Sodu Studio, Perth (2026)

02/03/2026

I am excited to share that I have been selected to participate in the 'Throwdownunder' at Clay Gulgong 2026 from April 12th-16th, judged by Keith Brymer Jones (of The Great Pottery Throwdown fame). I am beyond excited (and more than a little nervous) to be part of this event and meet potters from all over the world at Clay Gulgong, which takes place in the town of Gulgong in regional NSW.

I've been getting busy on the wheel in preparation, and look forward to learning a bunch of new skills in the lead-up to the event, as who knows what challenges Keith will throw at us! 😅

01/12/2023

Mugs patiently drying after having their handles attached. 🥰

30/11/2023

I haven't posted much on social media for the past two months. It has felt inappropriate to be taking up digital space with all the horrors going on in Palestine at the moment. That hasn't changed, but I also feel the need to share a bit about what has been going on in Sodu Studio Land.

As the weather started warming up in October I decided I had had enough of dealing with weather extremes in my previous studio, which was in my garage (which is really a bricked in carport). In winter time my feet would go numb with cold and my hands would go purple, despite my best efforts of throwing and working with steaming warm water. In the summer it was so hot and dry under the tin roof that pieces would crack and split down the middle within 30 minutes of throwing, the moisture was getting sucked out of the clay so fast! In the height of summer I could only work at night, which was very frustrating...

So I finally pulled my finger out and converted a room of my house into a proper indoor studio! I pulled up the carpet, repainted and moved shelves around to create a very comfortable and functional space. I now have an air conditioned studio!! It's such a pleasure to work in there after so long in uncomfortable conditions. 🥰

Stay tuned for updates on the work I am making in this beautiful new space. 🙃

14/10/2023

I voted YES today because the First Nations People of Australia and the Torres Strait Islands deserve a seat at the table. They have been left out of our constition for far too long and The Voice to Parliment takes a step towards addressing that.

Vote "Yes"!

❤💛🖤

13/10/2023

Fancy an undersea adventure with your tea or coffee? 🤿🐠

I'm looking forward to getting back in the ocean for some snorkelling this summer! Earlier this year I saw my first wild octopus, which was super exciting. Would love to see some more nudibranches this season! 🙃🐙

12/10/2023

This vase reminds me of the 1990s Glow-worm dolls, although apparently it also "looks like a ceramic b**g" according to one of my friends. 😐

It's another example piece of how to make a vase using stacked pinch pots. What do you think? Would you use a vase like this? 🙃

11/10/2023

These art deco inspired tape patterns were some of my first forays into the glaze resist technique. It's a time-consuming process, but I love the almost hidden detail of having a bowl with a design on the convex underside.

What do you think? Should I make more of these? 🤔

09/10/2023

I'm continually experimenting with how illustrative or patterned design can compliment the form of a piece.

We're conditioned to think mugs with designs on them have a "front" and "back", which I presume comes from the constraints of mass-production.

When we go back to making things by hand, I think it's important to question why something is usually the way it is, and part of our job as makers is to interrogate whether it can be done differently.

This jellyfish mug has the focal point of the design on the 'side', which I hope encourages the user to examine it a bit closer.

What do you think? 🤔

08/10/2023

What is the most challenging skill to learn in ceramics? Is it throwing on the wheel? Centering? Throwing a cylinder?

Personally for me, it's figuring how how to get a clean stamp impression on the bottom of my pots without any cracks. 😅

My top tips would be:

- Make sure the opposite side of whichever part of the clay you're stamping is well supported to prevent caving in and slumping.

- Find the 'sweet spot' of the clay body you're using. For most stoneware clays I find the ideal leather hard trimming stage is actually too firm for stamping, so after the bum is all trimmed and cleaned up I place a piece of paper towel on the intended area and spray it with water, allowing it to gently soak up without causing so much absorption it causes cracking in the surrounding area.

- I also really like the look of stamps inlaid with glaze. After bisque firing, use a brush to fill the stamped area and then carefully wipe away the excess glaze. You might have to do this a few times depending on the stamp depth.

If you also stamp your work, what are your top tips? 🤔

07/10/2023

Would you believe this stacking small plate set is also made by pinch-potting? No slab rolling involved!

Pinch pots are the oldest form of pottery and I think it's easy to forget just how versatile they can be.

What should I make next?! 🤔

06/10/2023

Can you bear how cute this jar is?! 😍

I had a crack at making a lidded jar from a pinch pot. The lid and gallery don't meet all the way round (as you would expect) but it's actually pretty close!

How to we feel about animals as jar handles? 🙃

🐻🐻🐻

05/10/2023

There's a phrase I've seen pop up several times on social media in the last few years: "Rights are not pie."
It addresses the knee-jerk response some people have whenever another group who is different to them, by their race, gender, sexual orientation or religious belief, has the opportunity to gets rights that move them towards equality.

The idea that trans rights means less rights for woman, legalising gay marriage takes something away from heterosexual marriage, protection or even just acknowledgment of other beliefs takes away the rights of those who believe in Jesus or the Christian God. And of course the idea that recognising and representing First Peoples in any colonised country somehow takes away from those who are part of the 'white majority'.

The fundamental basis for this reaction is fear, but I think it also gets at something a bit darker. Historically the practise of western colonisation has been to take away the rights of indigenous people, stripping them of their land, access to resources, culture, language and tearing families apart. Our prosperity has come at the cost of the First Peoples of Australia and the Torres Strait. We like to tell ourselves that we got here purely through graft and ingenuity, but the reality is we came, conquered and all but obliterated the people who were here before.

I think the reason people think giving Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people a Voice and representation to parliment will take their own rights away is because that is what we, as a British/European colonial society have done since the start. We are afraid that other people will do to us what we have done to them.

Some people refuse to acknowledge this past and just want to brush it over. Or they are uncomfortable with the idea of addressing the inequality that Indigenous people still face in Australia. That to do so would require such a massive amount of financial reperations the whole country would be financially crippled.

I hope in 2023 we can be more evolved than that.

Giving other people rights does not take them away from anyone else. There is not a limited number of rights, or slices, to go around.

❤️💛🖤

Sodu Studio

02/03/2026

01/12/2023

30/11/2023

14/10/2023

13/10/2023

12/10/2023

11/10/2023

09/10/2023

08/10/2023

07/10/2023

06/10/2023

05/10/2023

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