a little about the maker
Howdy! I’m Mill, I’m 26, and I live and work in an old horse stable in the small town of Toodyay, Western Australia.
I’ve been around pottery since the day I was born. Growing up my whole family lived in the same house, Mum and Dad, Grandma and Grandad, my younger brother and I. We lived in a small town and I spent a great deal of my childhood hanging out with my Grandma, who is a potter. If I was bored she’d hand me a ball of clay. Rarely was what I made fired, but it gave me something creative to do, something to do with my hands, and probably something to stop me from nagging her.
I like making pottery that is both rustic and bright, homely but fun. I often use wild clay that I harvest from my property. I like experimenting.
would you like to know a little more?
Although I grew up around pottery I started taking it a bit more seriously after I realised how therapeutic it could be.
In 2019 I was diagnosed with panic disorder. This fear of random, unprovoked panic attacks led to me not leaving the house, which led to agoraphobia. I was stuck inside the house most of the time for over a year. Just walking to the end of my street could result in me having a panic attack. I couldn’t get groceries, go to uni, hang out with friends, go to gigs, work a job. But I could hand build pottery. And I could sit there, at home, alone, making pottery. I had purpose again, after having none for a long time. I had something to look forward to each day.
I’ve always got a bit overwhelmed by sensory things - bright lights, too much noise, movement/rushing, crowded places. These sensitivities sky rocketed after not leaving the house as much, everything felt overwhelming, and living in a city, a place that’s loud and bright and busy, was not helping. So I moved to the country and with the help of my family renovated an old horse stable. Thus, ‘Stable Hand Studio’ was born.
I live and work in the stable now. I like living in a small town, I like the quiet, and I feel like I can breathe again. I can do a lot more than I used to but I’m still recovering, doing exposure therapy to make busy places a bit more bearable. There are a lot of things I still can’t do, but I can do pottery.
I’m grateful that pottery gave me purpose when I felt like I had none. I’m grateful I’ve been able to turn something that helped me get through the hardest time in my life into something I get to do every day. I’m grateful people like my pottery enough to put it in their homes.