About

Growing up and developing my love of clay

As a child I loved playing with modelling clay and building things in our backyard with sand, or modeling clay indoors.  I would escape to my room or the backyard and get lost for hours on end in my sculpted worlds. I loved building and making whatever I could imagine.  Well, anything practical.

Being able to sculpt and make whatever I imagined provided me with endless possibilities and experiences as a little boy. It taught me how to imagine objects and structures in a physical space. I loved both the rawness of sand and the plasticity of modelling clay.  Two very distinct mediums and textures with their own innate beauty and possibilities.

But most of all, I enjoyed the feeling of clay or sand in my hands, from its malleable raw state, up to its final developed stage.

Clay is a very tactile medium. Whether you mould it, hold the end object in your hand, or view it, it's a sensory experience that connects you with the object or memory.

About my ceramics

I explored ceramics and pottery later in my adult life.  The minute I touched the clay I knew I'd reconnected with my childhood 'love', and a medium I would grow to love even more in my new found adult world of ceramics.

Most of my sculpted ceramic art is anthropomorphised, which means they exude character and personality.  My work is influenced by my surroundings - the Kiwi landscape, its fauna and flora. But sometimes I love just having fun and making quirky and goofy things too.

My functional ware is a combination of sculpted details or simple forms that combine in a unique design or vessel.

I want someone to look at, touch and connect with the object and notice its form, shape or sculpted detail. I prefer not to over-glaze, or cover the entire object in glaze, in order honour the clay body's origin or natural fired state.

All my pieces are made by hand, and not one design is the same as the next. I may decide to add a similar item, but it will always be unique. Weather slight changes made, imprints left by the maker, improvements made, or marks left by the kiln or glaze.

Safety

My functional tableware is all food-safe. This means that they do NOT contain harmful chemicals (lead-free and food-safe).  I purchase commercially safe glazes or mix glazes using only safe ingredients.  I follow food-safe recipes, have been on a course to understand glaze durability, and do not use any lead or other toxic chemicals that could leech.

Aware of environmental impact

As much as I consider the making of my ceramics, I also consider the packaging used, in an effort to reduce waste.

Your ceramic purchase has be wrapped in eco-friendly packaging. There are no plastics and the wrapping can all be recycled.

Packed items are secured within a New Zealand made Pop Starch®. This is made from maize and potato starch and is fully compostable (certified ASTM D6400 & in marine environment to ASTM D7081). It can be safely disposed of in gardens and composts. Water breaks down the Pop Starch®.