WILD MOUNT MORGAN CLAY

Recently I took ownership of my first Venco Pottery Wheel. Thirty-five years exactly after my makeshift student wheel was sold by my parents when I left home…I was suitably excited. What made it extra special was that after searching fruitlessly online for a wheel and trying to hire one unsuccessfully I advertised on my local Facebook noticeboard. I inserted an image of a Venco, not really thinking I could score such a good brand, and let my neighbours know I was on the lookout for one if they had it lying around. A short time later ‘Kayla’ replied that she did and would offer it to me at a very reasonable price. As things stood with my business finances this was out of my reach at the time. I let her know and this great gal replied, ‘just let me know when you can and it will be waiting for you’! Suffice to say thanks to a Centrelink lump sum payment I was finally able to make good on my promised purchase. I visited Kayla and her husband at their beautiful property just up the road from my studio. Not only did they give me the wheel that had been safely stored in a container, but they invited me to tour their garden and shed full of historic artefacts. As a keen bottle collector and lover of antiquities (thanks to living in Longreach and taking up fossicking) I raptured over the shed come museum full of local bottle finds, early mine equipment, archive photos and metal detector discoveries. In short, the delight for any ‘Antiques Roadshow’ devotee. I was privileged to be shown their Memorial Garden, built in honour of their daughter, and overflowing with fairy themed props and beautiful flowering orchids. The highlight of the visit was when Kayla showed me a honey glazed ceramic fairy castle that had been made by her elderly neighbour from, can you guess? White clay found in her neighbour’s garden, then fired and gifted to the Memorial Garden. It was priceless…the sharing of personal stories, discoveries, and beauty.

This is becoming a regular occurrence; as I stop to talk to locals, hear their stories I discover new treasures of history and clay. That is what I enjoy the most out of running workshops too; meeting likeminded creative people and sharing stories. Look out for the upcoming Wattle Day Workshops and Biloela Creative Capers in July so you can join in the creativity and sharing of stories. Submitted by Louise Jones.