Jan's Photo's 228 (3).JPG

Practice Statement

I am a ceramic artist working with clay as a way of listening to the world. My practice is concerned with trace, residue, and response, where form emerges through material interaction rather than fixed intention. Working within a field of consequence, I consider how material, environment, and human presence continually shape what follows.

Education

Graduate Diploma of Ceramics, Federation University, 2022

Appointments

Honorary Alumni Artist in Association, Federation University

Awards & Recognition

Finalist, Infuse Art Prize, 2024

Deputy Vice Chancellor’s Art Acquisition Award (3D), Federation University Arts Academy EYE Exhibition, 2022

Cheryl Twomey Memorial Award, $2,500, Federation University Arts Academy EYE Exhibition, 2022

Letters of Commendation, Federation University (awarded across five semesters), 2019 2021

Finalist, Flanagan Art Prize, 2017

Publications

Ballarat Times, interview, 31 May 2024

Journal of Australian Ceramics, Vol. 62 No. 2, July 2023

The Courier, feature/interview, 24 November 2022

Exhibitions

2026

Ballarat Potters, 6 September — 4 October, Ross Creek Gallery, Smythes Creek VIC, Australia

60 BC, 16 May — 14 June, Kank Wolverang Records Gallery Space, Ballarat VIC, Australia

Unfeigned (two-person exhibition with Tonya Blizzard), Harlow Gallery Brunswick, VIC, Australia — Selected works remain available via the gallery website

Small Works Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC, Australia

2025

Cover Versions ‘25, Creative Ballarat, Kank Wolverang Records, Ballarat VIC, Australia

Community of Mugs — Cups for Pete, TBH Studio, Ballarat VIC, Australia

The Great Takeaway 25 — DINE & TAKE, Creative Ballarat, Ballarat Mining Exchange, VIC, Australia (commission)

Craft Lab 2025: Intangible, Creative Ballarat, Ballarat Mining Exchange, VIC, Australia

Small Works Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC, Australia

2024

Space Between Movement (solo exhibition), Ross Creek Gallery, Smythes Creek VIC, Australia

Infuse Art Prize (finalist), Ross Creek Gallery, Smythes Creek VIC, Australia (collaboration with Jem Olsen)

ACOS — Australian Ceramics Open Studios, Ross Creek Gallery, Smythes Creek VIC, Australia

Our Stories in Clay, Ross Creek Gallery, Smythes Creek VIC, Australia

The Great Takeaway 24 — DINE & TAKE, Creative Ballarat, Ballarat Mining Exchange, VIC, Australia (commission)

Craft Lab 2024: Form & Function, Creative Ballarat, Ballarat Mining Exchange, VIC, Australia (curated exhibition)

Small Works Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC, Australia

2023

Summertide, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC, Australia (invitational exhibition)

ACOS — Australian Ceramics Open Studios, Ross Creek Gallery, Smythes Creek VIC, Australia

Craft Lab 2023: Light & Dark, Creative Ballarat, Ballarat Mining Exchange, VIC, Australia

Great Outdoors, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC, Australia (invitational exhibition)

2022

EYE 2022 Graduate Exhibition, Federation University Arts Academy, Ballarat Mining Exchange, VIC, Australia

Tableware Exhibition, Kerrie Lowe Gallery, Newtown NSW, Australia (invitational exhibition)

Small Works Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC, Australia

2021

Visit Ballarat UNESCO Creative City Ceramic Artists, City Hall, Ballarat VIC, Australia (invitational exhibition)

Benchmark 21, Federation University Arts Academy Visual Arts, Post Office Gallery, Ballarat VIC, Australia

50 Squared Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC, Australia

Small Works Art Prize, Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy VIC, Australia

2019

Benchmark 19, Federation University Arts Academy Visual Arts, Post Office Gallery, Ballarat VIC, Australia

Expressions of Landscape, Backspace Gallery / Art Gallery of Ballarat VIC, Australia (curated collaboration with Liz Blizzard and Angela Robinson)

2017

Flanagan Art Prize, St Patrick’s College, Ballarat VIC, Australia

Commissions

The Great Takeaway 25, Creative Ballarat, (dining event)

The Great Takeaway 24, Creative Ballarat, (dining event)

Private commissions (selected works for individual clients)

Collections

Selected works held in the Federation University Art Collection and private collections across Australia.

Memberships

  • The Australian Ceramics Association

  • National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Members

  • Craft Victoria

  • Art Gallery of Ballarat Association

  • Ballarat Arts Alive

  • Federation University Alumni

  • Yoga Australia (Level 3 Senior Teacher)

Practice

Working primarily in stoneware, I hand-build individual forms using white, mixed, and repurposed clays. Surfaces are developed through layered response to material behaviour, where interruption and accumulation guide form. Glazes are used as atmospheric fields rather than surface decoration, holding variation, depth, and quiet instability.

Image: Handcrafted Japanese-style brushes (bamboo & dog hair), 2019


Testimonial

“Unique, tactile, original, cathartic, brings a calmness. Reminds me of the sea, of the patterns in the waves and in the sand.” Sharron Watson-Ross