Ceramics exhibition brings the heat

TAKE in the excitement of raku artwork at a new display at Bendigo Pottery.

Ceramic artist Ri Van Veen made a series of works in a westernised version of the Japanese pottery for her Land and Sky exhibition.

“I mostly fire raku because it’s exciting,” she said. “You fire to 1000 degrees, you take the work out when it’s glowing hot, you’ve got gloves and a mask on and place it into a bin with sawdust.

“That immediately catches on fire, you put more sawdust and paper on top and then put a lid on it.

“What happens is the flames then interact with the glaze and it’s like the flames are painting the glaze. They create a lovely image and surface.

“I’ve also got three big posters which show some of the making and firing process, so that helps people to get their head around it.”

While she’s now based in Bacchus Marsh, Van Veen said she first picked up the craft locally at university.

“I started a bachelor of visual arts back in 2005 after getting sick with chronic fatigue,” she said. “What started off as therapeutic then became my life.

“The very first time I did it I became addicted. I designed and built my own raku kiln in my studio.

“I’ve been getting really great feedback [on the exhibition], it’s very different to the work that’s at the pottery.”

The exhibition can be found at the CLAD gallery space until 26 June.