Lovers of hand-crafted cactus pots, garden sculptures and ceramic Australian birds will catch an inside view of an artist's lair on May 18, 19, 25 and 26.
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Ceramicist Cath Bowdler will open her North Rosedale studio, 8 Dale Place, and will do "garbage-bin firing" between 10-11am as part of the River of Art Festival.
"That involves putting things I've made into a metal garbage bin that's filled with sawdust and other interesting things and setting fire to it," she said.
"It gives a really nice colour to the fired ceramic pieces ... turns them black and green."
She said her ceramic bird representations, which would be on display at her open studio, were "a little bit whimsical". Her work was inspired by her environment.
"This work is very specifically about (the South Coast). I've got other works about cats eating birds, as a threat to the environment," she said.
"I'm concerned about the vulnerability of native wildlife."
Ms Bowdler studied art at Sydney College in the 1980s before heading to the Northern Territory for 20 years running art galleries, cultural centres and acting as arts administrator, gallery director and curator.
She had a house in the South Coast for 12 years before moving down permanently.
Though she has created a number of ceramic artworks, Ms Bowdler said it was not her only love.
"I love sculpture, so that's what I started doing a long time ago, 30 years ago now," she said
"During the time I was in the Northern Territory, I did heaps of other kinds ... photography, outdoor public art, ephemeral artworks. I didn't do ceramics at all."
Her art interests depended on the weather.
"I'm just about to finish ceramics for the year and start writing a book," she said.
"My studio is under the house and it gets too cold to work there. Ceramics is only a summer activity for me."
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Ms Bowdler is looking forward to the number of artists to be showcased at the River of Art Festival.
"I just think it's fantastic. The open studios are a wonderful event that gives artists a chance to display what they do in the context of their studios," she said.
"I think people really enjoy watching artists in their studios."