About Everyday Clay
Everyday Clay is a one-person-run, eco-conscious pottery studio in Healesville, owned and operated by ceramic artist Amanda Ng, known by the moniker Reishi.
Our studio uniquely upholds the age-old tradition of hand-building - a slow, intentional method of making that honours our hands, not machine, as the primary tool for creating something beautiful. The practice of hand-building wields the extraordinary power of placing ourselves in direct and unaided contact with clay, the breathing Earth itself, and it is here that we are moved into a gentler, more mindful rhythm of who we are in connection to the land that sustains us.
Our studio ethos is to create high-quality, functional ceramics that uplift and inspire life’s everyday moments. Our work explores emergent connections between touch, emotion, and memory, with the playful juxtaposition of earthy and vibrant tones defining our signature style. The handmade nature of our craft is woven into every step of the process, with each piece passing through our hands at least fifteen different times before reaching yours.
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Established in a small room within a share house back in 2018, Everyday Clay was founded on the vision to celebrate and showcase the artistry of hand-building techniques, at a time when wheel throwing was rapidly gaining in popularity and interest across social media platforms.
Our practice has since grown, expanding and creating impact in ways that we couldn’t have imagined when we first begun. Hand-building is our preferred methodology woven into all our designs. Some of our products may additionally incorporate slip casting techniques using basic moulds that we make ourselves, which has enabled us to sustainably grow our in-house production capacity without burning out.
We create pottery that invites you into a sense of wonder and dreaming with the earth, and that are durable enough to withstand the rigours of daily use.
Our practice is firmly founded on ethics and sustainability as a basis for making decisions. We create in small batches of no more than 15 to 20 ceramics at a time. We also reclaim leftover clay, safely process and recycle hazardous glaze waste, package with plant-based materials, and have been shipping carbon-neutral from day one.
But we don’t just create pottery, we share what we know and love about the ceramics world with businesses and communities. Dreaming big, we embrace our mission to make the art of pottery accessible to everyone, operating as a fully-equipped mobile studio ready to host workshops anywhere in Victoria.
Amanda Reishi
Whether through pottery or workshops, I am passionate about creating meaningful experiences that bring tactile connection and play to the mundane, the ordinary, and the everyday.
For me, shaping raw earth with my hands, rather than machine, is about freedom, flexibility, and slowing down. The extended contact with clay that hand-building offers grounds me, anchoring my experiences in the ever-shifting flow of the present moment.
As an Arts Therapist alongside this work, I value all forms of artistic expression - but if I had to choose one thing to bring to a desert island, it would always be clay and here’s why.
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There are many reasons why I am drawn to this pliable, stretchy, sometimes gritty and difficult to work with material. One that comes to mind is how clay has helped me work through my perfectionisim, hardened from years of training as a former competitive dancer. Pottery honours the Japanese philosophy, wabi-sabi, of finding beauty in imperfection and impermanence. Creating with clay lets my perfectionism slip away.
Clay also has my heart because it continues to humble me, every day. The slow pottery process of making, drying, surface decorating, firing, glazing, firing again, sanding, and polishing has taught me a great deal about patience and perseverance. I can’t rush the process, each stage of making takes time and moves at its own pace. Through this I am learning that slow is human, slow is productive, and slow is needed.
When it comes to firing clay, there is an inherent unpredictability built into the process. No potter on this planet can ever be sure how a piece will turn out, even if they have made it a thousand times before. My kiln has been a mentor in the art of trust, letting go, welcoming nature’s role, and learning from the unexpected.
My belief that pottery objects have a value far beyond their practical purpose is informed by my formal training in Psychology (Hons) and Creative Arts Therapy (Masters). As a registered Arts Therapist, I weave evidence-informed health benefits of ceramic making into my artistic and teaching practice in endless amounts. My workshops are carefully designed to cultivate mindful, embodied engagement with the handmade process so its therapeutic potential can be authentically felt, sensed, and explored. No limits, no doubts. At this intersection, I offer a fresh and unique take on ceramics – one that continually bridges the gap between therapy and fine arts practice.