From the committee
Kia Ora ASP Members, it’s been awhile since the last President update as it’s been quite a bit to adjust to the office transitioning over to an external accountant. In short, a lot of unlearning AND learning and new processes to fine tune! I can say that the audit is now underway and we have an extension with the companies office for filing End of Year financials for 2020.
With the boring (but vital) stuff out of the way, the momentum of ASP’s creativity and community both as people and as a space, has been tracking really well. Lots of love has been given to the centre property over the past 13 months and is still going. We are lucky to have Doni as ASP’s new office assistant to support Hayley, after holding it down for almost a year – thank you Hayley! The return of Nourish this year is just another of the examples that are testament to our resilience and growth as a community. So please don’t forget to thank yourself and each other.
Awesome stuff Team ASP!
Nga Mihi
Livi
Welcome Richard Penn
My family and I moved to Auckland from Johannesburg, South Africa at the beginning of December 2020. Both my wife, Robyn Penn, and I are full time artists and our son, Zachary, is in Year 12 at Western Springs College. Our daughter, Mia, is finishing off her undergrad studies at Maastricht University in The Netherlands. There were so many push and pull factors that encouraged us to make this crazy decision. Robyn and the kids all hold Kiwi passports and so we have always fantasised about moving to New Zealand and over the years it has become more and more attractive.
It’s surreal to look back on our arrival in New Zealand, from a year of Covid anxiety in Joburg, and our two weeks of quarantine at the Crowne Plaza in central Auckland. I would often look out of the window at the people walking on the streets below (without masks and sometimes even shoulder to shoulder!) and imagine that soon I might be one of those strange people on my way to some mysterious destination with hardly a thought about airborne pathogens or social distancing. It was exciting but, because I am Jewish and nurture my anxieties like a maternal marsupial, I was also quivering with trepidation. We hardly knew anyone, we had no network, no collectors, no galleries, no standing in the art world, no jobs and a small financial cushion that the Auckland rental market had earmarked for summary dismemberment. When I was released from MIQ I did a barista course, just in case.
I had found Auckland Studio Potters when I was still in Johannesburg and so I decided to apply for membership. At this point we were living in our first rental apartment, 40 square meters on Don Croot Street in Morningside. For interest sake I drove through to Onehunga to take a look and met the Grand Groundsmaster, Hayley Bridgford, and Uber Kilnslord, Bex Plowman, for the first time. Hayley encouraged me to pack the clay shed and to apply for the residency programme and Bex encouraged me to mop down the kiln floor. That was how I dropped into the ASP community. I cannot begin to explain how grateful I am to ASP for this opportunity. I have always worked from home but our current living arrangements don’t include a studio space so to be able to work all day in my residency pod and have access to the facilities and, more importantly, to the people at ASP has made such an enormous impact on my work and my mental well-being that it is difficult to quantify. The openness and willingness to share knowledge in this community is extremely special. People I have brief conversations with show up at my studio days later with suggestions that have been percolating in their pottery brains.
I remember sitting with Robs in our flat in Joburg, imagining what shape our ideal career trajectory would look like and we thought that it would be great to find a gallery/retail space that had ties with Japan. On our first outing outside of MIQ we walked up Williamson Avenue, turned right onto Ponsonby and walked straight into Public Record. Here we met the owner, Yuka O’Shannessy and showed her our work. It was such an amazing chance meeting and six months later we have an exhibition at her gallery/retail space and the experience has been wonderfully supportive and positive. Both Robyn and I encourage you to visit her shop as she has an incredible aesthetic and is a pleasure to work with.
Our first 7 months in our new home has been overwhelmingly positive but It’s also been a huge adjustment. Our family and friends are ten time zones away and so when we are awake and experiencing our new reality, our friends and family are fast asleep at home. Our inability to share in the moment, our excitements and fears, only serves to widen the distance between us and our previous lives. It’s a strange thing to question where home is when you have only ever lived in one city, but for me, the idea of ‘home’ is slowly broadening and becoming much richer as I continue to be generously welcomed to New Zealand.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner with John Dawson
It was supposed to be an exciting time in August 2020 by coming to NZ for 6 months including working at the ASP but the world stopped. Our flights were cancelled because of the dreaded COVID pandemic. We had the option to rebook so we made a new plan to arrive in early January, as we thought everything would be back to normal after six months. How wrong we were!!! We thought by coming in January we could enjoy a New Zealand summer then go back to the UK to enjoy the English summer. MIQ booked and flights sorted so we were good to go, however all this came to an abrupt halt as I came down with COVID and tested positive on Boxing Day.
I seemed to have been dealt what I thought was a mild version but, as my energy and appetite completely disappeared and my breathing became a concern, I quickly realised that I had the full COVID 19. This is an extremely nasty virus and not to be taken lightly. I had two months in bed only drinking water and taking paracetamol; my recovery has been very slow and is still going on. I lost a lot of weight. The virus attacks your lungs so breathing became difficult. I was very lucky not to have been admitted to hospital and put on a ventilator but it was touch and go. I did go to A&E once when my blood oxygen level dropped to a concerning low but it turned out that I had a chest infection as well. Once this was taken care of with antibiotics I was back on the slow road to recovery.
Finally arriving in NZ in mid-March we were very fortunate to be placed in a MIQ hotel that had a balcony and was also a sun trap. Our two weeks quarantine went very quickly and was in no way a bad experience. We really didn’t want to leave as we were treated so well!!
I had been invited to teach a specialist course on a Wednesday evening at the ASP which was themed. I called the course “Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner” which basically meant that we were going to address all things used at a table. This covered vessels for food preparation and serving not to mention table decoration. The main focus was on function. It's all very well having a nice-looking vessel but does it function!! Function is very important when you are designing especially if it’s going to be used in an oven.
This has been a very structured course that has proved to be a good discipline for the students. We make something different every week related to food and drink. For me, it’s been quite a challenge; something that I have really enjoyed and will continue to practice when I return to the UK. In previous years teaching at the ASP I have taken courses on agateware, pots with lids and general all level classes.
In London, I teach at Putney School of Art and Design. This is one of the surviving purpose built Victorian art school buildings left in London. All the other buildings have been sold off and converted into flats. All the class rooms have lovely big glass windows, so there is plenty of light. We are very fortunate to have rooms on two floors. The ground floor is the main studio and the basement is our glaze and kiln area. We also have a gas fired kiln that allows us to do reduction firings. This is a big plus in pottery school studios in London. My classes in London are all levels but as the terms continue, the students return which leaves no spaces for newcomers. This is very similar to the classes in NZ. We have a waiting list a mile long. All this is the thanks to “The Great British Thrown Down” as all the adult pottery classes were on the brink of closing down but there has been a surge in wanting to play with clay once again.
John Dawson at The Makers Gallery
In London my personal work is in porcelain and at the moment I am working with agateware. I have an exhibition at the new Makers Gallery, next to the Clay Centre, please come along to the preview on August 13.
The Makers Gallery, 143 Marua Road, Mt Wellington
Opening preview August 13 from 6pm to 8pm
Exhibition will run from August 14 to September 4
Elena Renker at Public Record
After many studio visits over the past three years, and through many long conversations, Elena and I have become very close. She is always busy and puts 100% into everything she does. She's forever experimenting and trying new approaches and techniques until she is satisfied that the result reflects what she is trying to achieve. We have had two shows together in the past. There is a symbiosis between her work and the aesthetic of my store and her work is always well received by my customers as a result. The most recent show we held for Elena comprised a monumental body of new work - more than 140 pieces!
Most of the pieces that she created were to her own brief, wanting to express her 'current’ work. Now, however, we are starting to discuss how to further collaborate so the pieces are even more harmonious to my space and customers while still aligning to Elena’s personal creative philosophies. Together we have been discussing creating particular art objects; which could be art pieces that you want to take home on a whim, but are functional at the same time.
For this show we wanted to create artefacts for everyone - something that has relevance, is usable, and feels good to have around home. We pushed her normal boundaries but since she is open to trying new things, and we are usually on the same page, she always nails it. That is why I really like working with her.
For most shows I put on I lend half the space, but for Elena’s most recent show we used the entire store because the work felt so well harmonised and we believed that it would achieve great results. It turned out to be one of the most successful shows that I’ve ever organised.
As we are a privately run gallery, we need to make sufficient income for both the artist and for me to keep the space going. Elena, therefore, works 100% for her creations. I’ve also been trying to lift my company to the next level, moving closer to a gallery than a concept store while still providing a retail service. This is a significant point of difference to other galleries. We enjoy providing a friendly environment to come into, where you can touch and feel the beautiful items that I carry. One of the things that’s unique about our store is that we create an atmosphere that you want to be immersed in, where customers are encouraged to engage their senses with touch, smell, sight, and occasionally even taste. The calm and presentation helps people to appreciate the workmanship and individuality of each artwork or object while connecting to them and imagining them in their home. It is a warmer, friendlier and more sensory experience than a traditional stark white gallery space.
We work closely with artists so we can delicately pass on each artist’s story to the customers to further enhance their understanding of the works they are drawn to. This creates a more meaningful relationship between customer and shopkeeper and always opens up beautiful conversations in store. By encouraging customers to touch and pick up objects, we are also inviting them to participate in this environment we have created in a more lively way.
Elena’s aim is not perfection; on the contrary, her stated belief is 'imperfections make the bowls come alive, make them easier to relate to, make them more human. Nature’s perfection lies within its own asymmetry.'
Yuka O'Shannessy Public Record
Fiona Jack takes up residence
In February, March and April I was artist/potter/scamp in residence in one of the pods at ASP. It was fruitful, and so much fun, and I thank all of you society members for having me. I have been making pottery for eight years and it was the very first time I was able to return to work on a daily basis, rather than waiting a week until my next class. What a revelation! So much to be learned from constantly touching and altering clay as it dries. Out of necessity I had developed processes that I could start and finish in one night – not so easy for a hand builder. But I think that restriction has actually been beneficial for me – pushing me to problem solve and develop a style of hand building that is my own.
In the bright sunny pod, with all that time and space, I challenged myself to figure out some interesting ways to make hand-built bowls. I had always felt that bowls – really useful breakfast/dinner type bowls – were the domain of the thrower and I had struggled to find a way to make a hand-built bowl that didn’t feel awkward, too heavy, or too light. I had a few breakthrough moments and I think I am on the path to bowl nirvana. I used everything I could find – plaster moulds, exercise balls, foam, buckets, scrunched up jumpers, and made lots and lots of bowls. I made other things too and did lots of glaze testing which was exciting – oh to have a kiln just metres away all the time! One day…
I think my favourite thing about the residency was simply being in the daily ebb and flow of the centre. It was wonderful to see all the classes come and go, to sit in on demonstrations, to always be invited to glorious morning teas, and to have constant input and energy from the many gorgeous and talented humans that belong to our society of potters. I spent hours in the library, and more hours studying the bisqueware in the house – a treasure trove built-up over 60 years.
My neighbours and fellow residents Richard Penn and Fiona Mackay and the ever-present Hayley became the centre of my orbit for three months – all three so kind and funny and clever. I feel a bit limb-less now without them! I ended up making a tonne of work in my wee pod and gathered it all up into a show at Allpress Studio. Thank you to all of you who came along, shared coffee and said nice things.
I love making pots, and I have been thinking about that a lot this year. Why do I like it so much? It’s all the stuff we all know – the never-ending learning, the alchemy, the earth and our hands. But I think it’s really ASP that has made me love pottery. A society of makers, drinking tea from each other’s cups.
Woodstoke 2021, Whangamatā
April saw the third WoodstokeNZ take place on Maureen and Dennis Allison’s farm just south of Whangamatā heading towards Waihi. The valley, a site of beautiful found clay, has now hosted three of these events, the first of which was held in 2012.
This year 70 attendees joined the Woodstoke crew to make, build and fire in a multitude of kilns which have progressively been built onsite at each event. It was a four-day event, however, Maureen’s Anagama firing was loaded in the week preceding the event and started a day before. This three day firing was joined by the earthenware kiln fired by Duncan Shearer (26 hours), a single piece firing by Fiona Tunnicliffe (16 hours), Janet Smiths pit firing (14 hours), the bottle (Gyans) kiln fired by Louis Kittleson (28 hours), the fast fire soda (Isaac Patmore) kiln fired by Paul Maseyk (28 hours), an octagonal charcoal kiln built and fired by Mike O’Donnell (6 hours), the bunny hole kiln built by bunnies and fired by Maureen’s grandchildren and the performance firing of the Gumboot Kiln made and fired by Peter Lange and Jenny Lange. The overall longest running firing award, though, must go to the BBQ - that beast worked throughout the 5 days, feeding the troops and attendees alike.
The event offered demonstrations by Elena Renker making Kurinuki Chawan, Anneke Borren throwing perfect forms, Kate Fitzharris hand building sculptural beings, Mike O’Donnell throwing and making ‘Putangitangi hue udu’, Darryl Frost throwing with the amazingly textural ‘found clay’ as well as cleaning techniques, and the best potter in the world, Laurie Steer, encouraging the art of ‘Claybration’. Attendees used prepared thrown pots (made by the demonstrators) and added, took away, changed things up in a highly engaging way. The results were a joy. Laurie also made a magnificent urn which ended up being pelted with clay balls until it was again a lump of clay.
Another incredibly satisfying event run by Duncan Shearer, Janet Smith, Maureen Allison and Fiona Tunnicliffe.
Margaret Bray
Duncan Shearer's wood fired soda kiln at ASP
The awaited kiln building project at the centre has commenced and is now well advanced. The project had its genesis a few years ago when Peter Lange visited Duncan Shearer and agreed on the idea; the brief being for Duncans fast fire design, powered by a dutch oven firebox with a chamber designed for spraying soda. The kilns first steps were made when a purchase of suitable kiln shelves was made online by Mike Donaldson, arriving at the centre early 2018.
The site was easily agreed to be in place of the old broken small kiln, and removal work started. This seemingly quick job seemed to drag on forever before the actual build could begin. We now realise that removal of dusty broken old bricks, steel and concrete is not something to be taken lightly! An extra wood storage area was established, material list made and sourced, and, thanks to amazing help from volunteers, an extra large concrete pad was poured at very little cost to the centre. The stage was set for the building to start!
Bricks, bricks, bricks. The pile was enormous and it still is. However, the volunteering team has been working hard to clean, sort and stack the piles of older bricks salvaged from the old Anagama kiln. Huge thanks to the team for a thankless task; those old bricks are the backbone of the kiln and recycling is much cheaper than buying new. Of course, new fire bricks have also been bought and delivered to the centre; they are not only beautiful to behold but also necessary for the most hard wearing areas of the kiln which are the throat arch and the chamber.
As winter set in, it became obvious that a shelter would have to be made to protect us from the elements. Again, where would we be without the talented membership? A call was answered and another amazing team set to work on what now looks like a fabulous wood firers retreat.
So work continues; the planning happens in stages when we assess the progress to date and consult with Duncan for guidance. We are very fortunate to have an experienced team of kiln builders to lead the project and a cheery team of helpful volunteers in tow. Duncan has been very generous with his planning and travel time to Auckland. Its exciting that the centre has a symmetry with Duncan's own kiln and pottery at Rahu Rd, Paeroa – where he teaches excellent firing workshops involving the very same kiln design.
I look forward to bringing updates to you through the weekly notices or in the newsletter.
Bex Plowman
