What processes are involved with making a basin?
There's 20 kilos of clay generally in the basins. I put the clay onto the wheel in five kilo blocks so I am not centering 20 kilos at once. It is very physical. They are quite heavy objects to handle.
I love doing it. The whole process to me is just to go to the studio and don't think of anything else. Just sit. It’s almost like this meditation of just focusing on this one thing.
Your business has grown a lot over the last few years. What kind of changes did this bring?
My husband Jonathan who also operates as a photographer has joined me in the business and we moved the ceramics studio out of our home and started renting a large warehouse space in the Huon Valley. The building was used as a hop drying facility and you can see big furnaces in the ceiling space where they pumped hot air to dry the hops. It is rare to find such a large space with power connected to it so we were very happy to find this. We ordered two large kilns from Germany and needed a way to power them. We now have six kilns both gas and electrical ones. We scaled up to have larger space, larger machines and some more efficient processes to meet demand.
Are you responding to much larger orders now?
Yes, for example the Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island ordered 44 basins from us. The hotel burned down three years ago and just opened its doors again for visitors.
Where did you learn ceramics?
I studied architecture in and technically failed a ceramics TAFE course. It was intentional in a sense, because I already had my degree. Via the architecture training I had already sort of developed a design sense and the eye for making things. There were parts of the TAFE course, which were just repetitions on things I'd learned before. I knew what I wanted to do, I knew I needed to learn practical work skills, physical skills. I was lucky enough that the person who was running the course at that time understood my position. I was allowed to skip things and just keep coming back to learn the ceramics skills.
I remember the first time I’ve seen your ceramics I have felt instantly drawn to the balance and weight of the shapes and materials. Do you think architecture has set you up well to be a ceramicist?
Yes I think ceramics is almost like a miniature architecture. It is functional, people are going to interact with and use generally. I like functional design that is unadorned, just fulfilling its function but at the same time really beautiful. Those two considerations being one and the same. You have the opportunity to do that both in architecture and ceramics. It was a really smooth transition for me to start producing objects that were appealing to people.
What were your first collections like?
Straight out of TAFE I went to present my work at a market that was held at PW1. It was super important to present objects that are really well resolved from the get go. At first I only made tableware and over time realised it is very hard to sustain a practise only focusing on tableware.
It was a nice step moving into making basins. It also brought me back into the architecture world a little bit. I enjoy talking with the clients and architects about the space that they're making and the finishes they are thinking about.
Do you make your glazes?
Absolutely. Although it can be quite a long winded process, which ceramics usually is. You have to test everything. Whether it's you're experimenting with clay bodies, or forms or glazes there is a lot of work involved and then there's the firings. It's not till the end of the second firing that you actually get to see the result. Yeah. If it's not quite what you wanted, then you have to go through the process all over again. It's fun. I wouldn't do it any other way. I really enjoy making my own glazes.
What inspires your glazes?
In nature I am drawn to what is happening in the details of things such as colours and textures. I think this has a relationship to why I am so interested in the variegation you get across surfaces. It is not a direct link more of an instinctive connection. A lot of my design decisions are based on a really instinctive feeling where I just really like the look of something.
Where did you study architecture?
I started studying in Aberdeen, in Scotland. In my third year I took part in an exchange program with the university in Launceston. I came to Launceston and did a year there and met my husband while we were studying there. Then I had to go back to Scotland and do another two years of study.
Interesting. What happened next?
I moved back here and worked in architecture for a couple of years. We both needed a change and decided to move to Japan. We lived there for three years teaching English. Perhaps it didn’t seem like the best move for us in terms of my career at the time but in the long term it gave us both time to think, time to absorb the culture and figure out how we would like the future to look like.
Do you think Japan influenced your ceramics in any way?
I would think it must have. I mean, even if I hadn't gone to Japan, I think it's hard as a ceramicist not to be influenced. When I moved to Japan I had no notion of wanting to be a ceramicist. I was an architect and I wouldn’t even considered it to be a real possibility as a proper career. But I remember the ceramics there were being the one thing that just made my tummy all wobbly. Oh, my God it was such a connection. I developed a real passion for ceramics. I remember seeing things we just couldn’t afford. I remember sitting in a café drinking hot chocolate in these cups feeling so in love with the cups. They had some for sale but we had to leave them. So we went back a few years later when my daughter was just one and a half years old and found the same place and bought the cups. It’s a real treasure. So there was a connection and passion. For an object like that to stick in my mind to have to go back and get it. But it took a while to get to the point where I was brave enough to actually make the first step.