seconds + samples sale!

I'm stoked to announce that my Seconds + Samples Sale will be at Miami Marketta on Friday 9 November! I have stacks of slighty-odd-but-very-lovely pots that need good homes!

the week.

I've misplaced my 'normal' camera, so I'm not recording my studio days as much as I would like. In the absence of more substantial photographic evidence that I am in fact MAKING stuff, here are some Instagram shots: 

[early Sunday morning studio session]

[chai latte in my Allysha Hurd cup]

[Tuesday morning studio breakfast]

[my excellent $1 op shop find!]

[FINALLY trying my hand at Mishima inlay]

What's that? It's Thursday? I've remembered? It's time for Mud Colony! Did you see my interview over there on Monday?! Big love to Adriana.

love.

A slide from a presentation at Subversive Clay, but I forget which speaker it was?

marketta | oct 2012

I'll be back at Miami Marketta this Friday night! Art + fashion + food + live music = all kind of awesomeness. Come visit!

[photo borrowed from the Marketta Facebook page. Which you should Like.]

home time

It was a LONG day, sustained only with tea, lemon biscuits and M&Ms...we were exhausted when we arrived at Adriana's home in Croyden on Monday evening! Before a scrumptious dinner, Adriana gave me a speedy tour of her home studio.

[I have a thing for inspiration walls.]

[this is where the magic happens!]

It was bitterly cold by that time, so we whizzed through her studio and kiln room quickly, hence I only took 2 photos...!

[it's me and Adriana! We *happened* to visit Craft Victoria the next day...]

That wonderful Monday in August was truly inspiring; I gained an insight into so many different studio set ups, work processes and most importantly, artists' lives. I learnt a little wisdom from each potter as to how they juggle their life and arts practice; that's precious knowledge.

I was sad to say goodbye to Adriana and I miss her now. Thankfully the wonders of the internet keep us in touch and we can support each other's work from a distance. Time for a serious plug now; I recommend you follow her blog, visit her website, like her Facebook page, follow her on Twitter AND especially on Instagram - @adrianachristianson.

AND I mustn't forget...Adriana manages the very brilliant Mud Colony, a space for potters from all over the world to join together and share our work every week!

studio visit: jane annois

The penultimate stop on the Grand Adventure; Jane Annois' studio! Jane works in two styles; Raku, making sculptural or decorative pieces and “terre vernissee”, French tableware using traditional honey, green and blue glazes. Jane's French-style work really appealed to me, with its wonderful luscious glazes.

[LOOK at all that work!!]

There was more tea [we had a lot of tea and biscuits]...

[Adriana + Jane; typical potters, ignoring the food and inspecting the plate!]

[I forget who made this teapot, but it was lovely]

Jane has so many aspects to her ceramics practice; alongside producing her own work she organises 2 large  annual events for ceramic artists, Pottery Expo, as well as teaching ceramics, English and French and coordinating French cultural tours! Multi-talented much?

blog love.

I owe a few thank you's for some much appreciated blog love;

- Be @ Home

- Bondville

- Mud Colony!!

Thank you! *blush*

studio visit: julia franz

The Grand Adventure continues! Adriana drove us all the way out to Healesville, in the beautiful Yarra Valley grape growing region! Adriana's good friend Julia Franz is the sweetest Swedish potter you could possibly meet! Her smile is quite infectious. 

[Julia's little throwing space]

[I wonder if Julia has finished her plates yet...?]

[view from the wheel]

Julia made us tea and we nattered over (more) of Adriana's homebaked lemon biscuits; we both complimented the cute cups we were drinking from and Julia told us to take them home! I am in LOVE with this teacup, I have used it nearly everyday since that visit!

[a cup full of Queensland sunshine]

Adriana also gifted some delicious French Earl Grey loose tea to me, which is MOST excellent in Julia's cup!

Follow lovely Julia over on her blog and Facebook page! She's also hosting a birthday competition, so be sure to comment on this post!

studio visit: slow clay.

Next on the Grand Adventure of Adriana and Katy: Slow Clay. Founded by Jane Sawyer in early 2012, Slow Clay Centre is a beautifully designed ceramics studio in inner-city Melbourne, offering a wide range of exciting classes and guest artist workshops and forums.

(Forgive me, I nabbed that from the Slow Clay website - Jane said it better than I could!)

[the throwing room - look at those shiny new venco wheels!]

[clay prep room]

[inspiration!]

[Jane's beautiful work]

We spent 2 superb hours talking clay with Jane and her assistant Anne over green tea. Slow Clay is a gorgeous, peaceful space - I imagine the classes would be brilliant.

Run over to their Facebook page and give them some love!

studio visit: sophie milne

I've followed Sophie Milne's work since I was in college, admiring (read: drooling over) her elegant and uncomplicated wheel thrown forms via her website and blog for the past few years.

[side street collection]

[gorgeous coloured porcelain bangles!]

[Sophie's new coloured porcelain range]

[makers mark]

[works in progress]

[the studio door doubles as a black board!]

Sophie's new studio is covered in fake grass!! I don't think it could be any cooler.

[how awesome is the fake grass?!]

[a sneak peak of some collaborative work]

We were privileged to have a sneak preview of Sophie's collaborative work with artist Jacqueline Kennedy before their exhibition opened at Potier in September. Each piece is exquisite, both in the form and imagery.

I will geekily admit now that I was super nervous prior to meeting Sophie! But she is totally lovely (what else was I expecting?!) and was happy to show us around her workspace, answer my endless nerdy questions and share a few nuggets of advice. A beautiful deep blue porcelain bangle came home with me after the visit - thank you Sophie!

I could gush on about Sophie's work, but that might become uncomfortable...! Besides, the lady herself keeps a most excellent blog over at Six Hundred Degrees and articulates far better than I can - I highly recommend it for your reading list!

wow.

I'm proud to tell you that my entry in the Port Hacking Potters 47th National Competition 2012 has won the Open Wheelthrown section! I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Port Hacking Potters Group and to the esteemed judge of this year’s competition, Greg Daly. It is an honour to have my work assessed by Greg, let alone to be awarded a section prize. I feel so humbled and privileged. I had the pleasure of meeting Greg in person at Subversive Clay, the 2012 Australian Ceramics Triennale in Adelaide just this past weekend. I found him to be so generous and encouraging, sharing his thoughts on the work with me and offering me advice for future work. Thank you Greg!

'Miro Feather Dishes', Wheel thrown + hand painted, Southern Ice Porcelain,
fired to 1280C electric. Each dish is 12 cm wide x 4 cm high.

studios, biscuits and giggles.

A whole MONTH ago (umm, I started this post 2 weeks ago...hmm so make that 6 weeks.) I snuck down to dear Melbourne for a few days. After a year of online correspondence, I spent a precious day with fellow potter Adriana Christianson. We rendezvous'd at her Northcote Pottery studio in East Brunswick for the inaugural bout of grins and giggles, though I did just about compose myself to take a heap of photos of the gorgeous creative space shared by Adriana and her studio buddy, Kathy Fahey.

[Adriana's work table]

[I love the cacti!]

[studio motivation!]

[ramekins!]

[left: work in progress shelves. right: works available for sale]

[the shared display area]

[I adore Adriana's birdies!]

[favourites!]

[Kathy's work - her colour palette is SO vibrant]

[Kathy's gorgeous illustrated vessels]

[Kathy's display area]

[This is amazing! Kathy calls these 'Artist Books', made from tissue paper, stonehenge paper and ink]

[Kathy's window]

[the clay plant creatures amused me!]

Dear Adriana dedicated a whole day to touring me round, visiting inner-city and country Victoria potters, including Sophie Milne, Jane Sawyer and her assistant Anne at Slow Clay, Julia Franz and Jane Annois. I grinned, laughed and gasped from start to finish. I'm embarrassed at how long it has taken me to write and publish this post - I was so inspired by the day that I should have been blogging as soon as I returned home. Speaking with these potters working in different aspects of the art community was incredibly encouraging and stimulating. These women shared their stories with me; how they came to be potters, how they work and sustain themselves, what they love about the medium. For me, it was an almost validating experience, in that I learnt that we all bear the same concerns and worries about our arts practice. I believed that I worried about aspects of my work only as an emerging artist, when in fact even ceramicists that have practised for 15 - 30 years are anxious about the same things as me! I now feel reassured that I am doing the right thing, I'm going in the right direction and my dreams and goals are completely within the realm of possibility. I owe a great thanks to all the artists I visited, but especially Adriana. You support me, you cheer me on and you make me smile when I need it most. Thank you.

(More photos from the day to be posted! :))