AUSTRALIAN POTTERY AT BEMBOKA

Bernard Sahm

Bernard Sahm (1926-2011) was born in Sydney and trained as an engineering draughtsman. After working briefly with the Forestry Commssion in country NSW, and in the Gold Medal Wicker manufacturing business, he studied painting and sculpture, and eventually ceramics, at the East Sydney Technical College from 1945-1952. At first seeming destined to become a painter, with works hung in the 1948, 1949 and 1950 Sulman Prize and the 1951 Wynne, and Blake Prizes, a stint as a decorator at the Martin Boyd Pottery in 1949 raised an interest in working with clay. It was there that he also met his future wife Pam, whom he married in 1955. He continued his association with commercial potteries by working under Bernard Fiegal of Terra Ceramics in 1953 and later worked for 6 months at Gutenhalde Ceramics in Stuttgardt. A year at Harry and May Davis's Crowan Pottery in England honed his throwing and turning skills. Returning to Australia in 1958, he established his own pottery at Mosman in 1959 and began teaching at ESTC in 1961, joining the full-time staff in 1964. During this time he was required to complete a diploma in sculpture, and this experience shaped his future work. In 1974, he was elected a Titular Member of the International Academy of Ceramics. In 1976, he was appointed the Inaugural Head of Ceramics at the newly developed Sydney College of the Arts. In 1984, he retired to Wollombi. continuing to work during the 1990s and 2000s. His work is marked with a painted or impressed 'BS' or an incised 'Sahm'.

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