Pottery In Australia Vol 38 No 3 September 1999

enable firing. This was a magical moment when the fibre
panels were taken away revealing the hot glowing
structure that had all the appearance of a cathedral or
shrine to ceramics, encircled by a large crowd of
admiring potters.
There was never any excuse for nothing to do at the
conference after hours. Many a discussion went on long
into the night and there were other wild activities that I
heard of second hand. The range of exhibitions on in
Perth during the Conference also presented another
challenge. I actually waited until after the conference
and spent a few days until my return, going around as
many of the exhibitions as possible, making contacts.
There were certainly some impressive things to see.
Perth certainly has some galleries to be proud of
though I am sure that this range of ceramics must have
been a first.
The Conference conveners must be congratulated for
putting together an excellent Conference that attracted a
great many potters and dealt with a great many issues.
They demonstrated the strength of, and interest in,
ceramics in Western Australia.
The Conference finished with the Clay Olympics which
was a great romp for all those who took part, especially
the event where you had to throw a pot with some part
of the body apart from the hands. Those who observed
this will not forget it in a hurry. The wind up Barn dance
showed a wild freedom and abandon that these
conferences are renowned for. People hung around at
the end not wishing to leave, chatting with new found
friends and old acquaintances.
Now one must look forward to the next conference in
Melbourne.
One or two other points that came out of this
conference that I felt were of importance:
The use of the internet. As potters we need to know
what is out there and make use of what is out there. Also
due to this new medium we have to consider ways of
reinventing our audience.
Ceramics in Australia is struggling with galleries closing
down (recent examples being the Metro Craft Centre in
Melbourne and Distelfink Gallery), the constant struggle
to get an audience and the ongoing difficulty with
funding, be that for institutions or individuals through
grants.
There is a great need for funding to help potters get on
the net. This funding is likely to do more that anything
else to find a new audience and promote Australian
ceramics.
Potters also need to get together and organise
themselves as there is increasingly little or no outside
help. It is all user pays. oo
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Alistiar Whyte
66 POTTERY IN AUSTRALIA + 38/3 SEPTEMBER 1999