Ten minutes out of Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains and set among farms and rolling hills, Feldmark Pottery is a rough-cut gem tucked behind snow gums. Studio potter, Andrei Davidoff, has been making ceramic plates and serving ware for some of Australia’s most renowned restaurants for over a decade. The move to a large property in 2021 has enabled him to open a gallery adjacent to the pottery as well as a ceramic school. The treechange in effect, has helped to unite the many streams of his practice – teaching, exhibiting, and making pottery for restaurants, design stores, and private sales.

“Our bread and butter have been large commercial orders. I have worked with international hotel groups, celebrity chefs, and many restaurants which appear in the top restaurant lists. That has been great, but I also enjoy interacting with the public, and educating people about pottery.”

As you approach the pottery, you are greeted by large vases which line the veranda. Andrei was introduced to the ancient skill of Onggi - making enormous vessels from clay coils - by a master in South Korea. “I got my basic pottery education from a potter here in the Snowy-Monaro, whom I lived and worked with. I then went to university in Melbourne and did a Fine Arts degree majoring in ceramics, and then my Master’s in Fine Art.”

 The gallery showcases the range and depth of Andrei’s skills and experience – rows of perfectly turned mugs, vases, and plates that don’t deny their earthy origins. Some objects are glazed with ash which forms a natural green tone, others are painted with white clay slip which was found by a road in nearby Dalgety. There are cups in traditional glaze finishes like shino, tenmoku, and chun, ancient Chinese and Japanese glazes which are all made at the pottery. In the gallery space, which is sunlit and white-washed, the objects look contemporary and at home. A large picture window looks over a dramatically leaning black wattle which is covered with a pale green lichen, the colours outside seem to draw the eye back into the gallery.

 “My work doesn’t reference just one ceramic tradition,” says Andrei, “Of course there is a debt to the Chinese and Japanese tradition, but I’m also interested in South Carolina [USA] and German pottery. My ceramic heroes include contemporary potters such as Lisa Hammond from England, and Australian potter Gwyn Hanssen Pigott, who passed away ten years ago.”

In 2023, Andrei exhibited among 20 acclaimed Australian ceramic artists in the show Jugs, at Craft Victoria in Melbourne. The title was chosen as an affectionate name for amphorae, objects that are both practical and ceremonial. “I had a large piece in the show, a vessel made with the onggi technique. I glazed it with ash from our snow gums. It was very much of the earth here.”

Published in the Snow Post, December 2023

Words by Varia Karipoff

Andrei completed his Master’s in Fine Arts at RMIT University in 2012 and regularly exhibits at galleries across Australia. 

Feldmark, also spelled fjaeldmark, from Norwegian for 'mountain field'. The scientific term for a plant community found in alpine locations.

Feldspars are key ingredients in clay bodies and glazes.

To Mark is to make a visible impression.