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Central North Island Mar/Apr 2025
The Search for an Apprentice
Kia ora from Driving Creek Pottery. We have some very exciting news to share with the clay community this month: we are searching for an apprentice to join the production pottery team!
Two years ago, Cornish production potter Callum Trudgeon traded The Leach Pottery for Driving Creek. He was recruited for a special purpose: to establish a production pottery here. His task was to combine the traditions, structure, and rigour of production at The Leach with the creative freedom and vernacular charm of Barry Brickell’s Driving Creek. With this in mind, Callum set about designing a pottery range that would pay tribute to these two histories. After a stint training at The Leach herself, Tokomaru Bay-born potter Matilda Halley joined the team. For the past two years, she and Callum have been steadily churning out pots at Driving Creek. The handcrafted pottery range they produce can be found in the Driving Creek shop, online, and in select shops around the motu: shop.drivingcreek.nz.
Both Callum and Matilda acknowledge how fortunate they were to have had the opportunity to learn the craft through apprenticeship schemes. Pottery apprenticeships were once common in Aotearoa, but with the decline of the industry in the 1980s, they have become rare. We want to help fill this gap by offering an upcoming potter the chance for hands-on learning in a professional studio — and so begins the Driving Creek Pottery apprenticeship scheme.
This will be a hands-on, three-year apprenticeship aimed at someone wanting to make a career in pottery. No prior pottery experience is required, but the ideal candidate will have an appreciation for craft, an eye for detail, and the patience required for repetitive tasks. The apprentice will be trained in the entire production process, from mixing clay to packing and shipping finished pots.Applications close on April 18th — help us spread the word and start a new chapter for craft education in Aotearoa. For more information and to apply for the apprenticeship, search “Driving Creek” on seek.co.nz or click here.
Artists in Residence
We’ve had a steady flow of resident artists since the beginning of the year. In January, we hosted clay workers Andrea Gaskin (Auckland), Sam Dickenson (Auckland), Georgia Hodierne (UK), Sasha Polonko (US), Cindy Huang (Auckland), Yvonne Matstoms (Sweden), and Sara Buchner (Australia). In February, we welcomed Ellie Woods (Leach Pottery, UK), Patrick Ferris (Nelson), Birthe Morberg Nielsen (Denmark), and Neeti Gokhalay (India) and Jacopo Cucci (Italy). For more information on the artists and their work, head over to our blog here.
If you fancy doing a residency at Driving Creek Pottery yourself, now’s the time! Applications for October–December 2025 residencies close March 31st. For more information and to apply, head to the application page on our website here.
Upcoming Events
We have a couple of exciting events coming up in April. The gallery at Driving Creek will host “Driving Creek Pottery: Off the Rails”, an exhibition of staff work from the pottery team. Opening Thursday, April 17, this show will run for four weeks. Keep an eye on our socials for more details.
Also coming up on Easter weekend, the production team will host their biannual seconds sale. If you’re in the market for a bargain, join us in the baseyard (by the trains) from 10am-4pm, Saturday and Sunday, April 19-20. We hold these seconds sales twice a year, every Easter weekend and Labour weekend, so be sure to add it to your calendar!
Upcoming Pottery Workshops at Driving Creek
Starting Monday 7 April | 5 Day Production Throwing Course
Starting Monday 5 May | 5 Day Throwing Course
Starting Monday 26 May | 5 Day Hand Building Course with Iona Matheson
Starting Saturday 5 July | 2 Day Jug Making Course with Callum Trudgeon
Starting Sunday 31 August | 7 Day Mud & Fire with Aaron Scythe and Sergei Shatrov
Starting Saturday 20 September | 2 Week Pottery Experience Making and Woodfiring with Callum Trudgeon
Ngā mihi nui, The Driving Creek Pottery Team
The “Beyond the Basics” class with Ruth Vickers was a real hit with the 10 members who participated. Students threw huge pots and tall cylinders that were previously out of their skillsets. We love contributing to our members’ growth!
We had our first social gig of the year with a BBQ on Tuesday 4th, with door prizes and sausages. Everyone had a great time!
We are looking to lock in workshops for 2025 and will again be collaborating with the Rotorua Potters Group for their upcoming exhibition (see more on that in their update below).
We are excited about what’s coming in May, with two wonderful events planned.
Our annual collaborative exhibition this year is ‘A Potters Mark’ opening on 3rd May, will be open to potters from across Bay of Plenty and Central Waikato to come together and celebrate the stories behind their work. In this exhibition potters will tell the life stories behind their pottery, answering the deeper questions as to why people ‘pot’, and allowing the community a glimpse into how the art of pottery can be a space for rehabilitation and connection. Entries close 12pm, Saturday 26th of April and the exhibition opens Saturday, May 3rd, 1pm @ The Arts Village.
Click here to find out more.
Our second exciting event in May is Carla Ruka’s 3-day Intensive Coiling Workshop: Held across 3x Mondays:
- Monday 26th May
- Monday 2nd June (Kings Birthday)
- Monday 9th June
Location: the Arts Village, Rotorua
Suitable for all skill levels.
$570 per person
Click here to find out more or book your place
To learn more about Carla, click here
The Incubator Creative Hub is based in the Historic Village Tauranga and is the collision between arts and the people. A vibrant and diverse destination comprising of 16 buildings and multiple facilities where audience, creatives, and community arts groups meet to practice, celebrate, showcase, and experience art and culture.
Among its highlights is the charming Pot House Gallery, situated in a whimsical gingerbread house, which is home to the only dedicated Ceramics Exhibition Gallery in the Bay of Plenty. The gallery hosts a wide range of exhibitions as part of the broader Incubator monthly programme, launching multiple shows each month to enthusiastic crowds in a festive street party atmosphere—making it a beloved event on Tauranga’s art lovers’ calendar. The exhibitions spotlight both local and visiting New Zealand ceramicists, with submissions invited for exhibitions. Visiting artists are also encouraged to conduct workshops alongside their exhibitions. An example is the upcoming display by Tūrangi ceramic artist Zed Snook, titled “Buildings, Blocks and Stacks,” paired with his engaging workshops “Exploring Structure”.
The kaupapa of this gallery is to nurture talent from Tauranga Moana and across Aotearoa, offering local audiences access to a vast array of artists and learning opportunities. The Pot House further includes a vibrant retail gallery brimming with works from over 35 local ceramicists, fostering a unique space where visitors can interact with the artists, bridging the gap between creator and observer, and enhancing appreciation and popularity for this craft. It also houses two working ceramic studios, featuring the talents of Dominique Ford (Precocious Vessels) and Māori ceramicist Sandy Kerr (OneUku Pottery).
Another notable aspect of the Incubator is the growing Creative Community Campus, a facility for creative arts education and gatherings. The Campus offers a diverse range of artistic workshops, with a significant focus on ceramics and pottery. Visiting ceramicists are invited to share their expertise through workshops, benefiting both budding and experienced local enthusiasts. This program aligns closely with the Pot House Gallery, just a short distance away, and includes a kiln room along with activities led by ceramics master Sophie Evans.
The Incubator’s growth of creative spaces and its 36 resident artist studios has transformed the Historic Village into a cultural hotspot that has put the Tauranga on the map. The Village is filled with other galleries, artisan boutiques, and unique cultural experiences where visitors are not just passive observers; they become part of a thriving artistic community, encouraged to connect with the work and the artists behind it.
The current Exhibition in the Pot House Gallery: Whakatane Artist Susanne Boonen.
Upcoming Exhibitions:
Tūrangi artist Zed Snook – Buildings, Blocks and Stacks
Tauranga Potters Collective – Elemental – Bay of Plenty artists Nick Eggleston, Sophie Evans, Dominque Ford and Sandy Kerr
100 Vases – A collective of Bethlehem Potters
Pyromaniacs – A group show by local collective Lindsay Butler, Bel Watts, Dorothy Armstrong, Alison Fitzgerald, Anett Pilz
Upcoming Workshops:
Exploring Structure – Zed Snook
Greenman Mask Workshop – Nick Eggleston
Tealight Shrooms- Nick Eggleston
Animal vases- Sophie Evans
The Art of Coloured Clay – Alex Wilkinson – Mystery Creek Ceramics
Links:
The Incubator Creative
https://www.theincubator.co.nz/
https://www.facebook.com/theincubatortauranga/
https://www.instagram.com/the_incubator_tauranga/
The Pot House Gallery
https://www.theincubator.co.nz/the-pot-house
https://www.instagram.com/thepothousegallery/
https://www.facebook.com/theincubatortauranga
Workshops
https://www.theincubator.co.nz/creative-community-campus
From 21 February to 4 May, we are proud to present this fantastic exhibition, ‘A Piece of Me’, celebrating the individual artistry of our members and the inner peace that working with clay brings. Our opening night was well-attended and everyone had a wonderful time!
If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, you still have plenty of time – see it at Tairawhiti Museum before 4 May!
Within the exhibition is this collective ‘Sweet Memories’ display. The original jet plane was made out of clay by Jamie Quirk. From this he made a mould. From the mould he then made this squadron of jet planes. Each has been uniquely decorated by members of the Gisborne Pottery Group . The jet plane lolly is a staple childhood memory of all kids growing up in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Today the distinct flavours of the infamous Jet Plane lolly still trigger memories, ‘Sweet Memories’ of those days gone by.
