Spring is in the air! Thank you to all who contributed to this bi-monthly edition with some significant upcoming events, a fundraiser, and an early invitation to potters to exhibit (see ‘Whanganui Art in the Garden’). So, let’s get social, celebrating the past and the present with these ceramic-inspired happenings across our region.

Kapiti

Soup Sunday | a fundraiser organised by The Kilns at Te Horo, held at The Te Horo Hall, 56 School Road from 12 – 2pm, Sunday 28 September.

Live Music, Delicious Soup and Ceramics! Sunday 28th September 2025.

Soup’s up
Potters throughout Kapiti and Wellington are busy making soup bowls for a very special lunch on Sunday 28 September, 12 -2pm at the Te Horo Hall (an hour north of Wellington). ‘Soup Sunday’ will feature individually crafted ceramic bowls filled with delicious soup as a fundraiser for The Kilns at Te Horo. Proceeds will go to supporting the very successful residential potter programme at The Kilns which has attracted ceramic artists from Sweden, Japan and England as well as New Zealand.

“The Kilns are operated by The Mirek Smíšek Arts Trust, a registered charity, which relies primarily on donations to support the Resident Potter programme,” Trust chair Jane Manthel says. Tickets for ‘Soup Sunday’ are available from https://www.thekilnsattehoro.co.nz/products/soup-sunday and cost $45 per person. Diners will choose their bowl, which will be theirs to keep before enjoying soup while listening to live entertainment from musicians Timberline. ‘Soup Sunday’ coincides with the weekend exhibition of the current Resident Potter, Jasmina Vučković at The Kilns. “Ticket holders will be able to visit Jasmina’s exhibition at The Kilns before or after lunch,” Jane Manthel says. Jasmina’s end of residency exhibition will be open from 10am-3pm on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 September, five minutes from Te Horo Hall at The Kilns on Jim Winiata Lane.
Soup Sunday is at The Te Horo Hall, 56 School Road 12-2.30pm on Sunday 28 September. (From Wellington, travel north on SH1 to the Ōtaki exit. Then follow the signs to Te Horo. Travelling south from Levin on SH1, take the Ōtaki exit. Drive south through Ōtaki and take the road to Te Horo after crossing the Ōtaki River).

Jasmina Vučković end of residency exhibition

Jasmina Vučković took up the residency at The Kilns at Te Horo intent on exploring shipwrecks and strandings on small islands, drawing on personal experience and a global view.

That she has done. But the view from the window at the Doreen Blumhardt Studio has now taken Jasmina’s work in another direction.

“Looking across the Hautere plains to the Tararuas is stunning,” Jasmina says. “It’s so alive with birds and animals.”

The pukekoes, tuis, rabbits along with shags and kōtuku from the Waikanae estuary can now be seen amongst the reeds and grasses in a range of decorative plates and orbs.

“I didn’t want to be stuck to the one idea of shipwrecked Noah’s Ark and could not help but respond to the environment. The sheer scale and textures of the driftwood on local beaches particularly resonated with the themes I am drawn to; decay and bygone times while offering hope and new forms. My ark now has many of its residents safely sailing away and reaching new islands.”

That has led to Jasmina’s pushing out the boundaries of clay, making what she describes as precarious pieces. All will be on view at Jasmina’s end of residency exhibition at The Kilns on 27-28 September, 10am-3pm

Some of Jasmina’s ceramics are made with black clay, a medium she was determined to experiment with during the three- month residency at The Kilns. The residency has also provided an opportunity to work with salt glazes using The Mirek Smisek Art Trust’s offsite diesel fired Hautere brick kiln.

And it has also been an opportunity to meet with many potters and ceramics collectors.

“There must be more potters per capita in Kapiti than anywhere else I’ve been. And the facilities at the Otaki Pottery Club and Summerstone in Otaki are amazing.”

Jasmina will be returning to England at the end of September to become the Senior Ceramics Conservator at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Jasmina Vučković’s End of Residency Exhibition will be at The Kilns at Te Horo, 10am-3pm on Saturday and Sunday, 27 & 28 September.

Whanganui Potters Studio

Whanganui Community Arts Centre, 19 Taupo Quay, Whanganui, from 24 Sept 2025, 6:30 pm – 02 Oct 2025, 12:30 pm.

Celebrating 50 Years of Clay in Whanganui

We’ve hit 50! Join us in celebrating five decades of creativity, community, and clay! We will be exhibiting art, stories, and connection as we honour the legacy of Whanganui Potters and look forward to the future. *By invitation only on opening night 24 September (due to limited capacity), and open to all from 25 September – 2 October.

Founded in 1975 by a passionate collective of local potters, the Whanganui Potters Studio marks its golden jubilee this year. To honour five decades of dedication to the ceramic arts, we are preparing a retrospective exhibition that celebrates the enduring legacy of pottery within our community. This special showcase will pay tribute to the contributions of past members who have nurtured and sustained the craft in Whanganui. The exhibition will feature a curated selection of ceramic works, highlighting the artistry of former presidents, influential workshops, and notable pieces from distinguished members throughout the years. Accompanying these will be archival photographs, historic newsletters, and exhibition brochures that trace the Society’s rich journey through the decades. We would love to hear from any past WPS members interested in attending the exhibition. Please email Chris whanganuipotters@gmail.com.

“We’ll be displaying pieces from the various past presidents, that have contributed to WPS and specifically the pottery they made. We are looking for pottery pieces by the following past presidents (please reach out to Chris if you can contribute to the exhibition collection for this special event):

Helen Budd
Ross Palmer
Dulcie Johnson.   
Bruce Reid
Phillip Mottram
Bob Wilson
Raewyne Johnson         
Alan Vaughan
Dave Calder

Meet the Maker series October 04 and November 01, 2025.

Meet the Maker is held once a month. It’s a chance for visitors to come and meet some Whanganui Potters Studio members. Ask questions, learn about the studio, and see what they’re working on. They will also have a selection of ceramic artwork available for sale, all hand-made by themselves.

WPS members: if you’d like to take part in Meet the Maker, email whanganuipotters@gmail.com Visit our studio, meet our makers on 04 October 2025, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm https://www.whanganuipotters.com/event-details/meet-the-maker-october and 01 November 2025, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm https://www.whanganuipotters.com/event-details/meet-the-maker-november

Art in the Garden 29-30th November

Our annual club fundraiser, Art in the Garden, is happening on 29th & 30th of November. We would love to have more ceramic and outdoor artists attending, and given you will need some lead time to produce work we are calling for entrants in this issue. You can find out more here https://www.whanganuipotters.com/event-details/wps-art-in-the-garden-2025 and apply via https://www.whanganuipotters.com/apply-for-aitg

Te Whare o Rehua | Sarjeant Gallery, Whanganui

Tylee Cottage residency | July-November 2025

Image: Isabella Loudon opened her Whanganui studio to the public in December 2023 for two years. ‘One Building’. a studio show.

Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery is pleased to welcome sculptor and installation artist Isabella Loudon as the artist in residence at Tylee Cottage. Loudon’s residency period is from 5 July to 30 November 2025, developing a new body of work which will be exhibited at Te Whare o Rehua in December 2025. The Tylee Cottage residency programme is generously supported by Creative New Zealand.