The Journal of Australian Ceramics

A Community Work-in-Progress since 1985 | author: lisa baier

[ community ]

 Last year I had the most wondrous experience as a community artist and felt compelled to share it with other mud enthusiasts. In April 2008, I joined a small team¹ of diverse and multi-skilled individuals to begin ‘work’ (euphemism for absolute pleasure) on a section of the Benalla Ceramic Mural. My initial contribution was for a period of two weeks; however I developed a personal addiction to the mural and continued my involvement till the end of the year!

The mural is located in the picturesque city of Benalla, Victoria, 167 km north-east of Melbourne, 9 km off the Hume Highway. Its magnificent terracotta form nestles in a gentle wavelike motion into the side of a hill on the foreshores of a beautiful lake opposite Benalla Art Gallery.

We started by slabbing up and over the cave chair substructure of brick and cement. Fastening bolts, with lengths of wire attached, were imbedded in the perpendicular foundations. The wire pierced the clay from behind and was then threaded through and twisted off to a flat piece of wood on the outer side of the slab, successfully supporting the vertical weight of the clay but also securing the integrity of the newly shaped form. We continuously misted the clay with water, draped it with damp cloths and covered it at night with plastic to ensure it did not dry out. The consistency of thickness was obtained by smoothing over the surface area with a variety of tools prior to fashioning the surface decoration.

Chris Thorne, a celebrated and local Indigenous painter, created a spirit design for the single cave chair, choosing a plain background of smooth unglazed terracotta tiles. These were a sharp and earthly contrast to the floating  spirit of white glazed terracotta tiles that rose from the back of the seat at head height to the towering ceiling above. In its simplicity, this cave chair presents a very spiritual and powerful image.

Central to the design of the double-seated cave chair is an aerial view of the mural (70 cm x 85 cm) in low relief, formulated by Judy Lorraine. An elaborate whimsical frame has been built up around this relief, which branches out into circular swirls with long elaborate licks.

On completion of the surface decoration, the cave chairs were lightly covered until the clay was leather hard. The terracotta was then cut into workable pieces, individually numbered and photographically documented before being carefully removed and transported to the pottery, at the aerodrome 5 km from the mural site. Each individual tile needed to be ‘prepared’, a time-consuming process that demanded the dexterous handling of the tiles, skilled precision work and a great deal of patience. This stage took several weeks as hundreds of tiles needed to be prepared and dried prior to firing.While work continued on site, the ceilings of the cave chairs were constructed. The same slab method was used as for the cave chairs, minus the fastening bolts, as we were now working on a flat, horizontal surface area at the pottery. Preparing these large slabs required quite a physical workout. Chris Thorne continued work on his transcending spirit image whilst Regina Laity and I were appointed to create the design above the double seater! We energetically threw ourselves into producing a highly textured intricate scene reflecting the flora and fauna of the lake – platypus, frogs, fish, water lilies and lily pads, birds and a long neck tortoise, all encircled with water. Every half an hour we changed sides so that our individual styles would blend harmoniously into the overall composition. The introduction of colour meant the slabs needed to be fired twice (bisque and glaze).

Six months later we were ready to assemble the cave chairs and ceilings at the pottery. Each design was laid out like one enormous jigsaw puzzle before each section was packed in boxes and transported back to the mural. On site the authenticity of each tile and area to be tiled had to be checked before it was adhered to the surface. As we were building on a vertical surface, each tile had to be individually `nursed’ with equalised pressure applied until the underlying cement had hardened. The lower tiles needed to be stabilised and able to support the increased weight from above. The tiling of the ceilings, whilst attempting to defy gravity, proved to be the most challenging aspect of the entire project. In addition, the lake motif posed a few problems when having to accommodate the shrinking and flaring of this more complicated design over a convex and concave surface foundation. Suffice to say, the tiling was a very slow process.

Just under one tonne of clay and eight months later it is amazingly gratifying to view what the team has accomplished. With this section of the Benalla Ceramic Mural now finished, I reflect on the interminable amount of time, effort, devotion and energy so far contributed to the mural’s development by top Australian potters (e.g. Ian Sprague, Fiona Murphy and Thancoupie), other artists, students and innumerable volunteers. The mural has been a work-in-progress since 1985 and claims to be “Australia’s largest community artwork”. I am extremely fortunate to have had such an enriching, satisfying and exhilarating experience working cohesively with others on such a large scale and noteworthy project.

My personal admiration extends to: David W Moore for his mentorship and encouragement; Trevor Fynmore for his companionship, on site Banjo Patterson recitations and infinite ceramic technical knowledge; Regina Laity for her female camaraderie and wonderful story telling capabilities; and Chris Thorne for his infamous black wisdom and terrific sense of humour. My sincere recognition goes to Damian Batten who provided me with both shelter and stability during an unanticipated extended period of time in Benalla and to my family for their unwavering support when I totally abandoned them to pursue this extraordinary opportunity.

1 David W Moore (Project Facilitator since the mural’s inception and video documentarian), Judy Lorraine (ceramic artist and architect, 1986 Artist in Residence with continued commitment to the development of the mural), Trevor Fynmore (trained potter), Regina Laity (member of the Benalla Art Gallery Board and Archival Manager, Benalla Ceramic Mural), Chris Thorne (prominent and local Indigenous painter); Lisa Baier (trained potter and exhibiting ceramic artist).
2 A musical component of the mural that can be played with a thong (flip-flop casual shoe). Each thongaphone has a six play aperture tuned to DAF BAB.
3 Trevor Fynmore and another potter, Bruce Heggie, threw 193 cylinders for 16 columns in three days using 2 tonnes of clay!
 

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