Artist Loses Pottery and Kiln in Balmoral Fire

Dr Steve Harrison and his wife Janine have been practicsing artists all their life. Steve is a an internationally acclaimed ceramist who specialises in single stone bodies collected from his many sabbaticals around the world to ancient pottery sites. He and Janine have relied on Steve's meager income from pottery sales, educational books, lectures and his pottery kiln design and build skills for decades. They have built most structures, or renovated, themselves from hand made materials or second hand building products they could could or borrow.

Despite being well prepared for the approaching fire storm in Balmoral at the weekend Steve and Janine have lost the battle to save their much loved Pottery shed, it's contents of irreplaceable ceramic bodies and the kiln. They are devastated.

While Steve's ingenuity saw him build a makeshift fire shelter from refractory blanket to save his own life, his life is an important Australian artist is now on hold while he contemplates how to rebuild what he did by hand over many years. Now aged 67, the task before him is daunting.

We ask you to give generously to help save the legacy of this important Australian artist so he can continue his practice for many years to come and continue to provide an important service to the Australian community.

The target cost will allow Steve to contract builders to rebuild instead of trying at his age to do a very physically demanding tasks on his own. It will also allow him to revisit some sites to recollect materials for his rare ceramic bodies.

Steve's life is now on hold until he can rebuild. Just finding funds for demolition, clean up and council approvals for a rebuild will be a painful and long task. Your early donation to expedite his work environment will ensure he will again have beautiful work for exhibition as soon as possible. Donate today please.

See the heartbreaking story of Steve's fight to survive on this ABC link