Emma Zhang & Phil Van der Mespel
pohutukawa fusion
Medium: Porcelain, Pohutukawa & Puriri
Dimensions: 23cm H / 11.5cm W
Price: $667
About: Fully merging two opposed art forms is a challenge! We took the challenge head on and came up with fusing one into the other. This was no easy task as the pottery had to be duplicated in wood, but slightly smaller and then inserted. To emphasise the fusion, I cut away a section of the pottery the had to glue pottery and wood together, not knowing if this could be done. To highlight the fusion even more I used a two-pot resin with colour. This project was very difficult and enormously time consuming, not to be repeated!
The main section of wood is heart Pohutukawa with a Puriri lid and ebony finial.
seashore elm
Medium: Porcelain / Elm / Puriri
Dimensions: 24cm H / 13cmW
Price: $537
About: Pottery is made by building something up, and woodturning is achieved by peeling away. Working collaboratively, we started to discover the skill and scope of each other’s art. Discussing colours and texture variations opened up more and more possibilities and enthusiasm. Here is a blend of colours found on the seashore from the rocky shoreline going into the smooth water. The crown is of elm, grown near the sea. The insert, female thread, is Puriri and the lid also Puriri as this very hard wood holds the thread very well.
Autumn Blend
Medium: Stoneware, Puriri, Plum, Resin & Rimu
Dimensions: 25cm H / 12cm w
Price: $487
About: With earthy colours and the hint of autumn, we felt a contrast of shape and colour would work best. The first edition was not satisfactory to either artist. Fitting pottery to a wood lathe is a real challenge I hadn’t faced before, but it had to be done in order to re-shape the crown. Scary, but successful. The crown was created from a piece of very old plum tree, over 100 years old. The insert, female threaded section, is of Puriri as it is hard and holds a thread. The lid is of Rimu with a section removed to create a coloured resin insert to relate to the pottery glaze.
beachcomber
Medium: Stoneware / Swamp Kauri / Gum / Ebony
Dimensions: 25cm H / 15cm W
Price: $527
About: There are infinite possibilities in terms of shape when throwing pots. This piece moulded in the China classic meiping shape (plum vassel 梅瓶). Its broad shoulders reducing to a tapered base. The crown is of ancient swamp Kauri, probably many thousands of years old. The insert is also of matching ancient Kauri and the lid of white gum with an ebony finial. This collaboration is more than just an object; it's a narrative. It tells a story of tradition and modernity, of East meets West, and of two crafts coming together in harmonious union.
Puriri Grove
Medium: Raku firing / Swamp Kauri / White Gum / Ebony
Dimensions: 28cm H / 13.5 W
Price: $587
About: There are many, many different forms of pottery. This one has been fired in a Raku kiln, Raku firing is a really unique and captivating ceramic technique. Originating from Japan, it brings out such unpredictable and beautiful patterns on ceramics, making it a great choice for crafting distinctive urns. The crown is of ancient swamp Kauri, probably many thousands of years old. The insert is also of matching ancient Kauri and the lid of white gum with an ebony finial.
Phil Van der Mespel (UrnCraft)
My introduction to woodturning was during my first year at high school, 1974. Being so fascinated by the action of being able to effectively carve/shape wood at speed, I bought my first lathe as soon as I left school. I’ve been turning on and off ever since, about 46 years.
Emma’s husband and I were working together, and Emma spoke of a pottery exhibition, with emphasis on collaborative work with a totally different art medium. We quickly brainstormed what this would look like. I’d imported a new lathe 3 years ago and started making’ hollow-forms’. Essentially making flower vases, and then fitting them with a fine threaded wooden lid created a jar, a vessel, that could be used as a cremation urn. Thus, Urncraft was born. We set up a website, Urncraft.com, and have since sold nearly 200 urns, mostly to funeral directors.
Though Emma and I played with ideas of non-conventional art forms, the practical side of guided us to a collaborative, practical product, pottery and timber urns.