Moorooduc master potter, John Stroomer, has spent his professional career of over 50 years chasing perfection. He’s internationally recognised for his work with crystalline glazes which is a complex ceramic technique that creates gem-like crystals on a finished piece by controlling the cooling temperature. His forms and glazes reflect mastery of both the potter’s wheel and crystalline process; a testament to his passion and dedication. He loves the challenge and satisfaction of getting it right.
John has exhibited in over 100 major exhibitions in Australia and internationally. A highlight was being invited by Villeroy and Boch to exhibit in Abenteuer Kristallglasur, an international crystalline exhibition which travelled to five of the major porcelain museums in Germany.
In 2009 he was commissioned by the Department of Landscape Design at Cumbria University in England to collaborate in building a themed ‘Potters Garden’ around his work at the Chelsea Flower and Garden Show. This collaboration was awarded the Silver Medal.
John was born to parents of Dutch and Belgian heritage. At the age of five, he spent 12 months in Holland and Belgium with his mother. While living in Amsterdam, they visited a fair where John saw a potter working at the wheel. He distinctly remembers a little voice in his head saying, “This is what you’ll do in the future.”
John spent the first two years of a four-year Diploma of Art at Shepparton Technical College where he learned foundation skills from life drawing to art theory. For the final two years he moved on to Bendigo Institute of Technology specializing in Ceramics. From the moment he touched clay, he couldn’t put it down. “I love throwing on the potter’s wheel because I like the physical connection with the clay. Glazing is the real challenge,” he says.
I love throwing on the potter’s wheel because I like the physical connection with the clay
After completing his second diploma, John set up his own studio supplying gift and cookware shops. He built that business up to employ 23 potters. Following a horrific factory fire in 1988, then, the brutal recession of the 80s/90s, John stood at a crossroads. He could have given up, but that five-year-old’s inner voice returned, spurring him. He knew this was what he was meant to do. His real journey of self-discovery and self-belief had begun.
In 2014, he moved to his current studio and on-site gallery in Moorooduc, which has a rainbow of perfect pots and many more waiting to be glazed. While working at the wheel comes easily after a lifetime of experience, crystalline glazes continue to challenge and enthral him.
John likens getting perfect crystals to mining gold. He has his own gold mine in each batch of raw materials. Every new batch is different and unpredictable. He gets it right or he starts again. John is certainly not short on patience. “Crystalline glazing is widely regarded as one of the most difficult ceramic techniques in the world. It’s a knife’s edge balance. Chasing those gems is the thrill,” he says.
Despite his challenges, John says, “I feel very lucky to be able to do what I do; to have people appreciate what I make and want to buy it. The work is the legacy.” A perfect piece of ceramic art comes from the skill of the maker; the shape, form, and mastery of the glazework. John seems to have all of that down. Even better, he insists on making his work affordable.
Being able to live and create on the Mornington Peninsula provides space, peace, and inspiration. “I love working and living on the same property. The serenity has such a positive impact on my energy. I love the ocean and fishing. Everything I need is right here,” he says.
Currently, John is working on something completely different with a brilliant creative collaborator, visual artist Marta Gola. John’s enormous former chook shed set amongst rolling green hills in an idyllic countryside property has been converted into two studios at either end with a huge production space in between.
The pair of artists are breaking new ground as Marta paints her gorgeous nudes onto John’s pots to genuinely striking effect.
“This studio is beyond my dreams,” Marta says, looking out her huge picture window at the horses grazing on the neighbouring property. “This collaboration has expanded my drawing practice and given me a whole new direction working with a new medium. The vessel itself gives another dimension to the intention of the work. The pots represent a holding place for the feminine representing women finding their own peace, coming home to themselves,” she says.
This collaboration has expanded my drawing practice and given me a whole new direction working with a new medium
Marta creates portraits and drawings in charcoal and graphite on paper. Now, she also paints onto ceramic tiles as well as her own pots, creating an unusual and dramatic effect. Sometimes the clay cracks. That only adds to the piece. “Some kind of magic happens in the kiln. The organic nature of the firing process gives the work a lived history. You couldn’t manufacture that effect. It takes some of the control away as the kiln gods do their thing,” she says.
John and Marta have a symbiotic relationship. Each provides knowledge and inspiration to the other. John has always envisioned having figurative paintings on his pots. Marta had never thought of working with clay. Collaboration has brought new life to each artist’s practice. Together and apart, they make exceptional art.
IG @johnstroomer
W johnstroomer.com.au
IG @marta.gola
W martagola.com
Peninsula Essence January 2026