Australia

This trip was a culmination of 7 years of working for the Auckland Studio Potters as its’ Co-Director and taking very few holidays. I saved up and realised that what I needed was a complete break, a year of exploring, recovery and getting to know my new girlfriend, Charade. So here’s my year off.`

April 2007

I'll start with the obvious - it's an awful lot like NZ, with the attitude of the people, the look of the place and the way everything works. So little things jump out at you, for instance, asking for a dooner when you're cold results in a duvet being thrown over you. Sydney is a brilliant town to wander in. It's got a great collection of parks and a stunning harbour - the beaches aren't too shabby either. I was lucky to be able to stay at Anne Hudson's place and used it as a base for daily forays into the city. The Powerhouse Museum is probably the pick of the crop if you want to see an amazing collection of objects - from contemporary ceramics to imported English porcelains.
I also spent time in a small mining town called Broken Hill. This 120-year-old town has an impressive hill backing onto the railway made entirely of mine tailings. It turns out that the original hill that gave the place its name was dug away completely in the search for lead, zinc and silver and the enormous pile of tailings is what resulted, what's truly bizarre is that this tailings hill is almost exactly the same size, shape and location as the original hill. And to top it off, it's all about to be re-processed to extract left over minerals. So the final hill will be twice broken. The local houses all owe their architectural heritage to the tin shed. Corrugated iron is the material of choice and the dents and dings in the veranda roofs (which are usually supported by the most substantial Ionic columns) were apparently caused by a freak hailstorm - back in 1922.
I was lucky enough to see the outback under both a burning hot sun and 3 days of drizzling rain. The dampness transformed the desert in a matter of a week, removing the brown dusty pall and replacing it (probably temporarily) with a hint of new green. Being so flat the rain just puddles and the soil is so sandy and fine that it erodes before your eyes.
The pottery conference in Gulgong was once again excellent. A different mix of 'masters' this time, with more emphasis on throwing and nothing on firing. Again the best place to be was in the pub after dinner, but due to some odd planning decisions the 'masters' were whisked away at 9pm to their motel in Mudgee - leaving just the delegates to drink the town dry and socialise.
The slide shows covered a wide variety of approaches to studio practice, but were let down by the number of technological glitches that the digital age has brought - bring back the humble slide! The town’s various galleries and shops all played their part and there seemed to be an opening on at least twice a day somewhere. A lot of wood fired pots still appearing (some looking suspiciously the same as last time) and the delegates’ exhibition/market was a very good way for others to see your work. The 350 odd potters invaded Janet Mansfield’s place for the last day and 7 temporary kilns constructed in a competition burn off. The Kiwi effort was shaped like a Kiwi riding a bike - facing up the hill in an attempt to funnel the slight breeze into the firebox. It was a stunningly hot day and by the end everyone was red and dying for a cool beer back in town.
The greatest benefit from these conferences is the contacts made and old friendships rekindled. If you get the chance Gulgong is still a must for NZ potters to attend at least once.
To continue following my trip onto Europe please click HERE