Wagga Wagga Potters Club: The first fifty years

Wagga Wagga Potters Club: The first fifty years 31 August – 20 October 2019

Pottery: Modern applications of an ancient art The creative, yet practical, craft of pottery began many thousands of years ago, when our ancestors first developed the ability to harness fire to turn the soil from beneath their feet into a useable ceramic pot. Since that time, potters from around the globe have been experimenting with clay, in all its forms, to create a myriad of practical and ornamental pieces.

The earliest kilns were, in essence, the hearths used by primitive peoples for basic needs, such as cooking, warmth, light and protection. Early farmers advanced these primitive techniques by firing clay to create containers for seeds, for storage of harvested foods, and for water transportation and storage.

Pit firing is the oldest known method for the firing of pottery. Examples have been dated as early as 29,000–25,000 BCE. However, as these basic pots were fired at relatively low temperatures, they were not watertight, and so the quest for a more effective firing method began. Over the ensuing centuries then, further exploration and experimentation continued with an abundance of earth drawn materials and firing techniques, in an effort to perfect glazes to make pots watertight, and pigments to colour and beautify them.

The potter’s need to achieve perfection has continued, unabated, to the present day, a quest that has led to the exploration of many different materials and creative adventures, in the search for the perfect pot. In the world of ceramics, the only limitation to what can be achieved using clay and fire is our imagination.

About the Wagga Wagga Potters Club At the end of 1969 a group of student potters from the Wagga Technical College met informally to form the Wagga Wagga Potters Club. A little pink cottage in Morgan Street became the first home of the Wagga Wagga Potters Club. When the building was demolished in 1978 the Red Shed at the showground became our home for three years. In August 1981 we moved to our current home, the ARCC Hall (Association of Riverina Cultural Clubs Hall) located in Tarcutta Street.

In order to provide a safeguard for our members, in November of 1985 the club was incorporated under the New South Wales Incorporation Act. As a result, on the 2nd of February 1986 at 9.30pm, the Wagga Wagga Potters Club Inc. came into being.

The club operates in a friendly, social environment, where members can enjoy each other’s company while sharing their knowledge and experiences in working with clay. Weekend schools with some of Australia’s leading potters are an ongoing and exciting part of the Wagga Wagga Potters Club programme. Exhibitions, weekend workshops along with raku and sawdust firings are regular features on the club’s agenda. We organise workshops for the staff of local businesses and preschools and provide speakers and demonstrations in support of school programs. We regularly participate in a variety of community activities, including Seniors Week, Fusion and Rhythm and Rail.

Additionally to pass on knowledge to future generations, lessons have become a vital part of the club’s curriculum.

In summary, the Wagga Wagga Potters Club aims to provide its members and the public with a pleasant, social environment, which is conducive to the study of ceramics. Our members create a broad range of pottery that enriches the lives of both the creators and the users of the end product.

- Wagga Wagga Potters Club 2019

Above: Inflation c1975. Image courtesy of the Wagga Wagga Potters Club.

Cover image: In the studio 1975. Image courtesy of Wagga Wagga Potters Club.

Wagga Wagga Art Gallery Civic Centre, cnr Baylis & Morrow Streets Wagga Wagga NSW 2650 P 02 6926 9660 E gallery@wagga.nsw.gov.au Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 4pm Sunday, 10am – 2pm

Wagga Wagga Art Gallery is supported by the NSW government through Create NSW. Wagga Wagga Art Gallery is a cultural facility of Wagga Wagga City Council

wagga.nsw.gov.au/gallery