About

Based in Brisbane, Toni is an emerging ceramicist and an attentive observer of the city’s neighbourhoods. Her practice is grounded in a return, after two decades away, to the quiet, steady rhythm of hand‑building and the sense of connection found in the studio.

This renewed engagement with clay has led her to an ongoing exploration of Brisbane’s jacaranda season, a time when the city is briefly transformed by soft drifts of purple.

Toni’s focus on the jacaranda is shaped by both affection and unease. As a child, she remembers the blooms arriving in late October and early November. Now, their appearance in early September signals a shifting climate and stirs a sense of grief. Through clay – shaped by hand – Toni seeks to hold this tension between wonder and unease.

Instagram @toni_smith_ceramics