PJ Pottery blog

Posted on August 22, 2023July 15, 2024 by p j p o t t e r y — Leave a comment

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. 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

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. It 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 won an award in last year’s Sydney Teapot show (you can read more about this HERE). I have a work in progress for this year’s show, here’s a sneak peak at this new Steampunk teapot. My estimate is that 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! Come say hi and fill your bags with wonderful handmade ceramics.

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

Posted on July 24, 2023July 23, 2023 by p j p o t t e r y — Leave a comment

PJ Pottery does sculpture

Between classes and fulfilling commissions, I had enormous fun creating this sculptural piece for the Vessel Devotion Exhibition at the Plant Empire. I’m thrilled to say it sold withing an hour and a half of opening! There are some marvelous creations on offer and the exhibition is open until the 28th of July.

Posted on June 10, 2023June 10, 2023 by p j p o t t e r y — Leave a comment

Welcome to winter on the mountain

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

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

RSVP here

Posted on May 23, 2023May 23, 2023 by p j p o t t e r y — Leave a comment

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

PJ Pottery gallery reopens

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:

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Thank you for your response. ✨

PJ Pottery gallery reopening soon

Posted on April 9, 2023April 8, 2023 by p j p o t t e r y — Leave a comment

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

Posted on March 12, 2023April 2, 2023 by p j p o t t e r y — Leave a comment

Tamborine Mountain Open Studios + Exhibition

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

Posted on February 8, 2023February 4, 2024 by p j p o t t e r y — Leave a comment

Glazing amazing

students making a glaze — glaze test tiles

Glazing workshop

At my recent glazing workshop at the PJ Pottery Studio, we had a heady day of learning. Talking 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. You can turn a matt into a glossy glaze; you can alter the opacity or colour. Many old school potters, (like me) make their own glazes from scratch so we can make adjustments to find that elusive perfect glaze.

There is now a large selection of ready-made glazes and easy brush-on glazes. These are handy because many of those new to pottery may 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 glazing workshop to enable emerging potters to develop this important skill.

Check out this super website with loads of glaze recipes glazy.org

Posted on January 28, 2023January 28, 2023 by p j p o t t e r y — Leave a comment

summer workshops

samples of coloured clay in surface treatment workshop

It’s been a season of workshops for me this summer. I gave kids’ clay workshops for Scenic Rim Regional Council in Boonah and Tamborine Mountain in the school holidays to a bunch of very keen students. We made wall hangings based on their favourite things. Of course their dogs, cats and horses featured and also a marvellous pirate ship.

I drove to Warwick for a two day surface treatment workshop for Warwick Potters‘. We explored some of the many techniques for decorating the clay surface including carving; hand painting with underglazes; using resists and stencils, making stamps and many other methods.

There were plenty of great questions and pottery conversations over delicious lunches and a few too many snacks. One thing I like to remind students (and myself!) is to experiment with a technique and see where it takes you, you can never stop learning in pottery!

There are still a few spots left for my Glazing Workshop on Saturday 4 February for those interesting in learning about making glazes.

Bookings here

Posted on January 3, 2023January 5, 2023 by p j p o t t e r y — Leave a comment

Off to an exciting start to 2023

A very happy New Year to you, have you made any resolutions? I plan on concentrating on my Steampunk teapots and new works and prepare for an exhibition I am having later this year with my friend and talented artist, Cassi Ashton-Thomas at The Art Post, Tamborine Mountain. I can’t wait to tell you more about this event but FIRST…

GLAZING 101 WORKSHOP @ PJ POTTERY

I am pleased to be offering an Introductory half-day glazing workshop

9am-12.30pm | Saturday 4 February 2023 | Fee $95

Attendees will assist in making a glaze to put on their own 2-3 stoneware bisqued pieces.
Includes glaze materials, recipes and handouts.
Glaze firing of work completed at this workshop is $7/kg.

This workshop will include:

making a glaze from scratch
preparation of your pots
basic glaze recipes
how to make line blend test tiles and recording results
introduction to the components of a glaze
an overview of glaze application
morning tea + coffee

BOOKINGS HERE

Posted on December 13, 2022December 13, 2022 by p j p o t t e r y — 1 Comment

It’s nearly Christmas?!

ceramic Christmas decorations on a wooden display

Are you like me and have left Christmas shopping to the last minute? Well, there are still lovely goodies to choose from at PJ Pottery for handmade Christmas gifts, from ceramic Christmas decorations to truly unique Steampunk teapots.

Get your order in super quick to have them delivered to you in time! Please note, I can only guarantee shipping in time in southeast Qld and Northern NSW if posted this week.

CERAMIC CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

These luxurious ceramic handmade Christmas tree decorations are made from porcelain with gold lustre added in a third firing, they are $22 each or 5 for $100, with free shipping. You can choose from bauble, round or heart shapes in pure white, greens and blues or traditional red. This is a limited range so chat to me about which are still available.

FRESHLY MADE STEAMPUNK TEAPOTS

Each of these Steampunk teapots are hand crafted beasties, mostly functional and are sure to raise a smile of appreciation for their individual characters.

See the whole range currently available HERE

If you are on Tamborine Mountain or visiting, there is a small range of PJ Pottery ceramics to purchase at Under The Greenwood Tree on Main Western Road and e360 Design on Gallery Walk.

A HUGE thank you for your support and enthusiasm for my pottery through 2022, wishing you all a wonderful festive season and I look forward to sharing some exciting news from PJ Pottery in the New Year. Spoiler alert: there’s an exhibition coming up.