Hi lovelies!
Big thanks to everyone who made it to the AGM on Tuesday, we had a good turn out enabling all the necessary formalities to take place and all the essential legalities to get stamped and ticked – success!
All of our wonderful 2024-2025 committee members stood again and have been re-elected. Your 2025-2026 committee members are:
Tess May – President
Suzy Dunser – Secretary
Sarah Lee – Treasurer
Mark Tamura
Lydia Farrell
Caroline Hamilton
Josef Thompson Smith
Bronwyn Wright
Our deepest appreciation goes to these fabulous folks for the contributions they make that keep WSP running 💖
All the official docs from the AGM are now available for download from our website.
New Workshop – Unorthodox Pottery with Hawi Winter
Saturday 14th June 10am to 4pm
Hawi wowed the crowd at this year's Festival of Clay with his ingenious home-made pottery tools. So he's here by popular demand to lead a fabulous fun-filled day of invention, exploration and creativity. Haere mai!
This workshop caters to all levels from absolute beginners to experienced potters.
There will be multiple workstations and a variety of different modules that you can choose from. Hawi will combine demonstrations with hands-on activities.
There’s still some spots in this workshop:
Making a Maker's Mark with Yasmin Davis
Sunday 18th May, 1.30pm – 4.30pm
In this workshop, you will learn to carve into plaster with a specialised tool to create small and intricate stamps. Once your design is finalised, you will use porcelain clay to make a negative impression. The porcelain clay then gets bisque fired and becomes your Maker's Mark stamp!
Term 2B Classes
The second round of these 4-week classes are starting soon and enrolments are up online for you to get into…
Term 2B Introduction to Pottery with David Kenny
Fridays, 6pm - 9pm for 4-weeks, starting 4th July
Find more info and enrol here.
Term 2B Wheel Throwing Taster with Sarah Steed
Sundays, 10am-1pm for 4-weeks, starting 6th July
Find more info and enrol here.
Inaugural WSP Matariki Celebration
Nau mai e hoa mā!
Join us for this Matariki shin-dig, with optional pit firing and catered hāngī
Saturday 28th June 2025
2pm for the loading of the pit fire
5.30pm onwards for the karakia, hāngī and hooley
Caroline Hamilton's Property, 988 Tuhikaramea Road, Ngāhinapōuri
We're getting together to celebrate Matariki at Caroline Hamilton's property in Tuhikaramea, where we can share a kai, good company and convo, and a pit firing. We'd love for all our WSP friends to join us. Partners and children welcome too.
Kai
For the feast, we're organising a catered hāngī, provided by Heavenly Hāngī in Ngāruawāhia. If you're keen to get some of this kai in your belly, you can purchase a ticket using the options on this event listing. Each plate is $25 and includes 3 meats, potato, kumara, pumpkin, stuffing, and fried bread. There's also a vegetarian option, which omits the meat and loads up on the veges and stuffing. We'll need to confirm numbers by the 20th of June, so make sure to buy your hāngī tickets before then. Purchasing a hāngī plate is entirely optional, so if you're not feeling it, bring along your own kai and join in the feast and festivities.
Pit Firing
We're also keen to set up a pit-firing for everyone to take part in. It's optional as well, but this type of alternative firing isn't something we've had the opportunity to organise for a good while, so jump in and grab a ticket if you're keen! The $5 cost of tickets for this firing will help cover the cost of consumables like copper carbonate, cobalt carbonate and tinfoil etc. Bring a bunch of pots and let's see how many we can fit into the pit!
What’s happening in the carpark?
KiwiRail are utilising the carpark for the work they’re doing on the rail lines. This means there’s a few less carparks than usual for a few weeks. Please do know that the “reserved” carparks are for Ward Park Arts Centre users – that’s you! So if they’re spare, make sure you grab ‘em.
Here’s all the details from KiwiRail on the works and the timeframe…
KiwiRail will be undertaking work in the rail corridor near Bryce Street between Monday 12 May and Thursday 24 June as part of our efforts to improve safety and stability along the East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) line.
What we are doing:
Teams will first remove existing fences and install temporary fencing around the construction site, as well as construct temporary access routes.
They will then carry out vegetation and tree removal within rail land and prune some of the larger trees within the park to allow for the work to take place.
Once the site preparations are complete, they will commence re-grading the surrounding slopes and carry out additional stabilisation works.
After the project is complete, teams will reinstall the fencing and reinstate the site.
What this means for you:
There will be increased vehicle movements in the area as well as partial road and footpath closures in place on Bryce Street and Tristram Street throughout the duration of the works, so please ensure you follow all Traffic Management signage and personnel instructions and remain cautious when travelling through the area.
We are mindful of the community and will work hard to minimise any disturbance to get this essential work done as quickly and quietly as possible. However, despite our best efforts this work may cause some disturbance, and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding as we work to improve the safety and resilience of our community infrastructure.
Hamilton Wood Turners Exhibition – From Bark to Beauty
1 May – 2 June, ArtsPost Hamilton
Check out this cool non-pottery exhibition and pick up some creative vibes.
The Hamilton Woodturners Club is dedicated to fostering a vibrant community of woodworking enthusiasts who share a passion for creativity and craftsmanship. We strive to teach and inspire members of all skill levels, from beginners to seasoned artisans, while aiming for high artistic standards in our work. Through collaboration, education and a shared love for the craft, we aim to enrich our community and preserve the art of Woodturning for future generations.
Studio Schedule
Here’s how things are looking for the coming week, but as always, check the online calendar before you come in 😊
Friday 16th May
9.30am – 4pm, CLOSED for Diploma
6pm – 9pm, Intro to Pottery Class
Saturday 17th May
10am – 1pm, Play with Clay – Thanks Lydia! xx
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio – thanks Lydia and Kelly! xx
Sunday 18th May
10am – 1pm, Wheel Throwing Class
Monday 19th May
9.30am – 12.30pm, Wheel Throwing Class
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
6pm – 9pm, Hand Building Class
Tuesday 20th May
9.30am – 12.30pm, Wheel Throwing Class
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
6pm – 9pm, Play with Clay – thanks Margaret and Patsy! xx
Wednesday 21st May
9.30am – 12.30pm, Play with Clay - thanks Yasmin, Sade, Kristen, Silke and Mark! xx
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
4pm – 5.30pm, Kids’ Play with Clay
6pm – 9pm, Wheel Throwing Class
Thursday 22nd May
9.30am – 12.30pm, Sculpture Skills Class
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
6pm – 9pm, Wheel Throwing Class
Friday 23rd May
9.30am – 12.30pm, CLOSED for Private Workshop
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio
6pm – 9pm, Intro to Pottery Class
Saturday 24th May
10am – 1pm, Play with Clay – thanks Caitlin! xx
1pm – 4pm, Members’ Open Studio – thanks Andrew! xx
Sunday 25th May
10am – 1pm, Wheel Throwing Class
