Potters to let it slip

THIS Saturday, the Art Gallery of Ballarat will host a conversation between two accomplished artists about their work and creativity.

From 2pm to 3pm, Castlemaine-based ceramics artist Prue Venables will talk with with fellow ceramicist Neville French, and said she’s excited to have a chat with her “old friend.”

“We’ve got very similar approaches to our craft. He interviewed me at my exhibition at Mornington Art Gallery, and it went great so we thought why not do it again,” she said.

“Our talk will be pretty much about my attitude toward my work. We’re going to talk about the importance of skill, our approaches and our educational background.”

Venables studied ceramics at Harrow School of Art in England, and she and French brought the school’s “unique and intense” ethos to Ballarat when forming an arts course at the School of Mines.

That ethos from Harrow will inform much of their conversation.

“It was about making functional ceramics in an inventive way. You didn’t own the art you made, and we worked 12 hours a day,” she said.

“It was about incremental learning, practicing techniques for many hours until you become competent at them.”

This weekend will be Venables’ first appearance at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, where her work is currently being displayed at their Monochrome exhibition.

The ceramicist said she hopes to impart the importance of discipline in the creative process and to inspire the audience to follow their calling.

“I want them to understand how much is involved in learning to do something at a high level. It takes time and commitment to do something really well,” she said.

“I think it’s really important to encourage people because you have one life and if you’re lucky enough to find something you love doing then you just have to do it.”