Windmill Potteries

About

Unlike traditional Australian pottery, Windmill Potteries makes no attempt to recreate realistic reproductions of Australian flora and fauna or copies of Aboriginal or European art. Instead Paul Holland, who is the creator of Windmill's ceramics, concentrates on the creation of pottery that has a distinctly Australian 'feel'?. This doesn't mean a piece of Windmill Pottery will reflect what has been done before in Australian pottery, but through colour, shape and theme, produce a uniquely Australian product. rtists like Russell Drysdale, Albert Namatjira, Sydney Nolan, who produced distinctly Australian paintings have been a strong influence, as has the natural colour of Australian topography with its enigmatic, well-worn and eroded ancient landscape. To this end, Paul has used local natural clay with no additives or colour modification and glazes derived from locally available minerals and even ash from his own fireplace. Titanium oxide, rutile, iron oxide, manganese and zirconium silicate, all of which come from Australian mines are used as colorants, while potash feldspar, borax, kaolin, calcite, silica and zinc oxide make up the bulk of the remaining ingredients. All the pottery is fired in gas kilns to trap the unique quality of the glazes in reduced and oxidized environments. Gas is a clean energy source that provides some, but not complete control over outcomes. This is the nature of Windmill Pottery, a reflection of Australia's ever-changing cultural landscape and untamed, ancient topography. Each piece is unique.

Paul Holland - (1949 - ) trained as a teacher and introduced pottery to his primary school classes in 1970. In 1977, with Harry Hart, an art teacher at Mt Lofty High School, he formed Hartland Potteries where Harry was the resident sculptor and Paul the resident potter. The pottery had several successful exhibitions where both ceramists enjoyed a good local reputation for their separate and combined work. The pottery also held classes in throwing and sculpture. In late 1979, the pottery closed when Paul went to the US to study at the Pennsylvania State University where he earned his Master of Arts Degree. Paul always maintained his interest in pottery and formed Windmill Potteries, which he opened in 2009. Potter, Paul Holland, has been working with clay over a forty-year period. Since moving to his present location at Sheldon on the bayside of Brisbane, a local volcanic clay discovery has driven his work in an entirely new direction. The clay is typical stoneware with the added property of having a high iron oxide content. At lower earthenware temperatures the clay fires to a rich golden terracotta colour, while at higher stoneware temperatures, it takes on a steely quality that almost shrieks durability and hardness. "I have always longed for a clay that has soul," he says. Most commercial clays are a blend of imported and local clays. The producers are more concerned with predictability than character. Windmill clay is more like the clay used by the Japanese masters who prepared their clay and stored it for at least two generations to allow the development of bacteria to condition the clay. Windmill clay's organic content is high, promoting bacterial growth. This gives the clay a living earthy quality allowing the potter to feel close to nature and the old potters of yesteryear. This has led me to look for a different way of expressing who I am and where I have come from through my work. I am now consumed by a desire to produce pottery that is unmistakably Australian, not through the selection of images such as our native flora and fauna or by trying to copy European or Aboriginal Art, but by developing a look or feel that is reminiscent of those origins. I want my work to come from our unique topography and unusual blend of cultural influences. I endeavour to do this through my selection of subjects and colours. I want to reflect the ambiance, which is ancient Gondwanaland.