“It’s so good to see the ASP coming to life again after some weeks of being closed down. Things slowly began moving again with the return of the Diploma students and Toby during Level 3, then members bringing in their work for bisque firing during the second week of Level 2, and the eventual return of some of our classes, albeit in half measure as we complied with the Covid restrictions. After Queen’s birthday weekend, there will be a noticeable increase in people around as some of the ‘catch-up class’ numbers increase. The Members’ Communications that you have received from the committee over recent weeks has kept you up to date with the restructuring of ASP because of the financial losses this year. We are so sorry that this has caused distress to some members, especially Carla, who will be officially thanked at the AGM. There has been a fantastic response from our membership regarding the call for volunteers to help with things and incredible support from members. More about that later in the newsletter.”
-Jill Duncalfe, committee member
Opening up again - a little bit at a time
by Catherine Spence, committee member
ASP’s success in getting up and running again has been down to the support of members prepared to volunteer to be the person on the front desk, load/unload a kiln, getting the gas kiln going again and giving the studio a full on clean out. Thank you to all of you who put your hand up and came into the Centre providing your time and energy to get things going again. A big thank you to tutors who were willing to provide classes for free to students if necessary in order to ensure students had the opportunity to complete their Term 1 class. We are looking forward to seeing more volunteers (including those of you who have already signed up) as we progress towards Term 3 and beyond.
No time to spare! Some members have been going hard out and getting back into the swing of things!
The Kiln Shed fires up
by Bex Plowman, kiln technician
It’s nice and busy around the kiln shed with raw pieces that members made over the lockdown coming in for bisquing. All the kilns are working well, including the gas kiln and we’re slowly getting back into a system after the break. The new system of leaving work in the main house to be carried over to the sheds by volunteers is working well. Just for the short term, we’re not taking bookings for the kilns.
AGM
At last we’ve been able to set a date for this year’s AGM: Sunday, 21st June at 10am in the Studio.
You will receive further information with details, how to nominate people for the committee (including yourself) by email on Monday.
Nourish Exhibition
Cancelled for this year.
Sadly, the loss of weeks due to Covid 19 restrictions has meant we’ve been unable to schedule our annual membership domestic ware exhibition this year. But rest assured it’ll be up and running again next year.
Fire & Clay Exhibition
Yes, this exhibition will still happen this year, a couple of months earlier than is traditional. The opening is scheduled for the 23rd September, so that’s something to really look forward to. Entry forms and all other information will be circulated in mid July. Hopefully everyone is busy making wonderful works for Fire & Clay, or finishing off projects begun in lockdown.
Job Vacancy: Accounts Assistant for ASP
If you have a background in bookkeeping or accounts and experience working in Xero, we would love to have you as part of our team. ASP is looking for a part time (flexible 5hrs per week) person who can take responsibility for the administration of the centre accounts. You will be responsible for:
Supplier payments
Receiving money from members including from class activity, product sales, sales of work through the galleries, donations
Managing petty cash and banking
Reconciling bank accounts
Helping control our expenditure
Producing Xero reports
Assist people who visit and telephone the Centre
Experience of Xero and bookkeeping is essential as the role works independently but also as part of a broader team. We will be using a point of sale system and we operate online payment and booking systems so some knowledge of these processes would be beneficial, but training will be provided. This is a paid role rather than a volunteer role and reports to the Treasurer of ASP. Please contact the ASP office if you’re interested.
What’s been happening for the Diploma students?
by Pat Leddra, diploma student
It’s been an interesting (and trying) time for us all, not least the Dips. The year started with gusto (especially for me, a newbie to the Diploma Course) – a throwing module with Mark Goody making pouring vessels. Actually, one vessel – our best - only bisc’d not glazed. Mark showed us some different techniques and we discussed the merits of spout and handle placement.
Then came Lockdown. Mark and Toby led us through with lots of encouragement and positivity. We learnt a new 4-letter word – ZOOM. Instagram and WhatsApp have also figured very high with the Dips these last couple of months as we have posted photos and videos and communicated on line. I thought Lockdown would be pretty easy with panic bought clay and my wheel. There were periods of great productivity with interesting and thoughtful forms posted from everyone.
Happily, the end of both Lockdown and our module coincided and we had a great session in the studio (with social distancing and without morning tea!) discussing everyone’s thrown pouring vessels. Level 2 now, and we are into a handbuilding sculptural module with JoAnne Raill. All of us I am sure are very happy to be back in the studio, but we still can’t share morning tea!
Residencies at the ASP
We are so lucky to have three potters in residence at the moment – Iza Lozano, Sung Hwan Bobby Park and Siriporn Falcon-Grey. Following are pieces from Bobby and Siriporn, and an introduction to Iza by Melissa Mead.
"A.S.P. acrostic - not quite a poem"
by Sung Hwan Bobby Park
A Place where I found the love of clay.
It was my last year in university, frantically working away on my graduation project in product design. One day, I came across a Facebook ad advertising a coiling class with none other than the amazing Carla Ruka. I signed myself and my mum up to take the weekly Wednesday morning specialist class. It was a very challenging class because I was told I could make anything which was a huge contrast to what my design degree was teaching me. Not having a brief and clients to report back to, left me alone with my creativity to delve into what I wanted to express. It had been such a long time since I just played with creativity and reached into the depth of my imagination to make it a reality. I am forever grateful for that support. I believe it is the nature of Auckland Studio Potters to support makers and have that speak through the tutors and the members.
Shared experience.
Since the years following my first class with Carla at ASP, I have taken classes taught by Jo Raill, Peter Collis, Jinho Jeong, Richard Naylor and Hayley Bridgford. There are so many more names of whom I have become friends with who are all my allies in navigating life as makers, people I share my triumphs and sorrows of trying to make it through life as an artist. ASP has been where I cultivate relationships and grow the support that I have learned to rely on. Once again, I am grateful for ASP for that.
Participate VS Attend.
It is a changing time. Change has happened at ASP. Change is coming. Everything is changing and it has to. I think participating in the conversations to help us collectively head into a direction we want this change to go to is so important. To just dip in and out of the studios and sheds constitutes attending at this time. It does require more effort and courage. But I see in my own work, I learn the most and feel gratification where the effort and courage are applied. At this time, I am also making changes. Changes that are really scary and I have no idea what the outcome will be and how it will impact me. But I am putting into action what I believe is the right decision. As I do that in my own life, I am doing that for ASP. I am the first one to say I am not the brightest person in the room. But together, we can be brilliant. Participate, not just attend.
Image: Hand in Bowl by Sung Hwan Bobby Park
“A Residency without a studio”
by Siriporn Falcon-Grey
During the isolation, I've had no desire to pot. I tried to gather inspiration from various Social Media sites but that still didn't get my bum out of the slump. Finally creating a to-make list and having the pressure of future events lingering over my head, pushed me out of bed, out of the comfort of Netflix zombie mode. My first task was to get my pottery paraphernalia out of the car that I was so fortunate to salvage from the The Auckland Studio Potters. Next, I was determined to start creating, the weather was lovely for two days and then it all turned to custard, being that I was working outside in my courtyard, this made any work impossible. I decided to enjoy the solace of lounging about and wait until the lock down was lifted or minimized to return back to the ASP studio.
In reflection, I do wish I did more, but sometimes being still is more. The lock down was a much needed rest and it helped to rejuvenate my spirits and prepare me for the onslaught of the hectic days ahead. So to my fellow potters that are in despair and having withdrawals from not touching clay during the Covid 19 lockdown, ASP is open and we can forge forward! She's a beauty and waiting for us to bring her back to life! See you around the Centre and be sure to pop by the pod to say hi, your inquisitiveness sparks ideas!
Introducing our new resident- Iza Lozano
by Melissa Mead
Iza Lozano is vivacious and yet unassuming – bubbling over with creative ideas and passion. Some of our members may have been lucky enough to have attended a jewelry-making workshop with Iza earlier in the year at The Clay Centre, and would no doubt have enjoyed her enthusiasm and joy of teaching. She prefers to begin her forms on the wheel and then alter or expand on the base idea whatever way she is led. Her pod shelves are filling up already with gorgeous forms. Please be sure to stop by her residency pod next to Siriporn Falcon-Grey – say a warm welcome, “hi ya” share a chat and a cuppa.
“I feel like my whole life I´ve been following botanical textures with my fingertips, reading lines of earth strata, losing my pupils into the night sky or the flames, and wasn't capable of expressing what I was experiencing, until a few years ago, when I started being a full-time potter, then I found a language that links me to an obsessive, ancestral recognition. Born in Baja California, Mexico (1991), studied social anthropology and years later a technical career in ceramics, I´ve been working with ceramics for the past three years generally at my studio in Mexico City. Usually seeking silhouettes that allow me to play with contrasting volumes and shapes, also trying a sort of intuitive oxide saturations to create bold colors and textures, as I seek for multicultural references for shapes exploration.” - Iza Lozano
Library things
by Bronwyn Mason, ASP librarian
A Library at Home
While libraries (and most other places) have been closed, I’ve been searching online for alternative sources of reading material. I thought I’d share these with you all, in case you too are verging on reading flour packets for lack of something decent! All of the following are free and reasonably simple to access.
Auckland Libraries have several ceramics-related e-books in their catalogue, which you can ‘borrow’ for free online. The process is very straightforward and easy to understand. I am currently reading Mastering the Potter’s Wheel, by Ben Carter, and also have my eye on Illuminate: Contemporary Craft Lighting, by Hannah Nunn.
The Internet Archive has masses of free publications available, from contemporary and well-known to old and obscure. I even spotted some recent back issues of Ceramics Monthly. The crammed layout and volume of material can be a bit overwhelming, so I suggest trying a few searches, using different key words each time. Selecting ‘available to borrow’ will help narrow your search and make it more relevant. Here is a link to one of my searches, in case it’s helpful as a starting point.
Ian Currie’s Stoneware Glazes: A Systematic Approach is available to download for free - courtesy of the author himself.
Finally if you are left wanting after all of that, or simply can’t decide what to read, allow me to suggest a palate cleanser:
Video | How to throw a Banana on the Potter’s Wheel
Happy browsing!
-Bronwyn
Members Directory
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Masterworks Gallery NZ
The BLACK GOLD Exhibition will run from 23 May - 13 June 2020
"This new body of work similarly plays with design ideas from ceramic antiquity, but of a darker contemporary perspective." -John Parker 2020
Image: Siriporn Falcon-Grey