Around 30 years ago he was studying in Bathurst to be a teacher, specialising in Physical Education.

When it came time to fill out a job application his area of specialty wasn't on the list. So he ticked a box, crossed out 'art' to it and wrote 'physical education' next to it.

He got the job at Mount Druitt, turned up to work and was told he had a month to get his art classroom together.

"I've always enjoyed making things but never studied art at school," Rod said.

"I did one unit of pottery at uni to make up the credits."

Three years later Rod was teaching art very well and keenly interested in pottery. A few years later and Rod began working professionally as an artist.

His work Crystalline Pottery has featured in Europe and 22 galleries around Australia regularly seek to stock and sell his pieces. The galleries are sending his work to New York, Alaska and Japan.

Rod's work is original. His glazes, or glass as he calls it, grow crystals in the cooling process after cooking in his kilns at 1320 degrees Celsius. Each piece develops its own personality as crystal growth and development is unique to each piece.

The recipe for his glass is a secret.

"I have been interviewed by journalists before who have asked all sorts of questions about the work and found out they weren't really journalists but potters under cover," Rod said.

Luckily we at the Camden Haven Courier are an honest bunch.

Rod 's early artistic career involved creating pots, vases, platters and lamps. In the last three years he expanded to vanity basins, water features and birdbaths. Each piece is created in clay by hand on a potters' wheel before the glazing process.

Rod recently opened a studio locally to sell to the public from his home on Jolly Nose Drive. While the studio is open most days, Rod asks customers to phone before visiting to avoid disappointment (6585 4035).

A visit to studio is an eye opening experience and should include a trip to the toilet, seriously.

The walls of the outdoor 'dunny' and studio are conglomerate rock, made by pouring gravel, cement and feature pieces into formwork. When set the walls are blasted with water to reveal feature items like large rocks and in Rod's toilet example an old hand saw that belonged to his father, grandfather's shearing clippers, fossils, thunderstones, pot, and an iron wheel that belonged to a wheelbarrow he used to push around as a child.

Rod and Julie moved to Bonny Hills 16 years ago to raise their three children on the coast. Rod said the original plan was to move to Port Macquarie, but they wanted a reasonable amount of land to live on and it was suggested they check out Bonny Hills, which was perfect for the Page family who discovered two acres on which to make their home.

Rod said he is "blown away everyday" by his career. He loves opening the kiln and discovering each piece, the flexible working hours and working by himself.

"When you're working with clay you're only limited by your imagination," Rod said.

It will be interesting to see what comes out of the studio of this local, international artist next.