In the 50s and early 60s I studied art at the Academy of Arts in Arnhem, and gold and silver jewellery technique at the Institute for Gold and Silver Smiths in Schoonhoven.

In 1965 I migrated with my (then) geologist husband and 2 year old daughter to Australia, where I started to study pottery at the Technical College in Newcastle (NSW) under the well known teacher Madeleine Jones.

In 1968 we moverd to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, attracted by the famous nickel boom at the time.
Here I was asked to set up a brand new Ceramics department for the Kalgoorlie Technical College.
This was for me a very exciting time and involved purchase and installation of all equipment for studio and class room, preparation of a suitable Course Program and Syllabus, teaching, and eventually selection and training of additional teachers.
We left Kalgoorlie in 1971, leaving behind a flourishing Ceramics Department which is still active to this day.

During the 70s I lived and held art exhibitions, regular pottery classes and workshops in Yonki in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, in Canberra (ACT) and on Bougainville Island (PNG).
I also expanded my techniques and knowledge during this period by attending a number of workshops of famous potters, including Judy Elliot, Heroe Swen, Brian Newman, John Reeves, Ruth Duckworth and several others.

In 1980 I settled in Adelaide (South Australia), where I exhibited regularly with the Adelaide Potters Club and with private galleries, and conducted classes and workshops for the YMCA, the Adelaide Potters Club and the Payneham Rehabilitation Centre.
I also completed my BA in Ceramics at the South Australian College of Advance Education. During the hectic travels with my (now ex) husband I had never before been able to complete the Course I had started in Newcastle more than 20 years ago.

In 1988, travelling in a campervan through the Australian outback, I spent several months in the underground opal mining town of Coober Pedy located in the South Australian desert (halfway between Alice Springs and Adelaide). Here I assisted the Coober Pedy Underground Pottery as a production potter, developing several new designs for them. I returned several times in later years to help generate new stock.

In 1991 I moved with my new partner to Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island (South Australia).
The house I purchased here proved to be originally owned by the very first resident potter on the island almost 100 years ago, a good omen. There are still broken fragments of his pots scattered through the garden. I also have been able to trace his source of clay materials on the island and have used some of this myself.

These past 20 years I have been a resident ceramics artist on the island, with regular exhibitions at the local art gallery as well as on mainland Australia.
I also directed the "Arts as History" tile project which is featured outside the Gateway Tourist Information Centre in Penneshaw. This project, carried out by local people with no experience of tile decoration, is regarded as one of the outstanding art works on the island.

Antien Furstner
Post Office Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island, SA 5222, South Australia
Tel. 08 - 8553 1152     (Overseas : 618 - 8553 1152)