The Journal of Australian Ceramics Vol 53 No 2 July 2014

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"It's my decorating day", Nichols laughingly says of her kiln packing. She gives herself lots of time
and no pressure to accomplish this painstaking task, crawling around on her haunches inside the kiln .
The only glaze applied to the wares is inside the forms. All other effects are gained by the manipulation
of the kiln atmosphere and the pack. large things perch on their sides, often on oyster shells (providing
both stability and a subtle fossil-like imprinted focal pOint) - all the better to receive the soda vapour as
it winds through the corridors of space between pots towards the chimney at the back. Small bowls and
cups litter the shelves as fillers. The whole thing might appear haphazard. It is anything but.
Nichols has been experimenting with soda glaze firing since the 1990s and has gradually refined her
practice so that she can now express things other than technique. Although she builds her own kilns,
formulates her own clay bodies, throws big pots and raw fires ever so carefully with both gas and wood,
Nichols' work shows an artistic maturity that is internationally acclaimed and highly sought after.
I can't help wondering if she chose her bush locale and proximity to Mount Budawang (with its
spectacular foggy micro climate) to complement her pots or if the work has gradually morphed into
its environment. As with any art form, the trick is to appear effortless - the hours and decades of hard
work becoming second nature - so that what the audience receives is seamless, easy; a story told or a
feeling given solidity. This Nichols certainly achieves but she has had to be 'driven' to get there. Only
when she talks about her volunteer fire fighting does she light up in the same way as she does when
discussing the work. What is it about this woman and fire?
http://sabbiagallery.com/artists/gail-nichols/
Below: Gail Nichols. Flowing Mist, 2013, stoneware. soda·vapour glaze. h.llern. w.42cm; photo: Michel Brooet
82 THE JOURNAL OF AUSTRALIAN CERAMICS JULY 2014