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Newsy November

It’s been an exciting few months here at PJ Pottery. I was invited to participate in two group exhibitions – Gift Wrapped and the opening of the Knoll Studio. I’ve done a load of work in my sweet little gallery and studio for the Pottery Road Open Studio Trail this weekend. And I was thrilled to receive the People’s Choice Award in this year’s Sydney Teapot Show

Gift Wrapped logo

Gift Wrapped

27 OCT – 16 DEC 2023 The Centre, 82 Brisbane St Beaudesert. Tues-Fri 10am-4pm; Sat 10am-2pm

Celebrating 2023 with a delightful exhibition of exquisite artworks by South East Queensland artisans … ready for Christmas gift giving. 

This exhibition showcases beautiful paintings, works on paper, sculptures, pottery, jewellery, textiles, fibre works, books and much more. Come and explore a kaleidoscope of handmade art and bring the beauty of local artworks into your home this Christmas or give them to your friends.  


 Knoll Studio Opening

The Knoll Studio opening flyer

Saturday 18 November, 11AM – 4PM
6-8 Knoll Rd, Tamborine Mountain

We will have an official ribbon cutting at 11:30am as we open our orange doors for the first time! Gracing our studio walls and space, will be an exhibition of art from local artists displaying the artistic talent and versatile creativity we have here. We will also have live music to serenade you as you peruse the studio space and take in the art.

Tristan the Steampunk Teapot

Sydney Teapot Show

The iconic Sydney Teapot Show is an annual exhibition at Gallery Lowe and Lee. In 2022, I was fortunate to win the Glebe Book Award and this year Tristan B. Torus Steampunk teapot won the People’s Choice Award with a $500 prize sponsored by @galleryloweandlee This is one of the nicest accolades received in my long career as a potter!

Open Studios

Pottery Road studio map
Pottery Road Open Studio flyer
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Pottery Road Open Studio

PJ Pottery is again participating in Pottery Road Open Studio trail. I can’t wait to show you my beautiful revamped gallery where you can purchase my work. I’ll be giving throwing demos after lunch on Sunday if you’d like to see how pots are made on the wheel. As an extra incentive, I will be offering a door prize of a unique Steampunk mug valued at $45 to all who purchase works over the weekend.

Pottery Road Open Studios flyer

PJ Pottery; Larissa Warren Ratbag Studios; Julia Bramich Julia Bramich Ceramics; Jo Mackenzie Jo Mackenzie Ceramics and Claudia De Salvo Claudia De Salvo Makes and Laura Cope i,kittyclay . Larissa, Jo and Nicci will be in Tamborine Mountain studios, Claudia with Laura in Guanaba, and Julia in Wonglepong. This group of talented local Tamborine Mountain and valley potters will join forces once again open their studios, coinciding with the Australian Ceramics Open Studio event.

Come and visit the four studios and six ceramicists and see where the magic happens and make the most of this annual event to stock up on beautifully crafted handmade Christmas presents.

Find more info on the Pottery Road Open Studio Trail Facebook page

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Spring Fever inspiration

I was very fortunate to attend the 3 day Spring Fever ceramic gathering in Maleny, Sunshine Coast recently and came home with my head brimming with inspiration. The demonstrators were knowledgeable, generous and innovative. A big thanks to Suncoast Clayworkers for hosting this amazing event. Be prepared to see some fresh new works coming from the PJ Pottery studio soon!

On the Saturday of Spring Fever, I had a stall in the Potters’ Market and had a successful morning, selling out my newly made Steampunk style mugs.

steampunk mugs at Spring Fever
collage of potters working at Spring Fever

Save the Date

A bunch of talented potters (including yours truly) on Tamborine Mountain and valleys will be doing the OPEN STUDIOS again this year. More info to follow, and keep up to date by following the Pottery Road Facebook page. Saturday and Sunday 11 and 12 November

Australian Ceramics Open Studio flyer
Pottery Road Open Studio Trail
Pottery Road 2022

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Breathe in, breathe out

PJ Pottery news

My beautiful boilermaker and I had a glorious week up in Far North Queensland, it’s our second visit there during winter. The landscape and greenery are large and lush and the beaches soothe the soul with every step you walk. Together, we built a large mandala sand sculpture on Mission Beach which brought joy to a few curious onlookers before the tide washed it away that evening. We have come back rejuvenated and ready to get back into work, for me that means Spring Fever potters’ market and competition time!

collage of photos from Far North Queensland
Photos by Nicci Parry-Jones
What an artist does when on holidays!

Competition time

Being a professional potter means you are always looking at ways to design and create new work to satisfy your customers and part of this process involves entering competitions that provide a challenge to create work to the best of your ability. You often need to fulfil a brief, sometimes to a theme (like the Sydney Teapot Show) and to hopefully – if you are successful and your work is chosen – you can expand your audience of ceramics collectors and pottery lovers.

I am pleased to say my Steampunk teapot, Beatrix has been selected as a finalist in the Klytie Pate Ceramic Award. The Klytie Pate Award for Ceramics is a National prize, open to all ceramicists in Australia and New Zealand who are experienced in the craft, and carries a biennial prize of $10,000. The opening night is Thursday 14th September at 6pm, MACE 145 High Street Mansfield, Vic.

Ceramic Arts Queensland hosts the Siliceous Award every second year and I am hoping to have an entry in this.

Beatrix Steampunk teapot
Beatrix, Steampunk Teapot

I was fortunate to win an award in last year’s Sydney Teapot show (you can read more about this HERE) and have a work in progress for this year’s show, here’s a sneak peak at this new Steampunk teapot, I have estimated I’ve spent 7-8 hours on this piece so far, now I’m crossing my fingers it survives the two firings and glazing process!

Spring Fever Potters’ Market

PJ Pottery will have a stall at the Spring Fever Potters’ Market Saturday 2 September, 8am – 12pm at Maleny Showgrounds. Hosted by Suncoast Clayworkers with over 30 stalls and free admission! If you are around the Sunshine Coast, come say hi and fill your bags with wonderful handmade ceramics.

flyer for Spring Fever Potters Market

Thanks for reading and your continued support, if you ever have any questions about pottery or would like to see any my process, let me know. Cheers, Nicci

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Welcome to winter on the mountain

This is where you will find PJ Pottery next…..

rainforest artisan bazaar flyer

The Rainforest Artisan Bazaar is a unique marketplace showcasing the talents of 15+ local artists. Nestled amidst lush greenery at Thunderbird Park, Tamborine Mountain the bazaar serves as a meeting place for both artists and visitors, where the atmosphere is infused with a sense of community and appreciation for art. Each booth you will be greeted by passionate individuals eager to share the stories behind their creations.

Find out more info here

The following Sunday will be the re-opening of the PJ Pottery Gallery. The gallery has had a HUGE make-over and we are celebrating with a re-opening party 3pm SUNDAY 18th JUNE . There will be local specials, new stock, new teapots, a bit of bubbly and nibbles and a fair bit of talking about clay. If you would like to attend, please RSVP below

PJ Pottery gallery reopens
RSVP here
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May pottery news

The recent TMAC Open Studios in May 2023 was a great success and a wonderful chance to talk to artists and buy local handmade art. PJ Pottery had a display at a group exhibition at The Art Post Gallery

Part of the display at the Art Post Gallery during the TMAC Open Studio event

I am stoked that several of my unique Steampunk teapot creations have went to new homes over the weekend. There are now some fresh new one-of-a-kind teapots available in my SHOP like these two beauties, Bertrand and Lucille.

steampunk teapot with cog handle and tap lid
Lucille
steampunk teapot with cog lid
Bertrand

The PJ Pottery home gallery has had a HUGE make-over and we will be hosting a re-opening party to celebrate at 3pm SUNDAY 18th JUNE . There will be local specials, a bit of bubbly and nibbles and a fair bit of talking about clay. If you would like to attend, please RSVP below:

Attending?(required)

PJ Pottery gallery reopening soon
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Hand building pottery workshop

Here’s a chance to create your very own ceramic pieces at the PJ Pottery studio on Tamborine Mountain.

In this fun one day workshop with experienced potter and teacher, Nicci Parry Jones, you will make an assortment of hand built ceramics and learn different techniques of making with clay.

You will create pinch pots, a slab platter and a coil planter plus a few extra pieces if time permits. Your pieces will be glazed and fired for you and you can collect in 4-5 weeks or you can arrange postage. All inclusive fee of $165 (tuition, clay, equipment, glaze and firing)

Suitable for beginners, maximum of 6 participants

Hand building workshop – the basics

Check out other PJ Pottery workshops and classes here

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Tamborine Mountain Open Studios + Exhibition

tmac open studios poster

I am excited to announce I will be participating in a group exhibition at The Art Post, Main Street Tamborine Mountain with other local artists: Cassi Ashton Thomas, Lilly Piri, Susan Lhamo, Kate French-McLean and Emma Dusting.

My display will be my signature Steampunk style teapots with some sweet surprises that I’ve been working on recently. This exhibition of paintings, mixed media and ceramics will be rich with colour, forms and textures in a delightful new art space in the heart of town.

This is part of the Tamborine Mountain Arts Collective (TMAC) OPEN STUDIOS event. There is a wonderful line up of artists opening their studios so it’s well worth a visit to Tamborine Mountain on the Mothers’ Day weekend 13 and 14 May. Find out more information on the TMAC website and on the Art Post website

nicci parry-jones in studio image by claire elise photography
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Glazing amazing

glaze test tiles
glaze test tiles
students making a glaze
students making a glaze
student glazing a plate
student glazing a plate
glazing workshop group
glazing workshop group

At my recent glazing workshop at the PJ Pottery Studio, we had a heady day of learning about glaze ingredients and what purpose they have in a glaze. The attendees then went through the process of making a glaze and adding colourants in increments to create a line blend. Their pieces and the glaze tests will be fired and examined, we can’t wait to see the results. Oh, and there was homemade rhubarb tarts.

Glazing is a huge topic in pottery, there are literally infinite variations to experiment with. Changing the percentage of one ingredient can alter the look and feel; turn a matt into a glossy glaze; alter the opacity or colour. Many old school potters, like me make their own glazes from scratch and make adjustments to find that elusive perfect glaze.

There is now a large selection of ready-made glazes and easy brush-on glazes that are being used by newcomers to pottery, some of whom have not had the opportunity of learning how to make their own glazes through the TAFE system or through higher learning. I was pleased to offer this workshop to enable emerging potters to develop this important skill.