Airbrushed to Life by John Wilesmith

English-born John Wilesmith has resided in Tasmania since 1993, bringing with him a background of many years' experience in the ceramics industry. John started his trade as a teenager at a reputable china factory in Herefordshire. He went on to take his skills to New Zealand and, on a return trip to the UK, worked for the famous Royal Worcester Porcelain.

Upon arriving in Tasmania, John, with the help of his partner, built up a business in ceramics, designing and making ceramics for the tourist market and specialising in detailed animal and bird studies, realistically finished with airbrush techniques. Business was going well when John was struck down with a brain aneurism in late 2001. Needless to say, this put a stop to business operations.

During a difficult period of convalescence John took an interest in fish taxidermy, taking this up as a hobby. He now brings his skills to the artform of fish taxidermy. Indeed John incorporates some of his ceramic techniques into his fish taxidermy, such as mould making, modelling and airbrush decorating.

It has been a long, slow road to recovery. John no longer makes ceramics on a mass production basis and now works in a more limited capacity making one-off pieces and fishskin mounts.

Do have a look through this website and see for yourself the high standard of John's original work.

'After the aneurysm I am grateful that I have retained my creative abilities, even if at a more limited capacity.'