Meet the maker: Richilde Flavell

Girl Nomad Ceramics IS Richilde Flavell. 

If you have lusted after the beautiful ceramic tableware in Canberra eateries such as Mocan & Green Grout, Taco Taco, Kyo Coffee Project and Barrio, you have experienced Richilde’s work. 

Richilde grew up in Northern NSW on a commune with orchards and open fields. It was an unconventional upbringing, filled with the beauty of nature. In her twenties she lived nomadically (hence the name Girl Nomad), travelling around Australia, Europe and India. After experiments in other fields, in 2012 she moved to Canberra to study ceramics. She graduated from the ANU School of Art and Design with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Ceramics) in 2015 and is now an active member of the Canberra ceramic community, planning and producing creative events, as well as teaching at the Canberra Potters Society. 

‘My forms are relaxed and purposeful with an honest and gentle quality,’ she says. ‘They have exposed clay that is smooth to the touch and I layer my glazes creating washy patterns across the surface in tones of greys, blacks, blues and olives.’ 

While Girl Nomad Ceramics pieces are serene and minimalistic Richelle admits that the process of a potter and her workspace, can be far from it. 

‘My studio is bursting at the seams with stacks of clay and pots and giant buckets of glaze, test tiles and ideas teetering on high shelves, with ferns nestled in between,’ she says. ‘It’s organised chaos; some days more organised, some days more chaos!’ 

Creating a sense of home and place is important to Richilde. She is interested in making meaningful homewares that give a sense of tradition and ritual in the user’s life and bring focus and beauty to the act of eating and cooking.  

‘Most of my work is thrown on the potter’s wheel using stoneware clay and is gas fired. I’m starting to incorporate hand building processes such as slab building. This adds a sense of play and I find it enjoyable to have a diverse range of techniques in my practice,’ she says. 

https://craftact.org.au/collections/girl-nomad-ceramics

Photos: Lean Timms