GrahamMercer.com.au
Title
Graham Mercer Ceramics - Australian studio potter of Warrandyte Victoria
Description
Me
My name is Graham Mercer, I am 52 years old and married. I also go by the nickname of Wookie, which stems from 1977 when the original StarWars movie was released. At the time I bore more than a passing resemblance to Chewbacka the Wookie, with lots of red-brown hair that blended into a bushy beard. In the intervening twenty plus years the colour has faded, the hairline has receded and the length has shortened - but the nickname still lingers.
In 1999 I took a redundancy package after working in the aviation industry for more than 20 years. My job entailed providing weather and navigational information to a wide range of pilots, as well as receiving their flight plans and transmitting them to the various Air Traffic Services units that communicate with the aircraft during its flight. During this time I had a short dalliance with clay as a hobby in Alice Springs, 1985 which left me knowing that at some stage, when life slowed down, I would return!
Rediscovered clay when I stumbled upon the most wonderful group of potters who were holding an annual Open Studio event in the Warrandyte-Eltham area. Their passion, enthusiasm and wonderful warmth instantly inspired me and rekindled the embers that still glowed deep within from that initial 1985 encounter with clay.
