Clay Talk Ceramic Centre

⏳ JUNE 15. LESS THAN 3 WEEKS. LAST PASSES REMAINING.

🔥 FESTIVAL OF FIRE & CLAY 2026 🔥
15–21 June | Montsalvat Art Centre, Eltham VIC

One week. 100 delegates. And a Thursday that will change how you think about your practice.

🏛️ ANNA MAAS — THURSDAY 18 JUNE
One session only: THE ART OF CURATING

If you've ever wondered how beautiful ceramics find their audience — this is the room to be in.

Anna Maas is one of Australia's most respected voices in contemporary ceramics. As Director of Skepsi Gallery since 2000, she has spent over 30 years championing Australian ceramic artists — presenting 190+ major exhibitions, solo shows, workshops and studio visits, and keeping ceramics firmly in the public eye.

Valuer. Consultant. Judge. Guest curator. Speaker. And someone who genuinely loves this art form with everything she has.

In this one-off presentation, Anna shares decades of skill, vision, and hard-won knowledge on how to sell, promote, and position beautiful ceramics across Australia. The kind of insider perspective you simply cannot Google.

For every maker who wants their work seen, collected, and valued — do not miss this.

🎟️ GRAB YOUR SPOT — 100 DELEGATES MAX
→ Full Week: $675 | Day Pass: $200 | Student: $480

June 15 is right around the corner. Book now. 🔥

🔗 Link in bio | montsalvat.com.au/program/fire-clay/

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⏳ JUNE 15. LESS THAN 3 WEEKS. LAST PASSES REMAINING.

🔥 FESTIVAL OF FIRE & CLAY 2026 🔥
15–21 June | Montsalvat Art Centre, Eltham VIC

One week. 100 delegates. And a Friday you will never forget.

🌀 DEBORAH HALPERN — FRIDAY 19 JUNE
Morning presentation + hands-on sculpture workshop in Clay Talk

You know her work. You've probably walked past it, stopped, and smiled without even knowing why.

Deborah Halpern is the creator of some of Melbourne's most beloved public sculptures — spontaneous, alive, and utterly her own. Her creatures carry echoes of Gaudí, Picasso, and Niki de Saint Phalle, yet land somewhere entirely Halpernesque — full of wit, warmth, and deep artistic intelligence.

Sculptor. Painter. Potter. Glass blower. Printmaker. One of Australia's true multi-disciplinary originals.

And Deb doesn't just bring the art. She brings the story behind the life.

💡 PRESENTATION: MAKING YOUR LIVING AS AN ARTIST

One of the most important conversations in ceramics — and who better to have it than someone who has built an extraordinary career entirely on her own terms?

How do you turn passion into a sustainable practice? Price your work? Build an audience? Actually pay the bills — without losing the joy of making?

Honest. Practical. Inspiring. Essential.

Then she gets her hands dirty with you in a workshop on her iconic sculptural forms. What a day.

🎟️ GRAB YOUR SPOT — 100 DELEGATES MAX
→ Full Week: $675 | Day Pass: $200 | Student: $480

June 15 is right around the corner. Book now. 🔥

🔗 Link in bio | montsalvat.com.au/program/fire-clay/

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⏳ JUNE 15 IS DAYS AWAY. ARE YOU IN?

🔥 FESTIVAL OF FIRE & CLAY 2026 🔥
15–21 June | Montsalvat Art Centre, Eltham VIC
A few passes remain — don't let this one slip.

✨ LEARN GLAZES FROM AUSTRALIA'S GLAZE MASTER — GREG DALY

If you've ever wanted to understand glaze at the deepest level, this is your moment.

Greg Daly is one of Australia's most celebrated and internationally respected ceramic artists — a true specialist in rich, complex glaze effects. His credentials speak for themselves:

📖 Author of 3 books on glazes
🏆 36 national & international awards
🏛️ Work held in 80 galleries & museums worldwide, including the National Gallery of Australia and the V&A London
📚 Featured in 24 international publications
🎨 100 solo exhibitions and counting

And he's bringing all of that to ONE exclusive workshop during the festival:

🔥 GLAZE WORKSHOP WITH GREG DALY
→ Tuesday 17 June — workshop in The White Cottage starting 10am
→ Wednesday 18 June — Results discussion & critique after firing the test pieces overnight!

Two days. A lifetime of knowledge. This does not come around often.

🎟️ PASSES — STRICTLY LIMITED TO 100 DELEGATES
• Full Week: $675
• Day Pass: $200
• Student Concession: $480 (T&Cs apply)

June 15 is right around the corner. Book now.

🔗 Link in bio | montsalvat.com.au/program/fire-clay/

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🔥 FESTIVAL OF FIRE & CLAY DELEGATES — THIS IS FOR YOU 🔥

⏰ LUNCH PRE-ORDERS CLOSE 8 JUNE. THAT’S SOON.

Don’t lose a single minute of the festival hunting for food. Pre-order your lunch NOW and stay in the room where it’s all happening.

🥖 Wraps • Baguettes • Sliders • GF & Veg options
☕ $30 all in — includes your choice of coffee, tea or cold drink + piece of fruit.

Get the caffeine in and keep going. 🔥

⚠️ MONDAY 15 & TUESDAY 16 JUNE — READ THIS CAREFULLY
The Meeting Pool Café does NOT normally open on Mondays or Tuesdays. We are making a special exception for Festival of Fire & Clay — but these two days it is coffees, pastries and PRE-ORDERED lunchboxes only. No hot menu. No walk-ins. If you haven’t pre-ordered, you’re on your own for lunch and long walk into town!

Think about it — Eltham is 10 minutes away. That’s 20+ minutes out of your day. Plus parking. Plus queuing. While Fire & Clay keeps rolling without you. Hard no.

From Wednesday 17 June the full café menu is back on — but the programme is full-on and it gets busy fast. Pre-order for EVERY day you’re here. Don’t miss a thing.

🔴 ORDERS CLOSE SUNDAY 8 JUNE. NOT AVAILABLE ON THE DAY. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Order now via WeTeachMe link for Festival of Fire and Clay > Boo Now > Select Dates & Times > select single days and scroll down to add-onn lunch boxes.

Do it today!

⏳ JUNE 15 IS COMING FAST. ARE YOU IN? ⏳

🔥 FESTIVAL OF FIRE & CLAY 2026 🔥
15–21 June | Montsalvat Art Centre, Eltham VIC
TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE — but not for long.

Seven days of wood-fired ceramics, deep craft, and community at one of Australia's most iconic arts estates. 100 delegates. That's it.

🌟 FEATURED INTERNATIONAL ARTIST: GEORGE METROPOULOS McCAULEY
All the way from Montana, USA — and worth every air mile.

Potter. Sculptor. Filmmaker. Storyteller. George is a one-of-a-kind force in ceramics — fingerprint florals, narrative sculpture, ritual objects, and his legendary Wood Fire/Redneck Majolica process. A pioneer of low-fire wood firing, cultural bridge-builder, and creator of the beloved House of Clay Wednesday Night Video Series. We genuinely cannot wait to have him here.

⚠️ PASSES — STRICTLY LIMITED TO 100 DELEGATES
• Full Week: $675
• Day Pass: $200
• Student Concession: $480 (T&Cs apply)

Don't be the one watching from the sidelines on June 15. Grab your pass now.

🔗 Link in bio | montsalvat.com.au/program/fire-clay/

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🏺 INTRODUCING: THE DELEGATES SHOW 🏺

One of our favourite parts of the Festival of Fire & Clay? YOU.

Every delegate — week pass or day pass — is invited to bring 3–4 pieces to display and sell inside The Wood Workshop. This is your chance to share your work with a room full of passionate ceramic makers, collectors, and curious eyes.

Here's how it works:
✦ Bring 3–4 pieces per person
✦ Display & sell from inside The Wood Workshop
✦ Sales are managed by you — no commission, no middleman. Your price is your price.
✦ Sold a piece? Brilliant. Swap it out for another.
✦ The space will be looked after by a volunteer attendee throughout the week
✦ Bump-in happens AFTER you register at The Barn Gallery on Monday June 15
✦ Bump-out: Sunday 21 June from 4pm

Day pass attendees — you're very welcome to bring your pieces along too. The more the merrier.

This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase your work, connect with fellow makers, and maybe offset a little of the cost of coming down for this incredible week.

Bring something you're proud of. Make it fun. 🔥

📍 Montsalvat Art Centre, Eltham VIC | 15–21 June 2026
🔗 Book via link in bio | montsalvat.com.au/program/fire-clay/

🔥 THE KILNS ARE CALLING 🔥

FOFAC is almost here — and a few Week Passes & Day Passes are still up for grabs. Don't sleep on this.

✦ FESTIVAL OF FIRE & CLAY 2026 ✦
MONTSALVAT ART CENTRE, ELTHAM
15 – 21 JUNE 2026

Seven days of wood-fired ceramics, deep craft, and community — set inside one of Australia's most storied arts estates.

🌟 FEATURED GUEST ARTIST: JOHN DALY - THURSDAY JUNE 18 ONLY!
Ceramic artist & geologist from Cowra. Raised in a family of potters, John bridges science and studio life — bringing mineral intelligence, glaze mastery, and hands-on curiosity to everything he touches. We're honoured to have him.

https://johndalyceramics.com/

🎟️ DELEGATE PASSES (strictly limited to 100)
• Full Week Pass — $675 p/p
• Day Pass — $200 p/p
• Student Concession — $480 (T&Cs apply)

📍 Montsalvat, 7 Hillcrest Ave, Eltham VIC
🔗 Book via link in bio or montsalvat.com.au/program/fire-clay/

Programme details are being added regularly — keep checking the website for updates.

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🔥 MONTSALVAT: FESTIVAL OF FIRE & CLAY 2026 🔥 IS ALMOST HERE!

Get ready for an immersive, seven-day intensive celebration of wood-fired and multi-disciplinary ceramics in beautiful & historical Montsalvat.

WHEN: 15–21 June
Veronica Taylor Tea Ceremony Workshop: Wednesday June 17 only
WHERE: Montsalvat Art Centre, 7 Hillcrest Ave, Eltham, Victoria

Guest Featured Artist - Veronica Taylor
"I’m a Kamberri/Canberra-based ceramic artist. My work draws on my local landscape: the gentle contours of the Brindabella ranges, the night sky over Canberra, and the boats nestled in the Lake Burley Griffin shoreline.I came to Canberra - and to ceramics - after a lifetime of living and working in Asia and the U.S. as a scholar and policy advisor on Japan and on legal and regulatory reform in Asia. My artistic journey includes decades of practising Japanese Tea and being designated a Tea Master in the Urasenke tradition. I designed and built a Japanese-inspired contemporary Tea room (‘Fushiki-an’), where I offer Tea experiences and curate art works related to Tea. My tea practice influences my work as a potter. I focus on the feeling a vessel creates when it moves from my hand to the hands of the person receiving it.I love wood firing - the raw and very physical collaboration with local environment and weather. My textured surfaces recall the marks left by human hands and tools on Australia’s landscape".

https://www.veronicataylor.com.au/about-2

🎟️ DELEGATE PASSES
Capacity is strictly limited to 100 delegates.
$675/person for Full-week pass
$200/person for Day Passes
$480/student for Student Concession (check details in listing for T's & C's on this)

WHERE TO BOOK?
Go to profile link above
Or go to https://montsalvat.com.au/program/fire-clay/

🔗 STAY UPDATED
We are currently finalising the finer details of the programme. Information will be added and edited regularly, so please check our website often for the latest updates.

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