A photo series with Muckware


It’s a warm autumn afternoon. The sun filters gentle light through Grace’s little clay world and I, finding myself surrounded by an atmosphere of quiet creativity, capture moments on my old film camera, the one that just keeps on giving. The passion for her craft is palpable as I watch her effortlessly mold mud into pieces of functional art. 


Grace Chaplin is the sole ceramicist of Muckware, and the first friend I made when I moved to the Northern Rivers at the wide-eyed age of nine. My parents colluded with the parents of a little girl sitting on a large rug at the annual rodeo. We were introduced, and the rest is history (as it is a sweet blur). Since that first meeting eighteen years ago, we have always lived just a few streets apart. We share many childhood moments of bicycle rides and young pockets stuffed to the brim with those sour TNTs. 

Grace has always been creating in some capacity, the daughter of two sole trader creatives and a child born in our shire—taking a corporate path was never a consideration. Grace’s dad, James, plays in a local rock and roll band called The Detectives—iconic. 










Japanese ceramics inspire this potter, an influence that is evident in the imitation of nature in her work, the minimalist discipline of her pieces, and her zen-like process. She emphasises, “I love being lost in the process, allowing muscle memory to take over and having hours of my day disappear in clay.”

Oil bottles, incense holders, candles, dog bowls, butter dishes, vases, mugs, and plates. A lighting range is also in various stages of design and production. Watch this space. 

The pieces feature a soothing repetition of patterns and earthy tones, celebrating the beauty of natural materials. Sourcing a dozen bags at a time of stoneware clay from Australian suppliers, she typically gravitates toward the darker brown, iron rich clay bodies. She quips, “mixing my own glazes enables a lot of autonomy over the colours I produce. I tend to mix up a bunch of samples and see which ones speak to me”.

The sun’s much lower now, the breeze cool, nature loud. Millie, Grace’s beloved pooch, impatiently waits for us out the front, while Grace wraps up her work day.






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