Collection: Weka Pottery

Liz Downey

Liz Downey's pottery, since being a novice back in the mid 90’s, has never been static. Instead it has been an ongoing ‘dipping of toes’ into the many and varied techniques and materials the ceramic industry has to offer. From using hand-dug clay to using multiple firings using precious metals, the learning process is never ending.

Of particular interest is the combination of the handmade - throwing, altering and decorating, all of which combine to create a unique piece every time. This expression is then ‘frozen’ in time when a piece is fired (up to 4 times) in the kiln. Every firing transforms the piece a little more and the resultant pieces tell that other story as well.

Most of this body of work’s subject matter is not a literal representation of any object or idea but is an opportunity to use an abstracted visual language creating playful, unpredictable pieces that capture a moment of rhythm, expression, texture, movement and exploration.

Craig Powell

Material based. Clay response to manipulation. Make sense of forms that are abstract. Putting his aesthetic out into the public space to bring about responses.

The subtlety of trying to represent his own aesthetic which is risky and this elevates and transforms; the glaze is very integral to his pieces as it ebbs and flows giving the piece harmonies.

His search for inspiration relates to natural and/or found objects which are present in his environs and suggest to him a connection with what he is doing and where he is going. He likes to think of his ceramic practice as an extension of his whole working life in that he can use his skills of design and invention to create an aesthetic. Materials such as steel and concrete are also mold-able and require their own discipline to form. Clay can be extended beyond the form of utility where whimsy and desire are precipitated into form that challenges logic.