Potfest in the pens 2009

On Sunday I attended this years Potfest in the Pens, which took place at Skirsgill Auction Mart in Penrith.

First off I’ll say that this was the first time I’d attended a Potfest event, this one was the last one in the year with other two taking place in May and June. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect since all I had to go by was the photos on the site.

It was a pretty strange place to hold an event of this kind since all the stalls that would usually hold cattle at the market were turned into trade stands, I dont think it was the most accessible of places for the few wheelchair users that I saw due to the uneven flooring.

Despite lacking good quality facilities the event itself was quite a success with people seemingly selling a fair bit of stuff. I was particularly impressed with the quality of the glazing, slip trailing and alot of the Raku fired work.

Raku for the uninitiated is a Japanese technique mostly associated with the firing of pots which gives a metallic lustre. Each piece is removed from the kiln while it is still hot and then cooled in the air, in water or in sand. As you can imagine its incredibly dangerous.

There were plenty of exhibitors including a group from a pottery village in Germany which must have been a long and expensive trip for them. Anyway a couple of the stand out pieces were Hannah McAndrew and Chris Owen. There were of course more than that but it was a great inspiring trip for a maker such as myself.

I really liked a lot of the oriental inspired pottery – the sushi plates and noodle bowls but maybe thats just because I have a particular soft spot for anything japanese.

All in all I would say it was a really worthwhile trip and maybe next year Little Wren Pottery will have a stand!

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