The Kanimbla Clay Studio

When Helen Hay and her partner Jimmy decided to “really start living life”, they left the city behind and made the move to the idyllic Kanimbla Valley. This in turn led to the establishment of the ‘Kanimbla Clay’ studio.

Originally from the historic village of Piddington in the UK, Helen is no stranger to small communities. In the Kanimbla, she shares the landscape with several other local artists and with the rest of the neighbours; they meet up every second month for a sunset happy hour and a catch up beneath the escarpment walls. Life in Australia seems to suit Helen, who was thrilled to tell me all about her first lyre bird sighting, last week at Blackheath’s Evans Lookout.

As an enthusiastic foodie with a flourishing vegetable garden, Helen loves to cook what she has grown. “At the moment, I’ve been making spicy broad bean fritters with lemon mint yoghurt. We have had a bumper crop of broad beans this year and I have never really known what to do with them until I came across this recipe. It’s a Jamie Oliver recipe and so very tasty!” Working in the garden helps Helen unwind after busy weekends at Sydney’s markets. Her chooks Daisy, Gonzo, Flo and Mofo, patrol the garden, laying lovely brown speckled eggs and keeping the resident snake Ted in check.

At home and in the studio, Helen is kept company by her two rescue dogs, Spud and Zack. Often the trio are entertained by a mobs of up to forty kangaroos who leisurely hop across the valley, “they feel quite happy here, there are three ‘roos with their joeys who seem to have a burst of energy after feeding”. Apart from the ‘roos, time in the studio passes uninterrupted, a whole day often passes by with only one car driving past. When Helen’s mother visits, she gets very excited if she sees a car pass. Life here is thoughtful and tranquil, “I like to sit down at the huge old boulder on the North end of the property that looks down and across the valley to the river. It’s the one place here that really gives me a little touch of vertigo, but helps me put things into perspective”.

Recently, I had the pleasure of chatting with Helen in her studio, about Kanimbla Clay and the life that she has decided to live.

Tell us about the set up of Kanimbla Clay?

Kanimbla Clay is quite small, just me in my workshop designing, making and firing. I was lucky enough to inherit a huge colour bond shed when we bought the property, I started off using just the back corner and as the business has grown, so has the area I use – three-quarters now – with my partner fighting to hold onto his side!

I have always been painting, drawing, creating as far back as I can remember. I first found my hands in clay around the age of  five, at Brownies I think. I made a model of my dog, it never got fired but my mum still has it. I took the art option at high school and just fell in love with clay. I’ve always been a tactile person so it seemed like a natural direction to take. After high school I went onto Art College to study, graduating with a BTEC Nat diploma in Art & Design, which then took me onto uni where I gained my HND in Ceramics and Hot Glass.

What inspires your creative direction?

The natural world. I am probably going to sound very hippy but I only get truly inspired when I’m around trees. I lived in the city for six years and found it hard to get motivated; since living out here the ideas just seem to flow.

What are the most satisfying aspects of your work?

Working for myself, being able to make a living from something that I love, following my dream and doing it all in an amazing part of the world.

What is next on your horizon?

There’s an exhibition being discussed at the moment, myself and a friend of mine who is a painter, we’re planning to hold it in the new year. That’s really exciting as it will give me a chance for some large scale work and to be more experimental with shape, surface and glazes. For Kanimbla Clay, hopefully the New Year will bring another kiln, a website and I will be making all the lovely new designs for home ware’s that I have stored up in my sketch book over the last few months!

Who is exciting you at the moment?

Mrs Peterson Pottery! It’s been really exciting to see her developing her ideas and watch her business flourish. It’s been amazing to have another potter up here who is on the same wave length, and who has been a tremendous support. We both started our businesses around the same time, so its been great  to have someone who knows what I’m going through. And another beautiful & creative soul, Lisa Furno. She is a contemporary jeweller and makes really beautiful pieces from items that she’s found. She has just produced a group of limited addition necklaces made from the dress that her mum wore on her honeymoon, they are just gorgeous. Her previous project involved creating pieces from the hard plastic packing tape. She has a real talent for turning something mundane into a item of gorgeous wearable art.

How did you end up living in the Kanimbla Valley?

It’s kind of a long story, a chain of events that started in 2002 by way of meeting some great friends in a great pub in Surry Hills, which then led us to Kanimbla in 2007.

What do you love about the Kanimbla Valley life?

Peace, birdsong, views out to the escarpment, sunsets, the sound of thunder hitting the escarpment and rolling around the valley, walking down to my workshop as the sunrises past ‘roos with joeys peeking out of the pouch,  and campfires under amazing shooting star shows. I feel very lucky to be a part of the community down here. Everyone knows each other and people here don’t think twice about helping you out, it’s wonderful.

Do you have a favourite mountains snack?

When I dropped off an order to Zuri in Leura, I decided to stop into The Garage for some food. I ordered Bush Lamb meatball calzone, it was soo tasty, so at the moment that’s a favourite.

If I’m in Kanimbla, I love picking the pea pods and strawberries to eat from my veggie garden.

Drinking chai with vanilla soy or homemade pizza with a good bottle of red.

Best Mountains spot for a treasure hunt?

The Victory Theatre in Blackheath.

I have several but the one that stands out for me is ‘The God of Small Things’ written by Arundhati Roy.

Please tell us about your ideal weekend?

My ideal weekend would be spent with my partner Jimmy and my dogs. A lie in, which never happens!; a bush walk somewhere new; food, gardening and then glass of red on my boulder watching the sunset with homemade pizza. Sunday morning with a big cup of Chai in my hammock listening to my records, reading a book or the papers.

 Kanimbla Clay is avalible at Zuri, 83 Railway Pde Leura, or online @ Blue Caravan

Words by FREEDOM WILSON   Images by ANN NIDDRIE

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