Milton Moon AM (29 October 1926 - 6 September 2019) was an Australian

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...

. He studied in many countries, as a recipient of a Foundation

Winston Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

and also as a

Myer Foundation The Myer Foundation is a major Australian philanthropic organisation. History The Sidney Myer Charitable Trust was established by the will of Sidney Myer, who died in 1934, leaving a portion of his estate for the benefit of the community. Myer's ...

Geijutsu Fellow.

Early years

Milton Moon was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1926. After discharge from Navy Service in 1947 he lived first in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and then in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

until 1949, at which time he returned to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. He studied painting and drawing at the Central Technical College and then privately with Margaret Cilento from 1949 to 1951. He first became interested in pottery in 1950 and was taught wheel-throwing by Mervyn Feeney, a traditional potter living in Brisbane. He was also employed in broadcasting and later television from 1947 to 1962.

Career

In 1962 he became Senior Pottery Instructor with the Department of Technical Education, Brisbane. In 1965 Moon was awarded a Foundation Churchill Fellowship and studied in many countries during the following year. He represented Australia at the first World Craft Congress, Montreux,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, in 1966. In 1967-68, he was an art tutor at the Architecture Department,

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. In 1969 became Senior Lecturer, Head of Ceramics at the

South Australian School of Art The South Australian School of Art, originally the South Australian School of Design, is now part school the University of South Australia. it is part of UniSA Creative, which includes the disciplines of architecture and planning; art and desig ...

. In 1974, as a Myer Foundation Geijutsu Fellow, he lived and worked in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In 1975 he resigned from lecturing to work full-time at

Summertown, South Australia Summertown is a town in the Adelaide Hills region of South Australia. It adjoins Uraidla. At the , Summertown had a population of 676. Although technically ending along Greenhill Road directly at the Police House, further on is Summertown's E ...

in the Adelaide Hills where he and his wife established a workshop, home and gallery in a restored 1850s stone mill. Twenty years later, in 1995, he relocated to

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Moon served as a member of the Australia-Japan Foundation from 1976 to 1981. He was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AM) in the

1984 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in suppl ...

. In 1990 Moon was awarded Life Membership of the

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

n Crafts Council and, in 1992, he was a recipient of an Advance Australia Foundation Award. In 1991 he was accorded a retrospective of his work, covering a period of thirty-five years, at the Art Gallery of South Australia. In 1993 was a recipient of an Australian Artists Creative Fellowship, for a five-year period from 1994 to 1998. In 2006 he was conferred an honorary doctorate (DUniv) from the

University of South Australia The University of South Australia is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along North Terrace are ...

. "In this, my 'ninetieth year,' over sixty of which I have been a potter, I remain concerned, if a little obsessed, with the challenge of making pots, which although belonging to a ceramic tradition of some eight thousand years or more, are undeniably and uniquely Australian. With all my changes of expression this has remained constant."MILTON MOON CV, http://www.miltonmoon.com/CV.html, January 9, 2018

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon, Milton 1926 births 2019 deaths Australian potters Members of the Order of Australia Artists from Melbourne