Kia ora clay people
The studio has been busy again this week, with prep work happening for the Phoenix firing happening this weekend, led by Greg Barron. And we had a flurry of large-scale creativity happening last Saturday with people making big works to be raku fired with Dave Austin next weekend. Plus our classes and Play with Clay sessions continue with new and familiar faces coming into our fabulous community space.
WSP Annual Exhibition
Entries close 11.59pm, Sunday 18th August
Drop-off of pieces by 4pm, Monday the 19th August
Opening preview at 5.30pm, Thursday 22nd of August
We’ve heard lots of talk about our members entering this year's exhibition, which makes us so happy and we’re super excited to see your ceramic entries arriving in the studio soon.
Entries close on Sunday the 18th at 11.59pm and you can download an entry form on our website, or pick one up in the studio. All entries need to be emailed or handed to our Manager, Josephine Hughes (manager@waikatopotters.co.nz) by the deadline.
Members can submit up to four works, two of which are open categories, and of those one can be a set of up to 6 pieces. The other two entry categories are a tile and a mug. All works should be marked with a sticky label on the bottom stating the artist’s name, name of the piece and the price. More details can be found on the entry form.
We’d love it if you could come along to the opening preview soirée, on Thursday the 22nd of August at 5.30pm. There’ll be drinks, a prize-giving, lots of gorgeous ceramics to ogle and many fabulous pottery people to chat to. WSP is putting on the drinks, but if you have the capacity to bring a plate of finger-food to share, we’d be ever so grateful.
Artist’s talk – Andrea du Chatenier
7pm, Friday 23rd August at the WSP Studios
Show and tell + potluck dinner
Please bring a plate to share and something to drink if you wish.
We are excited to have Andrea du Chatenier as this year's judge for the WSP annual exhibition. To hear and see what makes her tick come along to her artist's talk and potluck dinner. Members and non-members are all welcome. No charge, but please bring a kai to share and let us know if you’re attending.
About Andrea:
Born in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton, Andrea du Chatenier is a sculptor turned ceramicist. She has received numerous grants and awards for her accomplished and challenging work, including selection for the Sao Paulo Biennale, the Wallace Arts Trust Vermont Award, and the Portage Ceramics Residency Award at Guldagergaard, Denmark. In 2022 Andrea was awarded the Blumhardt Foundation Gift for her contribution to New Zealand Craft.
After completing the Tylee Cottage Artist Residency at the Sarjeant Gallery in 2004, Andrea set up studio in Whanganui. With her current practice du Chatenier has turned her focus to exploring the inherent qualities of the medium. The forms are abstracted and commonly stacked together as towering structures emphasizing the tactile and sensual properties of the ceramic surface.
Thanks all you lovely volunteers!
We are truly blessed here at WSP to have a very active volunteer community who help us keep the studio firing (badoom-tish!). We have a troop of Play with Clay volunteers who run our Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday sessions, our Committee Members who keep us on track financially and strategically, the fantastic Margaret on the kilns 6 days a week (!!!!), three Artists in Residence who perform a massive range of tasks from clay recycling to glaze making, to clearing clay and glaze traps to customer service and potting advice etc, and lots of people who help us at Open Days, Working Bees and sorting out random maintenance work. And we are so, so grateful for all of you, we definitely couldn’t run this studio without you all!
This week we’d like to give a special shout out to Craig Stephen, who has collected 90 kiln shelves from Auckland for us. And Bronwyn Wright, who has now coordinated 3 phoenix firing sessions this year, making sure the masses of work that goes into prepping and loading the wood kiln gets done prior to each event. Thanks, you fabulous shiny people!
Do you have any spare metal tins or bins?
We’re looking for some old metal containers to use in the reduction process when we raku fire. If you have any biggish metal tins, buckets or bins that you don’t need, we’d be grateful to receive them 😊
Studio Schedule
Here’s what’s happening next week… Make sure you check the online calendar though, just in case anything changes.
Saturday 10th of August
10am – 1pm, Play with Clay – thanks Teresa!
All day – Loading day for the Phoenix wood kiln firing
Sunday 11th of August
10am – 1pm, Class, Wheel Throwing Taster
All day – Firing day for the Phoenix wood kiln firing
Monday 12th of August
9.30am – 1pm, Class – Wheel Throwing
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
6pm – 9pm, Class – Hand building
Tuesday 13th of August
9.30am – 12pm, CLOSED for Private Class
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
6pm – 9pm, Play with Clay – Thank you Margaret and Patsy!
Wednesday 14th of August
9.30am – 12.30pm, Play with Clay – Thanks Mark and Larissa!
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
All day, Phoenix unloading day
6pm – 9pm, Class – Wheel Throwing and Decorating
Thursday 15th of August
9.30am – 12.30pm, Class – Sculpture Skills
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
6pm – 9pm, Class, Wheel Throwing
Friday 16th of August
9.30am – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
6pm – 9pm, Class – Intro to Pottery
Saturday 17th of August
10am – 4pm CLOSED for Dave Austin raku workshop
Sunday 18th of August
10am – 1pm, Class, Wheel Throwing Taster
