Artist statement

I have attended the Workshop Arts Centre (WAC) in Laurel Street, Willoughby since 2002. The WAC is an atelier style studio in the tradition of master and apprentice. Under the tutelage of Renate de Lambert I have gently learnt the potential of this medium. The three-dimensional nature of pottery, along with the hands on task of building and decorating clay are the biggest attractions for me. It is also what keeps clay ahead of a more serous interest in drawing or painting.

It would be unfair to say pottery is easier than other mediums, but in the making stage I think it's less technical. This means I can get started more easily and I also like having something I can hold at the end.

I have spoken to and read about many potters who seem to have an addiction to the medium. I can understand the feeling, although I can't fully explain it. I think it's the only medium you can shape with bare hands. Most potters are also deeply attached to the vessel, with the eternal yearning of an empty shape waiting to be filled—full of potential and disarmingly bare.

After some experiments with the bright and enduring qualities of glazed pottery, I now mostly fire my pots in primitive firings such as raku and pit fires. These alternative methods are simple, but can produce astonishing results.

Belinda Russell 2010