Ignition- Contemporary Ceramics Awards

Avi Amesbury

On Thursday night I went to the "Ignition Ceramics Award" run by the Suncoast Clayworkers. There were entries from throughout Australia and it was a great opportunity to see works from Australia's top potters first hand.

Janet de Boos was the judge and no-one could have complained about her selection of Ann Mossman's amazing, intricate piece as the winner. It is made up of thousands of tiny paper thin tiles stacked into a bowl. Combining a sense of fragile intricacy with the generous open form of the vessel this piece is one of the most intriguing artworks I've seen in ceramics.







I was thrilled to win the ANU (Australian National University) Prize for a series of five nest bowls entitled "Mama -with four chicks". Now I'm some distance from the process of creation I realize that this piece is about myself and my mother. I have two children and this amazing, difficult journey has given me renewed appreciation of how hard it must have been for my Mum (who had four). The bowls are slightly oval shaped and the mother and chicks either cluster together or sometimes the Mama tries to face away from the chicks (for a few seconds!), but of course they are always yearning towards her. The metaphor of the nest holds them together, a family.



Here are some of the pieces I particularly liked....


Michael Boulay


Mieke van Sambeek