Camilla Wollaston
CERAMICIST AND STAINED GLASS ARTIST
BLACK HORSE STUDIO
Camilla, born in England, has lived in Australia since 1949. After a brief introduction to ceramics at the Chelsea Pottery in London in 1960, marriage and the raising of five children halted further endeavours until 1981. What began as a hobby has now developed into an almost full-time occupation operating out of a small studio in Rozelle, Sydney.
Horses and aspects of the medieval have been a passion with her since childhood. This love of form and antiquity is combined in her work, which includes decorative wall hangings, plaques and handcrafted horses. A particular interest, heavily influencing her work, is the approach of different cultures to the horse in art; whether it be the Chinese ÔTangÕ, the ornately harnessed horses depicted in Persian paintings of the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries, or Australian Polo ponies. No moulds are used in their production, each piece being individually modelled and fired to stoneware before final finishing.
In 1993 Camilla undertook a series of classes in stained glass and sometimes combines this beautiful medium in wall hangings and horses to achieve dramatic effects.
2005 saw a new direction in stylised hand-built unglazed figures with an emphasis on simplicity of style and form.
She has successfully exhibited in Sydney, the Canberra region, Grenfell, Moruya and the Southern Highlands.
She is presently concentrating on decorative horses and ceramic wall hangings.