So much to know, so little time!

                                                   I have decided that it is a
                                                  Graduate Certificate in Visual Arts/Ceramics
                                                  that must be mine!
                                                  Yes, I have set the wheels in motion
                                                  to do this at ANU.
                                                  After a delightful discussion with Greg Daly
                                                  I am full of excitement and enthusiasm
                                                  for my work in 2014.

                                                  So why am I doing this at 53 years of age?
                                                  Good question.
                                                  Answer :
                                                  One is never too old to expand and deepen
                                                  ones knowledge about ones passion.

                                                  At an early age (10-12yrs old)
                                                  I decided that I wanted to be a potter
                                                  but the rich tapestry of life has taken me
                                                  on a journey through many other creative spheres.
                                                  While I have been potting over that time
                                                  there are some technical areas that I am keen to
                                                  address that I have not been able to do on my own.
                                                  This is a studio based course and my hope is that it
                                                  will be help me to focus on specific technical areas
                                                  that I am wanting to understand and develop
                                                  with the guidance of genius teachers.
                                           
                                                 WONDERFUL!

                                                 Now I just have to finish a portfolio and CV
                                                 and get it in the post ASAP
                                                 Hope they like it.



                                                 On another note my 'She Shells' will be
                                                 on exhibit at the WOW museum until
                                                 November this year.



                                         Meanwhile in the studio......

                                            Click HERE to have a look at what the other
                                           Mud Colony potters have been up to this week



                                                and click HERE to check out my web site
                                                         
                                                          http://sadhanapeterson.com.au

Ceramics in Victoria....swooooooon :)

It was a long weekend here in Australia 

so a few of the Mud Colony gals 

decided to make the most of it

 and meet in Victoria for a pottery immersed 

few days, Adriana at the helm.

                                                We started our weekend in Melbourne.

                                               First stop was Northcote Pottery Supplies 
                                                where Adriana Christianson had work
                                                 and I bought this gorgeous beaker.

                                                    Craft Victoria Gallery 
                                                    and these cute plant pots (above and below)
                                                    by Kim Jaeger were in the display window.

                                                  
                                                   Adriana also had work there
                                                  ( but I had to restrain myself it was going
                                                   to be a BIG weekend!)

 

                                          We dropped into another little gallery close by to Craft Vic
                                           called FortyFiveDownstairs and these vibrant platters
                                           (above and below) made by Gordon Hickmott and
                                           decorated a group of artists called ROAR which included
                                           Annie Howie, Pasquale Giardino, Tony Mighell,
                                           Danial Lalor Kogan, Richard Birmingham, Bruce Earles,
                                           Stephen McCarthy, Trevor Hoppen, Peter Ferguson, Andrew
                                           Ferguson, Mike Nicholls, Judi Singleton and Wayne Eager.

                                         I am not sure which platter belongs with which artist
                                         but they were fun and visiting them was a great
                                         way to start our weekend.

 

                                           After stocking up on some nice food stuffs at the
                                                                Queen Victoria Markets 
                                      we headed out of Melbourne towards South Gippsland.

 

The next day we went to visit Robb Barron's Studio 

Gooseneck Pottery

 

                                         Rob works out of a 4 chamber Korean style kiln.
                                         His work and environment along with his attitude
                                        are very inspiring.

  

 You can see (above), although only two chambers  

       are shown behind Marian, each chamber is big enough 

to stand in comfortably, it is a big his kiln!

He dose fire in just one chamber at times though.

 

                                               His wood stack is as impressive as his pots

                                            
                                              and his throwing demo was a joy to behold.
                                              He started by centering with a club of wood.

                                           
                                              and using his motor assisted kick wheel
                                              he threw a nice big pitcher.
 

 

                                                 On to Loch where there were some
                                                gorgeous old wares/second hand shops
                                               and the girls enjoyed Devonshire Tea.

                                     

                                             Truly Southurst- arrived on Saturday night
                                          after doing a market and I bought this lovely
                                          citrus juicer from her.

                                              Sunday we headed off to see the work of
                                              Zak Chalmers at his Valley Plains Pottery.
                                              Zak worked and gained experience with
                                              Robb Barron for some years before building
                                              his own kilns.
                                    

                                           
                                              It was wonderful to see Zak
                                              incorporate his family, work and environment
                                              together as a total art form.
                                          

                                                  
                                             I enjoyed watching him work with his wife
                                             and children as much as I loved soaking up the
                                             beauty of his work and exhibition space.

                                                    

 

                                                     What little boy wouldn't want
                                                     to do some earth moving with wet clay
                                                     and his matchbox truck?

                                             How lucky this little guy is to have a tunnel
                                            in a well shaped pot to drive his truck through :)

 

                                                         OH what a place....swooooon!

                                                 
                                                   Zak uses a small Anagama
                                                  for the more sculptural and ashy pieces.
                                                  

 

He also uses this little kiln (above)

                                                      designed by Jack Troy 
                                                       
                                        I think I may well have to build myself one of these!

 

                                                   On return to the house we were staying at
                                          we created a mini exhibition so we could all enjoy
                                          what each other had bought before we packed them
                                           into our suit cases.

 

                                         So funny, we are all Mud Colony bloggers so there
                                         was a certain amount of posting and internet advice/
                                         discussion/sharing in amongst all the ceramic talk.

 

 Last night, dinner out, we were a bunch of happy 

munchkins after a great weekend of inspiration.

                                                          

                                                                        Sunset at Inverloch
                                                               and the dawn of some new work
                                                                   on our return to our studios.
                                                  

Recycling 'Me ol' Rank Darlin''

                                   This week I have been working my way through my clay
                                   collection recycling and bringing it up to a usable consistency.
                                                         Below is just recycled commercial clay,
                                                 nice and predictable and comfortable to reclaim.....
                                          

                                   On the other hand.....
                                   You may recall in my previous blogs that I have named
                                   the clay that I collected along the Darling River in Wilcannia
                                   last year as 'Me ol' Rank Darlin' as its perfume could be described
                                   as essence of wild hog, feral cat and goat with an aroma that
                                   lingers on the body and fills the air like a rubbish tip on a hot day.
                                         

                                   This clay has the added unique personality of being full of burrs.
                                   After pushing a bucket full of slurry through a sieve during
                                   preparation I found that I was able to contemplate for some time
                                   on what special properties these burrs possess.

                                           Below are some that have been left behind in the sieve.


                                            
                                  

                                   The rest are now firmly lodged in my fingertips and are creating
                                   a unique throbbing sensation that only an outback burr can do.
                                   mmmmm................. BETTER BE NICE CLAY!!!!!!  :(

                                  I have been throwing and hand building raku and stone ware pieces
                                  as I slowly build up enough work to fire....

                             These 3, made last week, are now finished and on the drying shelf.



                                  As always life is very full and I just have to do what I can,
                                  when I can and I am happy about that.
                                  Fortunately it has been cold and wet here and work can be left
                                 for a couple of days at a time with out drying too much.

                                  Here is some work from this week....

                                 I am off this weekend to Melbourne with some fellow Mud Colony
                                 bloggers to check out a couple of other potters studio spaces
                                 and their recent works.
                                 Should be fun and filled with muddy talk :)