Ros Auld sculptural and functional pottery is informed by the dynamic forces, surface textures and subtle colours of the Australian landscape. The potter, based at Borenore near Orange, features in joint exhibition Overland with Tim Winters at Form Studio and Gallery. Auld specialises in slab-built, or thrown and manipulated, stoneware forms decorated with wood ash glazes and trailed and incised slips, coloured oxides and gold lustre. In Winters' paintings and prints, every gesture counts: less is more. Deft marks and shapes are said to suggest not only an expressive calligraphy, but also a seemingly effortless, spontaneous creation of implied space. For Winters, "everything is a journey – a passage full of joy and sadness, simplicity and complexity, design and creativity, light and darkness". Overland is on at Form Studio and Gallery, Queanbeyan until November 1.

Enjoy the silence where the light falls

The relationship between animal and man is of particular focus in Graeme Townsend's latest exhibition of paintings. Wildlife has been Townsend's continual inspiration, reflecting his love of the natural world and the visual treasures he finds. In Enjoy the silence at Beaver Galleries some works depict how we have harnessed animals over the years to do our bidding and others explore the mythology we associate with certain animals. Also opening at Beaver is a very different show from Canberra glass artist Ruth Oliphant. In Where the Light Falls she explores the interrelationships between place, perception and visual memory. Her new works observe how changing light throughout the day interacts with the built environment to mark the passage of time. The use of the window motif in her work is also representative of a metaphoric threshold between the inner self and the world around us. Both exhibitions are on at Beaver Galleries, Deakin from October 15 to November 3 and can also be viewed online at: beavergalleries.com.au.

Painting in Paris

Painting in Paris presents the culmination of work by two young emerging artists Kirrily Humphries and Yioryios on exchange at the Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Kirrily Humphries' small scale, finely detailed paintings and drawings respond to architectural space in Paris, examining the consumption, deterioration and destruction of space and objects over time. Yioryios' sculptural paintings are inspired by architectural patterns from buildings in Paris, creating work that embodies an innate sense of power, dynamism and speed. The exhibition is on at the Canberra Contemporary Art Space at Manuka from October 15 to 25.

Eclectic collection

Five artists present a rich variety of works, vibrant in colour and lush in texture, with a punch of Oriental spice in the latest show at Aarwun Gallery. Drawing on a medley of subject matter from the shanty towns of Shanghai, the Masquerade Balls of Venice and the humble cat, Eclectic celebrates the curious and sometimes surprising places in which we find beauty and divinity. The show features paintings and sculpture from Jim Van Geet, Michael Parker, Sandra Hendy, Tracey Creighton and Astrid Bruning and opens at Aarwun Gallery on Saturday October 17 from 2.00 pm until November 20.

Art with water views

The annual Sculpture by the Sea doesn't open in Sydney until October 22, but in the meantime Queanbeyan's own version is on until October 18. Thirty sculptures will be dotted along the banks of the Queanbeyan River and some even in the river itself for the second annual Queanbeyan Clearwater Sculpture Prize. Over the weekend art-lovers will have a chance to help create the city's latest public artwork. Queanbeyan artist Neil Dickinson's large platypus sculpture will be installed and Picton mosaic artist Freya Jobbins will lead free community mosaic workshops on site to complete the sculpture. The Clearwater sculpture winners will be announced during the Queanbeyan River Festival on Saturday October 17 and visitors will also have a chance to vote for their favourite.

Also over the border is Value Your Mind, an art exhibition for Mental Health Month. The exhibition of paintings, drawings, poems, prose and photography showcases the creativity and talents of people with a lived experience of mental illness. Like the riverside sculpture show, visitors can vote for their favourite artworks until October 21 with winners to be announced at the Q on Friday, October 23. The exhibition is on at the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre until October 24.

The design process

Ever looked at a piece of furniture and wondered how it was designed? Wonder no longer. The Gallery of Australian Design's latest exhibition Process shows the work behind emerging designer/maker Luke Batten's pieces. The finished products are revealed but the process underpinning their creation is also on display. From idea to production, audiences are invited to explore and reflect upon the development method unique to each product. Rather than just being a means to an end the hands-on exhibition is said to subtly suggest that the process is an art-form in its own right. Batten works with wood to craft unique objects investigating "material, structures and function". Process is on at the Gallery of Australian Design, Kingston until October 28.

Pop-up Cloth and Clay at Braddon

Hand-crafted local designs of a different kind will be on display from next Wednesday when pop-up shop Cloth and Clay opens in Braddon. The joint exhibition showcases hand-printed household textiles and wheel-thrown ceramic tableware from mother/daughter duo Lauraine and Jemima Parker. Jemima, an emerging artist and screen printer, says she is excited to collaborate with "one of her greatest creative influences" her mum for the range of bespoke homewares. She currently has work on show in Beijing and South Australia, and was recently exhibited in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne. Cloth and Clay is at Pod, in The Hamlet, Braddon from Wednesday October 21 to November 1.