Australian Ceramics Association Archives

On Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 August, more than 140 ceramic studios around Australia will open for the fourth annual Australian Ceramics Open Studios.

I’m opening my studio and I.CANNOT.WAIT to meet you all! I’m also SUPER excited to say that Vicki Grima is joining me in the studio to host two workshops and to present an artist talk!

In ceramic circles the world over, Vicki Grima needs no introduction, and I can see her cringe as I say this…but, she’s kind of a big deal. 😉

Vicki Grima is first and foremost an inspiring ceramic artist, and in addition to being an exceptional table tennis player, she’s also the Executive Officer of The Australian Ceramics Association (TACA), the Editor of the Journal of Australian Ceramics (JAC), and the initiator and Director of The Australian Ceramics Open Studios (ACOS)!

Vicki’s a mover and shaker, a human dynamo, a creative tour de force… I like to call her the BIG CHEESE, and the Australian ceramic community are simply quite blessed to have her as their champion. I caught up with Vicki on Friday morning as she was waiting to board a plane for Hobart to meet with the planning team for the 2018 Australian Ceramics Triennale in Tasmania … I was still in my pyjamas.

CA: Thanks so much for squeezing this chat in Vicki! Tell us, what’s a typical day like at the headquarters of Australian Ceramics?

VG: After walking my dog, a typical working day starts with a quick coffee from the local café (in one of my many handmade cups), then I settle in to dealing with many and varied emails and phone calls about everything from submitting articles, advertising, memberships and subscriptions, upcoming exhibitions, legal matters, insurance, taking payments, answering a plethora of enquiries and solving problems.

I’m lucky to work in a creative space with many other artists at Square One Studios in Alexandria, so there’s always someone interesting nearby for a chat. I also relish the times when people visit the office. I always have time for a cuppa! After work I sometimes drop by an opening of a local ceramics exhibition. Once home, evenings often involve some work on our website, our weekly newsletter or social media posts. There’s no doubt … I live ceramics!

(I can’t resist, I have to show you Vicki’s dog, not just because I’m mental about dogs, but because Bingo looks like a 1970’s rock star!)

Am I right? Or am I right?!

We’re all gearing up for the Australian Ceramics Open Studios, what is the ACOS exactly?

ACOS is a national event for Australian studio potters, ceramic artists and community groups in which they open their ceramics studios on one weekend in August.

How did it come about?

Driving back across the Hay plain after the 2012 Australian Ceramics Triennale in Adelaide, we were trying to come up with an event in which TACA members could put their liability insurance to good use, to sell their work and thereby spread the love and knowledge of handmade ceramics with the whole community. One weekend, nationwide seemed a perfectly simple idea!

What’s the best thing about the ACOS?

Every year we do a survey with our ACOS participants and overwhelmingly the best thing is the diversity of people who visit, from their next-door neighbour who had no idea potters still existed, let alone lived and worked in their street, to people who travel interstate to visit a favourite ceramicist. The potters also love feeling part of the larger national ceramics community and the enforced tidying of the studio as they prepare for the event. Studio visitors love getting their hands into the clay, watching a demo then buying a special piece to take home.We have 19 studios opening for ACOS in my stomping ground on the far north coast of NSW, and we’re excited you’re part of it! What can visitors expect from your workshop on Saturday 20 August?

Everyone will have a go at making two simple pinch pots using contrasting clay bodies – tuning in to the feel of the clay between their fingers and thumb and the spiralling action as they move their hands around the emerging bowl form. We’ll then play with impressed textures and additions to the bowl to create unique personal containers they can use (after firing) for food, flowers or whatever takes their fancy!

You’ll be visiting studios on Sunday 20 August. What are you looking forward to?

I love seeing people in their handmade studio spaces. Each is so unique and shows something of the processes they go through in making their ceramic work. It’s as if the whole person is there in right front of you – the person, their work, their space, their soul. I feel privileged to be welcomed in.

Say hi to everyone in Tassie for us Vicki, and thank you for joining us in the cyber studio!

The morning session of Vicki’s workshop, ‘Pinch Me!’ has SOLD OUT! Fear not mud slinger, there are a few places remaining in the 2-4pm session. Don’t miss out, book your spot here! Seriously. Do it right now.

You can also catch Vicki’s floor talk, ‘Hello! This is Australian Ceramics!’ at 1pm on Saturday 20 August in my studio. It’s FREE, and there’s no booking required.

And don’t forget you can decorate a handmade plate with me and be part of ‘The Fantastic Flying Saucer Project’ from 10am-4pm Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 August! There’s just sooooo much good stuff for us to do together. Click here for all the workshop and artist talk details!

Tune in for next week’s blog post when we get dirty with the ceramic artists and studio potters taking part in the Australian Ceramics Open Studios in my backyard on the ‘North Coast Mud Trail’!

In May 2016, I’m leading a group to be part of an inspiring workshop ‘Food Meets Plate’, at Gaya Ceramic Arts Centre in Ubud, Bali.

Hosted by American potter Hillary Kane, it will be a South East Asian odyssey for clay lovers and food enthusiasts, that is set to enliven your senses and spice up your creative practice!

If you’re just tuning in, catch up on my conversations with our workshop host Hillary Kane, here, and with Bruce McWhinney, Australian potter and the creator of our inspiring Ubud accommodation here.

Today I caught up with ceramic artist Vicki Grima, who has attended three workshops at Gaya!

Vicki Grima is a tour-de force, and for the last ten years she has managed to squeeze her ceramics practice between demanding positions as Editor of The Journal of Australian Ceramics and Executive Officer of The Australian Ceramics Association.

In these roles she shines a bright spotlight on the diversity of contemporary Australian ceramics and shares it with a global audience daily. She says however, the occasions are rare when she can spend time in her peaceful Sydney studio, so you can imagine, that going on retreat and filling up the creative well is an important part of Vicki’s calendar.

‘…my times in Bali have been an indulgence in what I love most – to sit with a ball of clay ; no rush, no pressure, just me and the clay…’ Vicki Grima

Claire Atkins: Thank you for joining me here Vicki!

Recently I’ve been speaking with artists on the blog about the workshop ‘Food Meets Plate’ at Gaya Ceramic Arts Centre, and for each artist, travel impacts in various ways on their creativity. In what ways does travel affect you creatively?

Vicki Grima: Travel brings new colours, textures, smells and tastes into my world… an abrupt disruption to my normal day-to-day pattern. I love visiting new places and seeing how lives are lived on a daily basis – how people shop, cook, and move in their landscape. Architecture too is a fascination for me.

‘The workshops at Gaya are about exploring the unknown, being creative and learning new skills…’ Vicki Grima

You have been to three workshops at Gaya! What is it that keeps calling you back?

My first visit to Bali and Gaya Ceramic Art Centre came through an invitation from Gaya CAC for me to gather a group of potters together. I had never been to Bali, so it was a perfect opportunity for me personally to explore a new place.

I recall choosing the ‘Culinary Clay’ workshop as I thought there could be no better way to immerse myself in Bali than to explore two of my passions – clay and food – in this place I had heard so much about.

Between visiting the local food markets at dawn, to joining local families in their home kitchens, and tasting food that was cooked using a wide array of spices and herbs new to us, we also made pots inspired by the fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices.

It was a vibrant, diverse and exciting experience, so much so that I have returned twice more. My second and third trips were to explore woodfiring, another of Gaya CAC’s creative offerings.

My own ceramics practice of making small pinch pots has been enhanced by workshops at Gaya. It allowed me to use different clay bodies and fire with local timbers in an anagama kiln, whilst also being inspired by the multitude of rich patterns and textures in the surrounding landscape.

I have a busy job as editor of The Journal of Australian Ceramics, and it means my studio practice has suffered, so my times in Bali have been an indulgence in what I love most – to sit with a ball of clay; no rush, no pressure, just me and the clay. The people, the food, the culture and the landscapes are unique and I love it.

Gaya’s May 2016 workshop, ‘Food Meets Plate’ focuses on the relationship between food and handmade ceramics. ‘Culinary Clay’ shared a similar focus, from that experience, who do you think would suit this workshop?

The workshop is suited to those with a passion for food and clay, together with an inquisitiveness to explore the connections between the two.

The knowledgeable team at Gaya cater for all levels of ceramics experience from beginners to more advanced in a gorgeous handbuilt workshop space. With a local cook preparing the daily lunches the immersion in clay and food is complete in every sense. Workshops are about exploring the unknown, being creative and learning new skills.

That is all possible at Gaya.

‘The workshop is suited to those with a passion for food and clay, together with an inquisitiveness to explore the connections between the two…’ Vicki Grima

Curious? Inspired? I am! There are still places available in this workshop, and I would love you to join me!

Click the link and head over to the workshop page now for full details and exclusive Early Bird specials when you book through me.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for next week’s delicious blog offering!

Straylia…Unearth Your Local Potter!

Spice Up Your Art Life!