“I’ve always enjoyed spaces and how they can make people feel… ceramic objects can do that on a smaller scale.”
Like most artists, it was curiosity that drew Melody Brunton to ceramics.
As a young university student, Melody decided to take the leap and try a pottery class out of mere curiosity. Little did she know, this class would be the catalyst to a fulfilling career as an artist and a ceramicist.
It was this first pottery class that Melody was able to understand the fundamentals of ceramics. She was hooked ever since.
“The sensation of clay when you’ve not touched it before on a wheel is a really interesting one. The process of just sitting down, taking that time to just focus on what’s right in front of you. I think you just kind of lose sense of time and it’s just you and the wheel for that period.”
This class led her to completing a pottery program alongside her university course.
A few years later, a relative took her to Mashiko, a province in Japan dedicated entirely to ceramics. It was this trip that was pivotal in confirming Melody’s love for the art.
The trip to Japan exposed Melody to different techniques and styles of pottery, allowing Melody to gain influences from both Western and East Asian culture.
These influences however began in childhood. From yearly visits to Japan, going to Japanese school and through speaking the language at home with family, Melody’s ceramics have always been a direct representation of her identity as a half-Australian and half-Japanese woman.
Soon after discovering her love for pottery, Melody took her art to a range of studios and honed in on her newfound skills.
It was when she discovered a warehouse studio based in Sydney’s Inner West and purchased her first wheel that Melody became completely immersed creatively and further developed as an artist.
“Having a designed space where you can show up and do whatever your practice was. For me it was showing up at the wheel and repeating basic things and just figuring out if I angle my hand this way or if it works better another way, or if I can control the clay a little bit more… everyday it was little tweaks that attributed to my growth.”
The studio environment also allowed Melody to be exposed to other artists, from other ceramicists to illustrators and textile designers.
“Everyone had their own artistic practice. But being able to see what they did and maybe some of their colourscapes or what their examining subconsciously going in, you find yourself being influenced.”
Today, Melody owns and operates Emi Ceramics, a studio based in Sydney’s south west, creating unique pieces and teaching the art of pottery and ceramics to others.
From homewares to jewelry, Emi Ceramics celebrates the amalgamation and harmony between Melody’s cultural roots, the physical elements produced by human hands and the natural resources of the land of which these pieces are created.
The process of ceramic-making starts off with the right tools and ingredients.
Melody stresses the importance of clay and resource origins as a key part of her creations.
“I think it’s a good thing to know (and understand) because resources are a natural occurring thing and you’ve got to be mindful of where it comes from.”
Once clay is sourced, the clay is then suitably weighed and wedged – a process that removes air bubbles and prepares the clay for use on the wheel.
Once the clay is ready, the pieces are then “thrown” repeatedly at the wheel.
“There’s something methodic and cathartic about sitting there and knowing you’re getting better with each go.”
The shapes are then dried overnight followed by refinement the next day, before being put on the kiln, a type of oven furnace, to start the process of biscuit-firing to remove any moisture and solidify the piece ready for glazing.
At this point, the pieces will be glazed and fired, but in between that, glazes are also created and depending on the look, texture and finish, experimenting and exploring comes into play.
Understanding the science and chemistry is another key part of the process that Melody embraces.
“I like to delve into the science behind it and what I can manipulate to get a certain finish.”
The theme of sustainability is also carried through in Melody’s pieces.
“We are in a period of time where we are recognising things are finite and we’ve got to try and do our part. There are things we can use like egg shells – you can crush that up and use as a whiting substitute. Just seeing how maybe I can incorporate some of these things into my practice (is important to me).”
Finding the balance between accessing materials and respecting the land on which we are on is also important to Melody, having had conversations with local land councils on what can and cannot be done.
Having site-specific creations is another element Melody strives for in her work where possible – this could mean using fireplace ash from her local community or creating clay pots for a friend based on the land of which she lives.
Four years into her practice, Melody began offering lessons and sharing her knowledge to others, young and old.
“It’s funny because I’ve taught children pottery on the wheel and they’ve got a resilience and tenacity with taking things as it comes, whereas I think as adults, we want to plan and sometimes you’ve just got to let that go.”
For Melody, the attraction to ceramic-making was simple – she liked the impact of creating something through her hands that could change an atmosphere.
Melody highlights ceramics is uniquely one of the few mediums that directly connects the artist with the medium. With just the movement of one’s hands, you can imprint your being onto a piece.
“It’s your hands with the clay and every impression you make on the clay, it’s your being that’s put it on there. Every piece of ceramics is going to have a different kind of impression because of the hands that made it, so I think that’s the beauty of it.”
But the importance of ceramics, Melody believes, is understated. There is so much that can be learnt about life and how the natural world works through the art of ceramics.
“There are so many life lessons you can learn. You have to just work with the clay – you can’t be too forceful or it’s not going to work out, or if you’re not putting enough energy into it, it’s not going to yield so it’s kind of a balancing act… It teaches you patience, working together and just appreciate the elements because it’s ground mixed with water and used with fire so it’s a nice harmony.”
Melody attributes the following to her growth; curiosity, exploration and learnings.
“There’s always a curiosity that drives me and this wanting to explore thing a little bit deeper maybe than society or convention would have you explore.”
This curiosity has allowed Melody to continue to explore and push boundaries outside the confines of traditional ceramic-making. Right now, she’s researching about food waste like banana skins and how you can incorporate such ingredients onto pieces because of the potassium.
“It’s just about seeing how those ingredients come together and create a specific expression of those ingredients.”
For the last few years, Melody has been exploring creating teapots and experimenting with various glazes.
Through trial and error, Melody has looked at the functional elements of a teapot from how it pours, how the handle feels and how it brews tea.
Melody refers to a row of teapots sitting in her studio where the glaze placement hindered the pouring function, thus not working out. A learning which she notes gave her the knowledge to improve for next time.
The ceremonial and ritualistic nature of teapots is what attracted Melody to teapots, once again drawing back to East Asian culture and referencing inspiration from Chinese and Japanese tea ceremonies.
“I’ve always liked that idea of being able to share experiences through daily rituals and that’s what drew me to teapots.”
Four years into her practice, Melody began offering lessons and sharing her knowledge to others, young and old.
“It’s funny because I’ve taught children pottery on the wheel and they’ve got a resilience and tenacity with taking things as it comes, whereas I think as adults, we want to plan and sometimes you’ve just got to let that go.”
For Melody, the attraction to ceramic-making was simple – she liked the impact of creating something through her hands that could change an atmosphere.
Melody highlights ceramics is uniquely one of the few mediums that directly connects the artist with the medium. With just the movement of one’s hands, you can imprint your being onto a piece.
“It’s your hands with the clay and every impression you make on the clay, it’s your being that’s put it on there. Every piece of ceramics is going to have a different kind of impression because of the hands that made it, so I think that’s the beauty of it.”
But the importance of ceramics, Melody believes, is understated. There is so much that can be learnt about life and how the natural world works through the art of ceramics.
“There are so many life lessons you can learn. You have to just work with the clay – you can’t be too forceful or it’s not going to work out, or if you’re not putting enough energy into it, it’s not going to yield so it’s kind of a balancing act… It teaches you patience, working together and just appreciate the elements because it’s ground mixed with water and used with fire so it’s a nice harmony.”
Melody attributes the following to her growth; curiosity, exploration and learnings.
“There’s always a curiosity that drives me and this wanting to explore thing a little bit deeper maybe than society or convention would have you explore.”
This curiosity has allowed Melody to continue to explore and push boundaries outside the confines of traditional ceramic-making. Right now, she’s researching about food waste like banana skins and how you can incorporate such ingredients onto pieces because of the potassium.
“It’s just about seeing how those ingredients come together and create a specific expression of those ingredients.”
For the last few years, Melody has been exploring creating teapots and experimenting with various glazes.
Through trial and error, Melody has looked at the functional elements of a teapot from how it pours, how the handle feels and how it brews tea.
Melody refers to a row of teapots sitting in her studio where the glaze placement hindered the pouring function, thus not working out. A learning which she notes gave her the knowledge to improve for next time.
The ceremonial and ritualistic nature of teapots is what attracted Melody to teapots, once again drawing back to East Asian culture and referencing inspiration from Chinese and Japanese tea ceremonies.
“I’ve always liked that idea of being able to share experiences through daily rituals and that’s what drew me to teapots.”
Melody understands that the beauty in ceramics is in its ability to outlast us and hopes people can take away positive memories and experiences with her pieces.
She hopes to leave a mark through her creations, physically and metaphorically.
“Ceramics lasts forever – a lot of our understanding of civilisation has come from ceramics and they survived. If I’m making something with ceramics, it could outlive me so I want to make something that’s worthwhile.”
“There are so many memories associated with ceramics. I hope people can feel the connection and all the steps in the process. They might not see all of that but I feel like that energy is imbued in whatever you make, so yeah I think that comes with a lot of art.”
Melody hopes to continue making ceramics and delving into more sculptural pieces, while continuing to both teach and learn from other potters.
“My plan is to just keep doing what I’m doing, but also explore and not lose that curiosity.”
“I tell people I was never meant to be doing this. It was definitely a happy accident. It was an accident that I kind of fell into it and just kept at it and kept going. I’m still here so it was a good thing that happened.”
To learn more about Melody Brunton and her ceramics, watch our episode here or follow Melody on Instagram @emi.ceramics.
