I started making pottery last year after watching my husband Myles and son Finn make pots for a very, very long time! I love the way the clay can be moulded into new forms and how conversations flow around it. The concentration and yet the freedom as it spins. As a learner, I’ve been having a go at a multitude of techniques – it’s so exciting as you learn to throw clay around recklessly then it tells you no, this is not respectful! The results can be surprisingly delightful or tragically disappointing.
Being surrounded by resources collected over a lifetime of pottery making is a great head start and having guidance by people like Myles and artist in life, Karen Seaman, is a privilege.
Mostly I have been handbuilding and pushing to make larger pinch pots on other shapes. The process is meditative and quieting. Exploring what clay will do if it is worked and worked (collapse!) or if it holds the shape you are looking for. Creating different textures for interest; or little bowls that have some meaning.
It is a quite a departure though strangely an extension of my regular job at the City of Busselton as the Cultural Development Officer and as a volunteer and president of the Dunsborough & Districts Progress Association. For over thirty years, I’ve been coordinating arts events and commissioning anything from bronze sculptures to major street artworks. I love meeting new makers and having the opportunity to stimulate discussion and create vibrancy within the area. Knowing that I’ve been there in the process for many of this region’s artworks, is a quiet and worthwhile legacy.
In late 2023 I was able to commission through the Building Busselton Town Team, a 72m Aboriginal artwork, working with three emerging artists Melanine Hume, India Armstrong and Stefan Calyon, and professional street artist Sam Allen. The paintings and story behind Boodja Koondarminy – Country Dreaming, are simply amazing – and its worth having a look. Find it behind the Woolworths building in Busselton.
I’m blessed to be able to be a creator for my own pleasure, for no reason other than fun. It’s very different from being an arts administrator for a home business, at the City or as a volunteer for a community group. I never in my life dreamed that I would have had the opportunities I have had through these different avenues, to empower artists and bring colour and connection into our communities and our lives. It is very satisfying.