A display of ceramics for sale by artist Cherryl Chambers-Williams
I began making pottery in 2012, part-time at Tewantin T.A.F.E while studying for my Bach/Arts at the University of the Sunshine Coast at Sippy Downs. The whole clay process really captivated me, but what really set me on a path to becoming a potter were the people around the ceramics studio. I studied under Rolly Drysdale and Andrew Bryant who always had a way of elevating the discourse and making us face the work we were making. The opportunity to spend a lot of time with Master Ceramicists gave me the feeling I had gotten a great start. After this first year I was determined to continue working in clay. In 2013 I signed up at Tewantin/ Noosa Campus in the Advanced Diploma/ Visual Arts to pursue my new found love of Ceramics.
Nothing in my artistic education could have prepared me for what I found there. I found joy in the simple rhythm of my body and the clay. There is something seductive about production; the rhythm, and the sculpting of the clay.
I want to dig deeper into the ideas that surround making functional pottery in an art context in the 21st century. For me, it has been an amazing journey in clay that continues to reveal itself in new and challenging ways. Sometimes its the glaze pinholes that just show up and refuse to go away until I get it sorted out, or the prospect of trying to get a new pot correctly thrown, or the discovery of a leaf that I have found on the ground, that makes me want to make a totally new kind of work; but there always seems to be another challenge for me on the horizon to keep me motivated and inspired.
The base of my work remains the functional clay pot, and how pottery speaks to what groups of people have in common.
These pots combine the colours I see around in the landscape and incorporate the leaves from my favorite trees. Tableware implies an abundance of food and a willingness to share it. Earthenware is the most common clay and ubiquitous throughout human cultures for millennia.
and incorporate the leaves from my favorite trees. Tableware implies an abundance of food and a willingness to share it. Earthenware is the most common clay and ubiquitous throughout human cultures for millennia.
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