Looking back at Clay Energy Gulgong 2010
Janet Mansfield,
Director, Clay Energy.
By all accounts Clay Energy Gulgong 2010 was a huge success. Of the eight clay festivals held in Gulgong since 1989, this was perhaps one of the largest and most successful in the series.
The usual format, held to on this occasion, was the bringing to Gulgong of twelve leading ceramic artists, national and international, to demonstrate their techniques and lecture on their philosophies and careers. This time, three artists from Finland: Riitta Talonpoika, Nanna Bayer and Karen Widnäs; three Hungarians: Janos Probstner, Jona Gudvardardottir and Sandor Kecskemetti; a trio of ceramic artists who concentrate on surface decoration using both stoneware and raku techniques: Royce McGlashen (NZ), David Roberts (UK) and Eduardo Lazo (USA); two Australian artists: Louise Boscacci and Ken Yonetani; the Norwegian Torbjørn Kvasbø who was the recipient of the Mid-Western Regional Council's Janet Mansfield Fellowship; and two Israeli artists, Ester Beck and Avner Singer, completed the line-up. This then formed the core of the event. ...
It was a full five days. And at the end was the cry: 'When can we do it all again'?
Always the focus has been on current needs and trends so let us wait and see what the next three years will bring to our field of ceramic art and what will be important to do. That these events are sought after suggests a need for ceramics to remain an important part of the art world and of our lives.
I am grateful for all the support of the 500 plus people who came to Gulgong and took part in this event.
photos courtesy of Grace Cocherane
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