Gaining a Bachelor of Māori Art between 2010 and 2013, at Te Wananga O Aotearoa was the solution for Bernadette Ross after she sustained permanent damage to her spine from landscaping.
Bernadette adores working with plant material. “After visiting the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, UK, when I was a younger mum, I was drawn to the woven artefacts on display. After 18 years in the UK I returned to NZ with my family and the journey into Raranga began eight years later.” She feels very privileged to live both by the sea and bush, claiming the inspiration is all around!
Born in South Africa, Ninette Kruger has always enjoyed being creative and explored different mediums until she discovered pewter embossing in 2004.
She taught herself the basics from an instructional book, and later attended a more advanced techniques workshop at a pewter studio in Johannesburg. Since then , she has been focused on refining her technique and thoroughly enjoying metal embossing as a hobby. “I started out with a career in the food and hotel industry, which I absolutely loved, and completed my MBA in 2006. I quickly realised the corporate world was not for me, and set out to carve out a creative career for myself. I immigrated to New Zealand with my family in 2016 and during lockdown 2020, I attended an online artist masterclass that changed my world.”
Kaleb Smith has had no formal training and is completely selftaught, drawing all his information from trial and error and also from the internet. “I’m a builder by trade and was just playing at making things, and then these things started selling faster than I could make them! I decided I may as well give it a shot and with the support of my partner, left my carpentry job and never looked back.”
The freedom to enjoy his hobbies and live a lifestyle worth living, rather than working himself into the ground doing a job he wasn’t happy with, has made everything worthwhile. He is not sure what drives his creative streak as an artist but likes just doing things and making things that are hard to achieve and hopefully haven’t been done before.
Switching between studio pottery and ceramic sculptures Laura Buchanan, also known as Lulu, has moved around New Zealand quite extensively, but has now settled in a small seaside community, near Whanganui. She introduces herself to us and tells us her story.
I started making clay sculptures about 15 years ago, while living at Muriwai Beach. My husband was a paramedic, so worked nights regularly. I’d get our two young daughters, Maddie and Pippa off to bed, then spend my evening creating with clay. The femine figures which were formed, related to that maternal stage of my life. Without access to a kiln I’d make silicone and plaster molds of the clay forms, to later cast the sculptures using concrete.
Growing up in Barcelona, Spain and watching fantasy films filled with amazing creatures, Uriel Tian found the 1990s and 2000s a golden age for fantasy films. He was absolutely delighted to find the world he could create just using his imagination. This made him realise that he could do something like this and he began to direct his life toward becoming an artist.
“I studied Practical FX (A practical effect is a special effect produced physically, without computer-generated imagery or other post-production techniques) for the film industry in Barcelona in THUYA Academy in 2012, and then I began my Sculpture degree in 2014 in La Llotja Arts School in Barcelona.” Loving the feeling he gets while creating and the freedom that comes with it, Uriel knows he can challenge himself to become better and better. “I like to have dynamic projects and I feel I could never get tired of working. That also makes me understand how powerful it is to pursue your goals and dreams.”
Lynn Isherwood uses the old as time ceramic technique of hand building to create flowers, animals, birds and creatures for people to enjoy. Her calling is to create, to make, and to then close the loop by recording, and reflecting on, the outcome. This is her passion.
“I have been keen on art all my life. I love making; it is my passion. I believe that there is a spiritual creative force which encourages, inspires and uplifts me. I am happy when people buy my works and take them home to enjoy them in their daily lives. I am happy in my studio when I am in a creative flow… or just thinking and playing with my art. My aim is to develop more skills and confidence in painting and pottery – to be able to express myself more fully.
Four years ago, McGregor Allen discovered one of his greatest passions and enjoyments in life: the malleable substance of clay. Through the use of various tools such as the revolutionary ‘Pimple Popper’, and small rakes, McGregor has moulded, shaped, and sculpted dull clumps of clay, then cast his creations in bronze to produce whimsical beasts that would not look out of place in a sci-fi movie. He also specialises in realistic figures and playful animals from all around the world.
Working for New Zealand Post during the day, and as a full time sculptor at night, McGregor has honed his talents to produce life-like, interactive sculptures that garnered widespread praise during an exhibition at Sculpture on the Peninsula. The Allen family was shattered when McGregor’s elder brother and idol was diagnosed with terminal cancer; it was an event that would change them forever. Despite the harrowing and at times overwhelming sense of sadness and frustration that comes with such crises, McGregor’s brother stayed strong throughout it all – encouraging his family to soldier on in the face of hardship, and to have as much tenacity and durability as a bronzed warrior; steadfast and resilient. Encouraged by his brother’s strength, and emboldened by his own anguish, McGregor carried within him the need to help his brother and, as an artist living in an age where communication with those near and far is just a click away, he knew he could make a difference. Enclosed in his studio, surrounded by his tools and equipment, he was determined to immortalize his idol and capture his brother’s memory through clay and bronze. “In my brother’s honour I have begun sculpting a Chatham Island Robin, which I plan to auction off with all proceeds going towards cancer research. With these Black Robins – my brothers’ choice of bird – buyers will receive a wonderful token from me to show our thanks for donating to an incredible cause.”
Kap has a fascination for historic ships and has spent many hours crafting models of these to scale, using wood. These are fascinating and even fitted out with beds, tables, kegs and sacks of grain. He has produced these entirely himself, lovingly honing each piece to fit exactly. He sources marble and granite from New Zealand as well as sandstone and marble from Australia, and has worked with many differently layered strata as well as with marble. He is careful with strata to get the contours of the layers to follow the shapes he is creating – a good example of this is ‘Lottie’. When the rocks are transported, they get shipped over, transported via train or truck and delivered using a truck with a hydraulic crane or hiab that lifts the rock and places it where it is best for him to work. He then studies the rock until he can see the figure inside it. He uses, from his extensive collection of tools, a grinder to remove the pieces that are not part of his vision. He has a number of different discs to exchange in the grinder, each with their own specific purpose, be it grinding, cutting or shaping. He has a few cone shaped grinder attachments, which are useful for smaller areas. Kap’s works are expressions of mood through human and abstract forms, carved into the finest quality stone. Each is unique and cannot be reproduced. They have been sold to collectors of fine art in many countries and his work is represented in a number of public collections, including Government House, Wellington. Many pieces have been commissioned for presentation to community and corporation leaders, notable of which was Wellington City’s presentation to Sir David and Lady Beattie upon Sir David’s retirement as Governor-General. KAP Pothan
Raised in a hardworking community dominated by pastoral farming, the Buick family learned that improvising with finite resources would produce innovating results. This ‘make do, can do’ attitude embodies the tradition of Kiwi ingenuity where New Zealanders refuse to be held back by limited resources, and believe in their ability to solve problems in ways that challenge the status quo – this is otherwise known as the ‘Number 8 Wire’ mindset, most prevalent in rural families.
Ngaire’s father was your typical, hardworking Kiwi bloke – a man who carved a living for himself and his family through hard effort tending to his farm, cattle and sheep. Her mother, a nurse by trade, was a wealth of artistic inspiration. “As kids we were surrounded by her creativity – the curtains, furniture coverings, the clothes we wore, bedspreads – all were created by my mum. She was an amazing seamstress who could knit, crochet, and make lace but her true passion was porcelain dolls. “The first item I burnt was a wooden spoon (which I still have) and I was hooked. My husband and I soon fell into a routine; he would turn bowls and candles holders which I would then decorate with pokerwork and sell at markets on the weekend.” Through this, their business Burnt Offerings was born. Ngaire soon realised that her husband could not keep up with her demands for turned pieces, so she turned to refurbishment, and fell in love with the idea of giving unwanted items a new lease of life. Thus, ‘upcycling’ became her new medium. Ngaire Kearney
My name is Rick Rubens. When I started creating unusual furniture from recycled materials I never dreamt it would lead to a full time career; least of all that I’d become an artist. Although I had to be persuaded that my work is art. Despite being creative all my life, having never studied in a creative field I could never come to terms with saying “I’m an artist”. I still find it difficult.
All my pieces are unique. They’re one-offs using predominately reclaimed materials, leather to steel and most important of all, wood. When referring to reclaimed materials, this will often mean an existing piece of furniture (which I call the ‘canvas’) from yesteryear, but not always. Some creations are a combination of several separate pieces of furniture, whilst other works are made from materials that have never been furniture before.
BLADESMITH
THE POTTERY PLACE
