Some weeks ago I received an email from Elaine Monds of Alcheringa Tribal Arts Gallery in Victoria. She was suggesting that if I were to make some jugbirds that resembled the crazy tropical birds of Papua New Guinea they’d look just fine alongside the carved and painted wooden birds made by the indigenous people there. She is having a Christmas show and wondered if I could get some to her by early November. Hah! Again, people seem to think I have lashings of finished work sitting on the shelves of my studio!

I agreed to try. I told Elaine that I’d start on some new work and see how many I could get finished in time. As I explained in my previous blog, it has been a quiet and sad time here but my family insisted that making new work was the best use of my time. I found that designing, throwing, assembling and painting these six jugbirds and several others has been such a comforting way to pass the days while I waited for the phone to ring.

My biggest jugbird is a Papuan Hornbill. I threw four sections and when they were somewhat stiffened I formed them into the feet, body and head and used the fourth cylinder to create the bill, casque and handle. I think that stage of fabricating is the most satisfying for me, as you can tell in this photo.

When he was safely and uniformly firmed up but still leather hard, not bone dry, I painted him with my coloured slips and a little orange underglaze. After the bisque firing he was finished with my clear glaze. To use this silly creature as a functional jug you fill it via the large spout/beak. In PNG he is also called a ‘Kokomo’.

The largest of the other jugbirds is painted to resemble a ‘Flame Bowerbird’. What wonderful colours these tropical birds are! I am including a Googled image for each new bird so that you can see what the real bird is like.

A really distinctively coloured bird is the ‘Black-Capped Lory’, similar to the Lorikeets we saw in Australia. I may like this little fellow best!

The Yellow-Billed Kingfisher gave me an excuse to use the cheerful orange again.

And the Red-Collared Honeyeater is boldly black with a contrasting red neck.

The sixth bird to join the little flock for this show is actually a resident of South America, the Scarlet Macaw. But Elaine said she’d like to show him too!

When I have an invitation for the show I’ll post it here, but basically it will be at Alcheringa Tribal Arts, on Fort Street in Victoria during December. Do let me know if you manage to see the show as I may not get over there. I’m very lucky that a friend travelling to Victoria on Saturday delivered the box of pots for me. Thank-you Iain!