Kia ora koutou

For this bi-monthly publication, I invited ceramists to share their individual journeys in clay. Included in this issue are Peter Quin in residency at Driving Creek, Coromandel; Shigemitsu Ohashi, resident potter at The Kilns at Te Horo (Kapiti Coast); and inspiration from afar with international artists Xanthe Somers (Zimbabwe) ; Katie Strachan (Pennsylvanian, Dutch, German) and an interview with Kato Mami, contemporary Japanese ceramist in Ceramics Now, (October, 2025).

I hope to continue this trajectory featuring ceramic artists of Aotearoa and abroad, in uncovering their unique journeys in clay.

Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington

Ceramic artist, Peter Quin at Driving Creek, Coromandel.

Tēnā koutou, In January 2026 I spent four uninterrupted weeks as a ceramic Artist in Residence at Driving Creek Railway in the Coromandel. A low-level anxiety came with the experience as my artist imposter syndrome crept in, but it pushed me to focus, slow down, and think more carefully about my work.

The place itself is remarkable — surrounded by native bush, with a busy, rustic energy to the site. The steady soundtrack of frogs, cicadas, and the train moving up the hill was constant. There was always a sense of life and activity happening around me.

Driving Creek still holds the presence of Barry Brickell — his practical, inventive approach to clay, engineering, and land restoration is embedded in the place. That spirit shapes the residency: hands-on, resourceful, and unpretentious.

Five other artists were in residence at the same time, each bringing different processes and perspectives. A strength of the month was the exchange — straightforward feedback, shared meals, conversations around kilns and works-in-progress. Having that concentrated time as a ceramic artist meant I could properly test ideas, push forms, and surfaces without distraction. I left with new work, new connections, and renewed momentum. 

Ngā mihi, Peter Quin – peterquin88@gmail.com.  instagram:  faultline.ceramics

Kapiti | The Kilns at Te Horo

Shigemitsu Ohashi of Osaka, Japan, the current potter-in-residence at The Kilns at Te Horo,  will end his six- month stay at The Kilns with an exhibition at Toi MAHARA, Waikanae from 29th March.  The three-month exhibition is an opportunity to see Shigemitsu’s creation of several planets in the solar system including the Moon created in clay with extraordinary accuracy. It will be joined by Saturn complete with ceramic rings and pottery that reflects Shige’s personal aesthetic and skill in wide plates and vases, all uniquely glazed.  His time at Te Horo is particularly special as he is working and living at the pottery of his friend, the late Mirek Smíšek. ‘The residency is an opportunity to focus on my ceramics at Mirek’s historical site, with memories and gratitude,” he says. Shige can be visited at The Kilns every weekend until the end of March, 10am-4pm, 6 Jim Winiata Way, Te Horo. www. thekilnsattehoro.co.nz

Inspiration from afar

Contemporary artist Xanthe Somers selected works (2022-2025) feature in Ceramics Now (13 January, 2026), where her vibrant works carry barbed social and political critiques.

By the Pricking of My Thumbs (Ceramics Now, 2025).

Somers’ vessel-sculptures engage in a dialogue that explores “the colonial ghosts and systematic repressions still apparent in society,” she explains. She is interested in challenging prevailing heteronormative ideas associated with beauty and refinement found in everyday, functional objects. “We create utilitarian objects to serve us, but ultimately these objects tend to outlive us,” she says. “These objects are not neutral, they carry within them the ideology in which they were created, and this legacy is not silent. These objects have an active and persuasive influence in shaping our visual reality” (Ceramics Now, 2026).

The Weary Weaver (Ceramics Now, 2025).

For more unique designs by Xanthe Somers click the link through to Ceramics Now https://www.ceramicsnow.org/artworks/xanthe-somers-selected-works-2022-2025/ and read Xanthe’s bio on https://www.xanthesomers.com/about

Katie Strachan is of Pennsylvanian-German heritage and her practice merges sculpture, ceramics, and installation to create layered forms that hold traces of memory, ritual, and decay. With a background in fibre and ceramics, Strachan merges material sensitivity with conceptual intent, often blurring the boundary between object and text, relic and record (Ceramics Now, 2026).

“My work explores the fragile boundaries between preservation and decay, materiality and time. Using ultra-thin layers of clay—sometimes folded, sometimes powdered—I create forms that echo textiles, manuscripts, and relics. Influenced by boro textiles and the Japanese concept of impermanence, my process is rooted in quiet, repetitive gestures that leave behind traces of care and erosion. Through ceramic, wax, and other humble materials, I aim to hold fleeting moments in suspension, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on the quiet persistence of memory. My works function less as vessels and more as tactile documents—thresholds between presence and absence, stillness and transformation.” https://www.katestrachan.com/conceptual

You can read Katie’s bio here https://www.katestrachan.com/

Katie Strachan (2026).

Tokoname-based contemporary ceramist Kato Mami is interviewed in Ceramics Now “Silent Earth” (22 October, 2025), with a direct link to this artist-in-conversation embedded in the image below. In discussing her work, Mami highlights

“To consider the ceramic vessel is to contemplate its spatial interior”. For Tokoname-based ceramic artist Kato Mami 加藤 真美 (b. 1963), the interior of a vessel, far from being an empty void, embodies its essential nature. “Interior and exterior coexist, forming a site that mediates the relationship between human and object (vessel)”.

Silent Earth: An interview with contemporary ceramic artist Kato Mami

I look forward to sharing more journeys in clay from both International and Aotearoa-based clay artists, so please send editorial, or ‘words’ and images (jpeg), and/or notices of your upcoming exhibitions to: wellingtonwestern@ceramicsnz.org by editorial deadline 18 April, 2026 for inclusion in the next bi-monthly May-June ’26 regional news update.

Thank you.

Ngā mihi anō

Stephanie Nossiter | Wellington Western region representative.