Ceramics & Glass Circle of Australia Inc.
Welcome to the Ceramics and Glass Circle of Australia, an organisation to promote the understanding of ceramics and glass. While we are based in Australia, we have members internationally.
The Ceramics and Glass Circle of Australia was established in 1984 when a group of like-minded individuals convened at Melbourne University with a view to establishing an association through which those interested in ceramics and glass could mix and expand their knowledge and enjoyment of the subjects. On 18 June 1984, 13 foundation members met and established the Circle.
A small and enthusiastic group, they met regularly and numbers gradually increased so that, by October 1985, the Circle had 25 members and a formal constitution and committee. Over the decades, the Circle has continued to expand and now has over 100 members and meets regularly at the Toorak Uniting Church hall.
The Circle focuses on scholarly and quality presentations, but without pretension, maintaining a warm, friendly and welcoming atmosphere. It is always interested in new and contemporary ceramics and glass, the activities of modern creatives, and to support the tastes of those interested in these arts.
Circle members enjoy a regular newsletter, monthly meetings with presentations by members, external and even international speakers, regular social occasions, such as the Spring and Autumn dinners, studio and gallery visits, an annual study weekend and much enthusiastic fellowship.
The Circle has conducted numerous exhibitions, including ‘Parasols & Pagodas: the influence of Chinese and Japanese porcelain on 18th century European ceramics’, ‘Radiant Reflections in Chinese Glass’, ‘The Japanese Aesthetic: three centuries of Japanese porcelain design and Western interpretation’, and the KenDon Exhibition of Australian Ceramics, to name but a few.
The success of the Circle is due to the support of the members who are always willing to bring their precious pieces to meetings and lend them for study weekends and exhibitions.
MEMBERSHIP
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LINKS
Find links on this page to international ceramic and glass groups.
2024 program
August - Leslie Stephan, an Adelaide based member, will speak to us on the psychology of the collector. He will explore what takes someone on the journey from a child with a small hobby to the adult who amasses a vast collection, with a focus on the collector’s inner psychosocial world. Leslie is a former Clinical Director of Mental Health and a consultant psychiatrist and has a life-long passion for European painting and decorative arts. He is a member of the French Porcelain Society and the Furniture History Society, and is a volunteer guide at the David Roche Museum.
September - Our annual three-speaker evening will, as usual, feature presentations by three Circle members. Elizabeth Golding will speak on ‘Orrefors Glass – frozen liquid’, Robert Baker will take us on the journey of ‘Kraak Porcelain and the Maritime Trade’ and Genine Wallinga will talk on ‘The Triumph of Amphitrite – the Meissen table-fountain, 1745-2014’.
October - Our speaker will be Colin Smith, an expert on the Boyd artistic dynasty, about whom he has published three books, Merric Boyd and Murrumbeena, Lucy Boyd Beck Life and Art, and Sunlight and Storm: The Life and Art of Penleigh Boyd. Colin will present on Lucy Boyd Beck and her husband Hatton Beck, whom she married in 1939, after which they set up a ceramics studio in Murrumbeena. Lucy spent much of her life as an artist, producing mainly painted ceramic tiles, but also working as a visual artist. Colin knew Lucy for over ten years and his talk will cover her life and art, including from a personal perspective, and will feature many images from across the decades
Merric Boyd and Doris Boyd's family and friends, Open Country, Murrumbeena. 2 January 1943 Source https://viewer.slv.vic.gov.au/?entity=IE1853340 Photographer; Albert Tucker
Meetings are held on the second Monday of each month starting at 7.30 pm