Artist’s Statement
My work is a conceptional ceramic trilogy, reflecting on my Catholic upbringing in the ‘60’s.
I attended a rural convent staffed by Mercy nuns where prayers, reciting the catechism, singing hymns and learning the Latin Mass was the daily ritual.
‘The Bell’ was a constant reminder to pay attention ….. for prayers, in church, in class and going to and coming from the playground.
The heavy gritty texture of Raku clay with red iron oxide and the use of chains gives meaning to my work of a Catholic girl growing up in the ‘60’s.Biography
Mary Deutscher’s early life was spent living on cattle and grain properties on the Darling Downs. Flying Arts tutor, Gwyn Pigott was a great influence during those years providing lessons for rural folk.
Now retired in Toowoomba, Mary enjoys working from her garden studio, Deutscher Ceramics, Mary Street Mt Lofty. She is the creator of the ridiculously whimsical, the elegantly functional and roughly textured garden ware.
Raku clays feature in Mary’s garden designs; hand painted under-glazed surfaces with Sgraffito on mid fired clays highlight her work. Many of her pieces are displayed in her garden studio and retail in local high end homeware outlets.
Influences
The simplicity of form in Australian Ceramicist Gwyn Pigott’s work has had a huge influence in my work but more recently, American Paulus Berensohn, author ‘Finding One’s Way With Clay’ is also a part of my art philosophy.
Awards
2022 Craft Pottery Award
2023 Rural Art Development Fund - Toowoomba Creative Industries Summit
Exhibitions
2020 Table for Two - Darling Downs Potters Club
2021
2021 Table for Two - Darling Downs Potters Club
2023
2023 The Toowoomba Gallery - The Next Big Thing
2023
2023 Toowoomba Open Studio Art Trail
2024 Toowoomba Open Studio Art Trail
Showing all 3 artworks
Mary Deutscher
Catholic Education in the ‘60s
40 x 100 x 40 cm Buff Raku clay, red iron oxide, black underglaze, gloss glaze $300.00
Mary Deutscher
Catholic Education in the ‘60s
22 x 12 x 12 cm Buff Raku clay, red iron oxide, chain $85.00