I am so honoured and thrilled to be able to share my interview with Gerry Wedd here!

Gerry is an internationally acclaimed artist. He has won numerous major prizes for his ceramics, and is represented in many private and public collections, including the Australian National Gallery in Canberra, the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, and the personal collection of H.G.Nelson. He spent around 15 years designing work for Mambo too. (If you’re not Australian, and/or you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last 28 years, you really MUST check those guys and their very nice shorts.)

He was also 5 times South Australian State Surfing Champion in the 1970s. That’s impressive! Is it relevant? Well of course. Keep reading.

 

 

 

First, some basics – Gerry was born in 1957 and grew up at Port Noarlunga in South Australia. He studied jewellery making, painting, drawing and ceramics in which he has a Masters degree. In 1991 he began designing for Mambo Graphics – it was a beautiful  relationship which continued until 2006. He has worked in consultation with a number of community groups to produce graphics and public art works, and he continues to exhibit work both nationally and internationally.

 

So what’s inside Gerry’s head? He is surprisingly unassuming for someone who has excelled at such an amazingly diverse range of pursuits – graphics, surfer, ceramicist, and jeweller.

 

st. kilda thongs

 

 

There is doubt. Despite the years of international acclaim for his craft, he still suffers from “constant doubt about the general worth of his activity”. When this happens though, he says he overcomes it by forcing himself to work –  “sitting in the studio throwing, decorating and firing useful objects”, or else spends time in contemplation, “seizing upon those moments where thoughts, ideas, notions seem to be running through my head without being forced or contrived”.

There is also joy. For him, one of the best things in his life of craft is “meeting strangers who tell me they have been using my cups with pleasure for every day for the past 15 years”. (I love how that connection between maker and user works both ways!)

 

 

 

 

And there is sharp wit in that head too – even a cursory glance reveals ‘grater’ teapots and panelvans on willow-ware plates. Take the time to investigate further and you will be rewarded with fabulous snippets of surfing culture, curious dogs, and sharp criticisms of government policies.

Surfing appears responsible for much of his life – his creative output seems to have coalesced when he started producing work for iconic surfwear company Mambo. It also forms a core theme in his overall body of work – references to surf culture are everywhere, from his trademark ceramic thongs, to plates, images and stories of surfing legends. He told me he has never really done anything else that wasn’t related to drawing and making,  except surfing.

 

 

 

 

When he’s not surfing, he makes. He described his studio space as open to the elements, which gives it a beautiful light. “It moves between functional and chaotic and ordered depending on how many projects are on the go” he said, but he thinks it’s “probably toooo small” (well, I’m pretty sure most makers would say the same – seriously, who wouldn’t like a larger workspace..?)

 

 

And the best thing about the place he lives in?

“The sea.”

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You can find more about Gerry on his blog, WeddWould.