Within the constant ‘business’ of contemporary life, ceramics provides a pause – a silence - an opportunity to observe and reflect on what is important. This silent receptive space holds the possibility of a dialogue with nature and oneself, through the physical engagement in the process and the materials. It is a space of listening.
Kat Hall uses the creative process to deepen her connection with nature. Born on Christmas Island in 1961, she has travelled extensively both within Australia and overseas, living for extended periods immersed in other cultures and languages.
Inspired by the earth, the sea and the sky, Kat has used her creative pursuits to connect with the nature of the places she has lived. Through both drawing and ceramics, she finds her place, embodying landscapes from the treeless almost surreal Orkney Islands, the indescribable Australian interior, to the majestic underwater world of the great barrier reef and its adjacent tropical garden of the Daintree Rainforest.
“With hands literally in the earth, I see my work as a commune with nature, allowing the clay a voice and direction of it’s own.”
The Humble Pinch Pot
Each pot is individually crafted.
The technique of the pinch pot is used to optimise the connection between maker and material. In this case, clay, the mother earth.
It’s all about process.
With hands in the earth, Kat allows a conversation to begin between her desire to create a particular form and the voice of the clay taking it’s own shape.
By slowly pinching it into shape and listening to the clay, Kat focuses on the process, becoming lost in the present moment, the clay, and the rhythmical pinching process, which together transforms the ball of clay into its new shape.
Often working in sets, Kat acknowledges the relationship between all things. The uniqueness of each piece becomes an individual within the collective. Familiarity and the repetitive process allows for a certain amount of letting go into a meditative state.