Gus McLaren

Gus McLaren is an Australian artist, animator and potter born in 1923.

As a young man he worked on The Argus newspaper, as a cartoonist. His "Just Gus" column was popular for a number of years. He also served as a cartoonist on the "British Commonwealth Occupation News" (BCON), a newspaper for the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, where he first met and befriended the young Les Tanner, an editorial cartoonist on The Age.

He began potting with Reg Preston in 1955 and was one of the founding members in 1958 of the Potters Cottage in Warrandyte, Victoria. He and his wife Betty McLaren, set up Yarraridge pottery and together and separately, the two produced an extensive body of work. This included wheel-thrown and hand-built pieces, as well as a range of slip-cast figures designed by Gus and decorated by Betty. These designs are still being used by Betty to make figures for sale from her [http://mclaren-pottery.com/ McLaren Pottery] on the New South Wales south coast, and on eBay.

Gus McLaren has ceramic works in both public and private collections. When the Potters Cottage held its 45th anniversary in 2003, he participated in the exhibition.

He also has a considerable body of work in animated films. In 1962 he directed the first animation series made for Australian television, "Freddo the Frog" and he was one of the animators who worked on "Grendel, Grendel, Grendel", a full-length animated film retelling the Beowulf epic released in 1981.

Gus McLaren passed away in Merimbula on the 29th of August 2008.

References

* "Freddo the Frog", Fanfare films, Pty, Ltd, 1962 (National Film and Sound Archive, Title No. 138534).
* Geoff Ford, "Encyclopedia of Australian Potter's Marks", 2nd edition, Wodonga (Victoria): Salt Glaze Press, 2002, p. 159.
* Karen Hodge, "Potters' pioneers fire up again," "Diamond valley News", 8 October 2003, 10.
* Kenneth Hood (November 1964), "Canberra Exhibition", "Pottery in Australia", vol. 1, no. 2, Nov 1964, p.4. and cover illustration.
* Gus McLaren, [http://cs.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=98509 "Bowl (1974) Ceramic, stoneware"] , National Gallery of Australia Collection Search (viewed 22 June 2007).
* Gus McLaren, [http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=75687 "87/357 Bull, modelled stoneware, Gus McLaren, Australia, 1970-1972"] , Powerhouse Museum Collection Search 2.2 (viewed 22 June, 2007).
* Michael Winkler, [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/06/13/1023864315208.html "Hopping back in time"] , "The Age (theage.com.au)", June 13 2002.
* Official McLaren Pottery Website, [http://mclaren-pottery.com/ mclaren-pottery.com] (viewed 30 July, 2008.

Persondata
NAME=McLaren, Gus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=William George McLaren
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australian artist
DATE OF BIRTH=1923
PLACE OF BIRTH=
DATE OF DEATH=2008
PLACE OF DEATH=Merimbula