Title: SQUARING THE CIRCLE
Writer: Alison Miller
The slender blue lines ebb through a harsh orange and pink setting, calling to mind an aerial photograph of some remote part of the Pilbara. In fact, it’s not a photograph but the picturesque glazing on a ceramic piece by local artist David Thomson.
David is one of the artists at the Happs pottery in Dunsborough, where he creates sculptural table wear with an emphasis on both geometric and organic elements.
“I try to create a balance between a geometric quality and an organic quality,” David explains. “So I could make a square, geometric shaped plate, but I will glaze it in a way that I think is organic, like adding a landscape painting to a geometric form.
“One of the aims I have with my pottery is to make forms which have a strong 3-dimensional presence, a sculptural quality that will make them an object people will enjoy having around even when not in use”.
David spent 25 years teaching art at high schools, and though out that time found real enjoyment in working with clay and seeing his student’s pleasure in using clay. Part of that enjoyment comes from the possibilities that the medium offers.
“The material changes considerably throughout the process. It’s starts off as a soft, plastic material and then as it dries out it becomes what’s known as leather hard, at that stage it’s a bit like parmesan cheese. It’s kind of an evolution of processes right from the beginning to the end and each one of these processes has quite a different skill base”.
These skill bases seem to range from baking to building.
“I can roll the clay out like pastry and while it’s soft I can drape it over a mould, fold it and shape it, just like pastry.
“Or I can allow the slab to dry out a little bit so that I can cut shapes and join them together similar to how you would join to pieces of plywood together”.
David draws inspiration from the environment around him, particularly when he’s sailing. He says the juxtaposition of the clean lines of a boat and the fluid movement of the water is something he tries to echo in his work.
“The idea of a boat form is something that is a bit geometric but has to fuse with the naturally occurring wind, water and waves. I am inspired by the rhythms and the flow of the water… and in the same way I enjoy the rhythmic movement that come in applying glaze or wax to a pot with a brush, slip-trailer or a janting, a tool for applying wax on batik”.
David says he is also inspired by the artistic atmosphere at Happs pottery. David works at the pottery with Myles Happ and Kim Potter and the three often share ideas about glazing processes, combinations and designs.
“We don’t feel any ownership over that sort of thing” David says. “It’s a very convivial place, we like to laugh a bit and joke around. It’s a very happy, relaxed place to work.”
You can visit David at work and visit the Happs winery at 571 Commonage Rd, Dunsborough.
Mushroom Sate
16 Button mushrooms
Marinade
1 clove garlic
1 tbs ginger
1 tsp lemon grass
1 tbs coriander
All finely chopped
30 ml nuoc mam (fish sauce)
15 ml sesame oil
Marinate mushrooms for 3-4 hours
Dipping sauce:
3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1 red chilli finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp mint chopped
15ml lime juice
3tbsp Nuoc mam
2 tbsp sesame oil
100ml coconut milk
Combine all ingredients, adding the coconut milk last.
Thread mushrooms onto skewer. Grill or barbeque for about 3 mins each side.
Serve on a David Thomson square or rectangular plate! They fit perfectly.
