It's a far cry from the dining room table!

It was 9yrs ago (in 2014) when I wrote a list of my 'Most Important Goals'. I was in a creative rut, we had recently moved home and I was feeling unsettled as it wasn't really where I wanted to be at the time.

Now living in suburbia I decided to make the most of my access to activities so promptly registered for a course in Pottery which I did part time for one year.

I fell in love, and in 2015 I decided that I was ready to take my ceramics practice home now and to get myself a small kiln. Looking back, this was one of the best decisions I have made in my life - especially in regards to the evolution of my art practice.

For years, until 2021 I made all of my ceramics on my dining room table. I'd spend many hours a week experimenting, making and playing with clay - and making a mess! It was wonderful.

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[creating inside my home on the dining room table from 2014-2021]

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In March 2019 my shed, which housed my kiln sadly burned down with my kiln and all of my tools, glazes, ingredients and a kiln full of precious items all lost. You can read more about that here.

This changed my life and found me committing more seriously to my art, especially ceramics. I spent the rest of the year rebuilding and upgrading my practice.

In early 2021 I moved my making area out of the house and the dining room. I took the fantastic table I inherited from my childhood with me and set up in my replacement shed.

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[all set up temporarily in my tin shed - a place I decided to be in the summer until my 3m x 3m art studio was built just outside]

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It was here where I began dreaming of my first major solo exhibition. I started entering group exhibitions and competitions, and was pushing myself more everyday, as well as joining the odd ceramics workshop to further develop my skills.

In mid 2021 I had a builder come and build me a 3m x 3m studio in my backyard. It was a delight and finally I had somewhere out of the home that was for my ceramics, drawing, pendant making, video streaming etc... This was a dream come true and although it was a small cramped space I didn't mind at all because it was my space - and it was much larger than my dining room area!

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[mid 2021 - my new work space]

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Not long after creating and holding my first solo exhibition in late 2021 (read here) my husband and I had a life changing opportunity to sell our suburban home, clear our mortgage and move to the country.

Although it hadn't even been one year since my new studio was built the enticement of  no mortgage and the country was not something that could be ignored. So we packed up and moved on my birthday in May 2022.

At our new residence there was a 6m x 6m garage sitting away from the house that was perfect for a future studio. We moved, settled in and I went through a period of about 6 months where I was not interested in a studio, I just wanted to landscape and I learned how to work with concrete - making my own pavers, slabs and little creations.

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[late 2022 - a break from the studio]

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The prospect of turning the garage into a studio was a long and expensive task as there was a lot to do, and I had to upgrade our whole electricity to three phase to power my kiln - again!

By early 2023 I was ready to proceed with organising the electricity upgrade (read more here) as a local Art Gallery was interested in my creations and I only had old works available. I used this as an enticement to proceed. I did enjoy a couple of weeks making again in January 2023, while it was summer and I didn't need lights to work.

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[January 2023 - it was so nice playing with clay again]

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With electricity hooked up and a working kiln I decided that this was it! As we have cold winters here I planned to spend all of this winter (2023) renovating, painting and working on my dream Sculpture Garden (outside my studio).

It's now the 1st of September and I've spent a lot of time since my last kiln firing at the end of May 2023 renovating, laying floor, painting, building a Sculpture Garden wall outside (still underway) and getting everything ready for my Grand Opening.

Meanwhile a submission I made for a Solo Exhibition at Salamanca Arts Centre (my first solo exhibit in the capital city) was accepted, so again I was prompted to take more action.

Now, as of this moment my new Art Studio is almost set up with my dream 'gallery' area to display my sculptures, paintings and printed materials (books, card decks etc). Very soon I can get the clay out again and make whatever I want.

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It's quite incredible for me to be at this point now... especially when I reflect back on the past 9yrs - almost to the date - when I first decided to try pottery again.

I spent 1yr at adult education class, during that time in 2014 till early 2021 (7yrs) I tinkered around with clay at my dining room table. Then I briefly moved into a 3m x 3m squishy but awesome area, and now I can fit 4 x of those into this space. Throw a workshop fire in there too... and you can probably imagine what it has taken for me to get here.

It has been full of hard work, effort, cost, moving, packing, unpacking, dreaming, planning, learning and so much more. This is all for my love of clay!

I am more than ready to take my relationship with clay and what I can create to the next level. My studio readiness gives me no choice now. It's time to close some doors in my life so I can swing them wide open with ceramics and art as I welcome the public to my studio for the first time!

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Grand Studio Opening - Sat 11 & 12 November 2023 - 10am - 4pm - Campbell Town, Tasmania - details coming soon here

First studio workshops - Sat 25 & 26 November - details out this month here

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