In 1990 pottery teacher Naomi Sharp loaded up her car with clay and glazes and visited artists in the outstations surrounding Hermannsburg community. The teacher taught simple techniques focusing on the shape and form of the pots using pinch pot techniques. Her students were interested Arrernte women and men. Interest grew so much that a dedicated space was found and brought to life the beginnings of the Potters’ art centre in Hermannsburg.
Today, a small devoted group of potters meet regularly to work each day, share ideas, go bush and get inspired by country, sport and music – all the influences in their modern lives. Making pots together has a natural fit with cultural and social factors seen in a traditional indigenous community. Working together reflects a shared way of life, kinship rules are still upheld and group based craft production fits with a local understanding as being the domain of women. While men are interested in pottery locally, Hermannsburg Potters remains an all-female organisation, both artists and Directors. (Research from ‘Hermannsburg Potters – Aranda Artists of Central Australia’ by Jennifer Isaacs, 1999, Craftsman House)
