Janet Mansfield (19 August 1934 – 4 February 2013) was an Australian potter known for her salt glazed works. She was also a publisher and author.

Early life and education

Mansfield was born in 1934 in Sydney, Australia. She trained at the

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts ...

, Sydney in 1964–65, and studied salt glazing in Japan.

Career

Mansfield moved with her family to

Gulgong Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West (New South Wales), Central West regions of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales. The town is situated within th ...

in 1977, establishing an anagama wood-fired kiln and producing salt-glazed ware using local clay. Mansfield held more than 35 solo exhibitions in Australia and internationally, including in Japan and New Zealand, and numerous group exhibitions in many countries. She established and ran the Ceramic Art Gallery in Paddington, Sydney. Mansfield was an editor of ''Pottery in Australia'' (now called ''Journal of Australian Ceramics'') from 1976 to 1989. She later founded her own magazines, first ''Ceramics: Art and Perception'' in 1990 and then ''Ceramics Technical in 1995.'' After passing these magazines on to Elaine Olafson Henry in 2008, she founded Mansfield Press, publishing a number of ceramics books. Mansfield also wrote a number of ceramics books, including ''Pottery'' (1986), ''A collector's guide to modern Australian ceramics'' (1988), ''Salt-glaze ceramics: an international perspective'' (1991), ''Contemporary ceramic art: in Australia and New Zealand'' (1995), ''Ceramics in the environment: an international review'' (2005). In addition, she edited a number of directories and guides for ceramicists. From 1981, Mansfield was a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, and was then president from 2006 to 2012. She judged for the

Portage Ceramic Awards The annual Portage Ceramic Awards is New Zealand's premier ceramics event. Established in 2001, the awards are funded by The Trusts Charitable Foundation and administered by Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery (formerly Lopdell House Gallery) ...

and the

Fletcher Challenge Fletcher Challenge was a multinational corporation from New Zealand. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Fletcher Holdings, Challenge Corporation and Tasman Pulp and Paper. It had holdings in construction, forestry, building, and energy, i ...

Ceramic Exhibition. Mansfield organised nine triennial international ceramic events in her home town of Gulgong, although the last of these, ClayPush, took place in April/May 2013, after her death. Master presenters at the events include Mike O'Donnell, Peter Lange, Royce McGlashen and Ross Mitchell-Anyon.

Awards and honours

Mansfield was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in 1987. Her work is represented in museum collections around the world, including the

Australian National Gallery The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, and museums in the United States, Hungary, Japan, Britain, New Zealand, Canada, Norway, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and China.

Death

Mansfield died on 4 February 2013 at

Mudgee Mudgee () is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gov ...

in New South Wales.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansfield, Janet Australian ceramicists Artists from Sydney 1934 births 2013 deaths Australian writers Australian publishers (people) Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Member of the International Academy of Ceramics International Academy of Ceramics