I am an emerging ceramicist and potter. I live and work from a small home studio in the Tablelands area. I primarily work with mid fire and stoneware clays firing to cone 5 / 6. I am currently focused on making functional ware. I am inspired by nature and most of my...

Catherine Louison has always been interested in arts and crafts, thoroughly enjoying the learning and making processes. She has been interested in pottery since 2014 when she found an inspiring pottery studio on the Island of Santorini whilst on a Mediterranean...

Leonie Ryan was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1965. At age six she moved with family to Gippsland, Victoria. Growing up in a rural area her life was occupied with explorations of the surrounding countryside. Over thirty years Ryan has worked across a vast range of...

I am an emerging studio potter working out of a private studio in Bayview Heights. I work with stoneware and, more recently, foraged clay. My work focuses on objects for use within the home, such as drinking vessels & interior design-focused pieces. While making,...

Hi, my name is Jane, and I am relatively new to the Cairns Potter’s Club. You may have seen me around and possibly seen some of my work coming out of the kiln. I was asked if I could provide a quick background about myself and my art. I come from a fine...

I began potting way back in the 1970’s in Western Australia and after successfully completing a 5 year diploma in Ceramics at TAFE followed by 1 year at Curtin University studying glaze technology I then became a production potter, although not full time. Because I...

Aisha Kennett One day in June 2022, I was browsing online when I casually stumbled upon the Ceramic Skill Set course at TAFE. Although I had never touched clay before, I decided to enroll in the course and began my ceramic journey the following month. It has been a...

When finishing high school in 1984 in Tully I moved to Townsville to begin a Diploma of Art. Having had attended a few pottery classes and used my Mum’s wheel as a child, it was here that I majored in ceramics and fell in love with the process of creating with earth,...

In my (nearly) mid-70s, I live on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula for much of the year & Cairns over winter. Professionally I was an air quality scientist with CSIRO for  40 years, but I've had a passion for art (esp. photography & painting) since my teens....

 Haven, a place to nurture.” My life narrative has kept me always moving in constant motion. My haven over these years has been pottery and ceramics. Working with clay, water and fire has been a place I nurture my creativity and inner being. Juggling motherhood and my...

Lorraine Tait My name is Lorraine Tait, and I've lived in Cairns for 40 years. With 32 years of pottery experience, I studied ceramics at TAFE Cairns for 4 years, completing certifications in wheel throwing, hand building, and sculpture. I have maintained a working...

I was prompted to begin my own attempts at pottery after visiting an incredible exhibition of ancient Asian pieces. The works just stunned me and I knew, if nothing else, that I would have to buy at least one bag of clay to experience the ‘feeling’ of creating...

I joined the Cairns potters club in 2012 and started attending Social Wednesdays. I like making functional items, like small tea bowls, tea cups, plates, etc. Pottery gives me pleasure when my pieces turn out ok, but glazing is always challenging for me. My...

Hi there! My name is Luisa Manea, and I've been practising art and design for what seems like forever. I can't spend a day without creating, painting, or drawing something. Over the years, I've won many awards/prizes in various art forms, but I can never settle for...

Tim Parker I first discovered ceramics whilst studying on a foundation course at Bath College of Art (UK), and rediscovered my love of pottery when my daughter bought me a bag of clay and tools during lockdown in Melbourne. With a membership to Cairns Potters Club as...

I grew up in a small city in Chile where ceramics are deeply rooted in our history and culture. At home, there were always beautiful, functional, handmade pieces that complemented our traditional foods. However, pottery was never on my mind. In 2012, while studying...

I just love pottery. I love curves and love to experiment - a true experimental potter filled with wonder and exploration for all the endless possibilities yet to be discovered. It all started in Brisbane in 2001 when I worked with a lady who ‘went to classes’ and she...

Food is my language of love. It is the blood that runs in my veins.The desire to create has always been strong. Making pottery brings together my passion for food and a strong sense of aesthetics and ceremony. When I was growing up my mother began teaching the women...

I have loved ceramics since I studied it at high school but found it hard as an adult to find the time and space to do it. After I moved to Cairns for a job at the university in 2022, I did Alison’s class and joined the Cairns Potters Club. It’s fantastic to be able...

I started Kettle Black Pottery in Freshwater eight years ago. I did my basic training at Tafe for two years in ceramics. I started with Arc Disability, holding pottery classes - I started Doomadgee Potters in the Cape… 3 years in total - and was featured in the...

Nigel Perera is a Cairns based artist with a love for his craft. The Sri- Lankan born artist studied pottery at Cairns TAFE and within his first year was taking on contracts as a production potter. Throughout his career, Nigel has worked on a number of projects and...

My Ceramic practice started 20 years ago when I moved to Cairns and joined the Cairns Pottery Club. Since this time I have completed classes at TAFE and have developed an understanding of form, Glazing & Firing Technology. It is important that my Pots complement a...

Kerrie Miller I’ve dabbled in a variety of craftworks over the years, I love creating art, but it’s ceramics that I have found an infinity of ideas and with it, perpetual motivation.  I’ve always been drawn to pottery and collected pieces over many years, loving the...

Sandra, my partner, has been into pottery since the 1970s and when we lived in Emerald Beach took me along to the Coffs Harbour Pottery Club. Glazing of stoneware pottery was the topic and I was hooked. The colours and textures of glazes still have my interest....

Ellen Terrell Ellen started potting in the early 1980’s at Glasshouse Pottery on the Sunshine Coast and says she very quickly realised that ‘playing with clay’ was an addiction from which she would probably never recover! Since returning to the Daintree area in 1983...

I starting playing with clay when I was in Melbourne last year for family reasons, away from my painting studio. I did a beginners’ wheel throwing course, and then a hand building course and a teapot making workshop, and I quickly became hooked! I plan to keep trying...

CLAY – What a wonderful medium for expression. I was introduced to this seductive tactile material in 1974 at the Cairns Potters Club’s first premises in a shed behind a private house in Collins Ave, Edge Hill. This was followed by completion of a structured 3 year...

We become joyful and alive as we respond to the formative forces in the materials we are engaged with. The clays own potential invites us to explore our own and, in this interaction, our inner voice is bought forth to be seen and heard. Bringing together all the...

My pottery journey began 4 1⁄2 years ago after attending a Club Open weekend and Raku firing. It quickly grew from a hobby/interest to a passion. Within 6 months I had purchased my wheel then a little later a kiln. I make both functional ware and ornamental pots,...

Anne has engaged in a creative practice most of her life. All forms of textiles have been her primary materials for her artwork for much of this time. She exhibited through a number galleries in Australia with works going to collections here and overseas. Like several...

Michael Ryan I joined the club in late 2018 after visiting pottery exhibitions at the V&A and The Met. These were magnificent collections that quite blew my mind! I became so fascinated by the timeless beauty and functionality of ancient pottery that I decided to...

Monique Burkhead is a ceramic artist who lives in Cairns, Far North Queensland. Born in Rarotonga, Cook Island and raised in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. She always had a strong interest in art, from primary school through to high school, and beyond. She began her...

My passion with ceramics began as a school girl and has increased in the past 5 years. My label Flintstone Designs started because I make quirky critter type bowls with legs and different personalities. Recently I have been making large egg and ball shaped sculptural...

After making clay finger puppets at after school care as a child, I was hooked and for 33 years I've been using clay for my sanity. I started my studies at Canberra Potters Society back in 1989 and got my first wheel in 1990. In 2008 I completed a visual arts degree...

I stepped into TAFE Ceramic course in 1990 with a friend of mine. That was the beginning of my journey of pottery. In the class, it wasn't as free as we are now, but there were various assignments, grade marks were attached, and grade reports were sent every term. I...

I joined the Potter’s Club over 20 years ago so I could use the glass kilns after doing a glass slumping/lampwork course run by Judith Bohm-Parr. A few years ago, I attended classes run by Yuki which led me to the open day at CPC where I became a member once again....

I grew up watching my dad on the pottery wheel so I have always been interested in ceramics. The fact that he built his own kiln is way cooler to me now than when I was 6 and just thought it was a good hiding spot for hide and seek (eeeek). Like my dad did in the...

I have recently moved from Sydney to Cairns. I graduated from the National Art School, Sydney in 1997 where I studied Ceramics. Due to work and family commitments, I had little time to work on my ceramic projects until I stopped work four years ago. I then did a TAFE...

Dad was very strict and meticulous! While he employed other potters to work for him, most of them never lasted due to his perfectionist nature. Of all the children, I am the only one who persevered and continues to make hand made pottery combining traditional and...

Working with clay is something that seems to get a hold of some people, the process of building or creating form,the magic of the wheel and the alchemy of fire and the earth’s materials.I decided to take a course in ceramics after I had read an article on Thancoupie....

I have played with clay and glazes since 1978 and during most of that time I have lived in Cairns. A lot of my ceramic artworks have been inspired by my surrounds - the reef and rainforest. Frequent travels throughout the Middle East, South-East Asia, Japan, China,...

Tom Britton I learnt to make beautiful pottery art at TAFE Cairns. After a few years I joined the Cairns Potters Club and started to expand my horizons. My favourite forms are cats. Each cat is different and has its own character. I also making mugs and other forms,...

Hello I am Yasue. [y’ʌsˈʊé]. When I lived near the club house nine years ago, I was always curious about what pottery was like. After my son started to go to school, I decided to visit the club on one open Wednesday. There, very friendly and experienced potters showed...

Lisa Harris Making ‘1000 tea bowls’ is a ‘fantastic voyage’ of practice that began in 2020 when I joined the Cairns Potters Club and the Cairns TAFE ceramics community!The value of ceramics and pottery within cultural history really inspires me.The technical...

Sivonne Pryce I started pottery with the intention of making my family a dinner set. During the pandemic I wanted a creative outlet that didn't have any pressure on me to be successful or make perfect things. My usual hobbies are sewing and fibrecrafts, which are very...