I originally did my pottery training in Bendigo after high school. This was followed by a period working with potters in Victoria before gaining a place at the Kyoto City University of Fine Arts, where I spent some years learning porcelain techniques. Before returning to Victoria I spent a year as an apprentice in a porcelain workshop in Kyoto under a Master potter. Since then I have been establishing a pottery in Victoria, exhibiting and developing my own style.
Last year my younger brother visited Vanuatu to take musical instruments to a theological college on Malakula Island. This was near where my parents had been missionaries over 50 years ago. (I was brought up there in my first years of life along with three other siblings).
He took the time to visit the village of South West Bay, and while there was approached by an elder called Masing Venevil, who asked him to pass on a message to me.
They wanted me to come and visit and bring a potters wheel. Some years ago my mother had visited and taken some of my pottery, so they knew that I was a potter.
When I got this invitation I put a lot of thought into what might be possible. I also took the time to purchase a book on the traditional pottery techniques of Papua New Guinea and did some serious reading. This is a village that traditionally has not had a pottery tradition, but has most likely traded for pottery made further north in Santo. This village does not have good communication with the outside world and for Vanuatu are seen as quite rural. They also do not have electricity apart from a generator that might be used once a week, so an electric wheel would not be so useful. I finally decided to have a kick wheel based on the Leach potters wheel made by a local craftsman and fitted out by a local blacksmith. Towards this end I found plans of the Leach Kick wheel and also bartered some of my pots for an original J.H. Wilson made kick wheel I found in Geelong (Originally made at least 40 years ago in Sydney under licence to Bernard Leach).
This wheel has been made and shipped out on a yacht, along with a box of pottery books collected from Australian potters, that is part of the “Prevention of Blindness” project in Vanuatu. (The ships log can be accessed at msm.org.au)
I plan to travel to Vanuatu in late July and spend some weeks assembling the wheel that had to be flat packed to go on the boat, look for clay and make pots. I will need to dig up clay and test it to determine the suitability for pottery. I know that there is black volcanic beach sand that I can mix with the clay to make it better to fire. I want to introduce a variety of techniques to make pottery, and see what other needs and possibilities there are.
I will begin with traditional style pottery using hand-building techniques, and have made a variety of tools suitable for this purpose based on my research into pottery making techniques of Papua New Guinea which are similar to Vanuatu.
My main aim this time is to ascertain the viability of making pottery and, possibly on a future visit, consider making a kiln for more sophisticated wares made using local materials. My vision is to make this an ongoing project where other potters could be part of the development of a viable local pottery. I know there is a lot of interest among the pottery community in Victoria in this project and I am sure there would be other potters who would be interested in spending time in Vanuatu helping with this work at a later stage.
I feel that there is a lot of potential for a pottery workshop in South West Bay. I am hoping they can learn to make cooking pots and other items that could be traded or sold. If tourists visit the area then this would be another source of income from pottery.
I have also over many years collected many sand drawings from Vanuatu. Some my father collected while he was a missionary there. This is a rich source of design that belongs in the area. These designs could be used as decoration on the surface of pottery.
Any support I can get in this project would be much appreciated. I have already been donated a small pug mill that at some stage could be shipped out there.
On the last weekend in June 2010 ( 26th~27th) I intend to have a sale of my ceramics at my studio. The proceeds are to go towards helping fund the Vanuatu Project. I wish to invite as many of you as possible to come and visit and support me in this venture.
