A review of Australian wood-fired ceramics shown in conjunction with the Sturt Woodfire 2008 conference

Sandy Lockwood,
Bridge and five,
Salt glazed wood fired stoneware
Key Presenters exhibition Sturt Woodfire 2008

The recently concluded Sturt Woodfire 2008 conference and its associated exhibitions of Australian and international (selective) wood-fired ceramics provided a wonderful opportunity to gain a fresh insight into what this thing called wood-fired ceramics is, and to replenish our evolving appreciation of the diversity and quality of Australian wood-fired ceramic art. For all participants it was a tremendous and rare opportunity.

Moreover, it was particularly fortunate that the conference was organised by Megan Patey and Paul Davis and held at the Sturt Pottery, Mittagong. Under the guidance of Ivan McMeekin, Sturt is one of the key birth places of post-1950 Australian stoneware and the site of one of the first wood-fire kilns. McMeekin also provided crucial training for so many of our best potters, including Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, Les Blakebrough, Col Levy, Owen Rye, Geoff Crispin, Steve Harrison and of course Susie McMeekin among them. His spirit of rigorous materials research and development and his commitment to developing the very highest psycho-motor competencies has imbued these artists, as was clearly evident in the exhibitions.

But to return to the question of what constitutes wood-fired ceramics and, perhaps more importantly (as posed by Bill Samuels), why wood-fired ceramics?

Like all sub-cultural groups, the wood-firers tend to form and reaffirm their identity by differentiating themselves from others of the ceramics community. And they do this by appropriating a number of characteristics from the broader ceramics culture, and signify them as specific and peculiar to their group - as defining markers of virtue and quality. In this way they build a wall (or, is it a kiln) within which they engage in their creative processes.

Those inside the thus constructed cultural boundary are, collectively "us", and those deemed to be outside are collectively "them". "They" are different from "us", and if the sub-cultural group is young and relatively insecure, "they" are not only different but also less virtuous, and their works are "inferior".

With greater maturity it becomes possible for the sub-cultural group members not only to have pride in their distinctive characteristics but also to identify and celebrate the characteristics they share with "them". The sub-cultural boundaries become more diffused, less jealously defended, thus establishing more effective and mutually supportive forms of communication across the loose and shifting boundaries within the ceramics community.

These observations help us understand the emergence and development of the Australian wood-fire group through to the present. They help answer the what and why questions.

Perhaps the answer to the why question can be constructed and reconstructed from the shards littering most wood-firers' pathways and perspectives:

These qualities and aspirations are expressed variably, from Sandy Lockwood's "rich raw textures, rhythms and tactile sensation"; to Gwyn Hanssen Pigott's observation that "the softening of the glaze or the surface bloom from the fine ash fall are welcome and tangible differences from their gas fired fellows"; Chester Nealie's "rich reds …and grunty ash effects"; and on to Don Court's fascination with "gravity denied by the pull of the fire path".

The latter comment brings us back to the central importance of form. It is a bit like the relationship between contemporary art and a poor concept: no amount of surface wizardry can hide for long a poor form. Similarly neither increasing the scale of vessels nor adopting sculpture can be a fast track solution to the search for recognition. Such comments should not be construed as a rejection of either path.

Rather it is a statement of caution, and a reminder that ultimately quality and integrity count. And within the broad community of wood-fire potters and ceramic artists there are many wonderful examples of a breath-taking seemingly organic synthesis of materials, processes, form and surface.

Neil Hoffmann,
Common Matter 1
Moving Ground Series IV
Sturt Woodfire 2008

Perhaps a good way to demonstrate the validity of this statement is to refer to the ground-breaking (or should it be rock-firing) sculptural works of Neil Hoffman, perhaps the most commented work in the exhibitions. These are another example of the innovative and creative energies exemplified in the firing of granite gravel by Bill Samuels.

On a more conventional (in terms of materials) but equally sculptural plane were the architectural inspired salt glazed works by Sandy Lockwood Bridge and five, Ray Cavill's Gold Coast/Brisbane sky line inspired Neo Stone Age Towers; and Ben Richardson's Wedge. All of these pieces, along with Robert Barron's fire-box wrecked vessel forms and Paul Davis's Large form on metal stand demonstrate the potential of ceramic sculpture to both maintain links with ceramic traditions and engage those of sculpture.

On a more domestic scale, the traditional and continuing realm of ceramic art which some mistakenly deride as concept free functional vessels, there were a number of pieces which clearly demonstrated the blinkered poverty of such notions.

Gwyn Hanssen Piggott,
Bowl, 1996
The Masters exhibition Sturt Woodfire 2008

As previously indicated, the bowl is central to the rituals of birth, marriage and death in cultures throughout history. Moreover, at their best, bowls and vases can have a visual strength, depth and quality which enable them to communicate with people across time and cultures. For many they are indeed functional: not only in a physical sense, but also in the psycho-emotional sense of all effective contemplative meditative works.

Among the best of the bowls were Gwyn Hanssen Pigott's wonderful two-tone bowl 1996, Steve Harrison's Native bai tunze porcelain bowl, Ian Jones's tea bowl and Don Court's Nattai Track.

Daniel Lafferty's small charcoal grey vase, Kwi Rak Choung's cylindrical vase with natural ash glaze deposits, and Owen Rye's bottle with his 'ice' glaze and Yasuo Terada's Oribe vessel all provide strong testimony to the aesthetic and conceptual riches available in the vase and bottle form if those forms are approached and created with awareness, patience and a quiet known competence.

And last, on a visually more difficult plane, a number of quiet exquisite platter forms were exhibited, including Barbara Campbell-Allen's Blue Ray 07 and Yuri Wiedenhofer's Oyster Platter, both of which demonstrate the quiet unpredictable beauty, power and wonder of wood-firing.

When all is considered, the conference and the related exhibitions provided a wonderful opportunity to refresh our understanding of Australian wood-firing; to gain a better appreciation of its growing maturity and inclusiveness; and to see the evidence of the richness, diversity and virtuosity of the very best of our wood-fired work.

It serves as testament and inspiration.

John Freeland
May 2008

John Freeland has collected and written about Australian ceramics for over two decades and, after many years as a social policy academic opened the Freeland Gallery in Paddington, Sydney in May 2006. He is committed to exhibiting, and securing greater recognition for, Australian studio ceramics.

The Australian international woodfire conference, Sturt Woodfire 2008, was held in April at Sturt - Contemporary Craft Centre in Mittagong, New South Wales. The conference explored a range of issues central to wood fired ceramics and included environmental concerns, technical issues, marketing, creative expression and cultural identity.