About Silkyecho Pottery
As an adult, with the pressures of full-time work and raising a family, the need for a therapeutic pass-time re-surfaced and working with clay seemed a natural progression. The vision of taking a handful of wet earth and turning it into something beautiful and useful was the challenge that I needed. I studied under Lance Leedon to master the art of hand-building, throwing, and glazing, and perfecting my craft.
Later, in 1980, I founded Silkyecho Pottery. My studio was at the rear of a shop that I leased to showcase and sell my pottery, as well as pottery and crafts sourced from specialist crafters and commercial potters including Vic Greenway and Bens Pottery. It was a small business venture that proved to be both pleasurable and rewarding over a number of years.
Our interest in showing and breeding Afghan Hounds then led to an opening in the niche market of trophy manufacture, in the form of both functional pottery, individually sculpted figurines, and plates that were hand-painted by my wife, Heather. Our art-works have homes in several countries including England, France, Canada, USA, Portugal, Sweden, New Zealand, and of course, Australia.
My current focus however is to offer a selection of glazed pottery jewellery with a point of difference. There is quite an assortment of beads available but, as an artisan, I wanted to create something different in the form of hand-made pottery beads, bursting with originality and an element of surprise. I developed these over several months and brought together a collection that was released for summer 2015. Whilst I craft all of the pottery elements, both Heather and I have a hand in the design of the pieces and we share the painting, glazing, and compilation of the jewellery.
About HeatherI have never been interested in working with raw clay but I enjoy watching Rodney go through the various processes and delight in seeing his elation when he creates something new and beautiful.
My passion has been to paint in underglazes and oxides on Rodney's bisqued pottery pieces. My favourite artwork was a headstudy of an English Springer Spaniel which resides with her and her owner it England, but I still feel the same excitement when I look at the photo as I did when I finished the piece.
When Rodney first suggested he would like to make pottery beads I knew that this would be another way we could work together with a common focus and drive to produce something different and exciting.
For me, jewellery is an ideal platform for innovation and creativity. We have had a lot of fun so far and I am looking forward to continuing in this field for as long as the passion is there.Â