Through a shared exhibition award, Canberra Potters Society aims to give encouragement and support to ceramics graduates by providing a focus during that important first year. For viewers, it’s a great opportunity to see how a graduates work might have developed, whether their graduation focus has been extended, refined or solidified, or whether they have branched out with new inspiration.

For Chris Johnston our land resonates with stories. Her ceramics reflect her response to both stories and place. “We tell stories to help us understand”, she says. “Pots are like stories and shaping them helps me speak.” The pieces in this exhibition reflect several themes: how the land was created, the land as our nurturer and the fragile earth.

Maree Whyte maintains a close relationship with the ANU. In April 2009 she completed a residency in Jindezhen, China representing the ANU. Her experiences in China, her keen interest in form and the use of traditional Chinese glazes has developed her work into a contemporary memento of her visit. The work incorporates qualities of form, line and colour.

Susan Bell describes clay as a very expressive medium offering a diverse choice of usage. The assemblage in this exhibition utilises the slip cast forms that she worked with in her last year at the ANU but in this new story they present a different spectacle. 'Night Gaze' explores the fascination of human curiosity, the idea of watching the watched.

Continuing our tradition of international award winners, this year sees exhibits from Brazil with Samira Jorges sculptural, organic forms of muted colours and many layers.