Creative Collection: Tactile Passion

For ceramicist Mel Lumb, there’s no place she’d rather be than in her home studio playing with clay

- Kylie Jackes

When Mel Lumb and her family moved to their property in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland seven years ago it was the start of a new chapter. “Previously my career had been in business marketing and I’d never lived on a block bigger than 600sqm, but my husband Dave and I decided on a change and this was it,” explains Mel, gesturing across the couple’s picturesque 18-acre property where rolling green hills, sprawling native gardens and abundant wildlife create an idyllic backdrop and present new hobbies, including tending to their herd of cute miniature cows.

For Mel, the move was the perfect opportunity for her to indulge in her passion for clay and pursue it full-time, after the seed had been sown several years earlier. “A friend of mine encouraged me to join a wheel-throwing class and I was hooked instantly,” she says. “I just knew that it was what I wanted to do, and I loved that working with clay was physical, super-creative and had a practicality about it – I could create beautiful pieces that were also durable and functional too.”