Recycled

One of the greatest appeals of pottery for many practitioners is the sense of working with the elements earth and fire. It is a centering and deeply satisfying experience. The reality is though, making pottery is not a truly environmentally friendly endeavour for many. I am acutely aware of this in my own practice. I do my very best to ameliorate my own impact on this beautiful planet. The studio, including the electric kiln, is fully powered by solar panels. I use as many natural materials as I can. To make sure nothing is wasted, I recycle left over clay and the slops in my clay bucket. The mugs and plates pictured were made from such recycled clay which I coloured with red iron oxide.

Plates made with recycled clay

Also fresh out of the kiln this week are cups, mugs and bowls which feature the popular “wide eyes” pattern. Someone asked at our last market where I found the inspiration for this design. A lot of my surface design is painted or carved by hand (sgraffito) during the making process. Recurring motifs include leaves and circles in particular. They have provided on ongoing source of exploration for a number of years now. “Wide Eyes” have evolved from several variations of circles and dots and the incorporation of sgraffito on the outer ring. So, this design is not the result of a light bulb moment but rather forms part of a work in progress.

Wide Eyes

We’re looking forward to this week’s market at Mission Beach on Sunday (19 October) morning where this work will be on sale. It might be time to start considering Christmas and gifting your loved ones with a beautiful piece of unique pottery!