When Mic Eales sits at the potter’s wheel, he forgets the world.

“When I throw, I switch off, it’s like a meditation,” Mic said.

In his vast tin shed studio overlooking a lagoon and green hills, Mic loses himself in his art.

Being back at the wheel is a joy after going through two spine operations.

Joy is important to him.

He asks those who attend his ceramic workshops – “‘what brings you joy?”

He runs a weekly Friday workshop where a group of six people meet, talk, create ceramics and share homemade sourdough bread at the tea-break.

Mic’s joy in art is shared with his wife Alison and daughter Elise who make use the studio to make their own ceramic projects.

This month, he will share his joyful space when people are invited to visit the Mallanganee studio as part of the Australian Ceramics Association open days across the country.

Mic was a potter in the 70s and 80s.

“Then I got into adventure-based therapy working with street kids in Queensland and NSW,” Mic said.

He studied sculpture at university and focused on the lived experience of suicide trauma.

Pottery called him back. He built a raku kiln and spends his days in the Little Creek Studio tucked at the back of the property.

Mic said it is a space where he can unwind.

“I feel at home here.”

Open studio on November 13-14 from 10am-4pm at Little Creek Studio at 7317 Bruxner Highway, Mallanganee.

View Mic’s work on Instagram @littlecreekstudio

This article appeared on indyNR.com on 8 November 2021.