose fibre cement sheeting. Large area slabs of clay will stick to plywood 

and masonite sheeting. 

I used Feeney's Buff Raku and Clayworks GB3 for these projects. The Buff Raku can be sprayed with a 

slip of GB3 if a light coloured surface is required for some glazes. 

www.sidestoke_com/Grealy/fastfire1.html 


Focus : Technical 

What haven't you been doing 

with paper clay? 

Graham Hay on the 'dipstick' method 

While paper clay is widely used in studios and classrooms, even experienced practitioners have an 

incomplete understanding of the technical possibilities. Most have discovered that paper clay can be 

used in the same manner as we have been taught to use traditional clay. Pinch, coil, slab, slipcast, press 

moulding and most wheel techniques are all possible in paper clay. Many will have noticed that less 

warping and cracking occurs with paper clay. 

In this article I want to focus on just one of a number of new techniques - quickly joining dry paper 

clay to dry paper clay. I have named it the 'dipstick' method. 

Traditionally, large or thin clay works are skillfully built by joining 50ft, wet clay to soft, wet clay, 

while drying the rest of the work only enough that it does not collapse under its own weight. When 

completed, the whole work is dried slowly. Paper clay offers the opportunity to join together thinner 

pieces, which can be pre-dried, with no lengthy drying period at the end. 

Considerable savings in time are possible, with reduced fatal errors and cracking. 

The following advice applies to any paper clay, regardless of the amount of paper (processed cellulose 

fibre) in the clay, and regardless of the type of clay used to make the paper clay (earthenware, 

terracotta, raku, stoneware, porcelain, bone china). 

Bear in mind that the hollow paper fibres provide 'pipes' through dense clay bodies. These pipes 

enable water, steam, air and heat to move quickly through the clay. There are two key things to watch 

out for when joining dry paper clay to dry paper clay: firstly, the degree of dryness of the two pieces, 

and secondly the thickness of the pieces. Provided you clearly understand the importance of these two 

things, your dried and fired joins will be as strong as the rest of the ceramic work. 

Completely dry 

It is essential to make sure the 'dry' paper clay is completely dry. This ensures it has reached its 

maximum tensile strength - and it will reduce the likelihood of you accidentally breaking work during 

joining. Also, completely drying the paper clay will shorten the time it takes the paper clay to siphon 

water into and later away from joins, and so soften and then dry (firm up) the joins. When joining dry 

pieces of paper clay, think of the process as temporarily converting the joining area back to soft clay, just 

long enough to make the join. Only through experience will you discover how much water to add to the 

dry paper clay, and how long is the time window you have to make a successful join. 

If the clay feels cool to touch, it is not completely dry. Not completely dry paper clay can be speeddried 

in the hot sun and/or a warm wind, or for the very impatient, a hot fan heater outside on a 3S+ 0 C 

day! If it is cold, it is best to place the heater on a table, otherwise you are trying to heat up and use the 

colder air at ground level. 

Hydrologic mass 

Consider now what I'll label the hydrologic mass of the joining parts. This is the capacity of the dry 


Graham Hay, Spin, 2001, earthenware and terracotta ceramic paper clay, all parts dried, dipped and stuck together with 

earthenware paper clay, fired to 11600(, h.37cm, w.35cm. d.22cm; photo: Vidor France 

piece of paper clay to absorb water. Most people incorrectly consider the size of the area to be joined 

when considering how long to soak the joining areas of the dry paper clay. Actually. the larger the 

hydrologic mass of a piece to be joined. the longer it has to be soaked; therefore joining two different 

sized pieces of dry paper clay will require different soaking times. 

Note: both soaking pieces should be removed simultaneously from the water or slip, just seconds 

before making the join, otherwise the moisture will be Siphoned away from the joining area prior to 

joining. The surfaces to be joined must be still shiny wet, not just damp, when joined together. 

Reduce soaking time by soaking the dry paper clay edges in watery paper clay slip rather than in 

thick slip. Soaking in hot, clean water before adding joining paper clay slip is an option for the very 

impatient. (Increasing the paper content in handmade paper clay has also been a strategy used by those 

specialising in dry-to-dry joins.) By using completely dry paper clay, the maximum amount of clay (within 

the paper clay slip) is sucked quickly into the two joining surfaces, and once the join is made. any 

surplus water is siphoned away from the join into the dry part of the piece, drying the join out quickly 

and so strengthening it quickly. The quicker each join dries and firms up, the sooner weight can be 

placed on it and more joins made. Obviously, thinner pieces of dry paper clay require less soaking time 

prior to joining and can be more quickly dried after joining, than thicker pieces. 

What to look for 

The following photos provide an indication of what to look for when soaking dry paper clay prior to 

making a join. Each paper clay maker or manufacturer may use a different amount or type of paper in 

their paper clay. Also there are many different equations used to describe the percentage of paper in 

their paper clay (dry weight. dry volume. wet volume etc.) so it is best to make a small siphoning test in 

your studio or classroom. 

THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMJCS NOVEMBER 2012 45


---------- --------- 

Image 1: the two pieces of dry paper clay on the left were soaked in cold water, and the two on the 

right were soaked in hot water. Compare the two thick pieces in the middle and how far the water was 

absorbed into the dry paper clay. The piece second from the left should be soaked in water for longer 

(as it is not yet even leather hard), while the third from the left has adsorbed too much water (and has 

begun to structurally disintegrate as the water gathers on the surface). It should be left out for a little 

while to firm up into plastic clay consistency before joining. 

Use a timer to measure how quickly different thicknesses of dry paper clay become soft or start to 

disintegrate in the water. After they have been removed from the water, time and observe how quickly 

they siphon the water away from the join area. 

Completely flat joins or clean breaks can be soaked and joined with paper clay slip (or without slip if 

soaked long enough so the dry paper clay converts into slip). 

Image 2: uneven joining surfaces were soaked (top 7 minutes, lower one 5 minutes) before being 

joined together with a coil of soft paper clay (dipped in paper clay slip). Be careful not to pull the soft 

paper clay up onto areas surrounding the join that may not have been wet long enough to soften. If 

you do, hai rline cracks on the join line will appear. 


Focus: Te chnical 

Image 3: broken tube. Always test the tensile strength of completely dry joins to discover the ideal 

duration to soak that particular paper clay (or thickness) prior to joining, in order to create the strongest 

joins. In this example, the piece on the right was soaked for two minutes longer than the other piece, 

before being joined together with soft paper clay. After completely drying, I bent the work and the join 

broke on the left side of the joining soft paper clay coil (marked with two small black marks). 

Over the last twenty years Graham Hay has given more than 200 workshops in a dozen 

countries, participated in (or led) paper clay conferences/symposiums in Scotland, Denmark, 

US, Hungary and Sweden, taken part in 120 exhibitions and published twenty paper clay 

journal articles. For detailed information and video on how to use paper clay, visit www. 

grahamhay.com.au. 



Workshop with Akio Takamori 

Alison Smiles reports from Adelaide 

In the three days prior to Subversive Clay, Australian Ceramics Triennale 2012, I was fortunate enough 

to attend a hands-on workshop with ceramic sculptor Akio Takamori. We learned about Akio's technical 

processes and came closer to an understanding of his work. It was also a great precursor to the week of 

clay madness at the conference. 

Akio is a university lecturer who structured his time with a mixture of demonstrations, hands-on 

participation and slide talks, and it was great to attend such an organised and well-rounded workshop. 

Akio gave us an introduction to his work, explaining his background training in fine arts, his move to 

a production pottery village in Japan, and his development as a production potter, producing 1000 cups 

a month for the pottery. He also spoke of his eventual move to the United States to extend his ceramic 

and fine art knowledge. All of these experiences led him to become the artist he is today, working in the 

cross disciplines of ceramics, drawing, printmaking and public art. 

The atmosphere in the workshop was reverentia l - it was exciting to be in a room full of people who 

were really eager to learn more about Akio's processes, even if I felt a little star-struck at times! Every 

day was a push to get our pieces to the next stage so that we could develop our work further and grow 

the skills we were learning from him. 

As a result of this intensive process, the atmosphere of the class was a quiet contemplative space; we 

were lucky to have assistants on hand and the excellent facilities of AC Arts in Adelaide TAFE as host 

meant that the workshop did not leave me wanting in any possible way! The only thing that would 

have made it better is if it had been longer! 

Akio made three sculptures, a slab-built form which had a different image painted on each side, and 

two coil-built figures - one a reclining sleeping girl, the other a standing boy. We were working with 

Feeneys Buff Stoneware, a sandy and easy-to-use sticky clay that allowed coils to build up quickly and 

took the punishment from heat guns used to force-dry the figures. Akio built his standing sculpture in 

one day, which was really impressive as the finish was still very sensitive and resolved. The benefit of 

years of experience was obvious, as the figure grew with no major corrections or alterations other than 

simply pinches and pulls to the face. Akio stressed the importance of checking and rechecking your 

work as it grows by touching the figures. With a gentle fatherly pat now and then on the shoulders of 

his growing figure, he explained that this was important to maintain proper proportion and symmetry. 

In regard to proportion, Akio also explained that it is better to make a figure that initially appears 

too skinny as you can manipulate the shape by pushing on the form from the inside, which will give 

the form a greater tension and feeling of liveliness. His description of making a figure with a sense of 

realness, rather than a likeness, also makes a lot of sense. His figures are not highly realistic; instead 

they possess a life of their own, and it was interesting to see a room full of makers react to his sculpture 

which had simply grown from the clay in front of them. It was heart warming to see the affection they 

Akio Takamori at AC Arts in Adelaide TAfE; photo: Grant Hancock 

48 THE JOURNAL Of AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012

-


felt for the figu re because, as human beings, we are all hardwired to respond to a likeness in a face, but 

responding to a sense of humanity in a face is another type of readion all together. 

On reflection I can see that this workshop has taught me how to go up in scale and also the 

possibilities that lie in the expressive nature of clay. The privilege of seeing a true master of ceramic 

sculpture at work has helped me begin to understand the marriage between form and surface 

treatment. 

The flattening out of the face by the application of underglaze meant that Akio's faces are far from 

finished when he stops sculpting and picks up the brush to start painting. To develop this skill and also 

keep the work looking fresh is something that comes from making the work in a spontaneous manner. 

Using underglazes that are diluted means that the colour moves and runs in a way that is less controlled 

than I am used to. This enables a freer feel to the clothing and faces that Akio makes. The sculptures are 

sometimes fired up to four or five times, allowing for refledion on the finish and staging the process so 

that work doesn't become muddy or too controlled. 

The washes become deeper with each subsequent firing because generally Akio re-fires the work 

at a lower temperature than the first firing, avoiding a bleaching out effed on the work. Commercial 

Opposite page, photos: Grant Hancock 

Below, photos: Alison Smiles

- -_._-. _ - --- - - _. 


Photos: Alison Smiles 

underglazes are used with the addition, sometimes, of Gerstley Borate to provide a little extra flux to the 

colours. 

The challenge to experiment with these new ways of seeing, and to free up the stiltedness that can 

come with struggling with the complexities of the human form, and interpret all this w ith a new set of 

eyes for my own work, is a challenge I'm sure many of the others in the class also felt. 

http://alisonsmiles.carbonmade.com 

S2 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012


Technical tips: 

• Choice of clay for hand-building is important if you want your sculpture to grow quickly. 

• Keep the water away! If you are working with good squishy clay, there is no need to add 

slip to coils or to dampen them with water; this will only make your sculpture less strong 

and more prone to cracking. 

• Roughly sketch your faces into the head surface and then sculpt from the outside as well 

as from the inside of the head, by gently pushing cheekbones etc. out. 

• Keep the firing range to 1140°C or similar as this does not shrink the work too much and 

it stops the faces looking 'tight'. Also, if you are using groggy or sandy clay, this will come 

to the surface at higher temperatures and make a rougher sandy surface. 

• Re-firing is always an option and this will allow you make changes and develop the 

surface. There is no need to re-fire at a higher temperature. Keep it lower than your first 

firing as going higher can undo some of the surface treatment you have already applied. 

• When doing a horizontaVreciining figure, sketch the figure on your base slab of clay to 

map out the structure, and build up the figure horizontally to maintain balance and strong 

structure. 


Fo cus: Technical 

Web Places 

A collect ion of useful technical websites gathered by Emily Byrne 

The web has a wealth of information available to potters. From basic information to more detailed 

direction, there is a site for everyone. Below are just a few we have discovered. 

www.claytimes.com/studio-reference-guide.html 

Clay Times is an American-based website and magazine. Their studio reference page has information 

across a broad range of topics. These include preparing your own clay, step-by-step written guides on 

throwing lids, constructing press moulds and teapots. There is also a section on glazing techniques. 

www.ceramics-directory.com/about-ceramics-clay.php 

International Ceramics Directory is an online database of the ceramic industry featuring basic 

information about types of clay, their composition and uses. 

http://pottery.about.com 

About.com is great for explanations on a variety of ceramic topics. It is a general website on a collection 

of subjects, pottery being one of them. 

http://juliagalloway.com/field-guide 

The Field Guide for Ceramic Artisans is a website of information and resources developed by Julia 

Galloway to help and support students when they are finishing school. It came about after peer-topeer 

sharing of information by her students along with information Julia collected based on the specific 

questions asked by them. 

http://ceramicartsdaily.org 

Ceramic Arts daily has an informative collection of articles written across a broad range of topics by 

various potters. There is also a comprehensive range of instructional videos. Go to the bottom of their 

home page to discover the different sections. 

www.ceramicstoday.com/articles/branfman_raku.htm 

This page on Ceramics Today has detailed information on raku firing in Q&A format. 

www.robertcomptonpottery.com/Method%20of-Wood%20Firing-pottery.htm 

Robert Compton Pottery has basic information on woodfiring including different techniques and the 

effects they will produce. 

www.nsi.tafensw.edu.aullibraries/Ceramics.htm 

Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE has a resources page providing links to ceramic information. Some 

resources require a student 10. 

http://ceramicsnepean.westernsydneyinstitute.wikispaces.net 

This wiki space is primarily used to share information for Ceramics and Fine Arts students at TAFE NSW, 

Western Sydney Institute, Nepean College. Most areas of the site are now freely available to anyone 

interested in ceramics. Non-students can browse the pages listed, download photos, glaze recipes and 

technical information. 



Orawings by Emily Byrne 

www.brothers-handmade.com/pottery-glazes.html 

Brothers Handmade has a page with basic information on glazes. 

www.duncanshearer.co.nz/glaze/glazechemistry.html 

Duncan Shearer Studio Potters website delves into detail regarding the chemical composition of glazes. 

www.sidestoke.com 

Th is website was constructed by Arthur Rosser, who also provides content on anagamas and other 

wood fired kilns, woodfired pots and woodfirers themselves. 

Editor's note: Emily Byrne, daughter of Sydney potter and teacher Jen Lyall, joined us at 

the office of The Australian Ceramics Association in mid-July 2012, for one week of Work 

Experience as part of her Year 10 study. Emily was asked to find online resources for potters 

and this list is the result. Her skills at drawing also came to the fore with her pen drawing 

(shown here) of the pinch pot method. Emily also updated the Australian Ceramics Directory, 

correcting inconsistent entries and adding thumbnail images to entries. It was a pleasure to 

have her with us and we wish her well with her future studies. 


Promotion 

[EAflmIH flUSTAflLlfl 

QUAIJTY WHEELS. MILLS & KILNS 

How Shimpo Came to Australia 

A Story by Rohan Lidgard 

"So it begins .. ." 

My passion for pottery and all things clay began when my parents gave me and my sister a bag of 

clay to play with as toddlers. We would sit in the garage for hours making little pinch pots and animals. 

For us it was all about getting muddy and squishing clay into different forms and ending up with our 

own masterpiece that we would take proudly to get fired at Auckland Studio Potters. I still recall the 

post-firing excitement as we anxiously waited for the kiln door to open. What a treat that was. 

"Is that a brick?" 

"No, it's a teapot. " 

Coming from a family where my granddad and father were both potters, my sister and I were both 

exposed to the world of ceramics from a young age. We were fortunate to be surrounded by passionate 

potters like Peter longi, who was a friend of my father's. Visiting him was always an exciting experience, 

wondering what new things he had created. A few of my favourites were his teapots; one that looked 

exactly like a brick and another one that looked like a samurai's head with a fish passing through it. I 

can still remember sneaking into the old pottery shed on granddads farm and being absolutely taken 

aback by all the tools, equipment. fiddly bits and mechanical things like the old drip-diesel-kilns. I 

would sit there and wonder how the combination of all these things produced many of our household 

essentials. These childhood experiences were the bricks and mortar that were laid down to begin my 

passion for pottery. 

"It's bright orange!" 

"This is no ordinary wheel." 

Whilst visiting my father in Japan late 2007, I spent a few months throwing pots in his bedroomconverted-studio 

on his Shimpo Whisper T. A week and a half later, the studio shelves were full and 

the pots were dry. It was time for glazing. We had a 65-litre bucket of glaze and it needed to be mixed 

through. My father handed me a big mixing stick and said, "See you in one hour; I'm going downstairs 

for dinner. " 

My stomach bellowed, so I quickly started mixing as fast as I could without spilling glaze over the 

sides of the bucket. It was no easy task . My arms and shoulders started to feel like lead and the glaze 

was putting up some tough game. My eyes searched the studio for something that would help get food 

into my stomach sooner; something to do the stirring for me - the pottery wheel. 

The Shimpo wheels have a fully adjustable foot pedal that holds speed without the need of holding 

the pedal down. You just depress the pedal to the RPM you want and leave it there. Perfect. 

56 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 20t2

Shimpo RK-3E (VL Whisper) Potter's Wheel; photos: Maximilian Mein 

So there I was, a hungry seventeen-year-old ready to get the job done. I placed the big tub of glaze 

carefully on the wheel head, making sure it was centred and then set the pedal to a nice slow speed, 

the tub had quite a large circumference so a fast speed would equal mess everywhere! 

The glaze was perfectly mixed through within minutes and alii had to do was hold the mixing stick in 

the bucket without moving it. Job done. Dinnertime. 

" Remember to turn the wheel off!" 

" ... Why?" 

"So you don't accidentally ... " 

After dinner I went upstairs to glaze the pots ready for firing the next morning. Full as anything and 

feeling a tad on the sleepy side, I opened the studio door and .. . BOOM! The next thing I know glaze 

is everywhere. I had painted my father's fastidiously neat studio white. The wheel was so quiet I had 

forgotten to turn it off and had accidentally stepped on the pedal and pushed it to max RPM! I learnt 

my lesson and now realise why they put an " on" light on the wheels. They're so quiet you can't hear 

them. These months spent in Japan reignited my passion for throwing and marked the inception of my 

business, Ceramix Australia. 

Coming home was hard; I felt misplaced. This wasn't the Australia I had left behind. I recognised 

everything but it felt different, like I was looking at home from a different perspective. I missed the 

rhythmic sounds Japan had to offer as background noise. I missed the studio in which I had become 

accustomed to spending my days. I've always liked the idea of being self-sufficient, something about 

being able to shape the environment around me to exactly how I feel it should be. Throwing takes me 

back; I feel like I'm a little kid aga in helping grandad around the farm. I miss those days. I can't recreate 

them but maybe I can recapture the essence of those carefree feelings I had as a child. 

S8 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012

Promotion 

Photo: Maximilian Meln 

I figured the main reason I felt like my home had changed was because I had changed. I wanted to 

be able to get back to my father's studio in Japan. I cleared out the old garden shed in the backyard and 

began setting up a place from which I could work. 

I began by researching different pottery wheels available in Australia and couldn't find any that 

compared to the quality and precision of Shimpo products. Determined to get something of similar 

standard I spoke with my father and we decided the best option was to import Shimpo pottery wheels 

from Japan, as nothing in Australia came close. One thing led to another and we recognised the 

potential to set up a small importing business. We then secu red sole distribution rights to the Australian 

market to provide the Shimpo experience to others also looking for quality precision pottery equipment. 

This was the beginning. 

Everything comes together when I'm throwing - the slightly abrasive feeling of clay in my hands, the 

distinct earthy smell and the raw feeling of creation. The absolute silence .. with the Shimpo I am in 

Japan again. 

To find out more about Shimpo quality precision pottery equipment, 

visit our website: www.shimpo.com.au or contact Rohan by email. rohan@shimpo.com.au. 

Potters Wheels Banding Wheels Kilns RoUer 

[m1] 

THE 10URNAl Of AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012 59

Marian Hosking. Hollow Stump, 2012, porcelain, eucalyptus, epoxy, paint, various dimensions; collection of the artist 

2012 Cicely & Colin Rigg 

Contemporary Design Award 

In November 2012, the National Gallery of Victoria will present the sixth Cicely & Colin Rigg 

Contemporary Design Award. The Award is a generous legacy of the late Colin Rigg (1895-1982), 

a former Secretary of the NGV Felton Bequests' Committee. Held every three years, the focus is on 

contemporary design practice in the state of Victoria. Each Award is devoted to a particular design 

discipline and is arguably the most prestigious award offered to a contemporary designer in Australia 

with a prize of $30,000. Previous recipients are Neville Assad-Sadha (1994) for ceramics, Robert Baines 

(1997) for metalwork, Louise Weaver (2003) for textiles, Sally Marsland (2006) for jewellery, and Simone 

LeAmon (2009) for seat furniture. 

60 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2 012

View 

The 2012 award will be dedicated to the 

theme of containment, allowing a broad 

interpretation that embraces both the conceptual 

and the specific. The artists have been asked 

to think more laterally and abstradly about the 

notion of a vessel as an objed that physically and 

metaphorically contains something. The fourteen 

artists' works represent a wide range of pradice 

and media, including ceramics, glass, metalwork, 

plastics and natural materials. The selection of 

artists encompasses those with well-established 

profiles as well as those more emerging. 

The participating artists in 2012 are ceramicists 

Garry Bish, Neville French, Titania Henderson, 

David Pottinger, David Ray and Owen Rye; 

silversmiths/metalsmiths Robin Bold, Mark 

Edgoose, Marian Hosking and Katherine 

Wheeler; glass artists Richard Morrell, Ian 

Mowbray and Yhonnie Scarce; and plastics, 

Emma Davies. 

The choice of a theme for this year's award, 

rather than a specific area of pradice, delivers 

enormous scope for interpretation. Many of 

the works embody a sculptural aesthetic while 

rema ining inherently fundional, yet they play 

with the possibilities of what might be, beyond 

their pradical value . Other works are presented 

in the context of a traditional concept. 

The award recipient of the 2012 Cicely & 

Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award will be 

announced on 22 November. The judge for this 

year's award is Robert Reason, Curator, European 

and Australian Decorative Arts at the Art Gallery 

of South Australia. 

The 2012 Cicely & Colin Rigg Contemporary 

Design Award exhibition will be on display 

at The Ian Potter Centre, NGV Australia, 

from 23 November 2012 until 21 July 2013. 

Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am- 5pm, 

admission is free. 

The award and exhibit ion are supported by 

the Cicely & Colin Rigg Bequest, managed by 

ANZ Trustees. 

Top: David Pottinger, Nerikomi Vessel, 2012, porcelain, 

h.32cm, w.31cm. d.17cm; collection of the artist 

Above: David Ray. Stone Soup, 2012, porcelain, tureen, 

h.6Ocm; collection of the artist 

Photos: courtesy National Gallery of Victoria 

THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 20.2 6.

Event 

------ 

Think Up and the Form 

Will Follow 

Susan Frost reports on the masterclass with Masamichi Yoshikawa 

The first day of Masamichi Yoshikawa's masterclass at JamFactory began without preamble. Through his 

interpreter Wendy we were told to take some clay and prepare to start. Our task was to hand-build a 

60cm tall cylindrical vessel. As a wheel thrower of quite petite wares, this was challenging for me but I 

started nevertheless. As we began our uncertain, wobbly pots, Masamichi worked on his own version, 

occasionally looking at our work. After a while he decided perhaps it was best to revise the height down 

to 20-30 cms and I immediately relaxed. I could achieve this new goal. 

Throughout the day Masamichi encouraged us not to think about technique; data accumulation 

through working with the clay was just as important. " Think 'up''', he said as our pots became a 

bit splayed at the sides "Think 'up' and the form will follow." So I thought 'up' and as I relaxed my 

technique, my pot began to take shape. After lunch Masamichi commented that he felt the energy 

in the room had changed and was pleased. There seemed to be more confidence in the studio as we 

surged past the 30cm mark on our way to achieving the original target. I reached 60cms and kept going 

'" 65cms, it was addictive - I couldn't stop adding coils. When Masamichi asked us to stop I had a 

towering 7Scm vessel and an immense sense of achievement. 

At the end of the day our vessels were brought together to one table and arranged by Masamichi. 

Until then they had been individual entities and now they were a group. It was remarkable to see 

how they changed in this context - they became stronger as forms and made sense as a collective. 

To integrate them further, Masamichi marked the vessels by stabbing and slicing with a kitchen knife, 

poking holes with a rod and hitting (almost whipping) with a stick. It was an energetic, theatrical end to 

the day that evoked (from me at least) a personal, physical response - I could feel every incision as my 

pot was being stabbed. 

Masamichi was reflective on the second morning. He began a general discussion about domestic 

ware and its relevance in the context of art. As much as he is known for his architectural compositions 

and installation works, he has also created many vases, boxes, plates, sake vessels, rice bowls and tea 

bowls. He believes these are more than domestic objects and that if they provoke a reaction, regardless 

of whether this reaction is positive or negative, then they are successful works of art. Masamichi firmly 

believes that art can overcome the pressures of modern life and we protect the natural beauty of the 

world through art. Through the arts, people receive happiness in life. 

When we moved into the demonstration session of the day, Masamichi threw his signature tea bowls. 

Throwing quickly and fluidly, he uses few tools when making functional pots. Masamichi wants to put 

Masamachi Yoshikawa at the JamFactory masterclass in Adelaide; photo: Grant HanCOCK 


This page: 

1 Photo: Lucille Nobleza 

2-5 Photos: Grant Hancock 

Opposite page: 

1 Photo: lucille Nobleza 

2 Photo: Grant Hancock 

3 Photo: lucille Nobleza 

his physicality into the work, because the pots will go on, when complete, to be used by the body. A 

brush is used to make a swirling mark inside the base of the vessel in the process of finishing, affecting 

the movement of water, which is also the intention of his cool blue flowing glazes. 

In the afternoon Masamichi started assembling one of his architectural forms and we were 

encouraged to make our own. To make these constructs he takes thick leather-hard slabs of clay and 

carves them back, extracting walls. He takes time to assemble the piece, working out where the walls fit 

then taking it all apart and cutting interlocking sections so they slot together, a technique learned from 

stone carvers. To end the day we watched slides of his work, in particular the planning and execution of 

his 27-metre porcelain wall and sculptural installation at Nagoya Airport.

Event 

On day three Masamich i continued with the 

construction of his architectural composition. 

Later he returned to the throwing wheel to make 

a large pot. Taking two bags of clay, pounding 

one bag on top of the other, he centred the clay 

into a large cone. Next he burrowed his whole 

hand, then arm down into the pot to form the 

centre. Rather than the typical throwing upwards, 

then thinning of the walls, the pot remained at 

the same height and he narrowed the walls by 

pushing the shape outwards and taking off any 

excess inside with a tool. He finished the pot by 

using a rib to shape the thick rim and squeezed 

the form at the base to warp the shape . This 

thick vessel was to be gradually dried over a few 

weeks by covering it in newspaper and plastic, 

replacing the paper every day until it has drawn 

out all the moisture. Masamichi would then 

usually bisque this work slowly over a week. 

~--"." ' 

~ .. \

Masamichi's hands; photo: Grant Hancock 

To finish the day, and the class, the tea bowls from the previous day were trimmed. A chuck was 

thrown and quickly hardened using a blow torch and one by one each little bowl was slotted on 

to be finished. The base was rounded as it was trimmed, so the bowl rocked when placed on a flat 

surface. In a final touch, Masamichi turned the bowl over and drew on the base with a needle tool in a 

spontaneous motion, which he later highlighted by brushing over with an oxide. Masamichi has made 

more than 30,000 of these vessels and he has drawn on the bottom of every single one. It is his way 

of leaving a personal message on the work; he also sees it as a way of marking time. Each composition 

represents a moment of his life as it goes by, the minutes and hours of the actual making process. 

It was an absolute privilege to experience Masamichi's working practices over the three days of the 

workshop. The amount of himself he puts into his work, and the respect he has for his material and 

the work, is inspiring . Although the masterclass was complete, Masamichi returned to the studio for 

the three days until his flight back to Japan, to finish the work he had started. It was clear the work he 

created was part of him. and he was visibly relieved to have it finished . 

After completing two years as an Associate at the JamFactory. Susan Frost has continued as a 

tenant at the Jam and now works full-time from her studio. 

www.susanfrostceramics.com 


28 Sep - 1 Oct 20 

ADELAIDE 12

28 Sep - , Oct 20t2 

ADELAIDE

Commun ity 

Tiddas and Bunjies 

(Brothers and Sisters) 

A ceramics workshop helps Bankstown Koori Elders connect with their culture 

We meet two days a week at Condell Park Community Centre where we do our artwork. The group 

is made up of thirteen ladies and one man. On Wednesday we are with our ceramics teacher from 

Campbelltown TAFE, Walter Auer, who introduced us to clay. He taught us how to mould and shape 

and so far we have made clap sticks, grinding stones, coolamons and other things from clay. We enjoy 

yarning (talking) and exchanging cultural stories and experiences. Our Aunties, the ladies in the group, 

are from all over Australia, some from as far as Queensland (they are called Murris). 

Lola Simmons 

My name is Lola Simmons. I was born in Gulargambone, NSW. My tribe is Wailwan. I don't know much 

about my culture. I'm happy to be a member of an Aboriginal group which meets two days every week 

so we can learn about our culture, art and ceramics. 

John Simmons (non-Aboriginal) 

I enjoy going to the group with my wife, Lola, and doing artwork and ceramics, which I find very 

interesting . I also like listening to the group talking about their culture. 

Below: lola Simmons, Grinding Rock, 2012, terracotta. terra sigiUata. 10800(, h.l8cm, w.31cm, d.27cm 

Below right: John Simmons, Grinding Rock, 2012. terracol1a, terra sigillata. 10800(, h.14cm. w.30cm, d.2Scm 

Photos: Walter Auer 


1 Robyn Schmitz, Grinding Rock, 2012, terracotta, 

terra sigillata, underglaze colours, 108ifC, h.14cm, 

w.2Scm, d.22cm 

2 Bev M iranda, Grinding Rock, 2012, terracotta 

terra sigillata, 10BO"(, h.13cm, w.3Ocm, d.24cm 

3 Victoria Woods, Coo/amon, 2012. terracotta 

terra sigiliala, lOBO"(, h.Scm, w. 29cm. d.20cm 

4 Kellyanne Oriel. Coo/amon, 2012, terracotta 

terra 5Ig11l31a, 10BO"(, h.5cm, w.2Bcm, d.1Scm 


Robyn Schmitz 

I am an Aboriginal Elder who has no real 

knowledge of my culture due to my mother 

being of the Stolen Generation. Joining the 

Bankstown Elders Art Group has helped me 

have a spiritual closeness to my heritage, land 

and past generations. Finding my own style is a 

challenge but an enjoyable experience. Yarning 

with my fellow Elders is an added bonus that 

keeps my mind and body healthy. 

Bev Miranda 

My name is Bev Miranda. I am 66 years young, a 

proud Muruwarri woman born in Brewarrina and 

raised in Sydney. We are currently working with 

clay but I do enjoy art. I like painting with clay 

slurry - good earthy colours. 

Victoria Woods 

My name is Victoria Woods, age 60. I am 

a Wiradjuri woman, raised in Sydney. I love 

w orking with clay and painting w ith traditional 

colours. I feel like I am connecting with my 

country and culture. 

Keliyanne Oriel 

I am an Aboriginal woman whose bloodlines 

come from Kempsey and Dubbo - my family 

passed away before I found out that information. 

The art I like to do is working with clay and 

painting, both here at the Condell Park Elders 

Group and at home. It gets me back to nature 

and family. Through art I am learning about my 

culture and traditional times. 

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Community 

Vicki Markna 

My mob is from the Yuin Nation, South Coast, NSW. I am 53. I enjoy ceramics because it is calming - 

you get into your own zone. All of your worries and troubles you forget for a while - it gives me my 

sanity! We get to learn more about our culture and history as a group, and this gives me a sense of 

belonging. I'm better at ceramics than at other art practices; I've taken to it more. It has helped me grow 

in confidence. I've gone through depression and this has helped me to get through. 

lillian Johnson 

I grew up on the Cherbourg Mission. My mob is the Birri Gubbi people, North Queensland. I am 52 

years young. I like ceramics. You start with a bit of dirt and make it into something deadly. I enjoy doing 

art here at the Elders Group. I like using earthy colours; I have a loud mouth, but I don't like using loud 

colours! 

Lorna Morgan 

My name is Lorna Morgan and I am one of the Elders at the Condell Park group. I live in Villawood and 

attend the group twice a week and really enjoy it a lot. I was born in Sydney but grew up on a mission 

in North Queensland. My mother was born in Queensland and came from the Burri-Girri clan but grew 

up on Wakka-Wakka land. She grew up with the knowledge from both clans which made her a smart 

woman, and she passed it on to her children. I am proud of my Aboriginal heritage. 

Sheila Fay 

I am 70 years old, from the South Coast, NSW - Yuin Nation, Walbanga and Buddawang Tribes. My 

totem is the Black Duck. I like all types of art; it gets me out as I'm a full-time carer for my mother. I like 

1 Vicki Markna painting pebbles 2 Lilian Johnson, Coo /amon, 2012, terracotta. terra sigillata, 10BOOC h.Scm, w.21cm 

d.3Ocm 3 Lorna Morgan's work; photos: Walter Auer 


Communit y 

ceramics because you're moulding from nothing. When you sculpt, you're creating what's inside of you. 

I also like to draw animals. I have a connection to that, and also doing paintings in our colours (red, 

black and yellow). People here at the Elders Group are deadly too. Our teacher, Walter, is excellent. 

Beverly Gilmartin 

My mother comes from Quambone and grew up on the Brewarrina Mission. I grew up in Sydney. 

The art I like to work on are Aboriginal paintings, but mainly drawings. Clay is alright; I like working 

with clay. I mainly do my art here at the Elders Group. It's very relaxing practising art; there's a sense of 

calm and satisfaction I get when I'm doing art. I didn't learn much about traditional culture when I was 

young, so it's good to do it now. I get to mix with my cousins and my own mob. 

Helen Fisher nee Hopwood 

I think my mob is from Tasmania, but I'm not sure . I went to get DNA tested and found that I had 

Aboriginal heritage from Queensland and Northern Territory. I really enjoy doing ceramics but it's not 

my favourite. I'm looking forward to doing more modelling and sculpting of clay - I'd like to learn to do 

busts. I really like drawing and painting. I have been drawing for about 10 years, and started painting 

when I came here to the Elders Group in 2004. I still feel that I'm in the early stages with painting. I like 

doing portrait work. I love the Elders Group; it's the family I've always wanted. 

Carol Brown 

I'm 55 years old and was born and bred in Revesby, but a proud Biripi woman (Taree, Tuncurry, Forster 

area). I love all art that involves our culture and mother earth. I enjoy creating artworks from scratch 

using my imagination and passion. It just feels good. I can sense a definite connection to my culture by 

working with ochres and clay; it's just in our blood and our dreaming. 

4 Sheila Fay decorating a grinding rock 5 Beverly Gilmartin, Coo/amon, 20 12, terracotta, terra sigillata, 10800C 

h.5cm, w.2Ocm, d.29cm 6 Helen Fisher, Big Pebble, 2012, terracolta, terra sigillata 1080"(, h.l6cm, w.l4cm 

d.15cm; photos: Walter Auer 


Gloria Peronchik, Big Pebble, 2012, terracolta, 

terra sigillata. underglaze colours, 10800(. h.12cm 

w.17cm, d.l4cm 

carol Brown, Coo/amon, 2012. terracotta. 

underglaze colours, 1080"(, h.5cm, w.21 cm, d.30cm 


Gloria Peronchik 

I am 64 years old. I'm from Cherbourg, Queensland. My tribe is GangululVVaka-Waka. I've never 

done ceramics or art before. Since I've joined the Elders Group I find it very interesting learning about 

Aboriginal art and culture, even though we are all of different tribes (or mobs) we come together as one 

and enjoy sharing our stories. I'm very sure that within ourselves we put those stories into our art. I look 

forward to meeting up with the Elders each week. 

The Condell Park Elders Group is a circle of very special and close friends. Although they hail from 

many different parts of Australia, their unity and sense of fam ily stems from reconnecting with their 

Aboriginal identity. In terms of their artistic practice, they might say that they are all still learn ing their 

craft. Not limited to ceramics, the Elders also work with jewellery-making, pa inting, sewing and other 

creative pursuits. You're always welcome to sit in, have a yarn and a good cuppa tea with them. 

The Conde II Park Aboriginal Elders Group meets weekly on Wednesday and Thursday 

from 10am-2pm, at the Condell Park Community Centre. 

Tim Bishop is the Indigenous Arts Officer at the Bankstown Youth Development Services 

E: condellparkelders@hotmail.com 

Clockwise from top left: 

Beverly Gilmartin, Robyn Schmitz 

Sheila Fay, Carol Brown, Bev Miranda 

lilian Johnson, lola Simmons, 

John Simmons, lorna Morgan 

Victoria Woods and Vicki Markna 

Photo: Walter Auer 


Park Young-Sook with M oon Jar, 2006-2012, white porcelain installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney 

Photo: courtesy Gallery Hyundai 

The Moon Project 

Park Young-Sook and Yeesookyung and their collaborative work in Sydney 

During the recent 2012 Biennale of Sydney, Park Young-Sook and Yeesookyung showed The Moon 

Project, at the Museum of Contemporary Art. In this project, Park Young-Sook showed twelve newly 

created Moon Jar pieces, and Yeesookyung showed Translated Vase - The Moon created from the 

ceramic trash of Park's failed moon jars that had been saved for over ten years. 

Park Young-Sook has dedicated the last ten years of her career to reviving moon jars. Her moon jars 

are renowned as magnificent contemporary moon jars, distinguishing themselves through their beautiful 

shape and colours. "I consider Moon Jars as resemblances of our lives because they become a single 

whole when their generous acceptances and concessions in the harsh conditions are realised; and this is 

much similar to mankind meeting, understanding, and embracing each other." 

Moon jars are difficult to make as two separate jars are attached to one another, with the upper 

'torso' generally fuller than the lower half, and the top rim often wider than the base rim. This creates 

a structure that is extremely vulnerable to collapse in the kiln. Only one out of ten moon jars that Park 


Ceramics+ 

Left: Park Young·Soak always prays 

before destroying her pots 

Photo: courtesy Gallery Hyundai 

fires survives the kiln. Her large scale work represents the incredible skill and patience of the artist. 

Whilst Park Young-Sook's jars have inherited the beauty and spirit of those from the Joseon Dynasty. 

they are considered to also show a strength not evident in the earlier works. 

Before discarding the jars which have not survived the kiln, Park always prays. Ceramics are based on 

the formation of clay, air, fire and natural materials, therefore she prays to Nature before shattering the 

fragments. It takes more than 10,000 years for such fragments to once again become part of Nature. 

She feels that this action is the same as committing a sin against God, so she sincerely prays to Nature 

and God before shattering the pieces. 

Below: Park Young·Soak destroying pots which have not survived the kiln; photo: courtesy Gallery Hyundai 


Yeesookyung; photos: courte sy Gallery Hyundai Yeesookyung, Translated Vase - The Moon, 2012 

It is from the shards of these shattered moon jars that Yeesookyung's work is born. Yeesookyung is 

an artist who perceives artistic creation as a healing procedure. "I am really interested in things that 

are broken, deserted, and have failed, because I believe that is the turning point of art being reborn. 

A broken ceramic piece finds another piece and they rely on each other. The crack. which symbolises 

the wound, is emphasised with 24 carat gold gilding. This work is a metaphor of a struggle for life that 

makes people become more mature and beautiful as they overcome suffering." In Korea, ceramics are 

made with deep delicate craftsmanship, and less than 30 per cent of all created ceramics are kept. The 

rest, even those with the slightest flaws. are shattered and thrown away. When Yeesookyung puts these 

broken pieces into an artwork, she sees this as rebuilding broken parts within herself. 

Yeesookyung gathered together the broken fragments of Park's jars and reformed them into a sphere. 

symbolising eternity and the eternal cycle of life. She feels that the sphere, made from white moon jar 

shards, is a reminder of the full moon, one that fulfills our desires and holds miraculous energy. 

For the exhibition, twelve moon jars were selected for their various shapes and forms, representing 

the twelve signs of the zodiac and the twelve months of the year. A western view is that twelve months 

repeat endlessly every year, whereas the eastern view is that elapsing time is interpreted as endless 

circulations and repetitions of nature. The twelve jars were placed in a circle surrounding Yeesookyung's 

pieces . Park admits to feeling guilty about destroying failed pots because she produces them from 

soil with the help of fire and water. However, "through the hands of Yeesookyung, the shattered and 

unaccepted pieces are born again as new pieces of art". To her, that is another circulation and she 

believes it is at this creative point that contemporary art and ceramic art meet. 

An intense contrast is raised between the aesthetics of perfection that is being inherited and 

reinvented through Young-Sook. and the aesthetics of contemporary art that borrows the traditions 

of modern art and resurges through Yeesookyung's work. The two artists' collaboration, though, does 

not depict the contrast itself, but the many coincidental beauties that arise through the fusion of two 

different times, aesthetics and cultures. 

Our thanks go to Gallery Hyundai in Seoul, Korea, for their assistance with the article. 

www.galleryhyundai.com 


Up the Writin g Path 

There is No Still in Real Life 

Pru Morrison shares the outcome of her participation 

in Owen Rye's creative wri ting course 

I first discovered the thrill of opening a crayon box of delicious colours and unwrapping a carefully 

cubed block of school grade brown clay in the 1960s at preschool in Broken Hill NSW. This was a 

mining community and a trade union town. People were both laidback and eccentric and always ready 

to express views on current politics and global conditions with irreverence and humour. The knowledge 

that every story had its own gestation period was an unspoken detail but very well understood. Saturday 

morning was the time everyone came into town to pick up racing tips and mail and to do the weekly 

shop. The old hands mingled with the newcomers and station people from a few hundred miles back of 

beyond. Tight-mouthed, underground foremen and well dressed, hard faced miners mingled with tank 

sinkers and union officials who came in for a spree. The two-up king who was on nodding terms with 

half the town mingled with the women who pushed prams and the nurses who sold buttons for the 

hospital. I was perched on a stool next to the buttons, representing my aunty who was matron of the 

base hospital. The trombones and tambourines of the Salvation Army played on the post office steps as 

the people gathered to toss silver coins into the captain's hat, despite the tirades on the theme of sin, 

betting and beer because "The Army plays for the people's soul". These impressions as a child stirred an 

instinct for gathering and interpreting stories. 

In the 1980s, after two years studying art in Newcastle, I moved to Sydney to do a BA in Art at the 

City Art Institute. I majored in photography and became interested in the work of Diane Arbus (1923- 

1971 ) and Garry Winogrand (1928-1984). Arbus often photographed socially unique people, such as 

identical twins, middle-aged nudists, and circus performers. Winogrand took a seemingly more realistic 

view. His photographs of people in apparently ordinary activities and settings are actually interpretations 

of human foibles that can evoke strong emotion. 

It was an optimistic and lucky time to be studying art but it was also very hard . Nobody had any 

money. We lived in gloomy shared accommodation in various locations between Darlinghurst and 

Broadway existing on fortnightly food packages sent by our families on the overnight tra in to Sydney. 

We shared clothes from op shops and put newspaper between our blankets in the winter for insulation 

and sometimes we showered for free at Central train station. We spent most of our time in galleries 

and libraries. Initially they were a source of comfort but later they became valuable places to gather 

knowledge and immerse in art. We walked everywhere and the prospect of chancing upon a story to 

photograph was on every corner. The Whitlam Government had legislated for massive social reforms 

both progressive and forward thinking, so tertiary fees were paid by the Government in an effort to 

make university education accessible to working class Australians. The rapid social changes were initially 

very popular but eventually the government spent more money than they had, which led to economic 

stagnation with high inflation and an increase in unemployment. 

On completion of my studies I found work in a photographic lab spending 45 hours a week in a 

dark room for imbalanced wages based on gender and unhealthy work practices. After two years I was 

looking pale and sickly and went to Europe for a holiday. It lasted 10 years. I worked in various jobs and 

recorded impressions and ideas using drawing and doodling. 

I returned to an arts practice in 2000 on completion of a Diploma in Ceramics at South bank TAFE, 


Up the Writing Path 

1999 first test tiles of terra sigiUata 

on stoneware 

Opposite page, top: 

Margaret Dodd and Pru Morrison 

The Pleasure Dome, 2008 

porcelain and terra sigiUata 

h.17.5em, w .15em, d.37.5em 

Photo: Clayton Glen 

OppoSite page, bottom: 

Margaret Dodd and Pru Morrison 

Delphine - The Reel Thing, 2008 

porcelain and terra sigillata 

h.17em, w.12em, d.42em 

Photo: Clayton Glen 

in Brisbane. I have often been asked why I chose to return to art in the discipline of ceramics and I 

can only say that I knew very little about the medium and the process and that was its singular appeal 

- not knowing it. While in a glaze technology class at Southbank TAFE, I worked on a process to 

produce the fine slip known as terra sigillata. This was initially conceived as a means to exploit drawing. 

Predictably the pottery of ancient Greece became a significant influence. Through my investigations of 

this I discovered a parallel to what is at the core of social photography. The ancient Greek potters and 

contemporary social photographers have both used their craft to record people, places and events. They 

have explored the social landscape using symbols set within a repertoire of scenes, with themes ranging 

from mythological subjects to transvestites, harnessing a chariot to a suburban RSL, an animal frieze to 

a dementia unit. The topics, although poles apart, compare as testimonials intended to illustrate and 

document how people live. 

In 2008 I worked as part of a collaborative group with South Australian artist Margaret Dodd. I first 

met her while having a show at Ray Hughes Gallery in 2007. We developed a friendship and in 2008 

she invited me to Adelaide to work as part of a collaborative exhibition at the JamFactory. She received 

support and assistance for the exhibition from Arts SA with a New Work Grant. Dodd was part of the 

funk movement that originated in Davis, California during the 1960s. Her work has centred on the FJ 

Holden as an Australian icon, a topic that she continues to explore today through sculpture, video, film 

and installation. Funk art often contained vulgar humour which, although funny and absurd, often held 

a more serious undertone. The ceramics were unrefined and blatant and they all possessed the idea of 

functionless sculpture for sculpture's sake. 

The collaborative partnership was of significant value. My technique noticeably changed. I slowed 

the process down and nurtured pieces by setting them aside for stretches of time to allow the whole 

body of work to develop together. I learned that the practical notions of negotiation and participation 

fuel the desire for knowledge. Collaboration also disrupts the popular image of the artist as a solitary 

80 THE IOURNAl OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012

Up the Writing Path 

left, detail, and opposite page: Pru Morrison, Portrait of a man at a 

window in a landscape with a cow, 2012, porcelaIn and terra sigillata 

h.29

Wedge 

The University of Ballarat, Diploma of Ceramics (TAFE) course has provided in-depth 

training for students seeking careers as professional ceramics practitioners for the past 

25 years. 

In the May 2012 state budget, the Victorian government slashed funding to the public TAFE 

system and the University of Ba llarat subsequently announced the closure of many of its TAFE 

programs, including the Diploma of Ceramics. 

A massive increase in private providers delivering training in 'recreational' courses has created 

financial difficulties for the government who are dealing with the problem by redirecting public 

system funding toward trade apprenticeships and programs that lead to 'real' jobs. What constitutes 

a 'real' job is contentious but, unfortunately the fine arts are a low priority in the new TAFE system in 

Victoria. 

Our Diploma of Ceramics program focused on tableware and the creation of pots for use, with an 

emphasis on design innovation. Students completed set projects with clear parameters and limits. 

Techniques were demonstrated and students were required to practise, complete historical research, 

experiment with processes and play with the elements in order to produce meaningful, inventive and 

practical work. 

Many graduates have successful practices in the local area . Some have been recognised for their 

design innovation with selection for prestigious international exhibitions such as TALENTE in Germany 

and the MINO International Design Award in Japan. Some have participated in national awards such 

as Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery Award and the Craft Victoria FRESH Award, and one recently 

received the inaugural national Trudie Alfred Bequest Scholarship. Graduates have established the 

highly successful Daylesford Reg ional Ceramics Co-operative (featured in July 2010 issue of JAC, 

p86 - 87) that supports ongoing learning and a collaborative approach to marketing. 

One of the important aspects of craft activity is that it brings people together and this is good 

for the wellbeing of individuals as well as communities. Our TAFE course attracted a diverse group 

of students with vastly different needs, educational backgrounds and ages. I wonder if anyone 

has considered the cost of not runn ing the ceramics program in our area? It not only provided 

an excellent foundation in ceramics, it promoted tolerance and social inclusiveness and provided 

meaningful activity that assisted people's health and engagement with life. 

What are the alternatives for those wanting to gain the skills and knowledge needed for 

professional practice? Degree programs, mentorships, short courses in specialist skills run by private 

providers, cooperatives or adult learning centres? 

Students will need to be discerning and seek a depth of knowledge within the discipline. 

Hands-on skill is hard-earned but very rewarding in the long run. Ceramics has a long history and 

ceramic techniques and processes provide great opportunities for imaginative expression that is 

tangible and useful. The rich ceramic traditions will continue to inspire and creative individuals will 

continue to reinvent and refresh the objects that we live with. 

I intend to focus my attention on making now and hopefully inspire and mentor others through 

my practice. 

Neville French. http://nevillefrench.com 


Ceramic Shots 

WINNER 

Photographer: Shirley Dermer; location: Yackandandah studio, february 2012; artist: John Dermer 

Vttinds tiS tools 

Photographer: Bogdan Onofrei; location: Cucuteni, Romania 2012 

Ani,!: Sirin Kocak (Turkey) 

Left: 

Photographer: Lucille Nobleza 


Ceramic Shots 

hands as tools 

1 Photographer: Sandra Bowkett 

Location: Prasad Workshop Uttam Nagar, New Delhi; 28 February 2012 

2 Photographer: Kylie Rose McLean 

Location: Central Coast Potters' Society. NSW: 26 May 2012 

3 Photographer: Camilla Clarizio 

location: my studio in Montreal. Canada; 14 September 2012 

4 Photographer: Julia Lecomte 

location: Studio Lagrane de Quercy Golsse, Puycelsi, France 

23 February 2012 

Thanks to the 2012 recipients of The Trudie Alfred Bequest Ceramics 

Scholarships for judging the Hands as Tools competition. 


1 Photographer: Su Hanna; Location: first firing of new 

kiln at Strathfieldsaye, VIC; April 2012 

2 Photographer: Dawn Whitehand; location: ClayMotion 

Studio, Dunnstown, VIC ; 23 July 2012 

3 Photographer: Graham Boothby; location: Mannum, SA 

12 September 2012 

4 Photographer: Jeffery Barbeau; Place: Kingston, 

Ontario, Canada; August 2012 

5 Photographer: Natalie Velthuyzen; Location: my studio, 

S August 2012; Ruby Velthuyzen making a coil pot 

6 Photographer: Terry Bouton; location: Studio Quebec 

City Canada; January 2012 

THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALlI\N CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012 87

Studio 

Take Two Bowls 

Natalie Velthuyzen outlines a simple technique 

Natalie demonstrated this project at the 2012 Keane Ceramics Open Day. It is a great fun way to work 

allowing numerous and versatile results. Both the beginner and more advanced thrower can use this 

technique. 

Step by step: 

1. Throw two bowls, making sure the diameter at the rims is the same. 

2. The rims of the bowls need to be flat and approximately 5-10 mm wide (depending on the size 

of the bowl). This will make the joining of the two rims easier and stronger. 

3. When soft leather hard, turn the bowls into a dome shape. 

4. Score and slurry the rims and join the two bowls rim to rim; be generous with the slurry. 

5. Add a thin coil of clay to reinforce the join. 

6. You will have a 'balloon' of clay that can now be shaped. 

7. For soft organic forms, pierce a hole in the balloon at the 50ft leather hard stage and gently alter, 

then let it firm up to refine the form further by paddling and scraping back. 

8. For a more symmetrical form, wait for the clay to firm up to leather hard stage and refine by 

scraping back with a metal kidney or credit card . Pierce a hole in the form as the last step. 

Alternative: Try using two pinch pots. 

A few ideas to develop the form further: 

• Make pebbles, or seal the pierced hole post-firing and you will have a floating form. 

• Thread stackable forms on dowel or metal rod to make totems. 

• Cut an opening in the form at leather hard stage to make a vessel. 

• Thrown, coiled, slab or extruded necks or foot rings can be added to make a variety of forms. 

Natalie Velthuyzen teaches ceramics at TAFE and the Workshop Arts Centre at Willoughby. 

She fits her studio practice around her teaching commitments. 


Studio 


Shannon Garson 's workshop, Maleny Arts and Crafts Group, August 2012; photos: Vicki Grima 

Winter Workshop on the 

Sunshine Coast 

In August 2012, The Australian Ceramics Association offered a weekend workshop, Under the Surface 

- creativity and mark making, with Shannon Garson in her beautiful hometown of Maleny on the 

Sunshine Coast hinterland. Participants explored a range of decorative surface techniques that could 

be used on any object, from a handbuilt sculpture through to a finely thrown porcelain bowl. Shellac 

resist, sgraffito and painting with oxides and underglazes were explored on unfired pots brought along 

by participants. Discussion about each element of the object - the form, the function, the colour, 

the composition, the weight and the texture - and how these elements could enhance one a-nother 

without taking over from the original idea, was enthusiastically embraced by the group. Shannon's 

encouragement and inspiration was infectious, helped along by delicious Hummingbird cake and pots 

of chai tea served in a selection of handmade cups. Lunch at Shannon's house fOllowed by a studio visit 

completed a great weekend. 

For more images go to www.flickr.com/photos/australianceramics/sets and click on Garson 

Workshop. 


Works hop 

Sgraffito comes from the Italian word 'sgraffire', meaning to scratch. The technique involves 

incising down through a layer of applied slip to the unfired clay body beneath (the clay and slip being 

contrasting colours), to produce an outline drawing. The technique was widely used in the Middle East, 

influencing Mediterranean ceramics in medieval times. The technique of sgraffito spread throughout 

Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries, originating from Italy and 

being brought to Germany via master builders and architects. 

Sgraffito slipwares were produced in the Po valley, Northern Italy, 

at the beginning of the medieval period. As the Pisa region became 

a primary producer of ceramic wares, the style also became traded 

across north-western Europe. 

This page shows some of the images of sgraffito 

surfaces created at Shannon's workshop in August 2012, 

www.shannongarsonporcelain.com 


Join the Pots 

A collection of images of 

work by Les Blakebrough 

from the archives of 

Pottery in Australia (PIA)I 

The Journal of Australian 

Ceramics (JAC), 1962-2012 

Collaboration with Bert flugelman 

of 7 feet high ceramic figures, 

based on Aboriginal cave 

drawings, at Sturt Workshops 

Mittagong. Heavily grogged 

Mittagong earthenware. 1150"( 

in reduction; PIA, Vo! 1 No 2 1962 

Group of stonevvare pots 

1962 PIA, Vol 2 No 1 1963 

Photograph Oavid Moore 

PIA, Vol 3 No 3 1964 

POI I ERY 

INAlJSTRALJA 

Broken Hill felspar glaze 

1300"C; PIA, Vol 4 No 1 

1965 

14" square plate woodash 

glaze with iron glaze trailing. 

Exhibition, Johnston Gallery 

Brisbane, 1966. Purchased by 

University of Oueensland 


Slab flower container 

Mittagong rock glaze; h. 12" 

Macquarie Gallery Exhibition 

July 1967; Photo: Harry 

Sowden PIA, Vol 6 No 2 1967 

Porcelain sphere 

Diam.14cm; 

from exhibition, 

Saddlers Court, 

Richmond, TAS 

1974; PIA, Vol 

14 No 1 1975 

Iron glaze, applied 

seal decoration; h.14" 

Exhibition: The Craft 

Centre Victoria. Photo: 

Douglas Thompson 

PIA Vol 10 No 2 1971 

Vase 1973 Stoneware, slabs of 

clay cut with twisted wire. iron 

glaze, 1300"C, oil fired, 

h. 32cm. from travelling 

exhibition Australian Ceramics 

Photo: Douglas Thompson 


Group of slab and wire-cut forms. Oxide and woodash 

surface; h.12cm, 29cm, 36cm; 1300"C; Macquarie 

Galleries. Photo: Geoff Parr; PIA Vol 15 No 2 1976 


Join the Pots 


· ..... .... .......... . 

Porcelain form, 18cm 

x 16cm. Macquarie 

Galleries, Sydney 1975 


Matt-glazed stoneware 


Wall Banners (1982) Stoneware tiles and 

lacquer screens on stainless steel supports 

Overall size 3m x 5.5m. Client: University 

of Tasmania. location: Sir Stanley Burbury 

Theatre, University of Tasmania. Photo: 

Uffe Schultz, PIA, Vol 23 No 2 1984 

Sphere 1 Scm high, unglazed porcelain 

blue and red glaze trailed 1984 


, have a need to make things. I enjoy 

making things. It doesn't matter much what 

the things are, I am as much 'at home' 

building buildings - workshops or houses, 

kilns and furnaces - as I am making pots; 

so as much as anything it's the activity that 

assumes a major role. ". When it gets down 

to object making, the essential aspect is to 

create something elegant and beautiful. 

I'm not mterested in making social or 

political comment through the work; both 

are too transient to maintain a continuing 

involvement. 


Vase, 

porcelain 

PIA. Vol 27 

No2 1988 


Retrospective touring exhibition 1989. 

Photo: John Farrow and Uff. Schultz 

PIA, Vol 2B No 3 1989 


Trade 

To Sell or Not to Sell 

(that is the question) 

Potters discuss their experiences with online selling 

Online selling has become very popular in the last few years with a proliferation of online market places 

selling handmade products. We asked our members to tell us about their experience with online selling 

and here's what they had to say. 

Where do you sell online? Etsy, your own online shop, Ebay or some other way? 

The most popular avenues were sites such as Etsy, bigcartel and hardtofind, followed by selling directly 

from their own websites. Many potters use PayPal to facilitate easy online payments. 

What are the benefits/downfalls of selling online? 

One of the biggest benefits of online marketplaces is the low cost associated with setting up your online 

store within the main site, and the administrative and marketing side of sales which is taken care of by 

the site in varying degrees. Money from sales is deposited into your account on a monthly basis. The 

seller has to organise postage and maintain their personal site within the marketplace. "Etsy culture is 

supportive, friendly, understanding and helpful," says Wendy Hodgson. 

Opening yourself up to a wider audience is another major benefit. "I have made beneficial business 

contacts via my Etsy shop, such as getting my work into Finders Keepers market via the Etsy Sydney 

Team stall, along with other invitations to take part in artisan/craft markets and marketing events," says 

Denise McDonald 

The biggest downside of selling online seems to be the high cost of postage. It makes sending certain 

items prohibitive and this discourages buyers. Some respondents also found it tedious maintaining their 

site and keeping it up-to-date. Toni Parks said, "I need time to photograph work, write newsletters, post 

images to the shop and blog etc." 

Another downside 'is that some online marketplaces such as Etsy have a large (and growing) number of 

people on their site. This can make it difficult for clients to find you, and they can become distracted by 

other sellers on their way to you. 

How do you get the word out that you are selling online? 

Social media plays a big part in 'getting the word out'. Potters use Facebook and Linkedln as veh icles for 

letting people know that they sell online and where they can be found. 

Advice included using your website URL on all marketing material such as business cards, postcards, 

Facebook and the Australian Ceramics Directory page. Many use market days and events to hand out 

business cards and other marketing material. Ric Pierce from One Tree Hill Pottery says, "We hand out 

our cards to people visiting our real shop, advertise on Facebook occasionally, and actively engage in 

blogs, Facebook and Linkedin. We also have a subscription list for a (roughly) quarterly newsletter." 

Many potters commented that once they started advertising, 'word of mouth' took over. 


Trade 

Do you sell overseas, or only within Australia? 

"My first Etsy sale was to the Isle of Skye in Scotland. Because of the shipping costs by airmail being 

almost twice the cost of my sculpture, the buyer chose to receive it by sea freight. Nearly eight months 

after sending it, I got an ecstatic phone call at 3am telling me it was erected in her garden. I have since 

sold to Vancouver (twice), Montreal (once), and Jakarta (Australian expats), and I have a mUlti-piece 

commission in the works for a farm in northern England," said Jennifer Collier. 

The answers were quite evenly split between potters selling only within Australia and those selling 

overseas and Australia wide. The high cost of postage plays a big part in where items are sent. 

These next few questions elicited a mixed bag of responses. 

Are your online sales going well? 

"Just enough to keep me busy." (Helena Griffiths, HG Pottery + Art Studio); "Not really, very few sales." 

(Belen, Big Bamboo Jewellery); "Sales go very well after appearances in magazines - not advertising, just 

editorial - and they go well when I promote myself, but if I go quiet everything drops of quickly." (Toni 

Pa rk); "I call my online sales my 'background sales hum'. They just quietly tick over. They are on the 

increase, but small scale." (Denise McDonald); "Sales are slow, low numbers and infrequent. They do 

not compare with bricks and mortar stores where I have been selling for some time." (Chris Plumridge, 

Claystone Pottery) 

What sells best online? 

"It seems that small personal items sell best as these are low cost and low risk as the purchaser is using 

their credit card to make the purchase." (Chris Plumridge, Claystone Pottery); "One-off pieces and 

personalised items." (Emily Laszuk); "Small things, not one off pieces." (Sian Thomas); " Higher value 

items that are well above 75% of the cost of shipping, sell very well. Anything under $100 ends up 

costing too much (by value) to ship/post/airmail." (Jennifer Collier) 

Do you have repeat customers? 

"I have had the occasional repeat customer who has looked on my website and seen a different product 

that wasn't on hardtofind. "(Gabi Sturman); "No repeat customers yet! But I do get sales via friends 

of previous customers - picking up on that trend/peer influence factor." (Toni Park); "Some are repeat 

customers but most have been to our real shop before they purchase online." (Ric Pierce, One Tree Hill 

Pottery); "Yes I have many repeat customers. I've also had customers who say they are so glad they 

found me because they CAN'T FIND ANY OTHE R AUSTRALIAN POTTERS TO BUY FROM ONLINE. I would 

say there is a distinct lack of us in the Australian online marketplace. (Denise McDonald) 

Thank you to all the members who participated in this discussion. 

If you are interested in selling online, here is a list of marketplaces to start: 

www.etsy.com 

www.hardtofind.com.au 

http://bigcartel.com 

http://downthatlittlelane.com.au 

www.andable.com 

www.bluecaravan.net 

THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012 

9S

- --- - --- ------ 

Education 

The Rainbow Fountain 

Adrienne Mann writes about her time in the Artist in School program at 

Monash Special Developmental School 

After being successful with the funding submission to Arts Victoria for an Artist in School program at 

Monash Special Developmental School, I was full of hope and overjoyed at the prospect of running a 

20-week arts program with the students. 

I am a ceramic artist and I have worked at Monash Special Developmental School in Melbourne for 

seven years as an Educational Support Officer. It is a school for children with developmental delays and! 

or intellectual disabilities. Many of the students have a co-morbid diagnosis, including Autism Spectrum 

Disorder. The students range in age from 2.8 to 18 years. 

There was no ceramics program available to the students, and as I wanted our children to experience 

the joy of working with clay, I saw the advantages of running a ceramics program at my school. 

The ceramics project commenced in second term last year (2011). Every week the children would 

come through the door into the studio with enthusiasm, questions and happy smiles. They really looked 

forward to their sessions with clay. I noticed with some of the students that it lifted their spirits and gave 

them more confidence. It was a big learning curve for them all. Some students overcame major sensory 

issues and there were significant positive outcomes in all students. 

The fact that I had worked at the school for many years provided me with an invaluable insight for 

delivering such a program. Knowing each child's strengths enabled me to tailor the program so they 

would get maximum hands-on experience with the clay. The students were actively involved in all 

processes of the making of the giant beads that were to form the sensory water feature. 

The students made the beads by pressing clay into various sized bowl-shaped moulds. They learned to 

cut clay, make slip, score clay, roll coils and join the hemispheres together to make the bead shapes that 

formed the basis of the sculpture. This technique enabled the students to actually make the artworks 

themselves. 

1 Cassie scoring the clay ready for joining 2 Bryn pressing the clay into the mould 3 Nicholas showing off his work 

4 Shaun applying the glaze

Education 

Nathan (aged 15 years), one of the students who took part 

in the art program, said, "I love it. It's real impressive (that's the 

word I use now)! So awesome. I really liked the classes. They 

were fun. I feel happy, proud we made something awesome for 

the whole school. " 

There was great excitement when it was time to decorate the 

beads. We scored, scratched, etched, stamped and embossed 

the clay to make wonderful decorative surfaces. 

After the first firing the beads were glazed using a wipe-on, 

wipe-off method to enhance the textured surfaces, after which 

they were fired again . 

To prepare the site for the sculpture, a concrete-lined reservoir 

to hold the water was poured and the metal poles onto which 

the beads were to be threaded were concreted into the garden. 

The garden around the sculpture was then landscaped with tan 

bark and river pebbles. 

Finally, the sculpture was ready for the grand opening, at which a PowerPoint presentation of photos 

of the children was shown. The child ren were so proud of their achievement, taking ownership of the 

area with great pride. The whole school community was enthusiastic and interested in what the children 

had created. 

The finished work stands as an enduring testament to all our efforts and hard work. It is there for the 

whole school community to enjoy now and in the future. I receive positive comments on a daily basis 

from staff, parents and students. It was a very worthwhile experience for us all. 

Adrienne Mann is a ceramic artist, photographer and teachers assistant. She is currently 

completing a Diploma of Ceramics and a Certificate of Drawing and Design at Chisholm TAFE 

in Melbourne; www.adriennemann-ceramics.com.au. 

Monash Special Developmental School, Wheelers Hill, Victoria; http://monashsds.vic.edu,au 

Technical: The beads were made by pressing the day into bowl-shaped moulds of different 

sizes and joining them w ith slip and coils to make the bead. Clayworks Sculptural Coarse 

Stoneware was used. The underglazed work was fired to 1280°C in oxidation. 

5 Students paddling the clay beads 6 Cassie applying glaze 7 Prisha and Nathan decorating the beads 

Above: Adrienne Mann, ceramic artist, with the completed project; photos: courtesy Adrienne Mann

~-- - 

----------- 

Artist in Residence 

Miki Oka Brings a Japanese 

Touch to Ceramics Classes in 

the Centre 

Patrick Nelson reports on Charles Darwin University's latest resident artist 

While many Australians might opt for a good 

cup of billy tea, visiting ceramic artist Miki Oka's 

preference is for high tea, as it is prepared in her 

native Japan~ 

Miki, who spends most of her creative time in a 

studio near Hiroshima, was the artist in residence 

at Charles Darwin University's Alice Springs 

campus for a month during July/August 2012~ 

She worked alongside several ceramics students, 

turning sake cups, rice bowls and vases on the 

electric wheel as well as building a variety of nonutilitarian 

objects, such as a dog and a chicken, 

by hand. 

"First I found it hard to use the wheel because it turns anti-clockwise [in Australia!. opposite [to that] 

in Japan," she said . "And the clay is different. We have terracotta clay too, but I am used to red clay 

which is stronger and sets in a hotter kiln." 

Miki described her body of work as a representation of the friendships and associations she makes 

in life, with people, places and things. "Dogs are an important part of life in Alice Springs and I have 

befriended the dog, Gus, where I am living. I have made a large sculpture inspired by Gus, that is part 

Gus and part me. Perhaps it is really a self-portrait." 

This is the fourth trip to Australia for Miki, who undertook English language studies in Canberra in 

2005 after having graduated from the Kyoto Saga Art University of Fine Art with a ceramics major. 

"I came to Alice Springs to investigate Indigenous art. I like their dot paintings and their use of colour 

... and their style inspires me. The environment is extraordinary too. I went camping under the Milky 

Way and saw shooting stars. We cooked on an open fire place and I had some billy tea." 

Miki said high tea ceremonies in Japan involved a special preparation and presentation of powdered 

green tea. "We use special ceramic cups and high quality tea," she said. 

Miki held a short exhibition, Sunbeams, in the library at Charles Darwin University's Alice Springs 

campus in late August 2012. She exhibits regularly in Hiroshima, Tokyo and other Japanese cities. 

www.cdu.edu.au 


Collection 

Pots by Justin Lambert, USA; photo: Esa Jaske 

EsaJaske 

I bought my first ceramics pieces as part of my fine art collection - a major commission from Penny 

Smith, and a few pieces by Mitsuo Shoji, Ryoji Koie and Peter Masters. I then started acquiring various 

handmade functional pottery pieces for everyday use, and at some stage came across wood fired pots 

whose fascinating beauty immediately grabbed my attention and imagination. I hardly ever buy nonwoodfired 

pots any more, whilst the woodfired collection keeps on growing (I did though make an 

exemption recently for a pitcher by Warren MacKenzie). 

I don't mind purchasing online, since ceramic pots are relatively affordable and potters tend to do a 

good job in wrapping their wares properly, often in double boxes. (I have received a broken pot only in 

about one per cent of shipments.) US shipping costs are also quite reasonable for smaller pieces (less 

than 4 pounds, about 2 kg). A good place to start looking for pottery is etsy.com, a forum for artisans 

to sell their ware online (search for 'wood-fired pottery'). I also use reputable US galleries specialising in 

ceramic objects, such as Schaller Gallery in Michigan and AKAR Gallery in Iowa City. 

In Australia I prefer visiting artists' studios to meet the makers themselves. 

My appreciation of pottery has taken me to unexpected places - I'm now a full time ceramics student 

at Brookvale TAFE, and soon to fire my own pieces in a wood kiln there. 

www.etjcollection,org 


Co llection 

Emile Galle: artist, activist, 

herborist, ecologist 

Patsy Hely discusses a favourite work from the ceramics collection at the NGA 

I first saw this handsome Emile Galle vase at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) when I moved to 

Canberra in late 2001; it's still on display and I've had many opportunities to consider it over this time. 

Through this process of looking and thinking, I've found myself drawn into Galle's oeuvre and have 

come to a new appreciation of his work in glass and wood as well, work I'd previously thought of as 

gaudy and over-produced. 

Galle's ceramics have attracted less critical attention and esteem than his work in other materials and 

overall his output in this area is uneven. His work in glass, where he utilised nature less as decorative 

schema and more as an overall conceptual motif, is particularly inventive. Here he took advantage of not 

just form and surface to express ideas, but built up colour and image throughout the glass matrix with 

the result that some of his glass forms suggest entire ecological complexes, mini worlds in themselves. 

But there are outstanding examples of his work in ceramics and the NGA vase is one. At almost 

45 cm tall, the vase has a strong vertical presence accentuated by the verticality of the plant forms 

floating - hovering almost - over its surface. The earthenware form appears to have been made in a 

mold because it has the well-delineated surface that comes from compression of clay particles against 

a plaster surface. The form is organic, tree-like, with striated texture suggestive of bark, the clay light 

and the tin glaze smooth and cream coloured. The imagery, hand-painted with finely rendered detail, 

is described in the NGA catalogue as 'painted underglaze decoration '!, though to me its richness and 

intensity suggests onglaze enamel. 

The vase is inscribed 'E. GalielNancy', though the extent of Galle's participation in its production is not 

clear. Describing his glassworking process in 1889, and presumably it was similar for ceramics, he wrote: 

My personal involvement consists above all in devising ideas for glass that are both sublime 

or tender, of carefully composing friendly or tragic faces for it, of assembling the different 

elements, of preparing in advance the realisation of my future works, of matching the 

technique to the preconceived work, of balancing the risks between success and failure, whilst 

carrying out the decisive operation that would have been called the main work. 2 

The plant depicted on the vase is almost identical to a plant shown in a design, Papyrus sur fond 

nuage (papyrus on cloud background) used in his Service flora f3 manufactured around 1881 . Although 

usually identified with Egypt, papyrus grows in parts of France and its botanical, illustration-like 

treatment, when translated onto ceramic form, suggests it was drawn from life. The marks that ad as 

clouds in the design on paper are also on the vase, where they further model and accentuate the barklike 

striations. But papyrus is a freshwater reed found usually in damp or swampy areas and these cloud 

marks on the vase also suggest, especially when picked out by the gallery lighting, the glinting of sun 

on water. Lit like this, the motif turns the bark striations to ripples and the papyrus branches appear to 

dance over a gently lapping watercourse. In just that one motif then, water, air and land are all indirectly 

yet cleverly represented . 


Emile Galle 

Nancy, France 

1846-1904 

Vase, 1879 - 89 

Nancy. france 

Dec",at"'" Arts and 

DesIgn 

C",amlC earthenware 

with painted 

underglaze dec"'atlOll 

Prllnary lme: 

inscnbed on underWe 

E. GaIIelNancy 

h.44.9cm. w.2Ocm, 

d.22.6cm 

Purchased 1988 

Accession No: 

NGA 88 1504

Collection 

Despite its light background, the vase conveys a sombre mood; the plant forms are sober and the 

black colouration is melancholy, as are the unfurling dark red ribbon-like forms underneath the plant's 

umbel. Galle was a staunch nationalist and regionalist and his opposition to the annexation of Alsace 

Lorraine by the Germans in 1871 was well known. References to its loss by France appear in both his 

glass and furniture, either quite plainly in text or through symbolic means. 

Given this, it's hard to imagine he wasn't intent on conveying a particular sentiment through the 

vase and its decoration and it could be that the dark red ribbons are emblematic of 10ss.After the 

1790 French Revolution and then again in the mid-1800s, around the time the vase was made, 

rumours circulated throughout France about events termed bals des victims', dances reputedly held 

to memorialise casualties of the Revolution. Costumes worn to the bals were heavily symbolic and 

for women included the wearing of a red ribbon tied around the neck to mark, rather gruesomely, 

the trajectory taken by the guillotine. Friends and colleagues of Galle's were uprooted by the loss of 

Alsace-Lorraine to Germany, access to the region's mines

Potters Marks 

Potters Marks 

Barbara Cauvin 

Kate Ward 

Niharika Hukku 

Alex Standen 

Shin Koyama 


Australia Wide 

act 

Congratulations to the winners in another 

splendid Annual Exhibition of work by members 

of Canberra Potters' Society (CPS). This year the 

society welcomed Vicki Grima as selector and 

judge. Cathy Franzi won the Doug Alexander 

Award for Mt Majura She-oaks; Sue Fisher won 

the ActewAGl Tertiary Award with Billabong, 

and Bridget Anderson with Beachcomberl 

Ocean Treasures won the Craft ACT: Craft 

and Design Centre Award. The Cesco Award 

went to Kate Ward, the C layworks Award for 

Handbuilding went to Maryke Henderson, and 

the Walker Ceramics Award for Wheelthrowing 

went to Chris Harford. Two Summer School 

workshops are planned for 7-11 January 2013. 

Paul Davis will inspire in a wheelwork school 

and sculptor Vivienne lightfoot will lead the 

eager hand builders. The Bald Archys will again 

light up the WAC Gallery in February, and in 

March, recently elected president of CPS Maryke 

Henderson will be exhibiting her latest sodaglazed 

ceramics in a group showing by artists in 

various mediums. 

Out on the rural western front, Strathnairn 

Arts Association is making great use of the 

newly refurbished Woolshed as a mUlti-purpose 

venue. In the Homestead Gallery, ##Things to 

Contemplate##, selected ceramics by Trenna 

langdon, will run from 9 to 25 November, to 

be followed in December by the SM Annual 

Members Exhibition, Down Studio Road, a 

reference to the newly gazetted name for the 

access road to Strathnairn. 

We look forward to 2013 and the many 

celebratory special events planned for the 

centenary of Canberra. Visit in this very special 

year and you will be assured of a warm welcome 

and lasting memories. 

Best wishes for the holiday season, 

Jane Crick; E: janecrick@dodo.com.au 

nsw 

Following the success of the Bowled Over 

exhibition at Back to Back Galleries two 

years ago, it was decided to upgrade it to a 

competition in 2012, Bowled Over Again. The 

response was tremendous with potters from 

most states sending bowls. This may well become 

a regular gallery event. 

The relatively new Cessnock Regional Gallery was 

fortunate to secure the touring Object Gallery 

exhibition HyperC/ay. It is so important for 

regional centres to host such exhibitions as they 

enlighten the viewers to new ideas, narratives 

and techniques cu rrently being investigated 

in clay. The new gallery Director John Barnes 

reported a good critical response, including more 

than 60 young adults from a Newcastle high 

school, all studying ceramics. 

New works by lynda Stone and Angela Verdon 

.....-=~-------.,.,...,.. Juicers by 

Lynda Stone 

were exhibited at Art Systems Wickham. Both 

artists have full resumes, with Stone studying 

production ceramics under Derek Smith. Verdon, 

from the UK, works in bone china, with her 

simple forms focused on mass, volume and 

shadow with the characteristic translucency 

showing at the edges. The clay is exquisite. 

Stone works in porcelain creating one-off pieces 

reflecting her current occupation, teaching in 

hospitality. The thrown, pierced and altered 

domestic utilitarian works are manipulated in an 

attempt to 'alter their discourse'. Kitchen utensils 

such as sieves and fruit juicers are mounted and 

presented as still-life. 

Helen Stronach's recent showing at Back to 

Back Galleries cemented her reputation as a 

noteworthy ceramicist. As a well-regarded fulltime 

architect, Stronach's design background is 

evident in her confident ceramic forms and her 

use of color and patterns. 

Sue Stewart; sue@ceramicartist.com.au 


Aust ralia Wide 

qld south east 

Clay Art Benowa Gallery had their Mad Hatter's 

A fternoon Tea Party with teapots, cups and 

saucers, Cheshire Cat dishes, porcelain heart and 

Queen of Hearts soldier dishes, clay spoons, and 

serving platters with cups, proving to be a real 

winner. 

Congratulations and international accolades to 

Leisa Russell who won the prestigious Gold Coast 

International Ceramic Art Award. Her intricately 

beautiful dress titled 11 Shades of Blue, 

featured more than 4500 slipcast porcelain coins 

over a pure silk dress. 

Member Megan Puis was the outright winner 

at the Trinity College Art Show, as well as being 

winner (on the same night) of the Marymount 

Art Award with Bloom 2. 

The Gold Coast Potter' Associat ion 3rd Empty 

Bowl Lunch in June raised almost $8000 to feed 

the hungry. There were nearly 500 bowls on 

show to be bought and filled with food, with 

proceeds going to two charities on the Coast. 

Stefan Jakob's workshop featuring a woodfired 

raku kiln made from an IKEA rubbish bin was 

held on the Gold Coast in late October. 

We wished The Darling Downs Potters' Club well 

for their 40th anniversary celebrations held in 

Toowoomba in September. 

Suncoast Clayworker.s presented the 2012 

Ignition Awards for excellence in ceramics, a 

national competition held recently in the Butter 

Factory Arts Centre. Ignition judge was Jackson 

Li, Director of Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute, 

Jingdezhen, China. Merrie Tomkins (QLD) was the 

open winner with her work Rajapura. 

Bribie Potters 14th Clay Creations competition 

and exhibition will be held from 13-25 

November at the Matthew Flinders Gallery, Bribie 

Island Community Arts Centre; whilst the Gold 

Coast Potters' Annual Members' Exhibition will 

be held in the Clay Art Benowa Gallery from 

10--25 November, with an Art and Crafters 

Market Day on the last day. Go to 

www.goldcoastpotters.com or their Facebook 

page for more information. 

Happy potting, 

Lyn Rogers, T: (07) 55943307, F: (07) 55943365, 

E: romeo-whisky@bigpond.com 

Cheshire Cat dishes by Di Buckland 

photo: Lynette Rogers 

sa 

Phew, what a conference! Subversive Clay, 

Australian Ceramics Triennale 2012, was two 

years in the making with many long days and 

nights of organisation, fundraising and criticalmass-making. 

There are too many people and 

organisations to thank in this short paragraph, 

but one group of people who really deserve a 

thank you is everyone who came and made it 

such a friendly and exciting place to be. The 

fun started for some, pre-conference, with Akio 

Takamori and Masamichi Yoshikawa's three-day 

masterclasses. The teachers Hyp erc/ay workshop 

followed with Stephen Bird demonstrating 

animation techniques, Jacqueline Clayton 

discussed alternative clay bodies (including one 

that had the texture of marshmallow mixed with 

chewing gum), and Rod Bamford demonstrated 

and demystified the realm of 3D printing. And 

then it was Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday 

in quick succession ... it really was a bit of a blur 

at times, hangovers notwithstanding. Countless 

panels, discussions, demonstrations, slide talks 

and openings - we were absolutely spoiled 

for choice. In terms of the whole 'subversive' 

thing, well, there was some deft sidestepping of 

delicate issues, but also many who stepped right 

into the ring and said what we're all thinking 

and had a go at challenging the status quo. 

Other highlights were Neville French winning 

the $10,000 Vitrify award (drinks on him) and 

Ebony Heidenrich and Anh Thu Pham winning 

the Pugmill Emerging Artist and Graduate Award 

respectively. The favourite demonstration of the 


Aust ralia Wide 

Phil Hart at the wheel 

conference 

was definitely 

Phil Hart's 

where he 

made a special 

portrait of 

Bernard Leach 

out of pots 

chucked on 

the floor 

with some 

colour thrown 

around. 

The Rock the 

Frock party 

on Sunday 

evening saw flamingos and clay people hanging 

out with The Artisans, a fabulous band that 

had everyone up and dancing before long, with 

front man Gerry Wedd rocking out. Suffice to 

say, Monday was a bit bright and loud for some 

of us. For a few wonderful days Adelaide was 

buzzing with happy, shining, clay people adorned 

with orange necklaces, confirming the strength 

and generosity of the ceramics community we 

have in Australia, and, indeed, the whole wide 

world. We hope everyone who came had a 

fabulous time and those who didn't, you did kind 

of miss out .. . but there's always next time. Love 

Adelaide, South Australia. 

Sophia Phillips 

E: sophia@sophiaphillips.net 

tas 

The Tasmanian Ceramics Association celebrates 

its 40th anniversary this year and at its 40th 

Annual Exhibition, Forty Years in the Making, 

it will be launching an illustrated history of the 

association compiled by Carolyn Canty. The 

history will include photographs by Robin Roberts 

of our extensive collection of works made by 

visiting artists during workshops conducted in 

Hobart over the past forty years. As an additional 

mark to the anniversary, Grace Cochrane will 

give an illustrated talk that considers ceramic 

practice in Tasmania in the context of its history. 

Using the example of this and other anniversaries 

(including, in Tasmania, the founding of 

Salamanca Place and the Franklin River protests) 

and her experience of recent exhibition and 

publication projects, she will discuss the 

importance for contemporary artists of archival 

documentation of significant events. At the 

same time, she will refer to some of the wider 

changing relationships in the crafts between 

art, design, industry and the marketplace and 

the interface between traditional and new 

technologies. We're also having an afternoon 

get-together with past members, most of them 

elderly, who were active in the early years of the 

Tasmanian Potters Society, as it was then known. 

Recent activities have included an inspiring 

visit to the studio of sculptor Stephen Walker, 

a lecture presentation by Hungarian ceramic 

artist Marta Nagy, and one of our ever-popular 

raku firings. As I w rite, an exhibition of Dawn 

Oakford's latest work is opening in the Rosny 

Cottage Gallery. Entitled Wild Tea, it displays a 

new collection of Dawn's colourful and fanciful 

teapots. We are also looking forward to a 

weekend workshop by English ceramicist Sandy 

Brown in November. 

John Watson 

E: john@dmink.net 

vic 

Congratulations to Stonehouse Gallery on their 

40th anniversary, celebrated in Ju ly with an 

exhibition, Honouring the Past, Celebrating 

the Present & Looking to the Future. 

Established in 1972 by eight dedicated potters, 

and originally housed in the old Warrandyte 

Selby General Store, the name 'Stonehouse' 

was chosen to depict this old stone cottage and 

to represent the stoneware clays used. In 2005 

the gallery moved to its present location in The 

Gospel Chapel in the heart of Warrandyte. 

Ceramics Victoria held a well-attended Print 

Workshop using the Hodge inkjet method, 

conducted by Jenny and Ken Hodge at 

Holmesglen TAFE. 

The recent bus tour to the Mornington Peninsula 

visited Sue Sanderson at Studio 13 for a raku 

firing, Kerrie and Ray Lightbody's studio, the 

Main Ridge woodfirers, and a local glass studio. 

The tour finished at The Studio at Flinders; a fun 

day for all and more tours are planned. 

Due to a low number of entries, The Decal 

108 THE 10URNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012

Australia Wide 

Award has been postponed. Cera(Tlics Victoria 

has produced two short videos on how to use 

decals with an information session planned for 

interested entrants. Hopefully with the extra 

time frame the award will attract more entries. 

The new dates for the award, to be held at the 

Whitehorse Art Space, are 27 June to 

3 August 2013. 

Sadly budget cuts by the Victorian State 

Government have impacted many courses in 

Victoria's TAFE Colleges. Visual Art, Design 

and Ceramic courses are amongst those under 

threat, despite healthy student numbers. Course 

co-ordinators are looking at creative ways to 

enable them to continue providing the quality of 

art education accessed via TAFE institutions. We 

must continue to positively support these courses 

so the infrastructure is not lost and they can be 

fully reinstated in the future. 

The Pottery Expo @ Federation Square 2012 will 

be held on Sunday December 2 from 10 am to 

5.30 pm. Visit and meet the artists on 

wwvv.potteryexpo.com 

Glenn England 

E: glennengland@optusnet.com.au 

wa 

CAAWA Members Selective Exhibition was held 

at ZigZag Gallery, Kalamunda, in July 2012, and 

was judged by writer and curator Dr Ric Spencer. 

Alison Brown's Tide Line Series won the Kusnik 

Award and Mary Wallace's Lotus Tea Set, the 

Judge's Award. Highly Commended accolades 

went to John Blinco, Njalikwa Chongwe, 

Stewart Scambler, Cher Shackleton and Danica 

Wichtermann. 

Hale Art Show invited several ceramicists to 

participate - the Scamblers, Amanda Shelsher, 

Bev MacMahon, Philippa Gordon, the Zecks, Dee 

Jaeger and me (Elaine Bradley). 

Alana McVeigh was recently offered a place 

at Medalta International Artists' Residency 

in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada where she 

presented a public lecture on her PhD research. 

She spent April and May working with senior 

artist-in-residence Les Manning, director Aaron 

Nelson, and eleven international artists. Alana's 

recent work, Hybrid Luminosity was exhibited 

in October at Emerge Art Space, Northbridge. 

Stewart Scambler's successful exhibition of 

woodfired forms at Gallery East has just ended. 

After twenty years, the gallery will soon close 

its doors, but continue in a curating/consulting 

capacity. 

My workshop on print-on-clay techniques at 

The Potter's Market was a full house, as was 

Mary Wallace's workshop on porcelain at Perth 

Studio Potters. PSP are overjoyed with their kiln 

shed, a consequence of four years fund raising, a 

$10,000 bequest from former member Yvonne 

Cuff, plus Lotteries Commission support. 

Fremantle Arts Centre's new ceramics studio has 

opened with improved space and equipment 

allowing greater opportunities for students to 

experiment and learn. 

Cher Shackleton drove 700 km north-east to 

Sandstone for a raku firing for the Margaret River 

artists who travelled north on an adventure. Ian 

Dowling attended as co-bus driver and gave a 

mould-making demonstration. 

Adil Writer, ceramicist (and more) from Bombay, 

built a dome at the Beehive Montessori School. 

Adil, Katrina Chaytor, Merran Esson, Stefan 

Jakobs, Royce McGlashen and Fleur Schell 

presented 4 Continents Ceramic Exhibition at 

The Studio Gallery, Yallingup. 

CAAWA's 3-day clayfest, POTober, was a 

resounding success at Perth's Central Institute 

of Technology. The stellar line up consisted of 

Katrina Chaytor, Stefan Jakob, Royce McGlashen, 

Malina Monks and Merran Esson, plus WA 

talents Ian Dowling, Greg Crowe, Njalikwa 

Chongwe, Robyn Lees, Bela Kotai, Cate Cosi, 

and Andrea Vinkovic. More on this next issue. 

Mary Wallace has recently returned from her 

second visit as an invited International Artist at 

the Gangjin Celadon Festival in South Korea 

where invited artists were given workshops by 

some of South Korea's leading professors and 

Cultural Treasures. The group also visited the 

studios of many of the best potters including a 

rare opportunity to meet Shin Sang Ho, described 

as South Korea's Picasso. 

Elaine Bradley 

E: lalab@iinet.net.au 


Stockists 

ACT 

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VENCO PRODUCTS 

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WOODROW KILNS 

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GROUPS 

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MOULD/ MODEL MAKER 

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114 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAM ICS NOVEMBER 2012

Clas sifieds 

PHOTOGRAPHY 

GREG PIPER IMAGING SOLUTIONS 

Providing ceramic artists with digital and traditional 

photographic imagery, as well as graphic design to print or 

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TONY WEBDALE PHOTOGRAPHY 

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WORKSHOPS I SEMINARS 

HOT TO POT WORKSHOPS 

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AUSTRALIAN GALLERY DIRECTORY 

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KERRIE LOWE GALLERY 

Contemporary Australian ceramics and pottery supplies 

located in inner city Sydney. The gallery features functional 

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SHEPPARTON ART MUSEUM 

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NATIONAL EDUCATION DIRECTORY 

CERAMIC DESIGN STUDIO - TAFE NSW 

SYDNEY INSTITUTE, GYMEA 

Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma courses in 

ceramics - full and part-time attendance; a range of short 

courses will be available in 2013; enr Kingsway and Hotham 

Road, Gymea NSW; T: 02 9710 5001; Find us on www.sil. 

nsw.edu.au/ceramics/gymea and facebook "Ceramic Design 

Studio - TAFE Sydney Institute". 

~ CHISHOLM INSTITUTE, VICTORIA 

The Diploma of Ceramics is a skills-based course delivered 

by specialist staff in a well resourced studIO, Studies in 

all aspects of ceramic process and design, and first hand 

experience with firing a wide variety of kilns, as well as 

diverse arts business strategies, provides students with 

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independent arts practitioners, Contact Judith Roberts, 

T: 03 9212 5398; E: judith.roberts@chisholm.edu.au 

HOLMESGLEN TAFE 

Holmesglen Chadstone Campus: Diploma of Ceramics 

The scope and vision of our Diploma of Ceramics Course at 

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We provide a professional. well equipped studio environment 

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is to inspire individual development and encourage ongoing 

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Ceramics and Visual Arts, T: 03 9564 1942: 03 9564 1716: 

www.holmesglen.edu.au 

NATIONAL ART SCHOOL, SYDNEY 

Applications now open for BFA Ceramics Major - 3 years 

full time; BFA Honours - 1 year full time; MFA - part-time or 

full-time. Summer School: 14 - 18 January 2013: A Week on 

the Wheel with Cameron Williams and Fire your Imagination 

with Jenny Orchard. NAS Cera mic Department maintains 

an artist in residence program, international exchanges and 

visiting artists. For more information contact Merran Esson, 

T: 02 9339 8718 E: merran.esson@nas.edu.au:lfoIWII\I.nas. 

edu_au; Forbes St, Darlinghurst, Sydney 

NEWCASTLE SCHOOL OF CERAMICS 

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES - HUNTER TAFE 

The Newcastle School of Ceramics offers a range of flexibly 

delivered programs. Explorations of all aspects of ceramics 

induding technical, practical and theoretical eventuate 

in confident, practising and creative ceramicists. With the 

emphasis on customised learning, individual programs, in an 

open studio environment, are developed for each student by 

nationally acclaimed faCilitators. The Ceramics Department 

is ~quipped with studios, a gallery and a speCialist library 

on site. The campus is located in the cultural precinct and 

is within walking distance of seven galleries, local beaches 

and a thriving arts and cafe scene. Contact Sue Stewart, 

heather.f.stewart@tafe.nsw.edu.au. 

TAFE NSW - NORTHERN SYDNEY INSTITUTE 

Hornsby and Northern Beaches College offer accredited 

qualifications from Certificate to Advanced Diploma leve-Is as 

well as short specialist programs for both the beginner and 

advanced ceramicists. For more information, 

E: nsLceramics@tafensw.edu.au. For general course and 

program enquiries call 13 1 674 or go to 

www.nsi.tafensw.edu.au 


woodrow 

kilns 

Helping you produce Beautif ul Ceramics, Pottery and Glass for over 40 years 

A Complete Range of 

Electric and Gas Ki lns: 

• Aluminium Frame/Case with 10 Year Warranty 

• Fiber Board Lining - Up to 60% cheaper to run 

• Variable Pitch Elements for Even Chamber Temp 

• Easy to Use Automatic Multi-stage Controller 

• Failsafe Backup Circuit and Door Switch 

• All Kilns can Fire to 1280C 

• Failsafe Backup Circuit and Door Switch 

• Kanthal A 1 Elements and r28 Brick Floor 

• Light Weight - Easy to Install and Move 

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. 3 Year Factory Warranty, 10 Year for Frame/Case 

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We are pleased to announce that after working as Sales & 

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over the ownership of Woodrow Kilns. 

We can now proudly offer both a fresh faced management team 

back by our Technical staff with well over 50 years of combined 

hands on experience. 

116 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAM ICS NOVEMBER 2012

Ceramic Design Studio 

www.sit.nsw.edu.au/ceramics/gymea 

Why not enquire about our new Master Classes! 

Studio-based courses 

Full and part-time 

Wheelwork Tableware 

Handbuilding Sculpture 

Contemporary Installation 

Mouldmaking & Casting 

Decorating Techniques 

Glaze & Kiln Technology 

Raku & Woodfiring 

CERAMIC 

DESIGN 

STUDIO 

Find us on Facebook 

@ Ceramic Design Studio 

TAFE Sydney Institute 

Image: Nicky Parra, 

Photography: Silversalt Photography 

CnrThe Kingsway & Hotham Road 

Gymea NSW 2227 

Tel: (02) 971 05001 Fax: (02) 97105026 

Catherine.Fogarty@det.nsw.edu.au 


Specialist ceramics 

training facilities 

TAFE NSW - Northern Sydney Institute 

Beginners and 

professional 

ceramicists 

are welcome 

Come and train in some of 

Australia's most outstanding 

ceramics training facilities 

featuring the latest 

professional equipment and 

spacious, natural light-filled 

design studios. 

Both colleges offer fast-track 

specialist programs and a 

range of nationally accredited 

qualifications which are 

available part-time, full-time, 

day or evening. 

The facilities include: 

> Raku kilns 

> natural gas and LPG kilns 

> eledric kilns 

> wood fired kilns 

> an extra large trolley kiln for sculptural work 

Courses include: 

> Nationally accredited qualifications 

> Short courses 

> NSI's open studio practice provides access to the NSI studios 

and facilities so you can improve your skills by developing 

your own work. 

Hornsby College 

205 Pacific Highway, Hornsby NSW 2077 

Northern Beaches College 

154 Old Pittwater Road, Brookvale NSW 2100 

For more information about the ceramics training facilities 

and services available, email: nsi.ceramics@tafensw.edu.au 

For general course and program enquiries: 

Call 131 674 or go to www.nsi.tafensw.edu.au 


CLAYWORKS 

CERAMIC STUDY 

GROUP Inc. 

presents 

Victor Greenaway at the Powerhouse Museum 

Sunday, 17 February 2013 

A day's presentation and demonstration by one 

of Australia's finest ceramic artists to start off our 

50th year anniversary. Everyone welcome. 

Members enjoy monthly presentations by 

Australian and overseas potters, a monthly 

newsletter, access to an updated library. DVDs, 

our woodfired kiln and networking with 

like-minded souls. 

For bookings email: csgsecretary@holmail.com 

www.ceramicsludygroup.org 

A home-stay arti sts retrea t 

in forest country on the Mid 

North Coast or NS W. Our 

guests are invited to learn 

new skills in : 

• Ceramic sc ulpture 

• Figurative art 

• Busts/caricatures 

• Wheel work 

• Mould making 

• Surface finishes 

• Drawing 

• Painting 

3 or 5 day stays to suit guests' aims &: dates. Check 

out the website or phone for more details: 

www.ozmosis.net.au 

277 Soldier Settlers Road, Newce Creek NSW 2447 

Phone (02) 6568 1903 Emll il: ozmosis@15n.cc 

From beginncn 10 experienced practitioners 

THE IOURNAl OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012 119

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quality pottery supplies and services 

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3661 Chmty Lane, Ukiah, CA 95482 

Phone: (707)463-1333 Fax: (707)462-5578 

www.peterpugger.com

ICMEA 2013 Conference 

September 08·13, 2013 

Fuping, China 

Theme: Challenge & Innovation of Ceramics 

I. Call for Speakers: 

• Subjects of Speeches: 

critical writing, marketing, education, gallery/museum/Residency Policy and 

other related topics . 

• Speech length 20 minutes 

• No speaker fees and conference fees 

• Free accommodation and meals for speakers 

• Deadline: April 30, 2013 

VI_ http://www.lCMEA2004.com for application 

II. call for Emerging Ceramic ArtIst Competition: 


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options 

- clip-on marine ply shelves 

- riser bat and standard bats 

- stand-up and tablelfloor kits 

Algo dVd!lt:l/7/e: 

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Artist -in-residence 

program 

Our residency program has a wellequipped 

studio and self-contained 

residential unit set in the Watson Arts 

Centre grounds. Applications are 

invited for 2013. 

Details of residency formats 

and an application form are at 

canberrapotters.com.au or contact 

us for an information pack. 

Canberra Potters' Society Inc 

Watson Arts Centre· Aspinall Street· Watson· ACT 

admin@canberrapotters.com.au --- 

ph/fax (02) 6241 1670 

po Box 702 1, Watson Aa 2602 - 

ACT 

The Australian Ceramics 

Association 

Secure and Easy 

online 

shopping 

is now available 

@ www.australianceramics.com 

RENEW' SUBSCRIBE' JOIN • GIVE A GIFT 

The Journal of Australian Ceramics 

The Australian Ceramics Association 

Public and Product Liability Insurance 

Back issues, books and technical guides 

Pavment Options 

Credit Card • Paymate • Direct Deposit 

COLOURS Rockwood Pigments, Cesco, 

Walker Ceramics, Clayworks, Deco, 

Chrysanthos CLAYS Bendigo, Bennetts, 

Blackwattie, Clayworks, Feeneys, Keanes, 

Northcote, Walkers EQUIPMENT 

wheels, slab ro llers, 

ACCESSORIES Brushes, corks, 

kiln shelves, etc MATERIALS 

and more GLAZES Powder and 

Claytools, Kemper, Giffin Grip and 

NEW - Limited supply of Duncan UHJUlJCl 


A CAREER IN OBJECT 

BASED ART AND DESIGN 

Object based Practice is a specialised stream 

in gold and silversmithing and ceramics within 

RMIT's fine art degree. 

Object based Practice continues to push creative 

boundaries and RMIT's undergraduate and 

postgraduate students are regularly recognised 

for their work through national and international 

awards, publications and exhibitions. 

www.rmit.edu.au/art 

Discover more about this intricate field and other 

programs available at RMIT. 

> For further information about 

studying art at RMIT contact 

artschool@rmit.edu.au 

e RMIT 

UNIVERSITY

SUNDAY 28 APRIL - SATURDAY 4 MAY 2013 

Clay Push Gulgong 2013 is the ninth in the series of ceramics 

events which have been held every three years (since beginning in 

1989) in Gulgong, NSW, Australia. This small, historic and friendly 

town, at the heart of the renowned Puggoon clay deposits, will 

become t he hub of the ceramic world, welcoming visitors from 

around the world and all parts of Australia. 

Talks, demonstrations, exhibitions and special events, under the 

artistic direction of Janet Mansfield, await you for this unique week 

in 2013. Chester Nealie, master of ceremonies, will welcome you to 

t he event, which culminates with a special day at Morning View. 

International artists from Brazil, France, South Korea, Sweden, 

Thailand and USA, as well as Austra lian artists, will lead the 

workshop presentations. There will be hands-on activities, 

experimental firings and opportunities to display your work. 

Register now by going to the _bslte www.gulgong2013.com 

Or fill in the form below and post it to: 

Clay Push, PO Box 502 Waverley N5W 2024 Australia 

Invited artists include: 

Frank Boyden, USA 

sponsored by the Mid·Western 

Regional Council 

Naidee Changmoh, THAILAND 

Norma Grinberg, BRAZIL 

Marianne Hallberg, SWEDEN 

Wayne Higby, USA 

Jacques Kaufmann, FRANCE (tbc) 

Lee Kang Hyo, SOUTH KOREA 

Kirsten Coelho, AUSTRALIA 

Greg Daly, AUSTRALIA 

Jeff M incham, AU STRALIA 

Highlights at Morning View on 

Sunday 4 May include artists 

Rod Bamford, Australia (education 

forum), Coli Minogue, Ireland 

(writers' forum) and Stephen 

Robison (USA), leading special 

activities for the participants, and 

all rounded up with a Kiwi 

woodfired dinner. 

REGISTRATION FORM 

Name: 

Address: 

Country: 

Phone: 

(please include country code if outside Australia) 

Email: 

PAYMENT TYPE: Cash I Cheque I Credit Card I EFT I Paypal 

Cheque: Please make out to Mansfield Press Gulgong 2013; must be in AU$ 

Credit Card (please indicate type): Mastercard ( Visa 

Card Holder Name: __________________ 

Card Number: 

/ 

Expiry Date: __ / _ _ 

EFT: " use your name to identify the transfer" 

Account name: Mansfield Press Gulgong 2013 

BSB 062549; Account No.1 0096443 

Swift code: CTBAAU25; Commonwealth Bank, Gulgong NSW 

AU$ EVENT RATES 

Delegate: $ 450 (Full Rate) 

Stud.m: 

$100 (Day Rate) 

$ 325 (Full Rate) 


TadMrwith 6 Students: 

$350 (Full Rate) 


OPTIONAL EXTRAS 

Please email first to check 

availability, then add to your 

payment total. 

1 Dormitory add $15 (night 

1 BusTlcbt 

Sydney to Guigong 

$ 70 each way; $140 return

Showcase 

Saturday 17 + Sunday 18 August 2013 

We want to link as many ceramic studios as we can muster around the country for OSCAS 1 a national weekend of 

ceramic sampling, sales and mayhem! 

Before we are overrun with spring fairs, we will warm our studios {for those down south}, open the doors and welcome 

the locals in to see what we make. 

The Australian Ceramics Association will create an online flier for you to distribute via your local networks, whilst also 

supporting the event with a comprehensive list in The Journal of Australian Ceramics, 52/2, July 2013, and a special 

page on www.3ustralianceramics.com. 

To participate you (or your group) need to be a financia l member of The Australian Ceramics Association and have 

public liability insurance cover (for the weekend of the event). Your liability cover may be through TACA, or if not 

through TACA, we will ask that you provide a Certificate of Currency for your alternative cover. There is no fee to 

participate. 

To submit your OSCAS Expression of Interest, please send an email tomail@3ustralianceramics.com. with the 

subject line OSCAS EOl.ln the body of the email, give your name (and/or your studio name), your location, a contact 

number and your website, blog or facebook page. This event is open to individuals and groups. 

http://australianceramics.realviewdigi tal. com 

THE IOURNAl OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS NOVEMBER 2012 127

The Australian Ceramics Association's 

Biennial Exhibition 2014 

Manly Art Gallery & Museum 

28 March - 4 May 2014 

the course of objects; 

the fine lines of inquiry 

Curator: Susan Ostling 

CALL FOR PROPOSALS 

The intent of this exhibition the course of objects: the fine 

lines of inquiry is t o map and take the pulse of recent 

ceramic wo rk that pu r sues particular l ines of inquiry 

or explores or embodies pertinent ideas. 

Working in the spirit of unraveling the assoc iations between 

things, or discovering constellations in things, I will look 

for possible transient affinities and correspondences when 

making selections for the exhibition . 

Works wi ll be chosen that trigger or extend connections or 

references, or that suggest repetitions , echoes, resemblances, 

distilled moments , or the thick realm of metaphor . 

I am not intending to establish an overall exhibition theme; 

rather to elucidate methodolog i es of practice and inquiry . 

Practitioners (potters, sculptors, ceramicists) are invited to submit proposals 

for the exhibition the course of objects; the fine lines of inquiry. 

Please send an outline of your proposal/rationale (100-150 words), 

a disc with 3- 5 images of related work and a current I - page CV. 

Applications close: 15 April 2013 Artists notified: 31 May 2013 

Exhibition dates: 28 March - 4 May 2014 

Please post proposal packages to: Susan Ostling 

The Australian Ceramics AssOCiation, PO Box 274 Waverley NSW 2024 

Artists whose work is selected will receive a $100 participants fee. 

Exhibitors must be financial members of The Australian Ceramics Association.

WALKER , 

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The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 51 No 3 November 2012

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