Reflective Clay
Fran Romano
11 November 2026
Day + Time |
Location | Craft + Design Canberra, 180 London Circuit, Canberra, ACT, 2601
Entry | General Public Ticket $TBC | Members $TBC | Bookings Essential
Access | template, template, template
Reflective Clay is an invitation to stop. In a world that moves quickly and feels increasingly full, taking time to rest the mind is a radical act of self-care and a quietly defiant act of dissent.
In this reflective and hands on workshop led by ceramicist Fran Romano, you will begin with a guided meditative exercise while handling clay. You will then shape a small hollow vessel, placing a private thought or wish inside before sealing it closed. From there you are free to continue sculpting, texturing and paddling your piece with focus and intent.
Works will remain unfired and can be taken home to dry naturally. When you are ready to let your piece go, it can be place outdoors to gradually return to earth, a final and quiet act of dissent.
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WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING
Use simple pinch pot techniques to shape a small hollow clay vessel, placing a private thought or wish inside before sealing it closed. You will then continue to sculpt, texture and paddle your piece with focus and intent, guided by a meditative and unhurried approach to making.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO BRING
All materials will be provided.
THIS WORKSHOP IS BEST SUITED FOR
Anyone looking for a moment of stillness and creative reflection. No prior experience with clay or ceramics is required.
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Fran Romano works primarily with the ceramic medium to explore themes of decay, loss, longing, nostalgia and the passage of Time. She works intuitively, building a sense of history through surface layering. Also using found and handmade objects to create mixed media installations. Her highly textured surfaces with blackened interiors ask to be investigate more closely. Offering space for contemplation, her works explore interiors both physical and metaphorical. A graduate of the Australian National University School of Art and Design (2013), Fran’s focus on project-driven making and her background as a social worker inform her series of experiential and wellbeing focussed Reflective Clay workshops.
In 2023 Fran was awarded a Highly Commended in the ART EDIT Self-Represented Artist Award and featured in that magazine. She has been a finalist in the North Queensland Ceramic Arts Award (2024) and the Goulburn Art Award (2022). In 2019, she was awarded first place for 3D art in the Foot Square – Small Pieces Competition in Brisbane.
SEE ARTIST WEBSITE HERE
Images | Reflective Clay Workshop | Photo by Adytum