Paul Davis Under the Influence
Paul Davis is a portrait of concentration as he swishes glaze from a wooden ladle onto a plate.
‘I really want it to have the look of melting snow,’ the potter says, as he watches the rivulet flow across the clay.
In this moment, Davis knows he is pouring out not just the thick liquid, but also his heart and a faith in spontaneity. He has created this moment from the sum of his skills, his vast experience and imagination, but where this moment leads not even the master potter can be sure. Which excites him.
‘I’m trying to retain as much of the spontaneity of the application by letting these things happen,’ Davis explains. ‘I try and make an asset of that, rather than trying to just glaze the thing, where it’s just completely covered all over.
‘I think if you try and go, “I’ll plan to do this”, you lose the spontaneity of it.’
Paul Davis has crafted a career from embracing spontaneity, especially in recent times.
While most of the world has been shutting down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Davis has been branching out, looking forward, looking back, and, above all, looking deep within.
He has been creating hundreds of pieces in preparation for a major exhibition, titled Under the Influence. The show is a celebration of how Paul Davis has made his mark on Australian ceramics, and how ceramic traditions have made a mark on him.
The exhibition is notched with a string of milestones for Davis: 50 years of working in ceramics; 20 years since he was appointed Head of Pottery at the Sturt Craft Centre in Mittagong, which is hosting Under the Influence, and; 70 years on this earth.
Not that the potter himself sees
