Originally from Western Australia, Max said he was always drawn to art and was a frequent participant in summer art workshops. After high school, he was meant to enrol in teacher’s college, but a fateful visit to his sister in Sydney sealed his fate.

“I enrolled again in a summer school at the National Art School and got talking to them and ended up enrolling there, and not going back to teacher training,” Max chuckled.

He initially studied painting, and then moved up to Glen Innes when his studies concluded. He took up a place teaching at Glen Innes TAFE where he worked for about 25 years. A personal detour in his own work occurred when he began assisting a friend in the ceramics studio.

“I helped him his through firing kilns and mixing glazes and stuff like, that, and then I ended up going back and doing more study as far as ceramics goes,” he said.

Max said he enjoys the versatility of ceramics, from a functional object to a more creative work.

“It’s that intimate object which people use all the time, so I like that; that it’s something that it can involve people that way. But also, I enjoy doing the more creative work, the sculptural work.”

Max said he has been involved in a series working with natural surfaces and textures, and Inverell will see some of his large pieces of simple organic forms, hand built in slab and coil. He also creates ceramic panels where he carves into the clay, and supplements marks with glaze and multiple firings to represent imagery.

Travels opens on Friday, February 13 with a 6.30pm reception. Admission on the night is $10, with a requested RSVP to the gallery by February 12. The exhibition runs through April 6.