October 7, 2025
Made from the earth, shared with community, by Hannah Surtees
Moving to the Blue Mountains gave me a true sense of what it means to make from the earth. That feeling came rushing back while drinking coffee from one of Simon Reece’s handmade cups, a beautiful, imperfect object created just metres away in his garden studio.
As I visited studios tucked into mountain gardens, I was welcomed with mugs of tea and stories of process. Each artist revealed how the landscape shapes their practice: from Sharron Mountain’s bold bush-toned vessels made with foraged clays, to Robert Linigen’s glazes transformed from the ash of invasive weeds to Linda Kemp’s sculptural ‘pods’ marked by native plants. Susie McMeekin fires her wood kiln just once a year, while Beau Cummins works in rhythm with the seasons, creating architectural vessels in small, fleeting runs.
Together, they show that in the Blue Mountains, ceramics is more than craft, it’s a way of living, shaped by land, generosity, and community.
For the full journey into Blue Mountains ceramics, see Hannah Surtees’ feature in MTNS MADE magazine.
Stockists of the MTNS MADE magazine: www.mtnsmade.com.au/magazine
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF NGURRA
The City of the Blue Mountains is located within the Ngurra (Country) of the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples. MTNS MADE recognises that Dharug and Gundungurra Traditional Owners have a continuous and deep connection to their Country and that this is of great cultural significance to Aboriginal people, both locally and in the region. For Dharug and Gundungurra People, Ngurra takes in everything within the physical, cultural and spiritual landscape – landforms, waters, air, trees, rocks, plants, animals, foods, medicines, minerals, stories and special places. It includes cultural practice, kinship, knowledge, songs, stories and art, as well as spiritual beings, and people: past, present and future. Blue Mountains City Council pays respect to Elders past and present while recognising the strength, capacity and resilience of past and present Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Blue Mountains region.
MTNS MADE is proudly delivered by Blue Mountains City Council