Surrounded by mountains and the bush, Steve Williams enjoys a quiet life off the grid with a focus on creating unique pottery, etched in fire.
A prominent Australian ceramicist, he says it is a creative passion which was sparked decades ago when he started art studies in the 1970s.
"I just fell for this material that was so responsive. I thought the material was quite playful and magical," he said.
A creative life off the grid
After a 30-year career teaching art and design with TAFE NSW at Wagga Wagga and the Great Lakes, he now spends most of his time creating on his bush property, west of Wingham on the NSW Mid North Coast.
He moved there with his wife in 2017.
"So we settled on a block at Dollys Flat, which isn't flat, it's actually 120 metres above sea level with a killer view.
"I am standing at the kiln shed looking out over the of the escarpment, Comboyne in the distance. It's that feeling of space and elevation."
Mr Williams says he enjoys creating woodfired ceramics using sustainably-sourced local materials including clays, timber, and rocks.
The landscape has become an important backdrop for his work.
"I have deliberately removed myself from the activities of other people. Living in isolation and working in isolation has been really important," he said.
Mr Williams' pottery wheel is also an important part of his creative process.
Bushfire victims find healing in flame
Mr Williams says the use of fire and ash in the kiln adds the final character to his ceramics.
"What happens in that high temperature environment is that wood ash and vapour … is coming into contact with the clay to form natural glazes," he said.
"The designing of that surface is very much considered and managed when you are packing the kiln."
The use of fire to create rather than destroy played a role in a series of more than 10 recovery workshops Mr Williams held in late 2020 for victims of the 2019/20 bushfires.
"The coordinators of that event saw an opportunity to connect affected people," Mr Williams said.
"That was seen to be an opportunity and important way of healing for these people."
Mr Williams says it was an emotional experience for some.
"I was standing up near my kiln and I had a bucket of wood ash and was talking about the process, and the fact the kiln is fired to 1350 degrees Celsius, that white heat, and after firing there's a bucket of ash that remains... it can't be burnt any more, it's the only thing left.
"Of all the people who understood what wood ash meant and where it came from, it was these people.
"People were very teary and affected by that conversation, but I was encouraged to keep sharing that.
"That was one way of working through into a positive for these people, so it was really special."
He says creating in the bush location, at elevation, also proved therapeutic.
"That is something special about where we live and where the kiln is. The view is amazing and the energy is really cool," he said.
Bush materials create an Australian feel
Over the years, Mr Williams has created a body of work which has captured attention internationally for its Australian feel.
He has been asked to speak at events in Japan, China, and the United States.
"As I found out, other people saw that as being very Australian.
"Some of the highlights over the last 30 years are people have asked me to demonstrate and talk about what I do in festivals and conferences because it's seen to be very Australian."
Williams says he is also motivated by the "soft, playful" qualities of clay, to create pottery which progresses to the firing in one sitting, rather than the conventional approach of waiting for the clay to firm up before refining it further.
"I guess that represents some of the innovation around what I do, I have had to invent some techniques which allow me to do that," he said.
