Central North Island | May / June Updates
Updates from DCR:
Off The Rails Exhibition
With the arrival of autumn, Driving Creek shakes off the summer fire ban and all the potters get very excited, as the smell of wood smoke returns to the air! The pottery team kicked off the first of the wood firings this year with a group firing in March, in preparation for our annual Easter exhibition of work by staff and friends of Driving Creek.
Opening on 02 April and running till 03 May, the exhibition was curated by our lead potter, Callum Trudgeon, and brought together a diverse and thoughtful display of work by our Driving Creek whanau. This included Louise Penberthy, Mary Lee, Sam Ireland, Glen Benmayor, Hannah Rose Arnold, Sally Tennent-Brown, Paul Cornwell, Iona Matheson, Riccardo Scott, Matilda Halley, Carolin Hahn, Alex Moore, Bethany Harris, Browyn Blair, Millie Godfery, and Callum Trudgeon.
It was also a pleasure to welcome Kalou Koefoed (@rollingaskalou), showcasing her brand new book Brickell Brac. The book traces the philosophies and adventures of the eponymous group, who, taking inspiration from the spirit of pioneering New Zealand potter Barry Brickell, embrace an ethos of creative exploration that challenges assumptions about art’s purpose and function.
Reflections from our Pottery Apprentice Millie
It’s been over six months now since I moved to Kapanga / Coromandel to begin the apprenticeship, and it’s been a steep learning curve in all things clay. No day ever looks the same—from processing clay, preparing and glazing pots, grinding kiln shelves, learning to load our gas kiln, packaging pots to send out, and practicing throwing. In the past months we’ve attended several markets, including the Newtown Fair in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, the Plant Fair in Tāmaki Makarau, and our own Easter Seconds Sale at DCR. It’s been great to be out engaging with customers, sharing stories about the making process and receiving feedback about the range.
Since the beginning of the year, having developed a basic foundation in throwing, I began my training in throwing the first form in the DCP pottery range—egg cups! Using only 80 grams of clay, learning to centre this tiny amount on the wheel whilst not knocking the gage (which is set to 5cm high and 5.5cm wide to ensure a consistency in dimensions for each egg cup thrown), is no easy thing. Then comes learning to train your eye to refine the curve and rim.
After what is probably nearly 500 practice egg cups, I’ve now had the first few batches get the nod of approval to go through our firing cycle. I know I still have a lot more practice to go in developing my consistency in form and finesse, but I can trace my growth over the past months in them. I am enjoying becoming familiar with the DCP range, as I start to practice more of the shapes and refine my throwing. There is still a very long way to go (I’m tasked with making 150 egg cups before I can officially move on to the next shape in the range), but it feels like a good time to take stock and reflect back on what has been a huge learning adventure over these past six months.
Upcoming Crowdfunder…
For a while now we have been dreaming of building an anagama kiln on site, with a vision to expand our range of firing opportunities available and develop more education programs/workshops for potters wanting to learn about wood firing. With the support of Aaron Scythe and Sergei Shatrov, who will be helping with design and construction, plans are now in motion to begin building the anagama in October this year!
Later in May we will be launching a crowdfunder with a goal to raise $15,000 for this project, so please keep your eyes on our socials for this—even if you can donate a brick towards the cause, every little bit counts!
Recent Residents
We’ve had a wonderful few months of inspiring resident artists coming through, with a trend in interest towards both gas and wood firing, which we’ve been enjoying supporting them with. Recent residents include: Rosa Allison (Te Whanganui-a-Tara), Heather Tobe (Canada), Rosemary Mason (Queensland), Duncan Sargeant (Te Whanganui-a-Tara), Bernie Winkels (Te Matau-a-Māui), Kaiqi Qui (Tāmaki Makaurau), Courtney Rodgers (Te Whanganui-a-Tara), Harri Burrell (Te Whanganui-a-Tara), Emma Zhang (Warkworth), Simon Horton (United Kingdom), and Tara Luty (Te Whanganui-a-Tara).
Read more about our residents at drivingcreek.nz/journal.
We are currently accepting residency applications for January to March 2027. Applications close 30 June. For more information and to apply, visit drivingcreek.nz/artists-in-residence.
Upcoming Pottery Workshops
Courses:
Starting Saturday May 30 | Half Day Sketching Workshop
Starting Sunday May 31 | Full Day Sketching Workshop
Starting Saturday July 4 | 2 Day Plaster Mould Making
Starting Monday July 20 | 5 Day Production Throwing Course
Starting Monday August 8 | 5 Day Throwing Course
Starting Saturday November 21 |2 Week Wood Firing Pottery Experience
Ngā mihi nui, The Driving Creek Pottery Team
Other regional updates:
Morrinsville Gallery:
Upcoming events at Waikato Society of Potters:
https://www.eventspronto.co.nz/waikatopotters
Mystery Creek Ceramics:
https://www.instagram.com/mysterycreekceramics?igsh=cmpjZ3RhNDZ5bjd
Please follow for exciting updates!