August 3rd, 2024Sheep, ceramics & bespoke items abound
The Australian Sheep and Wool Show took place in Bendigo over the weekend of July 20. It is the largest event of its type in the world showcasing the mighty Australian sheep.
Over three days, thousands of people braved chilly weather to experience what the industry has to offer from food, fashion and fibre to everything in between.
Spread across the Bendigo Showgrounds, visitors could watch sheep dog trials, weaving and yarn spinning displays, fleece judging and sample a diverse range of arts and lifestyle inspired by the wool industry.
The event attracts craftspeople from everywhere including Ian McColl of OxArt Pottery, Taradale. Ian or ‘Ox’ to his friends has made objects out of clay for as long as he can remember and once shown how to use the pottery wheel he was hooked on a lifelong journey.
OxArt produces a wide variety of pottery products designed to be used on a daily basis including mugs, plates, platters, teapots and yarn bowls.
Popular with weavers everywhere, yarn bowls are, for the benefit of the ignorant, soup bowl sized vessels with a curl cut into the side. The weaver’s yarn, placed inside, is drawn through the slot smoothly and evenly.
I guess you could put a lid on it too which would prevent cats from upsetting things. But do weaving folk even let cats get near their work? Perhaps that’s a story for another time.
“The yarn bowls we have at this stand,” says Ian “were derived from a specific request we got a good few years ago at a market. Someone asked if we made yarn bowls.
“I said ‘I didn’t know’ because I didn’t know what they were, but from then on I’ve been making a lot of them. That’s how I came to be taking part in this event. A friend and fellow stall holder suggested that it would be really good for us to come along because of our wool bowls.”
Together with his partner Leanne, Ian has been based in Taradale for the past four years where they have a large studio, workshop and gallery. Originally a roadhouse on the old Calder Highway, the couple have transformed the site into a nexus of creativity.
“We were looking for a place somewhere around Central Victoria where we could run a studio. We went past it and thought we should probably have a look at that one. Three days later we bought it.
“We’ve got three big electric kilns and a big gas kiln plus all of the equipment that you need to run a proper gallery space and workshop. Besides our own work we have a base for a variety of pottery classes and small school group workshops which we run on a regular basis.”
In recent years it would seem that there has been an enormous growth in the popularity of handmade and unique craft objects including functional ceramics.
In response, small businesses have emerged all over Victoria that specialise in creating handmade bespoke items from clothing to homewares.
Events such as The Lost Trades Fair and the Australian Sheep and Wool Show have shown great support for this growth and proven to be enormously popular as people look to alternatives to cheap mass-produced product.
And Ian, who has worked in the industry long enough to have seen its highs and lows, agrees.
“We’re really finding that people are wanting a connection to handmade, to hear the story of how and where something is from. With my work people love to learn about clay, what the glazes are and people are simply wanting to use hand-thrown pottery again. It’s really lovely.”
Words & images: Tony Sawrey
