I rarely post photos of me.....but here goes.
The first week we each grabbed a wheel and a table and got to grips with the range of clays that were stacked up at the end of the marquee. With little to guide us but colour and texture we set about preparing blends and mixes with the fat sand (that was being used as mortar for the kiln) and the white quartz filled kaolin from a nearby brick pit.
Pretty soon the racks were filling up with an exciting variety of work. Liner glazes and slips were mixed up by volume (with fingers tightly crossed). Within four days or so the kiln was finished, the packing and firing dates set and the race was on to dry everything out as much as we could. The atmosphere was buzzing - it was so different from my usual solitary making process - no competition, just pure enthusiasm.
To break the routine we got taken out on a variety of excursions, overtaking the local pub, fish and chips in Beramgui and an unforgettable climb up a nearby granite hill, with an aboriginal guide to a sacred site.
The hill stands high over the surrounding countryside and formed the backdrop to many of the places we visited, such as Daniel Lafferty's home and Tilba beach, where we went fishing and I (honestly) caught a shark.
The sacred aboriginal site at the top of this hill was truly awe inspiring, with stunning, softly weathered, beautifully surfaced granite sculptural forms rising into the forest. Each had it's own story, as part of the dreaming for that place and within creation. Nature always does it best!
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