Local ceramicist says times are tough for the arts industry

Perth Now

30-04-2025

Ceramicist Robbie Kerr has hailed the City of Melville for driving a community event that enables artists to keep 100 per cent of their profits amid the cost of living crisis.
Melville Open Studios, which began in 2017, returns this weekend and allows the public to step inside working spaces of artists and purchase one-of-a-kind pieces directly from the makers themselves.
More than 110 are opening their studios and another 20 are inviting customers into their homes, more than twice as many as last year.
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'The great benefit of the open studios is all proceeds go to the artist, all sales directly to the artist and commission isn't taken from galleries or shops or anything,' Kerr said.
'I've certainly been feeling the cost-of-living pinch of late.
'Just how much everything is costing and also a slight dipping sales (as) people don't have that extra cash to be spending on things, so it has made it tough, but events like this are great.
'It's so fantastic that Melville has funded a lot of this to help artists keep making beautiful art.'
The 2024 event generated $75,000 in direct sales for artists and hopes are high for this year's program to bring in a record-breaking amount of earnings.
'I had such a great success at last year's open studios that I couldn't miss this one,' Kerr said.
'The value of this event for artists cannot be overstated. The ability to engage with visitors and sell work without gallery commissions is an incredible opportunity.'
Kerr and his pottery can be found at 30B Hope Road, Palmyra with painter Kylee Larsen this Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm.
The 35-year-old ceramicist only discovered his passion for pottery after completing a degree in architecture and working as a project manager.
'I grew up with both parents into pottery, they have a studio at home, so I learnt from a very early stage in my life about the processes but then I wanted to do my own thing,' he said.
'One day I ventured back into the studio and started working with clay and got totally hooked by it.
'It took up all of my free time, I was just practising and practising until I stepped away from my corporate job and went full-time into teaching pottery and working in the clay space.
'The passion for the craft to something that I can't switch off now.'
Kerr now also teaches in the ceramics department at North Metro TAFE in Northbridge.
'It is really, really fun to be inspiring the next generation of artists and people to come through,' he said.
'I think pottery is having a real resurgence of late. People are really keen to get into craft and use their hands and it's a really good kind of switch-off from a lot of people's day-to-day lives.'
Kerr's works are known for unique patterns, which he says are inspired by the environment.
'The thing that really distinguishes my style is I like to carve patterns into the surface of my work and I base patterns off things that I find in the environment,' he said.
'The bark on trees, water flowing, leaves rustling, these are the kinds of patterns I develop through carving, then I play around with lots of different glazing techniques to accentuate those patterns.'