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School holiday programme, new adult classes, clay melts!

Our term break is coming up, and we’ve got some new classes and workshops to satisfy your clay cravings. We’ll also be running some School Holiday Programmes – take a look, and feel free to share with your friends who might be looking for something creative and fun for the kiddies to do. Check them out below!...

Meet Mark, Mighty Waikato Pottery Throw Down

Another week of potty goodness down! It’s been quietish in the studio this week – come see us soon, we miss you 😊...

Elected Committee, New Life Members, Workshops etc.

The results of the glazing portion of the Liz Sharek workshop came out of the kiln earlier in the week – much oooing and aaaahing and patting of pots took place in the kiln room. Some gorgeous results!...

AGM, Exhibition Countdown, Upcoming Events

We hope you’re all keeping warm and well in this cold weather. If you’re cold, then we’ve got the heaters on for you! And if you’re not feeling well… we still love you dearly, but we’d also love if you could please wait till you’re better before coming into the studio. We have a duty to all our staff, volunteers and visitors to do our best in operating a safe studio environment and we do have some immuno-compromised people here who are put at risk by coughs and sniffles etc. Thanks...

Too many subjects to list here this week - just dive in and get reading

We’ve had a great couple of weeks here. All the Open Day creations have been glazed and fired and are ready to collect. A huge thanks to our Artists in Residence and to Margaret in particular for their mahi in numbering and glazing everything and getting it through the kilns in less than 2 weeks. We think we’ve processed over 600 pieces in all! All items are now ready for collection, so if you came along and made something, or know anyone who did you can stop in and find them in the kitchen ...

AGM, Term 2 Classes, Lino Cut Tile Workshop, Matariki-themed Workshop and more!!

First up, we’d like to say a huuuuge thank you to everyone who helped with Open Day! For those who were here you’ll know that we had an enormous number of visitors and it was such a big team effort to show them all the WSP love. We are now firing and glazing all the awesome creations that were made on the day, so they can be ready for our new friends to collect next week. Thanks everyone for making this such a cool day, we had lots of great feedback about the event and the friendliness of ou...

Upcoming workshops with Liz Sharek and Greg Barron!

Open Day is on tomorrow!! We’re pretty excited about it, and super stoked about the number of volunteers who’ve signed up to help us – thank you so very much <3 Today we’re tarting up the studio and putting some spangles on her and, with luck, this weather will pass before Saturday and we’ll have heaps of visitors to introduce to our awesome clay whānau.In other news......

Wood firings, Open Day, Raku, Pick of the Month - it's all on!

The first wood firing for the year is well underway, with loading happening tomorrow and firing on Sunday. Term 1 classes are finishing up, Pick of the Month for March has been chosen, and we’re getting Open Day and the next Phoenix firing organised! So it’s busy as ever here in this fab little studio, thanks for being a part of all that makes it so special :)...

Happy Easter clay folks!

It’s been a busy little short-week here in the studio and we’ve been nailing down some specifics on the workshops that are coming up. There will be more details to come, but we’ll have local artist, David Austin, guiding a Matariki themed workshop on the 22nd and 23rd of June – save the dates! And the names Liz Sharek, Duncan Shearer and Greg Barron just may have been thrown around in conversation. And on top of that, Andrea du Chatenier, this year’s judge for the WSP exhibition, will ...

Term 2 Classes, Wood Firing Extension, Open Day

Hey potter friends! Check out this week’s news below…...

Phoenix Wood Firing, Open Day

Kia ora folksThis week we’ve been madly planning the first WSP wood firing for the year and getting the word out about the upcoming Open Day. Find the details in this week’s newsletter....

Open Day, Annual Exhibition, New Mini-term Class

It’s been a watery week in the studio, with a broken tap and a leaking roof! But our fab landlords, Hamilton City Council, have us all patched up again, and we’re hopeful all remains calm over the weekend for Play with Clay and Sunday’s class....

There's lots happening at WSP - check out the latest...

Kia ora e te whānauThe sun is shining again, Diploma teaching has started, our second lot of Term 1 taster classes are starting, Phoenix wood firings are in the planning stage, and the indoor kilns are running hot – everything is right with the WSP world! Check out this week’s newsletter below and let us know if you have anything to include in next week’s....

More classes available, please give us your wood ash

The studio vibe this week has been particularly happy and energetic, it’s always such a joy to see your faces coming in the door and your excitement when you pick up your pieces. We had the lovely Craig firing the gas kiln this week and the pots are out on the shelves for you to collect. It was a great firing resulting in toasty clay bodies and nice reduction. Don’t forget, Raku Club is on tomorrow (Saturday) it’s always fun to watch, even if you’re not firing pots this time around....

Just a short newsletter this week

Kia ora pottery people! It’s been another hot one this week, we’ve been spraying the wet cupboards to keep the work in progress from drying out, and racing to get the recycled clay processed before it gets too hard! It’s also been fab seeing all the new faces and creations in the Term 1 classes. Just a short newsletter this week – check it out below…...

Clay reclaim, raku club, and more...

Classes are underway this week and it’s been great seeing the studio getting busier and welcoming new faces to our community. And with the increase in studio use the kilns are running hot! Margaret is (as ever) doing a marvellous job of getting all your work fired, especially with Kiln 1 down, so with the extra work coming in, everything is making its way through the process in the usual speedy manner....

New Manager, volunteer opportunities, Piece of the Month and more

Please join us in welcoming our new Manager, Josephine Hughes, who started with us this week.While Josephine has had some experience with clay, having gained a Certificate in Ceramics (with distinction!); her main focus in her career has been working in galleries and museums as an exhibitions designer. Having worked at the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, The Dowse Art Museum, Auckland Museum, Waikato Museum and MTG Hawke’s Bay, Josephine has an intense respect for objects, materials and their ma...

Classes, Raku Club, Clay Stocks, and lots more...

Kia ora! We've got a bumper issue this week, check out all the news and notices below....

Happy New Year!

We’re underway for the year and we’ve got the Term 1 classes to announce. But first up we have to give a shout out to all those who helped with our end of year working bee on the 22nd of December.We had tons of volunteers come long on the day, and many who couldn’t make it on the 22nd but made time to come and help out on other days. A massive thank you to you all! We know that time is a real commodity for everyone these days, so it was heart-warming to be shown that WSP means so much to y...

End of year wrap up

The Christmas party on Tuesday night was fab, and we had lots of members and friends in attendance, which made for an exciting “Stealing Secret Santa” event. A number of very popular pressies got stolen multiple times (including a kiwi (like the one above) made by Margaret Raine. Thanks to everyone who came to celebrate, share a kai and acknowledge the contribution of our volunteers, committee, staff, tutors and membership. It was a great evening....

We're in End of Year Mode

Libby here - with one whole week of training under my belt. Thanks so much to everyone for welcoming me into the role! And special thanks to Larissa, our ARs, Tess and our marvellous volunteers for helping me find my feet so far. We're in end of year mode at the moment, so here's a wrap up of our dates and reminders......

Friday Open Studio, Upcoming Workshops and Exhibitions

We are looking for volunteers to help with a deep clean of the studio on Friday 22nd of December. Help us put some love and TLC into our humble whare - the WSP <3 <3 Get in touch with Larissa if this is you info@waikatopotters.co.nz...

Important end of year dates, Waiclay exhibition and more...

Here are the current proposed end of year dates:202326 November – Last day for private kiln bookings for the year (excluding kiln 4- mini kiln) 4 December - last drop off day for pre-holiday bisque firing 11 December - last drop off day for pre-holiday glaze firing 19 December 5.30pm - Christmas Party bring a (preferably handmade) gift for the Secret Santa swap game 21 December – Last ‘Open Studio’ before holidays 22 December – Deep clean o...

Animal sculpture workshop, exhibition and gas kiln update.

Words from Tess (WSP president): Members participated in series of challenges including blind fold throwing , team throwing and blind folded hand building + the teapot challenge. All in the name of fun. Some came with the idea of watching and not participating, but seeing how everyone else was amongst the fun they soon joined.At kai time we all enjoyed a great spread put on by those who attended. It was great to see members korero with members that had not meet before and getting to know each o...

The Mighty Waikato Pottery Throwdown + come work with me...

The event will be kicking off from 10am-2pm tomorrow. The Throwdown is a fun/chill event with various activities and challenges for our pottery community to participate in and connect with one another (and get competitive if you’re into it).We are excited to have Diane Parker as our guest judge this year! Diane has an extensive history with the WSP and we’re sure she’ll be able to share a story or two. There will be a shared kai - if you have the capacity to bring a plate. Otherwise all yo...