Jane Sawyer

Jane Sawyer is a ceramic artist based in Naarm/Melbourne whose practice explores the deep material intelligence of clay. With over 30 years of experience, her work investigates the intersection of form, memory, and movement, using clay’s natural fluidity and resistance as both subject and collaborator.

Her recent Collapse Series, developed during the stillness of COVID lockdowns and against the backdrop of climate anxiety, reflects a shift toward more expressive, gravity-led forms. Thrown pieces are deliberately weakened to the point of collapse, then reconstructed through hanging and natural deformation. The resulting forms are shaped not only by Sawyer’s hand but by gravity, time, and clay’s own “material memory.” Glazed surfaces are fluid and earthy, evoking the landscape and the kiln’s transformative fire.

Though a new direction, this work continues Sawyer’s enduring interest in gesture, impermanence, and the molecular history embedded in clay. Her installations often serve as subtle calls to awareness — of environmental change, of material legacy, and of touch as connection.

Sawyer is the founder and director of Slow Clay Centre, an education studio in Melbourne dedicated to rigorous, considered ceramics practice. She holds a Master of Fine Art by research from RMIT University and has exhibited widely in Australia and internationally. Her work is held in public and private collections, including Shepparton Art Museum, Bendigo Art Gallery, Geelong Gallery, and The Museum of International Ceramic Art in Denmark.

A respected mentor and advocate, Sawyer has served on the board of Craft Victoria and the World Craft Council – Australia. She is an elected member of the International Academy of Ceramics (Geneva) and maintains strong ties with Shussai-Gama in Japan, where she trained.