Euan Craig's visit to Sydney

I had the great privilege of attending a demonstration and talk by Euan Craig, the potter from Japan.
I've been following his blog for many years now - click on the name to be taken to his site.

During the terrible aftermath of the earthquake that wrecked his home and kiln in 2011 Euan wrote in heart rending terms of the experience and the hope of rebuilding.

Well he has rebuilt and now has a new kiln and a new home.  While I knew his story from his blog, it was a moving experience to see those images again and to hear him personally recount that story as he gave a presentation before getting on the wheel.

To see a professional potter working is a real joy. Both inspiring and daunting at the same time.  There is no way I could manage the 12 kgs of clay he centred on the wheel and then proceeded to quickly throw bowls from 'off the hump' as us westerners call it.  Apparently that is the usual way work is made in Japan and for them throwing one piece at a time on the wheel head is more unusual.

Euan had thrown some work a couple of days earlier so we could see him trim some bowls.

 He then made a footed bowl using pulled handles that he looped over...

Euan trimming base of large vase

 He had also previously thrown the base of a large vessel and proceeded to throw the top part of it ready to join the two together to make a tall vase..

base of large vase. untrimmed bowls in foreground.

base of large vase trimmed

Rope patterned marking is a trademark decoration for Euan Craig

joining the two parts

The vessel being finished off...

There are more images on his Facebook page here: Euan Craig The Potter in Japan

I was delighted to meet Euan in person and to be able to bring home a small example of his work which I purchased .. a fine addition to my small collection...

wheel thrown bowl by Euan Craig 2014

Travels - Part Three _ Wales

After leaving the Isle of Man we flew to the UK and spent a few days with my husbands relatives before driving to Wales.

Fortunately the UK and Australia both drive on the left hand side and with a Sat Nav and a competent driver like my husband, it was an enjoyable adventure.

We stayed in Penally which is not far from Tenby...

Penally garden - Yukka plants are a popular exotic in both the UK and Ireland

close up of Clematis vine on fence - many varieties all over Ireland and Wales (they are not easy to grow in my Sydney coastal area as they need cool roots to flower.)

Tenby is a popular holiday town

 We wanted to see the countryside and compare the old South Wales with our New South Wales...

Welsh country road

not much room to pass and oncoming vehicles appear suddenly but everyone is happy to let you pass, just take turns pulling over where you can

Welsh country road with view

But what about the pots I hear you ask...

Well what a treat..
We discovered the prettily located Gwili Pottery

Gwili Pottery, Pontarsais, Carmarthen, Wales UK

where we met Chris, the maker/thrower and her decorator of the day, Kelly. Usually Chris's daughter, Sarah does the decorating but Kelly helps out when she has time from her own business, Kelly Edwards Skincare

Chris at work in the studio

Mugs in the making

We had a lovely chat with them both about clays and firing and decorating with slips and a gorgeous mug has found a new home in my kitchen.

decorating undeway

Kelly working with slips to decorate a bowl

the mug which came home with me

The pottery has a Facebook page: link here  and a website: link here.

The Welsh town names are fascinating and quite unpronounceable to my Aussie tongue..
I had heard a lot about Aberystwyth  in regards to pottery and so we took a drive to check it out...

I should have done some better research before getting there, The Arts Centre is at the University and from the road appears to be a venue for performing arts only... after checking with the Tourist Info office we found it was the right place afterall, so back we went and I had an hour or so of browsing while my better half read a book.

It was such a treat:

Michael Cardew

Elizabeth Fritsch was one I admired while researching handbuilding during my studies

Lucie Rie bowl

Lucie Rie narrow necked vessel

Lucie Rie - same bowl showing inside

Lucie Rie - narrow necked vessel

Hans Coper - vessel

another Elizabeth Fritsch vessel

Contemporary student work - amazing detail - 40? shades of grey

Love the precision of these yellow bowls too

a nod to the Welsh traditions

Raku pigs and sheep - had seen these in a book/mag before but so good to see them in the flesh

From Wales we spent a few days in Somerset before packing for our return to Sydney in a dear little village called DowlishWake which is the home of Perry's Apple Cider.

Perry's Cider

the apple orchard

And then it was back home to get over my jet lag so I could attend a talk and demonstration by Euan Craig The Potter from Japan.  Watch the next post...

Remember to check Kim's link up over at Frogpondsrock  for more pottery blogs.

or I might see you on Facebook: Anna's Ceramics

Travels - Part Two - Isle of Man

The second part of my blog post of my travels is about the Isle of Man. The island is a short hop by plane from Ireland and then another hop from there to the 'mainland' UK.

But here is an image taken in the village of Dalkey just outside Dublin, Ireland, it was in the window of the local chemist shop and must have been a project by local school children.. a great idea

Irish school children's project in Dalkey Ireland.

Before leaving on my trip I had contacted Kathryn Mitchell of Kathryn Mitchell Ceramics, who lived in Australia for several years, trained in Ceramics in Qld but then returned to her home island in 2013.  It was great to see how successful Katy has been in such a short time, getting her business up and running.

Katy won the wheel thrown section of the 2012 Port Hacking Potters National Competition which was judged by Greg Daly. (the competition is running again this year, they have a Facebook page here: Facebook link and blog here: Blog link for more detail ).  It is fascinating to see how Katy's work has developed to suit her new circumstances.

Kathryn Mitchell Ceramics in her studio display

We could only stay for a few days but we were lucky that there was an Art Trail on that weekend which Katy was involved in and so had her studio open to visitors.  It is such a lovely location with rustic surroundings of the owners furniture restoration and refurbishment business.

the stone walled studio is part of a complex with Pine Wood Studio furniture makers

Katy was giving her visitors little spoons to take home and I had taken one of mine to give to her so we swapped but I know I did well out of the swap!  A little pourer and dish also came home with me. Fortunately light enough not to tip my bag weight over as the planes in and out of the island are not very big and have low weight restrictions. Tricky when you are packing for 6 weeks in a cold climate tour!

As part of the weekend there were pottery demonstrations and yarn bombing going on in the second city of the island, Peel.

Viking statues feeling warmer with a little yarn bombing, Peel Museum

 I missed the raku event but met up with the potter Matt Owen, the next day and saw the results.

Raku by Matt Owen, timber by Graham Hall

The pots go so well with the timber work of the other artist, Graham Hall, to display their work.  This was shown in the church hall along with another potter, Faye Christian who was doing hands on wheel lessons and the stall of Celine Appleyard. What a talented lot.

The weather was often foggy as we drove from one side to the other - anyone interested in motor bikes will know that the Isle of Man TT is about to be held.  How the riders manage those high speeds on those roads doesn't bear thinking about.

typical countryside of the Isle of Man

Spring was struggling through and though the daffodils had mostly finished flowering the blue bells were out in force and the fushia bushes just beginning to flower.

blue bell glen

fushia flowers begin to show

We had hired a car and so were able to take in some of the tourist spots such as the Laxey Wheel.

My husband appreciating the enginering of the Laxey Wheel

No puffins or Manx cats seen but perhaps another time.

Travels and meeting up with family and potters - Part One

You will have noticed the lack of blog posts..  I've been on an overseas trip.  Mostly to spend some time with my son in Ireland and then a bit of a tour of the Isle of Man and Wales and Somerset in the UK.

It was wonderful to spend time with my eldest son who has lived overseas for a while now. He was a great tour guide of Dublin and its surrounds.. Not only that, we went to some potteries and met up with a young potter in Kilkenny county, Claire Molloy,  who gave us a great demo of her horse hair raku technique.

Here is a link to her website: http://www.clairemolloyceramics.com/
and Claire is on Facebook too: Claire Molloy Ceramics

here are some images of her process:

her Raku kiln is loaded up with the bisqued pots

once the correct temperature is reached the red hot pots are removed

placed on the floor

and the horse hair applied to create unique patterns

here is a selection of her finished work on display in her studio. As our next stop was to be the Isle of Man and the weight restrictions were quite low, I kept my purchase to a lovely little star pendant which made it back safely.  Thanks for a lovely visit, Claire.












Claire mentioned another pottery we could visit on our way to Kilkenny, Nicholas Mosse, at the other end of the handmade spectrum, this pottery decorates their wares with slips that are applied with sponges that have been cut into patterns.  The works are beautiful examples of the technique. They also have a museum and cafe on the site.

The website has an interesting video clip: http://nicholasmosse.com/how-its-made

In Kilkenny just across from the castle is a craft and design centre with exhibitions and workshops.  The potter, Ray Power was in the middle of packing his kiln so couldn't chat. Nice pieces with some different glazes and some slip trailed decoration..  His website link is here: http://www.castlearchpottery.ie/

and the weather was kind to us most days though the wind was cold.  This was taken the day we visited the ancient site of Newgrange - a Celtic monument that has been refurbished to make it safe for visitors to enter.

A long range view of the mound which is Newgrange.  There are also standing stones on the site which predate Stonehenge.
Part Two will be visiting the Isle of Man..

Experiment - a platter

I have been trailing a new form which needs some more work but looks very promising.
Unfortunately I can't upload any images as I don't have access to my PC for awhile.

I will try to upload to my Facebook page: Anna's Ceramics. Just do a Facebook search and you should find me.

I also have a Group on Facebook called Anna's Aussie Ceramics. Again a Facebook search of Groups and the name should find it.

Another sale at Limelight

It is nice to know that two of these little vessels have found a new home. They are 'carved' using the water etching technique..  I plan on doing more with this technique and getting more detail into my designs.

Limelight Gallery is in the city between Central railway and Ultimo TAFE.

Have you checked over at Sunday Ceramics for more clay bloggers?

Melbourne Teapot Show 2014

I've sent my teapots off to the Melbourne Teapot Show for this year's exhibition at the Studio @ Flinders Gallery..

a sneak peak..

hope they arrive safely and that they find a new home...