It was only the second Pottery Expo to be held, but already it is gaining momentum and surprising us with its success.
Once again, on the last weekend in February, Warrandyte, nestled on the banks of the Yarra River on the outskirts of Melbourne, hosted the Pottery Expo. The sun shone, welcoming the 40 or so potters, many ceramics students, representing three Melbourne TAFE Colleges, Clayworks and thousands of visitors.
Warrandyte is known for its potters. Potters Cottage began here over 40 years ago. Stonehouse is nearly 30 years old. Artists [notably the Heidelberg School] have been attracted to the river landscapes and tall eucalypt forests ever since gold was discovered here in the 1850's. Now it is popular for its river walks, cafes, craft shops and galleries. However, painters, potters, printmakers and sculptors abound privately in their studios hidden in the hills. On this weekend it was a chance to meet and see the work of not only the local potters but those from around Victoria.
The Pottery Expo is based on the concept of the Marche de Potiers [Potters Markets] of France. These markets started slowly about 20 years ago in France when galleries were closing, potters were struggling to make a living. From the beginning, the French have not compromised on the quality of the work, always striving to present a variety of the best work available. The setting for the markets, and ambience created is also very important. For example a picturesque 15th century village, or a park on a lake overlooking the Alps provides the perfect environment for displaying one's work and inviting the public to enjoy spending time with the potters.
The markets have grown enormously, not in size, that would spoil the intimacy, not in frequency as that would be "over kill", but in the number of venues. Each region holds a potters market annually or biannually, supported by the municipality as a major cultural and tourist event. Potters now are able to make a living, younger potters are encouraged in their ideals and ambitions, the public are valuing ceramic art, the community is participating, galleries are reopening and local businesses prosper as a side benefit. These are similar aims I believe we are able to achieve in Australia, with positive signs being shown after the first of such events held in Warrandyte.
The event is called the "Pottery Expo" as we do not want to confuse it with a market. This is not the place to look for a bargain. It is where the public are invited to see a wide range of high quality ceramics and meet the artists. This year 40 potters, including John Eagle from Ballarat, Ric and Judy Pierce from Beechworth, sculptors, handbuilders, wheel throwers, presenting stoneware, earthenware and raku, participated from around Victoria.
Jean Marc Plantier from France provided the international flavour this year with a new range of "terrre vernissee," decorated terracotta.
The ceramic students of Box Hill, Holmesglen and Chisholm [Dandenong] TAFE Colleges showed and sold their work, while having the opportunity to meet and chat with the more experienced potters. Visitors could learn about the courses on offer and talk to both students and staff.
The Clayworks tent housed a wealth of information about the clays they manufacture, glazes, tools and techniques and a great array of books. They had also organised the demonstrators who included Paul Davis [who came down from Mittagong] and Andrew Cope, who both threw on a kick wheel. Local potters Cherry Manders and Mary Lou Pittard demonstrated their skills as decorators and painters on pots that Paul and Andrew had made. Crowds were especially attracted to the demonstrations as lumps of clay were magically transformed into works of art.
For the potters, it was not only a chance to sell some work but also to test the market's response to new work. Interestingly, the mood seemed to have changed from the previous year. Early on Saturday morning, customers arrived looking to buy major pieces of innovation and quality. Potters were caught off guard as their showpieces were sold before lunch!
It is a fast learning curve, to be encouraged by our clientele to be more imaginative and freer in our work - to move away from the standard production lines and to move onto the next stage. Having been given a new licence, many potters will approach their studios with a sense of delight as they embark on the pieces they want to make, not what they feel they have had to make.
Gallery owners were discerning, many coming to seek new talent. One captured the mood succinctly by stating "we have moved out of the kitchen and into the lounge room". Thus the sets of bowls and cups have been left to the cheaper imports, we are not to even going to try to compete. We are celebrating the handmade, the individual, and creativity. That is not to say tableware is out, by no means. But our customers are looking for tableware with style and character and are willing to pay for it.
As a "Pottery Only" event we also organised an exhibition titled "Yarra" at the Warrandyte Community Centre. Each potter in the Expo was invited to submit a piece, interpreting this theme. As the exhibition continued for 10 days it enabled visitors more opportunities to view the work.
At the same time there was a major VCG ceramic exhibition "Showing Off" at Skepsi Gallery in Carlton, The Sidney Myer International Ceramic Award at Shepparton, and Gwynn Hansen Pigott showing at Christine Abrahams. Ceramics are flourishing in Victoria!!
The success of the Pottery Expo was also due to the fact that it was fun. We were entertained by some great local musicians, with visitors relaxing on a grassy knoll enjoying the music, ice creams and contemplating the next pot they might like to buy. The setting was beautiful, on a semi circular grassy patch overlooking the river across to the tall gum trees of Warrandyte State Park. We had coffee and food on hand, the local bakery supplying us with croissants for breakfast. In the evening, the potters enjoyed a BBQ on the riverbank.
We had a great team of enthusiastic helpers, all of us enjoying the process as much as the final result.
The Pottery Expo is firmly on the calendar now as an annual event in Warrandyte on the last weekend in February. It now remains to be seen if regional centres will also pick up the concept to promote ceramics in their areas and give a kick start to potters and their communities around Australia.
A new website : www.potteryexpo.com will be online soon.
For more information contact Jane Annois:
Phone: [03] 9844 2337
Email: jannois@bigpond.com
P.O. Box 380, Warrandyte, Vic 3113
The Pottery Expo for 2003 will be held on the 22 and 23 February. We look forward to welcoming guest ceramic artists from New Zealand.
A ceramic exhibition will be held concurrently at the Bridge Gallery in Warrandyte. The public will be invited to participate in the creation of an "Ephemeral sculpture" on site, over the weekend.