Shannon Garson reflects on the childhood that inspired a love of the night sky that she captures in her moon jars.

(A message to the reader.)

There is a story in my family about my Dad. He loved his bike and used to ride like the wind, chasing the cloud shadows over the flat Bundaberg cane fields.  I love the image of my Dad as a child with no other thought than to catch those clouds.  He passed his love of meteorology, astronomy and clouds on to his children, and the sky has been my constant companion throughout life, a source of wonder, solace and beauty.

This exhibition draws together patterns created through bird migration, the cloud studies of John Constable, star maps, and nephology —the science of clouds —to create a body of work that combines finely thrown porcelain forms with drawings that sweep across the three-dimensional surfaces. ”Skyways” is a play on the word “flyway”, a flight path used by large numbers of birds while migrating between their breeding grounds and their overwintering quarters.

I make my pots by throwing them on the wheel. Throwing is a traditional method of making that is used in industry to make multiple, identical shapes very quickly. I use drawing to abstract the landscape and composition, mark making and colour to express moments of time. This combination of traditional methods of making and contemporary approaches to drawing creates a conversation between material, skill and abstraction. With each pot, I try to bring balance between the form and the drawing.

Skyways Exhibition at the B Block Gallery at the University of Southern Queensland. Artist Shannon Garson. Ceramics pieces with landscapes. Other subject matters.

Skyways is composed of two bodies of work that look at the sky from different perspectives.  The first group is 14 spherical vessels that reference the shape of the Korean Moon Jar.  Each vessel is displayed on a single, high plinth and spot lit; this has the effect of drawing the viewer through the exhibition as they orbit the pots, following the line of the drawings and composition. Moon jars have a long history in Korean culture. They are typically pure white and made from porcelain in two hemispheres.  They embody Confucian ideals of purity, modesty and simplicity.  I cannot capture the true Korean spirit of the moon jar, but I hope that the homage to this wonderful vessel joins the long tradition of ceramics, moving around the globe, distributing and gathering meaning as pots touch each new culture and traditional forms, materials and ways of making evolve. My moon-shaped vessels function like the pages of a diary, capturing the ephemeral passing of particular days in the drawings.  I will never be able to make those same pots again.

The trees dissolved in the mist, and the call of the Spangled Drongos pealed in the air.

My moon-shaped vessels capture early mornings, swimming in the Obi Creek, during the wet summer of 2025. The trees dissolved in the mist, and the call of the Spangled Drongos pealed in the air.  This was the last summer I was a full-time mother; my youngest daughter left home for university in another city in the autumn. It is a strange opposition in the life of a potter as the feelings and moments you experience and long to hold are transformed in the kiln to become vitrified, rocklike and undergo a change.  The invisible becomes visible and, in its capture and permanence, becomes its own distinct thing, echoing impressions and feelings, but not an exact translation.  The drawings are also inspired by Constable’s cloud studies, 100’s of en plein air paintings made in the summer and autumn of 1861 and 1862 on Hampstead Heath.  Constable’s cloud studies reveal his fascination with the newly discovered science of meteorology and are so accurate that they are used today by meteorologists to study historical weather patterns.

Shannon Garson, 2025, Constellations (29 pieces) Thrown porcelain, underglaze, glaze, terra sigilata, glaze stain Approx 4 cm x 8 cm x 8 cm

Thirty tiny porcelain bowls were exhibited on a long, mirrored table to form a composition called “Constellations”.  I wanted it to capture all the glimpses of the Milky Way you have had, glancing at the sky as you open the front door, sitting outside under the stars looking up, waking in the early morning and staring at the stars through your bedroom window, the first, strange glimpse of the stars when you travel far from home and the familiar rush of beauty as your home stars are above when you return, a kaleidoscope of starlight that fits in your palm.

…a kaleidoscope of starlight that fits in your palm

The tiny bowls are made to contain the expansive (but tiny!) drawings of constellations and the night sky.  I love the idea of being able to hold something so large as the bowl of the sky, stretching from horizon to horizon in your hand. When I was little, we lived in a farmhouse in the country. The night sky wheeled above us inky and full of stars. The Milky Way was so bright it drifted across the dark dome of the sky like a scarf made of light. One time, I thought I saw a UFO and spent the night awake in fear that aliens would come and get us and take over our brains (trauma from a single episode of Dr Who), it was the 80s. The aliens didn’t stop me from loving the stars.

About Shannon Garson

Shannon Garson is an Australian ceramic artist, writer, and curator with a 20-year studio practice encompassing exhibitions, commissions, and arts advocacy. Working primarily with Australian porcelain, her practice combines finely thrown vessels and intricate drawings to explore the relationship between human activity and the marks, patterns, and rhythms found in nature. Shannon’s work often focuses on marginal ecosystems, creating pieces inspired by tidal zones, endangered habitats, and native flora and fauna. She holds a Master’s degree in Ceramics, is a Churchill Fellow, and a recipient of the Gold Coast International Ceramic Award. In addition to exhibiting and publishing nationally and internationally, Shannon is regularly invited to speak at conferences and lead workshops. She also runs Creative Voyages, immersive small group art tours that offer participants the chance to experience art, making, and connection in deeply creative settings. Visit www.shannongarsonporcelain.com.au.

Tags

ceramics | G40 | moon | Queensland | stars