CREATIVE BY NATURE

Sally Curry always considered herself an artist.

But it wasn’t until the Sydneysider came to Tasmania for a holiday 26 years ago – and promptly decided to move here – that she flourished as a ceramicist.

“I came down to visit my sister and have a holiday with her, and I loved it,’’ recalls Curry, who returned to Sydney and quickly put plans in motion to relocate. “I lived in Hobart for a while but my family are all artists and my sister and my niece were living at Murdunna [in the state’s South East]. “And that’s how I was attracted to this spot.’’ Curry, aged in her 70s, has water views from her home studio, where she works every day.

“It’s very beautiful, very quiet, it’s full of birdsong and the changing seasons,’’ she says of her home, adding that all of those natural elements are reflected in her art. She enjoys daily swims during summer with her sister and niece – all three women live in homes next door to each other. And all three are artists, which means there’s always someone close by to share creative ideas with.

Her sister is painter Naomi Howard, while her niece – Naomi’s daughter – is ceramic artist Eve Howard.

“It’s something I’ve always done,’’ Curry says of making art. “It is something I did as a child but, really, my involvement really took off when I started working with clay after I came to live in Tasmania.’’

A friend introduced her to clay and she was hooked. “She put a ball of clay into my hands to see what would happen,’’ Curry recalls. “And I responded to using my sense of touch rather than my eyes … It became tactile rather than visual.

“The clay always suggests the form, that’s why I like working with clay, it has a life of its own.’’

Soon after, she started making ceramic women – each dreamlike creation telling a different story inspired by the elements of nature. Curry has since made hundreds of the women – which typically stand about 50cm tall – sold to art lovers around the world.

“I would never call them ladies – they’re women,’’ Curry says of her sculptures. “They’re all personifications of nature in various forms.’’ She says her sculptures, which feature in the Black + White exhibition now on at Handmark Gallery, were inspired by the “beautiful textures of the Great Barrier Reef and the threat of coral bleaching”. Curry says it’s an issue close to her heart – not only because she has visited the Great Barrier Reef but also because of her everyday proximity to the sea.

“From the window of my studio I look out to the Tasmanian coast, watching the changing sea, the land, the clouds and stars,’’ she says. “My figures have simplicity of form and an inner focus expressing a quality of quiet contemplation … they stand on the threshold of the not yet known, inviting you to find your own story.”