Pottery In Australia Vol 35 No 1 Autumn 1996

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Fergus Stewart
From clay to kiln.
Article by KA THY KITUAI.
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Jug. Wood fired salt, 1995. 23h (cm).
We are a long way from Scotland the day Fergus
Stewart shows me photographs of his birthplace,
Stonehaven, Aberdeen. We are sitting underneath
vines growing over his studio at Strathnairn on the
outskirts of Canberra, a blue wren at our feet like a
sapphire on a velvet lawn, magpies warbling, geese
grazing. An equally ideal landscape to the one in which
Stewart experienced childhood, but I can't help wondering
how growing up in Scotland by the sea has influenced the
work of this potter.
"I think tl1e work ethic is the most important thing", he
replies, "It's an attitude to learning, to developing ... "
Pragmatic, the answer doesn't immediately satisfy. He's
just described the joy of clambering up a cliff to play in a
12th Century castle. One thing is for certain. Stewart is
restless, constantly shifts in his seat, doesn't seem
comfortable while not involved in the process of making
pots. Understandable. He began making pots as early as
high school.
''When I started off, I didn't see myself as an artist; I saw myself
as a potter .. .! like the grand scale of art, you know, sculpture that
you can climb on or sit on .. .it comes back to function."
In essence, the rugged Scottish landscape has had effect
after all. However, it's my tum to shift uncomfortably in my
ISSUE 35/ I AUTUMN 1996 + POTTERY IN AUSTRALIA 9