Powering On!

'One foot in front of the other. Keep swimming. Slowly, Slowly' is my motto.

Sometimes I feel that I need to move faster in order to keep up with the pace of life. Perhaps it a sign of old age. I am determined not to be seduced by the pressures of Social Media to perform in any way other than just in a way that is good for me. It is so easy to think that everyone is succeeding and producing better work or more interesting work. My focus for this year and a reminder I will keep telling my inner self is that I work because I love to have my hands in clay not to prove myself or to promote myself but simply because it is good for my soul to be creative.

I had several pretty good firings last Winter but I continue to learn more every time I fire. I do hope this is the case to the rest of my life. I love the whole process so much, including the failures and the learning.

There are so many tasks to complete before I can actually light the fire. Wood firing is a big commitment. Usually wood firers have a team that work together to get the jobs done over a couple of days prior to starting the fire. But I fire on my own. I have to confess to being a bit of an anarchist in that way and I always seem do things my own way whether it is following a food recipe, building a kiln or making and firing pots etc. Firing on my own means I need to pace myself. As a solo operation each job needs to be tackled one at a time and one day at a time.

Shelves and props need to be ground to be ready for prep with shelf wash. Fresh new buckets of glaze are mixed. Pots are made and bisque fired. Props and pot wadding is made, formed into small balls sized between pea, marble and ping pong ball in size depending on the particular place it is being used. Every pots bottom and prop top must be adorned with wadding to be sure they will not stick to the shelves due to all the ash travelling through the kiln. The ash forms a glaze on all the surfaces that are exposed to the flames. It lands on and work which then glazes and adds to glazed surfaces. The work can be lost if the ash has stuck firmly to the shelf and the shelves are also in danger of being damaged in the same way.

Every job in the lead up to firing is important for a successful firing. So I go about it gently, thoughtfully and with growing anticipation of sitting by the kiln warming my pots.

The chimney has always been a bit of a disappointment as it is short of the designed height. I got a bricky to do the top part from above the damper as I am an old gal and the recommendation was that a bricky would do it quickly and perfectly straight.....well this bricky didn't.... and he didn't even put the scaffolding together properly. So he refused to go as high as the specifications. This has always been a concern as the kiln has to struggle to the top temps and we have been blaming the chimney height. So it is being rebuilt as I write this blog.

Above photo is firing last winter

New chimney brick work done...36 courses higher!

New bracing being constructed

A new little gallery has emerged replacing an old unusable garden shed!

We have had lots of renovations going on in 2025 and now still continuing in 2026.

This little gallery space has been made at the bottom of our garden (see photo above), The Li'l Gallery. It is a rebuild of a derelict old garden shed. It is such an exciting addition to the pottery studio!

Making it a place that finished work can be viewed without me trying to dig out boxes hidden on shelves in the house. A place to grow my business and celebrate the produce from my kilns.

Over the last 30 years I have really only made work for our family exhibitions https://sadhanapeterson.com.au/Exhibitions~37 which my three siblings and I have been having in the Southern Highlands at the BDAS gallery. It has been quite enough for me to have these exhibitions with near sell out shows and then allowing a couple of years to make new work and rebuild stock before the next.

With the loss of my dear brother Chris in 2024 these Donaldson extravaganzas will have to come to an end. Our last exhibition as 4 siblings will happen in October 2026 and it will feature Chris's work as a retrospective. Chris booked the gallery before he became unwell and he had work framed and printed in anticipation. It will be a humdinger.

I now have to consider how I show my work into the future. A small amount can be found at 'Butter Cafe and Shop' and 'Loaf Gallery' both situated in Wentworth Falls here in the Blue Mountains.

My plan is also to be able to open my 'Li'l Gallery' by appointment and also have an annual Open Studio weekend. The first of which happened in 2025 with The Australian Ceramic Association Open Studio weekend on 8th and 9th November. https://members.australianceramics.com/eventdetails/31288/australian-ceramics-open-studios

It was a huge success with about 150 people visiting over the weekend and I can now use the proceeds to rebuild my kilns chimney and buy wood for future firings.

We have had our leaky roof repaired and extended over an existing deck. It doubled our family living space and made the deck so much more useful in the summer and the winter. Family members come and go and then return, stay and leave like shifting tides. We love that our home is a place that family can take refuge while also being a place of choice for festive occasions.

I feel so fortunate to be able to work and live quietly and peacefully here on this land of the Aboriginal Dharug, Gundungurra, Wanaruah, Wiradjuri, Darkinjung and Tharawal Nations. It is peaceful and full of creative inspiration when so much of the world is struggling for peace.

I will never take it for granted.

Other news is that I was interviewed as a guest on https://thepotterscast.com/about/

The interview was aired towards the end of 2025 it is episode 1168.

Thank you so much to Paul Blais for asking me to be a guest.

Here is the direct link to my interview.

https://ThePottersCast.com/1168

There are lots of great interviews on this pod cast have a listen.