The ceramic artist first started working with clay as a therapeutic way to help her recovery from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Eighteen years later she is a well-established artist who has studied in Europe and designed her own large-scale kiln.

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"I had previously studied teaching at La Trobe Bendigo and was a welfare teacher," she said. "In 2004, I got really sick with post-viral fatigue syndrome.

"Working with clay was a therapy and I went back to university to do a bachelor of arts, which took nine years to do part time.

"The chronic fatigue took so much away. It completely changed my life and gave me the opportunity to play with clay."

Last weekend, Ms Van Veen launched an exhibition at raku artwork exhibition at Bendigo Pottery.

Raku is a Japanese style of firing clay. Pieces go into a kiln and are fired until their reach 1000 degrees Celsius.

The pieces are then removed - while glowing hot- and put in sawdust which catches fire and surrounds the work to create colours.

"Not many people do raku," Ms Van Veen said. "La Trobe had some raku kilns when I was there and I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to learn. Nowhere else teaches it.

"Since then I designed and created my own kiln. As student I was thinking there had to be an easier way to separate glowing hot pieces from the kiln).

"In 2015, I found a guy that knew how to do things and he and I nutted it out."

Ms Van Veen's exhibition - Land and Sky - was opened on Saturday night.

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It focuses on the landscapes, sunsets and sunrises of some of Ms Van Veen's favourite places including the Lerderderg Forest near her home in Bacchus Marsh as well as places touched by bushfire like Mallacoota.

When she began planning the exhibition in January, Ms Van Veen had two pieces ready.

She created 47 pieces in four months to include in the exhibit.

" literally worked seven days a week but I was really pleased to see it in place," she said.

"You never know how it looks until you're in the space. Each space and its lighting are different. Some work is really reflective and gives back what surrounds it, which is almost a metaphor to what we are like.

"It's so wonderful be in that working, living pottery -in that historic building with beautiful wood-fired kiln."

Ri Van Veen's exhibition Land and Sky is at Bendigo Pottery's CLAD gallery until June 26.

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