Sally Barker is a local ceramic artist who has been painting and selling her brightly coloured wares for 15 years Australia wide.

Sally's love of ceramics and the beautiful array of colours and designs achievable, began in Italy where she lived for two years. Upon her return to Australia, Sally began to experiment with various types of clays and paints, and through trial and error, developed her own style of painting without having been formally taught.

Sally began her business slowly, selling at markets, then gradually working her way to local shops, then Australia wide and even overseas. Sally manages to keep in touch with her love of Italian ceramics and all things Italian, through regular visits with her husband Marcello and 2 boys, Luca 6 (who attends Canterbury Primary) and Gianni 3, to his family who live in Rome. There she can be found dragging the family through the famous Ceramic towns of Montelupo, Deruta, Orvieto, etc, drawing inspiration from the beautiful age-old designs.

Whilst continuing with ceramics, Sally is branching out into less uniform shapes and mediums, employing the services of a local potter to hand-throw more "original" pieces in different types of clays, thus allowing more freedom and originality in painting and design. She is also painting large handmade terra cotta tiles with a rough antiqued appearance, which can be used simply for display, or for serving cheeses, or thick crusty Italian breads. Whatever the use, Sally's pieces are entirely functional as well as beautifully decorative - as in the tradition of all good ceramics!