Anne Langridge work a strong presence in Canberra Potters' Society show

The annual exhibition by members of the Canberra Potters' Society is a keenly anticipated event. As well as being a showcase for the work of members, there are several awards to be won including the Doug Alexander Award, the Craft ACT Award (which provides for an exhibition of the winning artist's work in the Craft ACT Crucible showcase in 2015) and a new prize - the Jane Crick Memorial Award for hand-building in memory of the late potter and teacher Jane Crick.

In an exhibition of this kind there is no theme so the work is always going to be diverse. It covers a wide field of ceramic practice from the lively modelling of a life-sized puppy (Submissive Puppy) by Jackie Lallemand to a classic celadon glazed teapot by Chris Harford and all that happens in between.

Anne Langridge's large open stoneware vessel, the recipient of the Doug Alexander Award, is a strong presence among the pottery on display. It is a confident work – the heaviness of the stoneware form has been skilfully undercut by strongly accentuated ridges that spiral round its surface giving it a sculptural fluidity. The artist has rather modestly titled this major work Marbled Spiral Garden Vessel. It seems rather a pity to contemplate its interior filled with soil and the dynamics of its interior space being lost to view.

However, on reflection the marble-like inclusions of white clay in its surface and the baroque spiral movement of its curves could be a contemporary salute to the ubiquitous classic-in-style garden urn. Robyn Campbell's three large unglazed hand-built stoneware vessels also have a strong presence. Their small funnel-like lips adding a needed sense of dynamic energy to their unadorned tear-shaped forms.

Maryke Henderson's work is always of interest. Viewers will be familiar with her sets of small teapots with their attenuated sprouts. Her work Forest Memories in this exhibition (awarded The Australian Ceramics Merit Award) is a group of three stoneware forms based on tree trunks. The interplay between their forms is nicely judged so they seem naturally aligned. Their beautifully orchestrated play of textures (the resin-like texture on one of the trunks is quite remarkable) and their subtle colour markings caused by the soda vapour glazing come together to make a lyrical visual essay on the nature of trees.

Liz Crowe is the winner of the first Jane Crick Memorial Prize for her work Black Bean Pod - Forest Litter. Her other works in this series have been shown successfully at the Form Gallery in Queanbeyan and at Strathnairn Gallery earlier this year. Her large open seed pods are in stoneware and fired in a raku kiln. The results are beautifully marked ceramic surfaces that evoke expressively the litter of a forest floor with all its vegetation providing a natural canvas of texture and colour that the artist has so successfully and sensitively captured.

Mention here should also be made of Tanya McArthur's beautiful vessel called Fading Light. Its elongated and elegant form is beautifully balanced and is offset by potent dark markings across its surface which are lyrically suggestive of its poetic title.

In contrast to these works where the materiality of the clay and the process of firing is of major importance, there are several more whimsical offerings. Celia Lawrie 's Bird Bath with big bottomed ladies sitting on the edge of a shallow basin is fun and has lots of possibilities, but the rather nondescript dull brown of the bowl itself didn't do justice to the bright boldness of the figures. Suzanne Oakman's wall sculpture called Genetically Modified Sea Creature from a Surreal New World in porcelain is an attractive and complex structure made from delicate interlocking pieces of porcelain shaped like coral and sea plants. Her two bright coloured vases filled with an unstructured cloud of mesh wire and beads provide an equally lively companion piece.

There are not a lot of works concerned with social issues so Anneke Paijman's three small open ceramic forms called The Boats: a prayer for peace which, with its decal images (transfer prints) of the portrait heads of those who represent boat people, strikes an unexpected and thoughtful note.

The entries by five tertiary students are impressive. David Leake won the Australian Ceramics Association Tertiary Student Merit Award for his beautifully balanced soda-fired vessel. Falling, an installation by Jo Victoria, is the visual centrepiece of the exhibition and won the ActewAGL Tertiary Student Award. Falling is a delicately suspended waterfall of leaves and flowers. The artist has dipped geranium flowers and leaves in white slip to make the actual forms that fall gracefully into bowls. It is an innovative work that brings a lyrical and emotional element into the exhibition. I also liked Abbey Johnson's majestic seed pod in black-fired stoneware and Sue Hewat's charming small pot with its painted impression of the town of Wee Jasper.

Visitors to this exhibition can also make their own views known and the Keane Ceramics People's Choice Award will be made at the end of the exhibition.