Canterbury & West Coast updates – May/June 2024

Halswell Pottery Group has had a quiet start to the year as we gear up for workshops and events planned shortly. We are excited to be hosting Fiona Tunnicliffe in August for a weekend-log sculpture workshop and Q&A session. We have also set the dates for our annual exhibition and booked a venue, September 13-15th at the Malthouse on Colombo Street in Christchurch. We are looking forward to filling this historic space with beautiful pots made by our members. Speaking of membership, we have welcomed many new members this year – new and experienced potters alike. It’s great to have a steady stream of fresh faces and talent. Classes and kilns are fully booked too. Our gallery has had a facelift with new signage and a new team of members working hard to increase our advertising potential and visitor numbers. Do come in and check out our gallery and club facilities if you’re in the area – the cottage is open on weekends, 11am-3pm at 9 Candys Road, Halswell.”

CANTERBURY POTTERS ASSOC


Penny De Jong โ€“ President
Here we are, already well into autumn and heading towards what we hope will be a mild
winter! For the meantime we are enjoying being inspired by the amazing crisp light and
autumn colours.
We have a busy period coming up, with workshops aplenty. Along with the rest of new
Zealand, we are very excited to be hosting Kwak Kyungtae in our lovely country and hope he
will find our enthusiasm for our pottery uplifting and inspiring.
We had a special viewing at the museum of some of their pretty extensive pottery collection.
Very inspirational. We hope to have some of the collection as a backdrop to our annual
exhibition later this year.
We have just completed our 4 techniques weekend, with 4 different potters providing 4 very
diverse workshops. Truly something for everyone. It is heartening that so many potters are
so very generous with their knowledge.



We have been busy in our club rooms, all the very necessary repairs and maintenance. We
hosted a rather unusual workshop with instruction on how to repair and maintain a wheel!
Those attendees will be invaluable in the future for keeping our wheels in tip top condition.

I must take this opportunity to thank all our volunteers without whom we would struggle to
keep the doors open. A big hearty shout out to all the volunteers around the country.

Several of our members are involved in exhibitions around the city and surrounds. Pottery
continues to grow in popularity โ€“ both making it and buying it!

If you live in the Christchurch area and would like to get involved with our club, feel free to
contact is at canterburypotters@gmail.com. Weโ€™d love to hear from you!