Kia ora friends in clay
We hope you're enjoying the short week, and this tiny patch of fine weather we've been blessed with.
It's been a productive week in the studio and we have finalised two thoroughly excellent workshops to bring you in April and May. As the heading suggests, we have Rick Rudd MNZM, and Fiona Tunnicliffe coming to deliver their respective 2-day weekend workshops!
Please note that for both of these highly anticipated workshops, we will be prioritising ticket sales for financial members of the Waikato Society of Potters. Sales will open to our members only from Thursday 5th February, 10am. Any remaining tickets will then be made available to non-members one week later, from Thursday 12th February, 10am.
Find more details and read all the other newsy bits below...
Sculptural Teapots with Rick Rudd, MNZM
We are delighted to bring you this 2-day, weekend workshop with internationally acclaimed potter, Rick Rudd MNZM.
Saturday 2nd May, 10am - 4pm, and Sunday 3rd May, 10am - 4pm
Instantly recognisable, Rick Rudd's ceramic creations are a wonder to behold. They combine form and function to the point where the dramatically sculptural designs often mask the functional purpose of the piece. They offer the observer a mystery to be solved.
Over the course of two days, Rick will guide you in building your own teapot in his style, and learning techniques that can be used in your own hand-building practice.
Rick Rudd, MNZM was born in Great Yarmouth, England and trained at Great Yarmouth and Wolverhampton Colleges of Art, attaining a Diploma of Art and Design, Ceramics in 1972.
In 1973 he arrived in New Zealand and since then has won several awards, including the Fletcher Brownbuilt Pottery Award (1978), the Winstones Bowl Award (1981), the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, Caltex Oil Award (1983), the Norsewear Art Award for Pottery (1995) and the Ballantynes Contemporary Tableware Award (2001).
He has exhibited widely throughout New Zealand, regularly in solo exhibitions, numerous times as guest exhibitor and his work has been included in international exhibitions in Italy, Australia, Canada, USA, Singapore, Japan, Finland, Hong Kong, Guernsey, and Taiwan.
In 2013 he established the Rick Rudd Foundation, a charitable trust, and in 2015 opened Quartz, Museum of Studio Ceramics. In 2020 he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
Enrolments will open to WSP Financial Members on Thursday 5th May, 10am, on our class bookings page.
Member ticket price: $420
Non-member ticket price: $485
Fiona's Fabulous Fauna - animal forms with Fiona Tunnicliffe
This workshop sold out lickety-split last year, so we're thrilled to be able to offer another workshop with the very excellent, Fiona Tunnicliffe!
Saturday 18th AND Sunday 19th April, 10am to 4pm
In this workshop you will learn the basics of animal anatomy, how to break down forms and successfully build what you see. It is geared to learning some construction skills that will extend and be useful in your usual practice.
Fiona Tunnicliffe is an award-winning ceramic artist who has been a full-time potter for over 30 years, known for her animal-inspired sculptures. Her work often features animals as a starting point, with each piece possessing a unique personality enhanced by her use of textures, patterns, and relief work. She is widely collected and exhibits her work in galleries throughout New Zealand.
Enrolments will open to WSP Financial Members on Thursday 5th May, 10am, on our class bookings page.
Member ticket price: $275
Non-member ticket price: $315
Phoenix wood firing - March
You may not know that it's incredibly rare for potteries to be able to have wood kilns in a city. At WSP we are blessed to be reaping the rewards of a dedicated bunch of people who gained the necessary approvals, fundraised for this kiln and cage, and built it for the society some time ago. Firing this glorious beastie is a community effort and a great way to explore a new type of potting with fellow potters. Take advantage of this unique facility and join this firing, with Firemaster, Suzy Dunser.
These are the dates you'll need to be available for the prep and firing days:
Saturday 14th March: prep day: organise wood, prep shelves and kiln
Saturday 21st March: loading kiln
Sunday 22nd March: firing kiln
Saturday 28th March: clean up and unloading kiln
For everything else you need to know and to sign-up, visit the booking page.
Studio Schedule
Classes start next week - wahooo!! This does mean that we'll have a few less Members' Open Studio sessions though, so be sure to check the online calendar before you head into the studio. Here's how things are looking at this stage...
Friday 30 January
9.30am – 4pm: Members’ Open Studio
Saturday 31 January
10am – 1pm: Play With Clay - thanks Tim! x
1 - 4pm: Members' Open Studio
Sunday 1 February
CLOSED
Monday 2 February
9.30am – 12.30pm: Wheel Throwing Class
1pm – 4pm: Members’ Open Studio
6pm - 9pm: Hand Building Class
Tuesday 3 February
9.30am – 12.30pm: Wheel Throwing Class
1pm – 4pm: Members’ Open Studio
6pm - 9pm: Play with Clay - thanks Margaret and Shadae! xx
Wednesday 4 February
9.30am – 12.30pm: Play with Clay - thanks Yasmin and Kristen! xx
1pm – 4pm: Members’ Open Studio
4pm - 5.30pm: Kids' Play with Clay
6pm - 9pm: Wheel Throwing Class
Thursday 5 February
9.30am – 12.30pm: Sculpture Class
1pm - 4pm: Members' Open Studio
6pm - 9pm: Wheel Throwing Class
Friday 6 February
CLOSED for Waitangi Day
Saturday 7 February
10am – 1pm: Play With Clay - thanks Teresa! x
1pm – 4pm: TBC Members’ Open Studio (pending a volunteer to run the session)
Sunday 8 February
CLOSED
