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Janet Mansfield
by Dr. Owen Rye |
Janet Mansfield
 Janet Mansfield’s achievements are
considerable and well chronicled: exhibitions, collections, awards, her work for
organisations, publishing, editing and writing add up to an immense contribution
to Australian ceramics, appropriately acknowledged by the Australia Council
Emeritus Award bestowed on her in 1990. This is a distinction awarded to few
Australian artists in any medium. The even greater honour of the award of the
Order of Australia in 1987 is recognition that she is valuable to the nation.
As a potter, Janet Mansfield works
in two genres, salt-glaze and anagama woodfired vessels. In salt-glaze she makes
in series, each vessel being slightly different to the next. The forms are
generous and unpretentious. Curves flow into one another reflecting both the
wheel throwing process in its most direct expression and also the personality of
the maker, with a temperament lacking in sharp edges. With a choice of several
kilns in which to fire, each vessel takes on a unique character of form and
surface.Usually, in publications, images of
her larger display vessels have been reproduced but I am drawn to her smaller
pots: the bowls, mugs, cups and plates meant for everyday use. The variations
allow a choice of pots which fit the hands perfectly and with distinctive
surface qualities that retain their appeal even after years of use. Janet’s
sociable and generous nature leads her to produce such wares for gatherings and
celebrations, adding a sense of discovery and distinctive delight to the
occasion.
Since 1988 when she built her
anagama kiln, she has been developing a different aesthetic resulting from this
type of firing. Compared with salt-glaze, these pots are different in form and
feeling but retain her characteristic apparent simplicity. Apparent, because
true simplicity or clarity is difficult to achieve. Her success is indicated by
the completeness and finality of the pots. To add more would be to diminish
them. This is the essence of simplicity achieved.Janet Mansfield’s diversity of
activities other than potting could be summarised as diplomacy. In the role of
the diplomat she is unequivocally the most important figure in Australian
ceramics, working as an agent for international exchange. She takes Australia to
the world primarily through her magazines, Ceramics: Art and Perception and
Ceramics TECHNICAL, the most internationalised ceramics journals of them all.
 She travels widely, taking part in international juries, symposia and workshops,
and is a President of the International Academy of Ceramics based in Geneva.
Her friendly personality facilitates worldwide contact with prominent ceramists,
many of whom are subsequently invited to Australia to participate in workshops
and conferences.
Within Australia she is in constant demand as a speaker and
judge of competitions. She has organised several large gatherings of local and
international ceramists at Morning View, the family property near Gulgong in
NSW. These gatherings have further expanded the network of contacts which have
led to the internationalisation and awareness of Australian ceramics.
Her
authorship of a series of books on Australian and international ceramics has
been enriched by her broad acceptance of a diversity of ceramic styles, an asset
which has made her a successful editor and publisher. In summary, she has
achieved prominence as a potter and also as a cultural ambassador for her
country.
Written By Dr.
Owen Rye, Head of Ceramics.
Monash University Gippsland Victoria. 1997.
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