Ruby Neevay

RUBY NEEVAY, WEMBLEY WARE & RUBY’S ROSES.

Ruby Neevay was a ceramic artist who worked as a ceramic decorator on the range of Wembley Ware figures at Brisbane and Wunderlich Pottery Division, Subiaco, Western Australia.

Ruby joined Brisbane and Wunderlich in 1940 when she was 15 years of age. At the time, the business had just changed from Calyx Pottery to Brisbane and Wunderlich.

In those days most people stayed in their jobs for many years and Ruby was of this generation, working forty five years at the pottery until she retired at 60. Since then, she has worked in her own business making ceramic floral tributes for graves. Her career in pottery has so far spanned over 70 years, Ruby continued to make her ceramic decorations until her death in 2012.

Ruby’s first work was fettling jugs. In this process the fragile clay article is hand cleaned and the seams removed. Ruby broke the first jug she picked up. The fettling process is tedious and slow with some operators only managing less than twenty articles per shift. With Ruby’s love of pottery and dexterous fingers she began achieving 60 articles per shift and became the department’s “pacemaker”.

One of the other ladies working with Ruby used to hand paint articles at home. The management at the time recognised her potential and she was moved into the decorating area. Ruby would join her friend in decorating during the breaks and helped with guilding ceramic horses. She was asked to join the decorators working on Wembley Ware and immediately warmed to the new challenge. One of the popular techniques used on Wembley Ware was aerographing or producing a fine tapered colour effect using a very small spray gun. This was one of Ruby’s favourite techniques and one she used on her floral grave decorations.

four decorators, Ruby second left

Ruby aerographing

A German lady joined the decorating team who had previously made ceramic floral decorations. These flowers were added to some of the Wembley Ware cast pieces. Ruby was about 26 years old at the time and loved to watch the techniques used in ceramic flower making. She learnt to make the ceramic flowers herself and to decorate them.

At that time, Ruby’s Uncle died and she asked the management if she could make a ceramic cross with ceramic roses for her uncle. A cross was made and the management approached local monumental masons to see whether a market existed as an extension of Wembley Ware.

The Monumental Masons were enthusiastic by the prospect of a local and respected supplier making the grave decorations.

Over the next 35 years Ruby made thousands of the floral ceramic tributes for cemeteries and examples of Ruby’s work can be seen in grave yards all over Western Australia.

As Ruby approached retirement, a new manager was appointed at the pottery and he did not want to continue with the floral tributes, especially as Ruby was leaving.

This was devastating for Ruby and she embarked on a plan to continue making ceramic flowers and to call the project Ruby’s Roses. As she had very little technical expertise, Ruby asked the Works Chemist to help her. The Works Chemist already had a ceramic studio and suggested Ruby produce the ceramic flowers there. Some 26 years later, Ruby was still enthusiastically making the floral tributes. Some of the customers knew Ruby for many years and as a mark of their respect, they called her Mrs. Neevay.

Ruby’s Roses has a website at www.rubysroses.com.au

One of the thousands of graves throughout Australia decorated with Ruby’s ceramic tributes

Charles Todd 2011