CassarClay

I am a studio based artist living in Melbourne Australia.

Clay is my medium.  It is the sensuous quality of raw clay from the earth that inspires me as I work to mould it into a form that is organic tactile yet functional.

I create wheel-thrown ceramic dinnerware and decorative pieces for home décor.  I take a minimalist approach to my work, using different clay mixtures and studio developed glaze combinations.  This allows me to focus on the natural textures and tactile beauty of the clay, giving each piece its one-of-a-kind character.  Each body of work is designed to be used every day within the home.

I am an inveterate traveller.  I grew up on the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean.  I moved to Australia as a young adult and fell in love with the rugged beauty of the Australian bush and the multicultural character of the city of Melbourne.  For the last decade, I’ve travelled between Australia, Europe and the USA, and I worked in different potters’ studios and attended workshops and residences run by expert potters. I love visiting archaeological museums in order to learn from the artisans of antiquity. Travel continues to provide the best opportunity for reflection and gaining alternate perspectives on my work.

AKA

AKA is a hand-made, hand painted ceramics brand, created by me, Amelia Kingston. We are nestled in the Grampians in the little town of Stawell, Victoria, Australia.

Since I was 15 I wanted to be a potter. I was told by my careers teacher that being a potter was no way to make a living and I would be a starving artist. Luckily I had an incredible ceramics teacher, Val McCann who was so generous with her time. After school I travelled, worked at a ceramics teacher overseas and then went to university. Strangely my degree is actually in Literature and Philosophy. Over the past 5 years I have developed my brand and my work.

I love being a potter. It allows me the freedom to be a stay at home mum and work in the evenings, I still teach primary school art two days a week too, mainly because being a art teacher is a pretty fun job.

I currently work in mostly hand-built forms, but throwing was my first passion with clay. I make my own glazes, and fire in my kilns in our backyard studio at home. I woke with lustres a lot, and most recently I have begun to work with china-paints.

I’m so happy I can share the work I love with the world.

HugBellCeramics

Working  with clay has been closely associated with me at almost every major stage of my life.

I  have played with clay, since I was  a child. My techniques were developed from learning under a traditional Japanese ceramics master for five years. My style has evolved and has been affected by living in different countries and encountering different cultures. Every new confrontation, every new challenge in my life have thus been translated through my medium of clay.

My intention is to attract people to touch (not only look) and interact with my work, and in return I want my ceramics to connect people together. I hope my art can, even for a slight moment, inspire feelings of delight in people.