Meditating on Clay Preparation
Why create pottery when the world is shaking with war and grief?
Every now and then I emerge from preparing for the Geelong Ceramics Market to see yet more carnage on the TV news. I know millions of people around the world are experiencing the same thing. So how can I/ how dare I keep on focussing on creating art when the world appears to have gone to hell in a hand basket? What is the point?
Recently I attended the launch of Holly Ringland’s latest book The House That Joy Built. Holly spoke about someone approaching her with a similar question. The answer I took away was that ‘making art is an act of resistance’. We can’t live in the midst of destruction. We are compelled after life altering events to recreate, remake, reorder, and make sense of what has happened and then find a way forward into the future.
Being human is inherently creative. Below is a video that is designed to be meditative, to draw us back into connecting with ouselves and the earth. Feeling my way forward with clay connects me to the earth and to creation. An act of defiance and resistance towards all those intent on destruction. This may seem small and insignificant. But the connection through creating is very powerful. The more of us who do this, the more profound the impact we can have in the world around us.
Preparing clay for throwing on the wheel
tea bowls
I have enjoyed a fascination with tea bowls for some years. The photo at the head of this page is my first attempt at designing a tea bowl - but you could also use it for soup or rice. Made in Keanes Black Midfire Clay - so silky to throw with - I finally found (commercial) glaze that shines with it owns colours whilst enhancing the black clay below. This tea bowl has been entered in to the Australian Ceramics Association Exhibition - HELD (2024). I wait now wondering if this design fits the definition of a tea bowl (there are many definitions). I also wonder whether - if in making the bowl multi-purpose - that purists of the the bowl will denounce my design. Why make the bowl multi-purpose? I was thinking that if you spend (many dollars) on something beautifully handmade and functional - why not find ways to use it several times a day?