My Story

♥ Do What You Truly Love ♥

My interest with pottery began in 1980 when my eldest child took lessons from a local art teacher. Watching his ability to transform a ball of clay into animals and characters intrigued me… and so there it all began!

Firstly came lessons at Glenfield College night school and almost immediately I acquired a pottery wheel, then directly after a small LPG kiln. I was away!

After many more years of self teaching, I knew I needed extra help. Enrolling at Auckland Studio Potters in Onehunga proved to be a very good decision, with all the resources and brilliant tutors at my fingertips. I was excited and learning so much more.

During the 90’s I ran a teaching studio venue at my home for children and adults. This was one of the most exciting times of my ceramic career.

In 2003 Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin created the opportunity for distance learning for Ceramic Art Level 6. Embarking on this study path taught me so much more and with access to many varied tutors, all very proficient in their own field. This experience opened my eyes and mind to lots of different styles of creating. I thoroughly enjoyed this course and in 2008 I re-enrolled for Level 7, which gave me the tools to re-shape my ceramic way of thinking and take me to where I am creatively today.

My latest pieces of work utilise hand made stencils, airbrushing and sgraffito (scratching through the coloured surface to show the clay colour beneath), creating images of people, places and events. The thrown and handmade works I create have become a canvas for my designs.

In an effort to improve the photography of my works for my marketing and exhibitions, I embarked on a Diploma in Freelance Photography with NZIBS. Fortunately, I find that I can now create decals of some of my images and fire them onto some of my plates and vessels.

Throughout my time of ceramic making, I taught piano at my local school. This was immensely enjoyable, but after 26 years retirement allowed me to concentrate on pursuing all of the ideas I have stored up for my clay work and photography.

I love being creative, whether it be with clay, photography or in my rather large garden in beautiful Northland. There is always something else to try, to push further, and that’s so exciting.