Amy Kennedy / Artist & Mentor

30/01/2026

Critique.

Does your heart beat a little faster at the mention of this word?

It’s something many artists don’t have access to, avoid or are very nervous about, often for good reason. Early experiences can be clumsy, poorly facilitated, or hurtful. The sting lingers.

But critique itself isn’t the problem.

Critique isn’t criticism. At its best, it’s a way of seeing clearly, seeing your work afresh.

And this is where writing comes in.

Writing is one of the most effective ways I know to critique your own work. The bonus, you can do it without the audience.

When you write freely, you begin to:
See what’s working and what isn’t
Notice what you’ve been avoiding
Recognise the patterns you keep repeating
See genuine opportunities for the development of your work

We don’t stall because we lack talent or discipline, but because we aren’t truly seeing our own work.

And without that clarity, the work plateaus. Opportunities feel out of reach and confidence wobbles.

When critique is done well, it changes that.

Fresh Eyes is a free, six-day live writing practice where we use writing as a tool for critique and clarity, so what you see differently begins to show up in the work you make.

You can join via the link in my bio.

We start on Monday. That’s soon.
Amy x

Image: Muswellbrook Art Prize, 2017.

29/01/2026

Some of my favourite tools.

In the final picture, you see the two I value most. My hands, of course, and a pen or pencil.

My hands are all over my work, touching it, shaping it, ordering it, caressing it, moving it...

The pen never touches the work.

But it does.

The pen in my hand, motivated by a question (the unexpected, open-ended ones are the best), makes marks on the page, marks become letters, letters grow into sentences, sentences into pages, pages lead us into new and unexplored territory, insight and solutions. It flows.

Why is this so valuable to me and many other makers I know?

It is well summarised in these words from William Knowlton Zinsser.
"Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own. Writing enables us to find out what we know - and what we don’t know - about whatever we’re trying to learn.”

The artists I work with and I are on an ongoing learning quest to develop our work, in our own voice, that is rigorous, that thrills us and, hopefully, others.

Hand, pen, and writing prompt assist us in this quest.

Fresh Eyes is set up to amplify this.

What is Fresh Eyes?

Fresh Eyes is a short, live, guided writing practice for visual artists, designed to change how you are looking at your work.

Over six days, something subtle but important happens. You begin to notice what’s asking for your attention. It’s right there on the page.

The sessions are just 30 minutes. It’s not journaling or analysing. It’s using writing as a tool to see more clearly, so the decisions you make in your work are precise and intentional, and they move things forward.

This is for artists who want more focus, clearer direction, a way to ask better questions, and work that feels more resolved and true to them.

You don’t need to prepare anything. You just need to show up and stay with the process.

Fresh Eyes runs live for six days. It is free.

It starts Monday, 2 February at 7am AEDT (Sydney, Australia).

If your work has been asking for more lately, this is a good place to work out what that is.

https://www.thedaringartist.com/fresheyes6days

I hope to see you on Monday.
Amy x

These beautiful photos are by

16/12/2025

I want to invite you to a workshop. It's not mine. But I will certainly be there.

I do it at the beginning of every year, for the past 10 years.

I would not NOT do it.

It's called Review & Create.

Review 2025 to create 2026.

A pretty simple idea. A very powerful process.

It is the chance to stop and slow down, and step into the new year with intention and clarity.

It is run by my sister-in-law and brother, Jessica Connor Kennedy and Adam Kennedy. Two brilliant facilitators who create a beautiful, thoughtful space for reflection and visioning.

UNEARTH online retreat

DAY 1 - REVIEW
Friday, January 2
9:00 AM – 11:30 AM AEDT

DAY 2 - CREATE
Sunday, January 4
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM AEDT

In the comments below, you will find all the details.

I hope to see you there and do the planning, dreaming and scheming alongside you.
Amy x

Photo: Honey Atkinson

03/12/2025

I listen to podcasts ALL THE TIME. I bet you do too. This is the first one I have been on, and it was so much fun.

The podcast is Shift Stirrers, and the hosts, Michelle Benson and Rosemary Pattison, interview artists and makers about the transitions and transformations they have made in their lives.

In my episode, we talk about my ceramics and The Daring Artist, how I make it work, why I do what I do, and lots more.

Thank you, Michelle and Rosemary, for inviting me to be on Shift Stirrers.

You can now listen to the conversation. The link is in the comments.

Redefining Professional Practice with Amy KennedyIntroduction: In the world of ceramics, every sculptor knows that the journey is as important as the destina...

01/12/2025

Whenever an artist I’m working with (or dare I say it, me) slips into the familiar complaint of “I just don’t have enough time in the studio,” I immediately think of the artists who prove that time is not the defining factor of a serious practice.

One of those artists is Melissa Harvey.

Melissa is far more than a smart, time-savvy, highly motivated maker. Over the past 25 years, she has carved out a distinct career in an unconventional and exciting medium. Working with recycled cotton clothing and domestic textiles, she transforms them into a pulp that she then sprays into 2D and 3D works and site-specific installations. Her practice cannot be easily categorised.

I wanted to talk to Melissa about how she sustains her practice, specifically the ways she stays in the creative flow and maintains a daily connection to her work, even with limited time (she has a full-time job). For those of you short on time or struggling to stay connected to your practice, this conversation offers practical strategies to keep moving forward.

We dive into her pulp-spraying process, how it began, what inspires her, and the pros and cons of working so flexibly and experimentally in her medium. We also explore the role of artist residencies in her growth, how they give her extended periods to learn new skills, including her most recent residency at the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio.

I hope you enjoy it, and that it gives you something meaningful to bring back into your studio.

Listen here.
https://youtu.be/AMtSNFkj2hM?si=i1OLN9P_ARaW4-pL

Amy x

18/08/2025

I am celebrating the new work of Melissa Harvey and her exhibition with Lois Waters, 'Fold, vessel', now showing at The Print Council of Australia.
I have had the pleasure of working with Melissa for the past 4 years and seeing her work evolve. She recently undertook a residency at The Morgan Conservatory in the US, which has impacted this new work.
I know many of you know MJ from the Zoom group sessions. :)
It's a rare opportunity to see her work in Melbourne.

"During a recent residency at the Morgan Conservatory in the USA, I started manipulating wet sheets of paper by creasing and folding them. I would then use a mixture of cotton linter and aqueous pigment to mark these manipulations. This experience, combined with my collaboration with Lois, made it natural for me to further explore the fold in my own practice. I wanted to capture the moment of material manipulation – the actual act – through pulp spraying, then press and return it to a paper-like form."

https://www.printcouncil.org.au/fold-vessel/
https://www.printcouncil.org.au/pcagallery/

04/08/2025

How I Created My First Online Tutorial
(from a Self-Confessed Non-Tech Head)
with SARAH MURRAY

Sarah Murray may not be a natural tech head, but she is one smart and talented woman. Grab a cuppa and buckle up. In our conversation, she walks us through the ins and outs of the origin, creation, and delivery of her first online tutorial, 'Ceramic Monoprinting with Sarah Murray'. This highly successful project continues to be well-received and in high demand.

If you are thinking about creating an online tutorial or workshop, even an in-person workshop, and want to get a solid and inspiring head start on what is involved, this is for you. Especially, especially, if the thought of this is overwhelming and you are at a loss as to where to start.

But… what Sarah shares in this conversation has a much wider application for all of us.

We discuss:

How she steadily builds and nurtures an audience (basically creating a hell of a lot of fans).

How she warms these fans up. A crucial part of any launch.

How she delivered a high-quality, easily accessible product in her signature style.

How she created the project to be self-managed.

How she built another stream of income into her practice.

And how she 10x’ed her mailing list in the process.

We also discuss her work, her practice, major milestones along the way, and how she came to sell her work online to collectors all over the world… and her beautiful handles. What’s a conversation with a potter without a chat about handles?

Thank you, Sarah! Enjoy.
Amy x

17/04/2025

The exhibition Gifted 3 is showing at until 18 May.

Thank you to and for letting me know some of my works were on exhibit. 🙏

I visited last week and had the entire gallery to myself, a bonus, I could really take it in and then snap away.

It was a thrill to see these works again, alongside so many works of beautiful Australian Ceramics, and the powerful paintings of Jan Senbergs.

These four works were exhibited with in 2023, and gifted to The Gippsland Art Gallery by Morag Fraser AM. A very generous supporter of the arts in Australia.

As I walked along the glass vitrines, I was so happy to see many works gifted by Ronald Hood. I was honoured to help Ron catalogue his collection of ceramics, and seeing them ‘up in lights’ was fantastic.

Collectors of art, especially ceramics (I am biased) are quiet heroes. Their passion and discerning eye for the art form and their gifts to public collections ensures works are looked after and appreciated for years to come.

If you get the chance to visit this exhibition
you will see works by

Gwyn Hanssen Pigott
Janet Beckhouse
Greg Daly
John Eagle
Kevin Boyd
Ted Secombe
John Dermer
David Pottinger
Peter Rushforth
John Daly
Garry Bish
Koji Hoashi
Brian Keyte
And many others.

27/03/2025

Flicking through my journal today I landed on this page. It really sums up the areas I will be exploring with artists tomorrrow and Saturday.

How can we cultivate greater awareness?
How can we be more attentive?
How can we identify areas that are are in need of discipline?

One more sleep...

💫 MAKE EXCEPTIONAL WORK 💫

A free live online event for visual artists ready and eager to create better art.

8am-11am AEDT Friday 28 and Saturday 29 March

Join us via the link in bio.

See many of you tomorrow! 💫
Amy x

20/03/2025

Make Exceptional Work

A free live event
For visual artists ready and eager to create better art

In this live, interactive, two-part event, discover new practical ways to expand your making, sharpen your artistic vision, and elevate your work from good to exceptional. 

PART 1: Friday 28 March 8 am-11 am AEDT 
PART 2: Saturday 29 March 8 am-11 am AEDT 

This trainin is for you if:

You’re struggling with motivation and finding it hard to consistently show up for your art.

Your creative vision feels bigger than your current technical abilities, leaving you frustrated.

You’ve hit a plateau in your work and can’t pinpoint what’s missing.

You’re ready to transform your work in a big way but are hesitant and uncertain about embarking on a new direction. 

You put countless hours into your art, but the lack of response and recognition is deeply disheartening.

What you will learn:

How to identify your biggest ‘problem’ and reshape it into your most powerful tool for progress.  

A constructive critique framework for evaluating your own work, enabling you to identify strengths and areas for growth. 

How to design focused practice and play frameworks tailored to your artistic process.

Daily practices to dramatically develop your ability to see with fresh eyes and cultivate greater sensitivity.  

A supportive, interactive space to practice and build your tool kit for the future. 

Creating exceptional work draws greater external opportunities and recognition AND provides us, as artists, with a profound sense of progress, fulfillment, and renewed energy to sustain and deepen our arts practice. 

I want this for my own art, and I want this for the artists I work with. 

It doesn’t matter where you are in your practice. 

This will give you specific methods and processes to develop your work. 

This is a live event only. It’s free.

Register via the link in my bio or comment 'Exceptional.'

Amy x