Saturday December 13 and Sunday December 14 are Whiteman Creek Pottery’s annual Christmas workshop sale.

The year 2019 has been a difficult one for all those involved in the arts with galleries closing and subsequent reductions in income.

The large kiln built in 2002 was retired in 2019 as Geoff Crispin can no longer keep up with the physical demands required (as he gets older), to make clay and glazes, and produce the number of pots required to fill and to fire such a large kiln.

Geoff has built and fired a smaller kiln so he can continue his lifelong obsession with wood fired ceramics.

Geoff’s ceramic works have been collected by the public and private collections around Australia, and internationally.

2019 was marked with a solo exhibition in Sydney celebrating his 50 years in ceramics. 

Geoff has continued participating in a number of group shows in Sydney and Brisbane including, ‘Woodfired Ceramics’, and ‘The Teapot Show’.  In 2019-20 Lismore Regional Gallery produced ‘The Alchemists’ exhibition, looking at the people who have contributed to the development of ceramics on the North Coast over many years and Geoff was included in this historical review.

Geoff left Grafton for the “big smoke” in 1969 to attend the University of NSW, where he was introduced to ceramics by Ivan McMeekin. This led into wood fired ceramics made from mainly local materials upon his return to the Clarence Valley in 1979.  Concurrently with his making ceramics there have been a series of experiences around the world working with indigenous peoples, including work with Australian first nations peoples in several remote community locations and in the Clarence Valley.

His distinctive wood fired Whiteman Creek porcelain and stoneware shows interaction of the flame path on unglazed surfaces as well as blue and green celadon glazes.  Chun, copper red, ash and white glazes are combined with carving fluting and Scaffitto decoration. 

Geoff uses many local raw materials incorporated in his pots. They must be crushed, ground, sieved and mixed to make both clay bodies and glazes.

Pots will be available for sale on both days.

Signs will in place at several points to help direct people to the pottery at Whiteman Creek approximately 23kms northwest of Grafton on the way to Copmanhurst.

The studio will be open from 10am to 5 pm on both days with COVID safe practices in place.

Other times can be arranged by contacting Geoff by phone, text, or email

Enquires: Tel 02 66449685; Mob 0437 279 436.

Email: geoff.crispin@gmail.com