Hi, my name is Jodi! I'm a kiwi living in Queensland and I sell my handmade pottery in my MadeIt store. I moved to Australia in 2018 to study a PhD researching the effects of climate change on the squid brain and behaviour. Little did I know that starting my PhD would also lead me into the world of ceramics!
In 2019, I started evening pottery classes and completely fell in love. I spent all my spare moments dreaming up new designs and itching to get back into the pottery studio to play with clay. Nearing the end of my PhD I started playing with the idea of opening a small business so that I could share my pottery, starting an Instagram page and doing a few small markets. After finishing my PhD in mid-2022 I had a bit more time and made the leap to open my online store through MadeIt.
I started selling with MadeIt because I like the idea of supporting small, local businesses. As MadeIt only includes Australian makers this is a great way for people to support local. MadeIt is also very easy to use and is a reasonable cost, which is very important to keep overheads down when only selling small numbers of items!
I now continue working as a scientist; currently I am researching the effects of climate change on marine invertebrates (sea creatures without a backbone, from crabs to sea hares to clams) and identifying how we can use museum collections to aid this research. I do pottery as a hobby on the side because it brings me so much joy.
Creating pottery is a very long and involved, but exciting, process. The majority of my pieces are thrown on the wheel. Then, after they have dried slowly to a good consistency, I trim the pieces on the wheel to remove excess clay and refine the shape. At this stage I commonly also carve my pieces to add decoration.
After the clay is completely dry, and I have enough pieces to completely fill the kiln, I do the first kiln firing. This is called the bisque firing; I fire the pieces to approx. 1,000 degrees Celsius, which permanently changes the clay to ceramic, but still leaves the pots slightly porous and absorbent.
Next, I glaze the pots by dunking them in, or brushing on, what is essentially a slurry of water and minerals. The water is absorbed by the bisqued pot leaving a powdery surface on the pots. I then fire these glazed pots to over 1,200 degrees Celsius, which fuses the clay, making it strong. This also melts the powdery glazes, making glass-like and colourful surfaces on the outside of the pot.
Opening the kiln after a glaze firing is absolutely one of the most exciting things ever. It’s what keeps me so excited about pottery and constantly trying new designs. I think the lengthiness of the pottery process, along with the unpredictability of glaze firing and the large amount of drastic ways in which pots can fail all contribute to why it is so exciting. Nothing beats opening a kiln to some beautiful pots, or even pots that have turned out dramatically different to how you expected!
I'm constantly inspired by the nature that surrounds me here in Australia, as well as that back home in Aotearoa New Zealand. I grew up in coastal Aotearoa. Being only a few minutes walk from the beach I had a wonderful childhood full of sand, sunshine and swimming. I have always loved nature, relishing our summer camping adventures and multi-day tramps (hikes for you non-kiwis!).
My love for the natural world continued to University, where I studied Zoology and Neuroscience, followed by my PhD. Just as it led me into the biological sciences, I use my ceramics to portray my love of nature and animals. A lot of my ceramics are inspired by the ocean and her creatures. Currently, I find myself fascinated by exploring the boundary between the ocean and sea in my ceramic art.
Due to my love of nature, and experience researching the effects of climate change, I try to minimise my impact on the Earth. Unfortunately, pottery relies on mined resources for the clay and glazes. I am very conscious of this and take steps to reduce my environmental impact. I buy Australian materials to reduce the carbon footprint of delivery.
During the making process I reduce waste by recycling clay; all my used clay (trimmings, cleaned up clay mess, failed pots) is saved, mixed up with water, dried out to a usable consistency and used again to make new pots. I also recycle my glaze; all my used glaze (cleaned up glaze mess, glaze wiped off pots to achieve specific designs) is collected in a big bucket that when full enough is mixed to the right consistency and used as a recycled ‘pot luck’ glaze which can produce some surprising colour results.
When shipping my pottery, I make sure to package my pots incredibly well to minimise the chance of any breakages. I re-use packing materials where possible and any new packaging is recyclable and plastic free. I also use paper tape which makes recycling boxes much easier. I am continuously striving to decrease the environmental footprint of my business and implement new changes over time.
There are so many things I love about making and shopping handmade. I love the transparency you get from small, handmade businesses. There’s no large business front to hide behind - as a buyer you know exactly where the product is coming from and the ethics behind that. You know exactly where your money is going and that it is supporting the artist/maker directly. When I buy from a small handmade business it gives me such joy that I am getting a beautiful product made with intention and love, but also that I am supporting a wonderful person.
I also love that handmade gives me a space to pour all my focus; into what I am making, letting me be in that moment and allow the stresses of everyday life to become distant. When I sell a piece of my pottery it is pretty hard to describe the amount of joy and gratitude I feel that someone has decided to spend their hard-earned money on a piece I have put so much time and love into making; it’s amazing.
