Linda Bretherton

Linda Bretherton is a ceramic artist based in Sydney and the South Coast of New South Wales. Beginning her career in visual arts education, she spent many years in international corporate and cultural sector communications before returning to her passion of ceramics. Her hand-built objects are functional works of art, celebrating the raw materials with which they are created and inspired by the changing colours and textures of the NSW South Coast and surrounding bush.

Having long admired the Japanese design aesthetic, Linda has also travelled over a dozen times to Japan and studied the Japanese language; influences that are evident in her work. In particular, she finds resonance in the concept of wabi-sabi, a quiet appreciation of the beauty in transience and imperfection: qualities reflected in the surprising results of fired clay-bodies and glazes. Her forms are elegant and unpretentious. She says of her process, “clay has a way of its own that often dictates the form, taking me on a path that doesn’t always comply with my vision!”

Every one of Linda’s pieces is unique. She works primarily with stoneware clays using pinch, coil, slab and wheel-throwing techniques. The textured, natural clay finish of many of her pieces provides a warm, earthy aesthetic whilst the use of hand-applied glazes, fired at high-temperature, increases durability. She enjoys experimenting with slips, oxides, natural ochres and firing techniques, embracing unexpected material reactions and outcomes.

She holds a Bachelor of Education in Visual Arts (UNSW) studying ceramics under acclaimed artist Peter Travis. She also holds a Master of Arts (University of Sydney) and Master of Curating and Cultural Leadership (UNSW). She began her association with Becker Minty in 2023.