“Sea Garden” - Ceramics Exhibition: In the Adelaide City region of South Australia

Early morning in the ceramics studio at The Jam Factory in Adelaide and Lincoln Kirby-Bell, one of South Australia’s best known potters is hard at work making what’s called ‘production ware’ - pottery that is quick and easy to make and helps pays the bills!

But when he gets the chance, Lincoln immerses himself in the underwater world of his imagination. The blues and greens of the sea dominate his exhibition work, some of which can be seen on display at the Bay Discovery Centre at Glenelg.

The intricate pieces take days to make because they consist of arrays of fish, kelp beds, shells and coral. It's not surprising Lincoln is fascinated with the ocean's depths. A son of a farmer, he spent much of his time on the shores of Lacapede Bay at Kingston in the southeast of SA, or wandering the coves and beaches of Little Dip Conservation Park. Lincoln explains:

“Growing up on the coast had a big influence on my work. I think surrounded by a coastal environment and spending long hot summers swimming off the pier, snorkeling and beachcombing for things that had been washed up from below the ocean or falling off ships as they were passing by.”

Lincoln's first brush with ceramics began as a lad growing up on the farm. After a day of digging holes for fence posts Lincoln's dad returned home with lumps of clay. From clay farm animals - made on the kitchen table - Lincoln's methods have certainly progressed.

The firing process has moved up a degree from his mother's kitchen oven.

Ceramics have certainly opened many doors for Lincoln Kirby-Bell. Recently he traveled to Central America to work as a volunteer with two hundred and fifty kids at an orphanage in the Guatemalan jungle. The sales from his latest exhibition will fund another trip down the Rio Dulce where the kids are now learning Lincoln's craft by making their own ceramic masks:

“Oh they loved it. They'd never ever worked with clay before; they'd never worked with anything three-dimensional really. It was an incredible experience. In twenty years of travelling I've never really done anything quite like it really.

Lincoln Kirby-Bell's Sea Garden exhibition is on at the Bay Discovery Centre until the end of May. Admission is free. For more info please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

“Sea Garden” - ceramics by Lincoln Kirby-Bell
Bay Discovery Centre
Mezzanine Gallery
Moseley Square, Glenelg