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SALT FIRING

A group session for Salt Firing with gas has been planned for November.

All members are invited to participate. Register your interest NOW by contacting Jane (phone 6161 0806 or email janecrick@dodo.com.au) and start preparing your pots NOW.

• Pots may be made by any method; the clay should be stoneware and contain some iron (white stoneware with 10% of a darker clay is a good mix; dark clays such as 5A dark and Raku Gold will come out almost black). Coloured slips can be used, blue is especially popular, and a low quality clay such as LGH should be used as the slip base so that good orange peel effects can be obtained. Porcelain clays will give little surface texture and little colour, but slips made from Ball Clays often give both texture and warm cream/yellow/tan colours.

• All work must be pre-bisqued.

• Participants will be expected to take a shift assisting with either packing or firing (or both). There will be a charge to cover the cost of the gas; charge variable, based on number of shelves used in the firing.

• Where: Strathnairn Arts Association, Holt.

• Kiln Master:  Alex de Vos

• Kiln Packing: Thursday 11 November (pots must be delivered by 9am on this day, some assistance will be required with packing)

• Kiln Firing:  Saturday 13 November (starting early morning and salting early evening).

• The kiln will take about 3 days to cool.

If required, further information can be obtained from Jane Crick, details above.

Jeff Mincham: Ceramics

Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft

On Saturday 17th July over 40 people came to the gallery to hear Greg Daly interview Jeff Mincham. This fascinating insight into Jeff's life and work was followed by a floor talk about some of the individual pieces in the exhibition. Many thanks go to Greg and Jeff for this wonderful event.

Read more about the exhibition, which is in the gallery from the 16th July to 22nd August

Image: Jeff Mincham working in studio, Cherryville, South Australia, 2009. Photo: Grant Hancock

ROSELINE VEDRINES

May 2010 members' event - report & photos by Jane Crick

An enthusiastic group of CPS members enjoyed meeting and conversing with Rosline Vedrines at her exhibition 'From Paris with Love'. Seated in the garden of Strathnairn homestead on a glorious autumn afternoon, Roseline told us of her childhood in Normandy and her delight in observing the countryside. As a young adult she moved to Paris to study a language-based course at a international institution and, while there, she started wood carving as a serious hobby.

Roseline and her family moved to a small town about 4km west of central Paris. She found there was no opportunity there for working with wood and so she discovered clay. She enjoyed the immediate responsiveness when compared with wood and has been working with clay ever since. She exhibits annually at Potters Markets and also has private exhibitions and supplies a shop in Corsica, where her family enjoy their holidays. Recently she has become more serious in her approach to her clay work as she has been given recognition by an important auction house in Paris, which now stocks her work.

Roseline has been working with raku-style firings for about three years and particularly likes the naked raku techniques although "burnishing is very hard work"! Several of the pieces in her exhibition demonstrated naked raku and it was particularly striking on her figurative work.

Thank you, Roseline. I hope your wish to visit Australia again comes true.

Roseline contemplates one of her beautiful women

"Oops" - and in spite of his accident, he found a new home!

AGNIESZKA BERGER

March 2010 members' event - report by Jane Crick

An interesting and entertaining evening was enjoyed by eleven members who attended this presentation by Agnieszka. A short video introduced us to some of the work she had made in Poland. She was one of a small group of potters using a co-operatively run studio in Warsaw which served as a focus for learning skills associated with making clay objects, kiln-building and firing. Much of the work featured decoration by photographic printing on to the clay, a technique which was new to most of us and which Agnieszka is hoping to use again now that she has "found a friend with a dark room". Clay sculptures with moving parts and mixed media inclusions also featured strongly, as did the female figures we have come to recognise as Agnieszka's work. This work sparked animated discussion and Agnieszka was very generous with her explanations and information. Following the presentation of her own work, Agnieszka introduced us to the work of four of her favourite European ceramists:  Leanid Tratseuski from Belarus and Andrzej Bero, Barbara Trzybulska and Kasia Modrzejewska, all from Poland. Photographs of work by all these artists can be viewed on the internet.

Thank you, Agnieszka, for opening our eyes to something new.

A morning of low temperature Smoke Firing for Decoration

February 2010 members' event - report & photo by Joan Barrass

Who could resist the chance to use some resists in a smoke firing with Jane Crick at the recent members' event? Certainly not certain people from Cooma, the coast, further afield and local - a small but extremely enthusiastic group who enjoyed the morning enormously while experimenting with various methods of mark making on the smooth, or preferably burnished, clay surface.

There were two methods of smoking the pots - slow and fast. The slow method used shredded newspaper compressed in the base of the metal garbage bin, pots were then placed on this layer and further shredded newspaper over and above the pots to the top of the bin.  The newspaper was lit and left to smoulder for an hour and a half.

The fast method also used newspaper, this time not shredded but loosely crumpled in the base of the bin, pots placed and more crumpled newspaper to the top of the bin.

The newspaper was lit and smoking took place.  Some pots were refired with this method, each time gaining further smoking marks. These two methods gave varying degrees of smoke absorption as a result of resist slips, foil, strings and textured wrapping.  We were all excited and very happy with results and the experience we gained which will certainly be used for some adventurous smoke firings in the future.

August 09 members' event with Jane Crick

The programme for the 43rd Conference of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, held in Phoenix, Arizona, was very full with many concurrent sessions. Each day I read the programme and prioritised what I would attend. Many of the lectures were written up in part or in full in the NCECA Journal and so it was possible to make informed decisions about which sessions would be most pertinent to my project. Many thoughts for teachers to consider came from the discussion session ‘What Works?’ – motivation, morale, competition, collaboration, positive reaction and rewards, adventure and extension, communication, critique (aesthetics, content, craft), passion and fun can all be incorporated into classes and workshops.

Influences, symbolism, process, scale, personal vocabulary, social issues, whether works are sculptural or functional are all qualities which can be discussed, related and evaluated and appreciation of which can be taught.
Teacher, tutor, mentor, trainer, modeller, instructor – I have heard all these terms; they do not describe the same activity but they are all educators. Of the educators I met during my study tour some fulfilled only one of the listed roles and some definitely fulfilled two or even more of those roles. The focus and manner of presentation and dissemination of knowledge is as varied as the titles. I have found that it is possible to take something of value from every model. The most inspiring educators with whom I spoke were Cynthia Bringle and Dan Finch in North Carolina and Sandy Brown in Devon, UK. Other highlights included the opportunity to view more than fifty exhibitions of ceramics across all areas I visited.

I have learnt a new motto, “Showcase what you do!” Without exception the studios I visited had a gallery exhibiting examples of the work made in that studio. The motto can also be applied to the promotion of workshops. I have also learnt that it is quite possible to throw exhibition quality pots while watching the rodeo on TV and listening to Blue Grass music at full volume......

Anyone interested in reading my report to the Churchill Trust can access it at www.churchilltrust.com.au

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July 09 members' event report by Jane Crick

An evening with Lindsay Oesterritter

On Tuesday 14th July, at very short notice, a small number of CPS members were fortunate enough to be present at a most interesting and well-presented talk by Lindsay Oesterritter. Lindsay is currently artist-in-residence at Strathnairn. She is a wood-firer with particular interest in the reaction of unglazed clay to

the flame. She attended Utah State University where, under the tutelage of John Neely and his team, she developed many clay bodies and researched their response to wood-firing and particularly to colour

development during reduction cooling. Lindsay explained very clearly what she meant by "reduction cooling" as it was a term new to many who were present. In most reduction firings with wood or gas the kiln damper is closed, or partly closed, near the end of the firing to reduce the oxygen in the atmosphere in the kiln and then there is often a short period of reoxidation before the kiln is clamped up and allowed to cool naturally. In "reduction cooling" the kiln is fired to it's top temperature, with reduction, and then after the kiln has been clamped the fire is occasionally fed with small amounts of fuel to ensure that

the atmosphere in the kiln remains starved of oxygen while the temperature drops. This ensures that the clay body remains reduced and retains any of the colours developed during the firing. Lindsay is not a fan of huge ash deposits on pots but she particularly likes the contrast between the honey coloured natural ash glazed areas and the "cranberry" reds of the clay body she prefers. Lindsay illustrated her talk with images of her simple forms with peaceful surfaces, with a lot of the "cranberry" she looks for.

Thank you Lindsay for a most informative and enjoyable presentation.

Photo source Internet - http://www.avicam.com/profile/oesterritter.php

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May 09 members' event report by Jane Crick

The Benalla Community Mural with Lisa Baier

On 29th May a small group of CPS members gathered to be totally enthralled by Lisa Baier's presentation on her "personal addiction" - the Benalla Ceramic Mural. The history and recent working on the mural are well detailed in the latest issue of the Journal of Australian Ceramics (issue 48/1). Lisa expanded on her personal involvement with the mural and gave a stimulating and informative visual presentation referencing the development of the community artwork - a 25-year project to date - to the work of Antonio Gaudi, internationally acclaimed Spanish architect. The curves, cupolas and mosaics of the mural are certainly reminiscent of those seen in Barcelona, whilst the continuing theme represents a very Australian ethos. The Benalla council have now decreed that the mural must be finished by 2010; volunteers are still needed to ensure that the work is finished. For those who missed this exciting event - I feel sorry for you. There are brochures about the Benalla Mural in the committee room if you wish to find out more. It would be a fascinating short detour on a trip to Melbourne and maybe you will become as addicted as Lisa.

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March 09 members' event report by Jane Crick

Anita McIntyre

What a pleasure it was to welcome Anita McIntyre to the Canberra Potters' Society studio. Those members who came on what was the first evening of the long weekend holiday were not disappointed. Anita spoke with enthusiasm and humour of her early-life love of painting and her experience as a High School student in Queanbeyan having to study "ART" by distance education as "ART" was not offered in the general curriculum.

She told of her discovery that painting did not have to be a literal illustration of what was seen but could be an expression of ideas in an abstract way. After leaving school Anita continued to pursue painting and after a few years it was suggested to her that she should also try "pottery". Like so many of us she fell in love with clay and has used it to express her art for many years now.

Shortly after completing her tertiary qualification at what is now the ANU Canberra School of Art, Anita joined the staff of that establishment and she continued there until her retirement from full time teaching in 2003, and is still involved as a Visiting Fellow.

Anita's early work was very much influenced by her travels around Australia and she showed some stunning views of the Kimberleys and other areas of northern and western Australia and indicated how they had influenced her work. Aboriginal spirits and central Australian desert landscapes also played their part in the development of her decoration.

Most recently Anita has become intensely interested in her family history. A fourth generation Australian from one side and a fifth generation one from the other side means that she feels a great bond with the land. Using old parish maps, following traditional migration pathways of creatures endemic to the Queanbeyan area, such as the Bogong moth, and ever influenced by features in the landscape Anita tells, through her work, the story of her predecessors’ interaction with the land.

An entertaining and inspirational evening.

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