Ceramics Archives - Aotearoa Artist

Yasmin Yussof

1 January 2017
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Carving, Ceramics, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Nature, Sculpture, Symbolism

GLOBAL GIRL

My name is Yasmin Yussof. I was born in Germany of Swiss-Malaysian parentage. I have been an Australian citizen, lived around the world and now, I am a permanent resident of New Zealand. Someone once called me ‘Global Girl’ as I never lived anywhere for more than two years, and was born to parents from different ends of the world.

My father was an Ambassador so I have lived in Singapore, Germany, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, India, Iran and Rome. Travelling all over the world as a child I attended mainly international schools. From when I was young, I have always been a tactile person, never knowing I wanted to be an artist, it just happened. I always creating something, just a doodler and needing to keep my hands busy. Never thinking anything of it, just did it. If one has a calling, whatever the profession, you can’t help but go in that direction.

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Karen Taylor

1 September 2016
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Ceramics, Contemporary Art, Featured Artists, Figures, Nature, Polymer Clay, Sculpture

Born an artist, Karen Patricia Taylor has always had a fascination with the human form which is often an integral element to her work. Driven by an intrinsic force where her creativity finds a happy balance within the flow of her artistic making, her work speaks of the feminine amongst a myriad of other creative explorations. Her early life was spent drawing and making, often copying faces from comics, “pages and pages of them” until this grew to include the human form.

By the time she was in her late 20’s she began to work with clay, primarily cut and altered slip cast objects. Slip cast objects are created when liquid clay (slip) is poured into plaster moulds and allowed to form a layer, the cast is left on the inside cavity of the mould and taken out and altered or added to as required.

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Christine Redfern

1 March 2016
Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Ceramics, Featured Artists, Nature, Realism, Sculpture

BREAKING THE BOUNDARIES

Christine Pickstone-Redfern spent her childhood years watching and assisting her father, the renowned Queensland artist, George Pickstone, sketch, paint and carve. Her passion and inherent talent ensured her participation in scholastic art activities, where she spent much time sketching and entering art competitions. Winning an Australasian scholarship to the Melbourne Art Training Institute boosted her confidence. She re-trained to become a nurse.

Christine has a very interesting perspective in life. All of her creations are unique - ‘one of a kind’. She will not reproduce any work (not even try to) twice, and the worst thing you could say to Christine is: “It can’t be done, it’s not possible.” She wants to know why, and you while you are explaining, she’ll do it anyway and when you finish explaining, she will be standing proudly next to her latest creation, defying the rules.

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Cherol Filbee

1 November 2015
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Ceramics, Drawing, Featured Artists, Figures, Floral, Oils, Pencil, Polymer Clay, Portraits, Realism, Still-life, Street Scenes, Watercolour

A PORTABLE OCCUPATION

Cherol Filbee has been heading in the arts direction her whole life. She loves being an artist. “I am never bored and my work is portable. My husband Peter, a top croquet player, enters tournaments all over NZ and likes me to accompany him. He knows I am lost without a project, so the deal is that I take my art work with me. When he played the world champs in London, I enrolled in a five day portraiture class at the Heatherly School Of Fine Art.”

Qualifying from The Learning Connection with honours in art and creativity, Cherol studied part-time, starting in 2010.
Awarded a scholarship for every year but one, she explains that simply drawing has become the basis of all her work. “I love faces and like to portray them as portraits or caricature in 2D and 3D. Cats have also featured quite a lot in my work. I like to challenge myself and work from life rather than a photo reference.”

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Aaron Scythe

1 May 2015
Artists, Ceramics, Contemporary Art, Featured Artists, Sculpture, Stylized

DRIVEN TO CREATE

Painter and ceramicist, Aaron Scythe trained at the Carrington Polytech in Auckland in 1988 and East Sydney Polytech in 1989 where he developed an interest in Momoyama pots.

While working at the Sturt Craft Centre in NSW, Australia he built an Anagama Kiln and began investigating Shino glazes. In 1995 he travelled to Japan to study Minoyaki style pottery under master ceramicist Koie Ryoji. Aaron lived and worked in Japan until 2011 when he returned to New Zealand. During his time in Japan he held over 60 solo exhibitions and participated in many group shows and workshops. He is currently based in Whanganui East.

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Maxine Waters

1 March 2015
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Ceramics, Contemporary Art, Featured Artists, Figures, Realism, Sculpture, Still-life

CLASS IN CLAY

With nothing more than a deep-seated belief that art would be a major part of her life, internationally-recognised New Zealand ceramicist Maxine Waters decided after attending some night classes at Riccarton High School in Christchurch, that clay was to be her ‘thing’.

“I have had no formal art training, only a passion to learn everything yesterday,” Maxine says emphatically. Formal or not, Maxine says being an active membership of pottery clubs allowed her opportunity to participate in the many workshops from visiting international and local potters, which enhanced her skills and fuelled an inherent passion to create. “I was part of the successful potters co-operative ‘Classy Clay’ in Christchurch for around seven years then continued on my own, making and selling my domestic ware. At one stage employing three sales staff,” Maxine reveals.

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Vinny Thompson

1 January 2015
Animals, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Birdlife, Ceramics, Featured Artists, Floral, Kiwiana, Painting, Street Scenes

THE PASSION THAT SURROUNDS

When a fine artist was introduced to ceramics the resultant mix was an evocative blend of genres and bold colours recalling another side to what makes New Zealand what it is. Vinny Thompson talks about her life, work and her passion for clay.

My introduction into ceramics came about while I was attending night classes at Archibald’s ‘The Art Place’, in Upper Hutt where I was learning portraiture painting with Mary Archibald. I booked in for a weekend class doing clay sculpture with Wellington sculptor Di Conway who was teaching us how to make ‘roly poly’ women. In the first 10 minutes of having my hands on the clay, I thought, “Oh I can do this! I like this!”

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Di Conway

1 January 2015
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Carving, Ceramics, Expressionism, Featured Artists, Figures, Sculpture

DOING IT HER WAY

Wellingtonian Di Conway was all smiles and radiance when we met up with her at The NZ Art Show last year. There is literally a light emanating out of this lady. Displayed on her stand are groups of her renowned ‘Roly’s’ – ‘women of substance’ and a number of her remarkable drawings and yes, the light shines through.

Creating works in both bronze and clay, Di Conway has had many successful solo exhibitions. She is an elected artist member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Art (NZAFA) and is also a foundation and active member of the Pueto bronze casting group, now in its 26th year.

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DeAnne Lawford-Smith

1 November 2014
Abstract, Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Carving, Ceramics, Featured Artists, Figures, Impressionism, Installation, Maori, Portraits, Sculpture

FOR LOVE OR MONEY

Born in Levin, DeAnne Lawford Smith has been artistically inclined from birth. Growing up in a large family which included many foster children, the easiest and most economical means of entertainment was with paper and pencils. With enthusiastic encouragement from her family, DeAnne has blossomed into a full time professional artist.

Married with three children, DeAnne travelled between Rotorua and Taupo over a four year period to complete her Diploma of Visual Art (Fine Art) in 2000 at the Waiariki Institute of Technology. Armed with this accomplishment, she managed to overcome her shyness and was able to present her work to galleries and buyers, resulting in her first solo exhibition in Tauranga and achieved first place in the prestigious Portage Ceramic Award in 2007.

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Carol Laubscher

1 July 2014
Artists, Australia, New Zealand & Oceania, Ceramics, Featured Artists, Figures, Impressionism, Realism, Sculpture

SHADES OF CLAY

Clay is a very sensual medium with which to work. Once you get involved, it takes on a life of its own. It is you, your hands and the clay working together, creating, moulding, curving. The end result is a marriage of both of you.

So says Naenae-based sculptor Carol Ann Laubscher who admits to being more than a little enamoured by the human form: “I love to try and emulate the beauty of the female form,” she says.

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