When I was a Kid
Kim Nolan
When I was a Kid (detail) 2026
Midfire black clay, lumina porcelain, and white raku
Stain and oxide washes
Multiple pieces: 12 x 28 x 12 cm overall
About the Artwork
When I was a child, my mother would take my sisters and me to the family farm in Aotearoa New Zealand to collect horse mushrooms for our dinner. I was in awe of these beautiful giant mushrooms; something about their soft texture, colours, and smell of the earth drew my curiosity and imagination.
In the hand-building process, it was important for me to keep the materials minimal to create realistic mushrooms. I’ve used three different types of clay: midfire black for the gills, lumina porcelain for the soft skin, and white raku for the stalks and the skin’s texture. Pink body stain, rutile and titanium oxide as washes for additional colour. Creating layers within my work is important to me and I will often sand back through these layers, seeking the patterns that are revealed.
About the Artist
Kim Nolan has recently relocated to Tulmur/Ipswich, having previously lived in Far North Queensland (FNQ) for many years. She has a Diploma in Hot Glass and Design, and studied Ceramics for four years at TAFE Cairns. In her exhibition Moments at Northsite Contemporary Arts, Kim celebrated living in FNQ by sharing her research photographs taken over a period of eight years and exhibiting 21 sculptural forms created in response to the images, highlighting the environment she loved.
When Kim moved to Ipswich in 2025, she set up a new studio and began to emerge herself in the unknown landscape with less rainfall, no sea, but still with its own beauty. Kim’s work Magpie Moth was selected to exhibit in The Australian Ceramic Association’s members exhibition Continuum in July 2026. She loves to challenge herself to create multilayered sculptural work that prompts the viewer to ask questions or that challenges their thinking.