If you've taken a class with us at the Takeawei studio before, you might remember Anabelle - our studio manager and ceramics tutor extraordinaire! Anabelle is known for her friendly and encouraging teaching style, as well as her expert knowledge of firing and bringing your work to life in our studio kilns. She specialises in teaching the beginners and 6 week wheel course, and will soon be adding a new hand building sculptural vase workshop to her repertoire. Drawing on her practice in fine arts ceramics, we can't wait to see the beautiful pieces that will come out of this workshop.
I am a ceramic artist based between Naarm and Wadawurrung Country- half my time is spent in Melbourne studying and working and the other half I'm down the coast, where I live and work for Takeawei. So I'm getting the best of both worlds at the moment!
I have always been creative but had a particular interest in making 3D sculptures. I had my first play with clay in high school and then went on to study a Bachelor of Fine Art at RMIT and majored in ceramic specialisation. Now I am back at RMIT studying a Master of Fine Art!
My work is sculptural and functional, I make art objects as well as small collections of bespoke tableware. My current focus for my Masters research is to expand my mixed-media practice by incorporating fabric, textiles, beads, cosmetics and embedded gems. Some artists who inspire me are Juz Kitson, Vittoria di Stefano and Fanny Ollas.
I teach the Beginners Wheel Classes, the 6 Week Wheel Course and soon we will be introducing a new hand-building workshop making sculptural vases. I am really excited for this workshop as it is my specialty. It is slow paced and relaxing, perfect for those who favour hand building over wheel throwing. The students have the freedom to make any form they want with the provided amount of clay and it results in totally unique and spectacular sculptural vases. I enjoy all the ways to make pottery and love teaching. It is so exciting to see students having fun and making a mess, trying something they wouldn't normally have access to. I think pottery has become so popular because we are all so accustomed to looking at and tapping a screen all day long, but playing with clay, squishing and squeezing with your hands is a grounding and tactile process. It is so exciting to create something special from a lump of earth, especially when you get to use it daily it becomes a ritualistic object for people that reminds them of the fun experience of learning pottery!
After participating in one of our classes, we often have people come back for more! Practice makes perfect so the more you get your hands in some clay and repeat the process of making, the easier it becomes. But my hot tip is to watch and read about pottery as much as you can. There is plenty of info out there, even TikTok is blowing up with pottery videos, and they are so satisfying to watch!
Anabelle's passion for ceramics and commitment to teaching shines through in every aspect of her work, and we're honoured to have her as a member of our team. If you'd like to see more of Anabelle's beautiful work or connect with her on social media, be sure to visit her website at www.anabellestonehouse.com and follow her on Instagram at @anabellestonehouse.
]]>What do you love about teaching the planter class? As with any class I facilitate I love the enthusiasm and curiosity of the students. I love the moment when something ‘clicks’ for them, that ‘aha’ moment. The planter class has a special element to it as students are able to achieve a lot of height with their piece compared to what they can achieve on the wheel in the beginning. It’s also incredibly meditative as the piece slowly comes together and the unique shape begins to appear. And of course the very end, once the piece has been fired and the moment a plant is potted into the planter, ready to be admired for years to come.
What’s your favourite plant? This tends to change all the time. Variegated Heartleaf Philodendron is fail safe and always looks nice, it can bring life to an empty corner when hung from the roof. My partners Mum hangs them around the shower which can leave you feeling as if you’re showering amongst trees, almost. I also love umbrella (Schefflera) plant at the moment too, especially as they grow tall they can look impressive.
What’s your best plant/ pottery tip? A drainage hole is essential. Make sure the drainage hole is about 3cm wide and you must account for shrinkage in the firings.
What’s your ideal weekend? Going away to a nice coastal Airbnb for the weekend. An addictive book in hand, with anyone who wants to come with me, my partner, family, or friends.
Cocktails, do you drink them? What’s your favourite? I’m not a big cocktail drinker, I tend to reach for a petnat or a chilled red in the warmer months and heavier reds the other half of the year. However, I don’t mind an espresso martini on the odd occasion for some excitement.
Catch Alicia imparting her handbuilding and wheelwork wisdom at our 4 Week Wheel Courses on Tuesday evenings and our Planter Making Class on Saturday mornings.
]]>Anabelle Stonehouse is a ceramic artist and has worked as a ceramics tutor since 2020. As the Takeawei studio manager Anabelle is also in charge of glazes, firing and generally all the behind the scenes work that gets your pieces table ready!
Anabelle enjoys teaching hand building and throwing techniques, sharing her experience working with refined forms and decorative embellishments. Anabelle's students love her warm and encouraging teaching style.
Anabelle studied at ceramics at RMIT, has participated in several shows in Geelong and Melbourne, her work is stocked at the Geelong Gallery and she is currently undertaking a Masters in Fine Art at RMIT.
If you have followed Takeawei for any amount of time you may have noticed us join the sale bandwagon recently and maybe been a little surprised?…it’s not something I take lightly or would normally do. I consider each piece a labour of love, handmade, limited in number and thankfully we have trouble keeping up with demand… but this coming year is a little different.
You can shop Good Sport online or of course instore at Takeawei, shop 5/232 Brunswick St. Fitzroy.
Due to the upcycled nature of her work each piece is unique, so if you love it don’t miss it!
Chela recently journeyed down the Great Ocean Road to Lorne to visit local potter Andrew Allen spending the afternoon raku firing a collection of pieces. 'There's nothing quite like seeing the process of what happens in the kiln firsthand. I'm still buzzing from the experience!' Chela says.
Raku firing is a process where work is removed from the kiln while red hot and subjected to reduction by being placed in closed containers of combustible materials. This blackens raw clay and causes crazing in the glaze surface. The results are organic, unpredictable and pure magic.
Come and join us on Sunday, November 11th for a day of raku firing at the Takeawei studio in Torquay under the guidance of Andrew Allen. Only 8 places available so book now or find out more about the workshop here.
All skill levels are welcome!
]]>Yay for Spring! We're nurturing our seedlings for the veggie patch and high-fiving over the new growth on the indoor plants. Chela has been feeling the positive vibrations and a rainbow of new planters are ready – sweet!
Check out the new glazes in our 12cm planter, designed to fit a 10cm nursery pot. It's perfect for a peace lily, boston fern and mother in law's tongue and is available for $98 or with a drainage hole and base at $150.
If you really want to treat yourself and jazz up the monstera, orchid or fiddle leaf fig in your collection, there's the 19cm planter – this a statement piece!
The $55 hanging planters will liven up your string of pearls in the bathroom or devil's ivy on the veranda. It's now available in a larger 12cm hanging planter size as well.
The small bowls are also great as a gift at $48 and perfect for the little plants on your windowsill.
Check out the full range of planters here.
A special thanks to Arizona Living in Jan Juc for allowing us to photograph in their store. If you live locally, drop by to see their Takeawei range.
Enjoy your gardening and the sunshine!
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We’re excited to open the studio this weekend for the Surf Coast Arts Trail. Pop in for a chat and check out the ceramics available to purchase by Takeawei and Peta Armstrong.
Come by early enough and you could have a chance to buy from a small selection of seconds too ;)
If you wish to buy, please bring cash as we're having trouble with the internet in this crazy wind.
You'll also be able to check out the space where you can join a class with Chela or Peta, in wheel throwing or hand-building.
Find us at:
Ashmore Arts, 55b Ashmore Road, Torquay
From:
Saturday and Sunday
10am-4pm
Check out the Surf Coast Arts Trail 2018 map for studios open from Torquay all the way down to Lorne.
You’ll also be able to visit the other studios at Ashmore Arts with artists who produce sculpture, steel, ceramics, design jewellery, animation, paintings, weaving and timber and concrete furniture interiors. The artists are: Mark Trinham, Glenn Romanis, Bombora Custom Furniture, Nathan Patterson, Jux Jewellery, Kathryn Junor, Bronwyn Razem, Natalie Martin, Rowena Martinich, Geoffrey Carran, Pete Cromer, Glen Hunwick, Metal Monkey Knives, Simply Forged, Form Concrete Artisans, Kathy Richardson, Chalisa Morrison, Lorraine Archibald, Harley Manifold, Teresa Lawrence, Betra Fraval, Mark Franklin, Adam Crins… you'll be busy!
There will also be food and coffee available to recharge before you head off to the next studio.
Have fun!
]]>Since the beginning of Takeawei our impact on the environment has been front of mind – clay is a finite source after all.
The beauty of being a small business is being part of every step of the process. From our clay being sourced from Keane’s, a family run business, through to packaging our ceramics in biodegradable bubblewrap, recycled box packaging and compostable peanuts for cushioning, we believe it's these small choices that matter.
The 'mystery glaze' is a combo of these glazes, plus many more. L to R: Shino White, Green Pools, Nightfall, the far right is the Mystery Glaze.
In many ceramics studios, as with any type of production, there is often waste, so at Takeawei we wanted to reduce our impact on the environment by reclaiming our waste clay and glaze run off. Living on the Surf Coast and being surfers who love the ocean, we want to help keep our waterways as unpolluted as possible.
For the Reclaim Collection, the clay is collected from pieces that haven’t worked on the wheel and remnants of pots broken before they’re fired. This clay is then pugmilled to take the air out of the clay and ready to use again.
After glazing a kiln load of pieces, Chela washes the utensils and tubs, collecting the leftover glaze in a bucket labelled 'mystery glaze'. Instead of this glaze going down the sink and into our waterways, it's kept for future use on the Reclaim Collection. The real mystery is not where the glaze will end up, but what colour the glaze will become as each bucket can have up to ten different glazes washed into it! This makes every batch in the Reclaim Collection unique. This time around, Chela chose not to sieve the glaze to remove any large particles and the results are beautiful spots of cobalt blue in a softer blue base.
Thankyou for supporting small scale ceramics production, your choices really do make a difference :)
Check out the Reclaim Collection here.
]]>Here's how it works:
1. Order online and enter LOCALS ONLY discount at checkout.
2. Gill our friendly Studio Manager will email you with a pick-up time.
3. Drop by during the available pick-up window to collect.
Gill works in the studio on Monday, Tuesday and Friday and collection time will be between 10.30am - 3.30pm.
Other times are not available due to favourable weather forecasts and surf reports!
If you're in the Surf Coast area and would like to take a closer look at Takeawei ceramics, check out our local stockists, Arizona Living in Jan Juc and Boom Gallery in Geelong.
]]>Living on the Surf Coast it’s impossible not to be influenced by the magical surroundings of the beaches and nearby Otways forests; Chela spends many a weekend exploring the coastal cliffs and trekking to waterfalls. These experiences carry through to creating ceramics in the studio, particularly with the new grip collection.
Chela has been experimenting with a reticulated glaze, often referred to as crawl glaze. The crawl is the result of the glaze receding away from the clay body. Chela’s aim has been to take this crawl effect and turn it into a functional glaze to produce beautiful and strong objects with a textured grip.
The result is the new collection of mugs and tumblers designed with a grip for nursing your freshly brewed tea or coffee. ‘When decorative elements are guided by the function of the object I find the results have an overwhelming beauty in their simplicity,’ she explains.
Shop the Grip Collection here.
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It's time to rug up for winter at Takeawei studios on the Surf Coast. We're paddling out to our favourite breaks to surf in our thickest wetsuits, all the while looking forward to warming up afterwards with a hearty bowl of soup at home in front of the fire.
Chela has made perfect soup sized bowls in her trademark pastel glazes to brighten up the grey days. Check out the new bowls here.
We enjoyed a cosy shoot in the studio with the heater turned up listening to the winter rain fall onto the tin roof. After the shoot wrapped, we sat together to enjoy Chela's homemade soups - yum.
Chela's favourite winter warmer:
Photos: Donna Nugent
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Made by Hand - Chela Edmunds from REDHED Productions on Vimeo.
]]>The original boob jewel box was created in 2015, just before Mother's Day, as a present for Chela's Mum.
Chela was making other closed form jewellery boxes, and as she finished a jewellery box, would carve the lid off. One day when she was closing the form on the wheel she looked down and noticed it had created a nipple shape.
Chela thought her mum would get a kick out of the boob form so glazed the top pink like a nipple. The intention was to give it as a Mother's Day present with a card saying 'thanks for all the milk, Mum', but after posting it on instagram someone wanted to buy it, so mum missed out.
This year Chela has created a special edition boob jewel box with an added bit of sparkle, just for her Mum.
Shop the original boob vases and jewellery boxes here.
]]>Drop into the Takeawei Studio Pop-Up Shop at Ashmore Arts on Saturday May 5th between 3pm and 6pm to buy something for Mum, or maybe just for yourself!
Some of the Surf Coast’s most-loved local artists are hosting a one day only pop-up shop. The artists will be showcasing ceramics, limited edition prints, greeting cards, keychains, pins, jewellery and homewares.
The artists are: Martinich & Carran, Natalie Martin, Regina Middleton, Peta Armstrong, Jux Jewellery, Pete Cromer and Kathryn Junor.
See you there!
55B Ashmore Road, Torquay
3pm to 6pm
As you drive in, park on the left then head down the stairs opposite to carpark to the Takeawei studio :)
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