UKU Clay
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More news from 2022 will be updated here between now and Christmas, including:
News and info about my new Freedom Drawing workshops and classes to start in 2023.
Elevate - a professional development course I did through Creative Waikato.
Time and Tide with the LUSH COLLECTIVE.
News and info about my new Freedom Drawing workshops and classes to start in 2023.
Elevate - a professional development course I did through Creative Waikato.
Time and Tide with the LUSH COLLECTIVE.
News from 2020 and 2021 will be included here including:
The Space Between Us (TransTasman collaboration with Carole Driver)
The Alchemists' Daughters (Small Stories collaboration with Helen Perrett)
CHARMED, group installation as part of the Stories in the Landscape exhibition at Waitakaruru Sculpture Park .
The Space Between Us (TransTasman collaboration with Carole Driver)
The Alchemists' Daughters (Small Stories collaboration with Helen Perrett)
CHARMED, group installation as part of the Stories in the Landscape exhibition at Waitakaruru Sculpture Park .
A River Runs Through Us, St Lawrence, 2018. 900x600x345
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The Portage Ceramic Awards
10 Nov 2018 - 05 Feb 2019 Te Uru Gallery, 420 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, Auckland Really chuffed that 'A River Runs Through Us' received a 'Highly Commended' at this year's Portage Ceramic Awards. Being recognised on a national level like this, gives a welcome boost to the confidence! 
Me and the Portage 18 judge.
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Art in a Garden, Flaxmere, Nth Canterbury
Small Stories Workshops, Sat 27 Oct 2018, 10:30 am & 2:30pm 
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Helen Perrett and I went to north Canterbury to participate in Art in a Garden. The workshops were fun; the kids delightful; and the visitors were keen to buy our plates and sculptures. Was a great day in a wonderful setting.
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St Lawrence, Aug 2017
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Pt Chev goes to the Dogs
10:00am - 4:00pm Saturday, 21st October 2017 Front Room Gallery, 300 Pt Chev Rd, Auckland Lace up the sneakers, click on the leash and come join us as we hit the Pt Chev Road dog trail from Whau Studios at #161, contemporary jewellery, Carpenters Daughter at #290, curvy fashion, Front Room Gallery #300, ceramics, and Mars Salt & Sweet deli #330. 
St Lawrence, Aug 2017
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St Lawrence, June 2017
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Latest out of the kiln
Been working on new images for the sgraffito'd plates.... 
St Lawrence, June 2017
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26 May '17. Opening of
There's More To Me Than Me by LUSHx2 ....nine ceramists and hardly a piece of clay in sight :-o 
Susan St Lawrence, Margaret Bray, Barbara Riley
Koli, Debbie, Diane Parker
Adele Matthew's 'Woven History'
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Diane Parker welcoming everyone
Chris Fairley and Else Lye
Carole Driver
Jude Rae's 'Net' and Margaret Bray's 'Substratum'
Diane Parker's 'Hut'.
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'Hut', Inundation', Down the Rabbit Hole'
Diane Parker 'Doll'
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Susan and Allan (Mr Carole Driver :-)
Carole Driver
Adele Matthews, Woven History
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Margaret Sumich, 'Frame Up'
Trish Seddon, Manager, Waikato Society of Potters
Helen and Susan
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Susan and 'Pod'
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Carol Stewart's 'Curtain Wall' and Carole Driver's 'Topological'.
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There's More To Me Than Me
26 May - 26 April 2017 Waikato Museum, ArtsPost, Hamilton, NZ Opening: 5:30 - 7:30pm, Thursday 25 May Inter-regional group installation on reverie by 9 ceramists exploring aspects of their imagination using materials other than the ceramics they're known for. An installation is different to an exhibition. This is not a show of objects, but rather an all-senses experience of a space transformed by the merging of the different works into an environment that encourages the loitering, musing and reverie of the visitor. Don’t expect the usual white-space exhibition. This will be a multi-layered experience that will be unique for each person who enters. Participants - LUSHx2
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Portage Opening
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Accepted for the Portage Ceramic Awards!
Crow, St Lawrence, 2016
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The Portage Ceramic Awards
10 Nov 2016 - 05 Feb 2017 Te Uru Gallery, 420 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, Auckland www.teuru.org.nz/index.cfm/whats-on/portage/
Established in 2001 and administered by Te Uru Waitakere Contemporary Gallery, The Portage Ceramic Awards is the country's best-known barometer for developments in the field of ceramics. Can't quite believe it, almost expect to get turned away from the opening night award ceremony! Will be a great evening seeing everyone's work and catching up with some ceramic folk I haven't seen for a while or not had a chance to meet yet. |
LIBRARY OF LEGENDS: Narrative ceramics, opening Thursday 09 Sept 2016.
Heaving rain and plummeting temperatures in the evening, but the loyal and the inquisitive came out to create a happy event.
Heaving rain and plummeting temperatures in the evening, but the loyal and the inquisitive came out to create a happy event.
LIBRARY OF LEGENDS: Narrative ceramics
by Helen Perrett and Susan St Lawrence
10 Sept - 10 October 2016, Margot Philips Gallery, ArtsPost, Hamilton, NZ
Library of Legends....fact, fiction, memory, hearsay, wanna-be-true tales....the owner of this library was insatiable in collecting them all....
Library of Legends opens the next chapter in our narrative work.. Since our last show at Artspost in 2014 (wishUwereHere), we have had two exhibitions (STuF:from the collections of St Ursula Ferrett, New Plymouth, and Small Stories II, Auckland), each of them focused around the delights of story telling through clay. Library of Legends gives us an opportunity to both consolidate our collaborative artistic experience and to explore new plots, rumours and epic stories.
We've been having fun writing the backstory for our protagonist Mary Brownlee-Smithsonian, 'Protector of Stories'. Here's a sneaky peek at some of the things that have been coming off the studio workbench and printing press.
by Helen Perrett and Susan St Lawrence
10 Sept - 10 October 2016, Margot Philips Gallery, ArtsPost, Hamilton, NZ
Library of Legends....fact, fiction, memory, hearsay, wanna-be-true tales....the owner of this library was insatiable in collecting them all....
Library of Legends opens the next chapter in our narrative work.. Since our last show at Artspost in 2014 (wishUwereHere), we have had two exhibitions (STuF:from the collections of St Ursula Ferrett, New Plymouth, and Small Stories II, Auckland), each of them focused around the delights of story telling through clay. Library of Legends gives us an opportunity to both consolidate our collaborative artistic experience and to explore new plots, rumours and epic stories.
We've been having fun writing the backstory for our protagonist Mary Brownlee-Smithsonian, 'Protector of Stories'. Here's a sneaky peek at some of the things that have been coming off the studio workbench and printing press.
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Heroine Series: 'Head in the Clouds'. Ceramic.
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Heroine Series: 'Boudicca releases the hare from her skirts before dealing with the Romans'. Limited edition print.
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Storybook Vessel: 'The Little Red Hen' with gold luster.
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The Chronicles of the Library of Legends From the notebook of Mary Brownlee-Smithsonian, Protector of Stories. Episode One Deep beneath the earth, in a series of rooms lined with bookcases, the leaves of the books rustle; relics of known and unknown heroes get comfy on their shelves; fossils settle down for another million years. All is well in their world. Mary Brownlee-Smithsonian enters the main chamber and absently tucks a strand of stray hair behind her ear. She listens and hears the contented sounds of her charges. All is well in her world. The explosion is as effective as it is unexpected. From ‘all is well’ to ‘sooo not well’ in a nano-second. Mary falls to the ground and all is black in her magnificent head. A booted foot steps over her and heads to a cabinet on the far side of the room; a cabinet surprisingly unscathed by the blast that assaulted the room just seconds before. Gloved hands work quickly on the lock, reach in and remove the book. Before it disappears into the waiting backpack, one could, if one had senses to see, catch a glimpse of a well-worn leather cover stamped with gold letters “The History of …”. The book is gone, shoved deep into the velvety blackness. |
The same boots step over Mary again; this time in the direction from whence they came. A sight click, and the room is quiet and occupied only by those of before, bar one.
Mary stirs and slowly sits up, sweeping a quick but searching glance around the library. A sinking feeling assails her and she takes a deep breathe to steady her nerves. Damn. Here she is, “Protector of Stories” and she’s been robbed right in the heart of the Library of Legends. How EMBARRASSING not to mention dangerous.
In her mind she flicks through the index of her library occupants, checking them off as each replies with a ‘here’. It takes her a few minutes before she receives a thundering silence from ‘The History of ….”. Just the one work gone then. But why this one? Yes, it’s an interesting piece of legendary folklore but not of any particular historic interest….. unless it wasn’t folklore but real, and then it would be of great importance to the characters and their descents. She tried to recall the plot, something about a wayward daughter becoming a corsair; brutal and unsavoury going-ons, a cruel ending for the dame. Nothing unusual in the folklore plot about that. Then what? It was the only one known of in print…. Mary sighs. Someone is planning to rewrite legendary history again. She swears with something stronger than her customary expletive.
Getting slightly shakily to her feet, she moves to her desk, slides back a panel and pushes a button. Time to gather the troops, she thinks, and turns to start tidying up the mess while she awaits their arrival.
Mary stirs and slowly sits up, sweeping a quick but searching glance around the library. A sinking feeling assails her and she takes a deep breathe to steady her nerves. Damn. Here she is, “Protector of Stories” and she’s been robbed right in the heart of the Library of Legends. How EMBARRASSING not to mention dangerous.
In her mind she flicks through the index of her library occupants, checking them off as each replies with a ‘here’. It takes her a few minutes before she receives a thundering silence from ‘The History of ….”. Just the one work gone then. But why this one? Yes, it’s an interesting piece of legendary folklore but not of any particular historic interest….. unless it wasn’t folklore but real, and then it would be of great importance to the characters and their descents. She tried to recall the plot, something about a wayward daughter becoming a corsair; brutal and unsavoury going-ons, a cruel ending for the dame. Nothing unusual in the folklore plot about that. Then what? It was the only one known of in print…. Mary sighs. Someone is planning to rewrite legendary history again. She swears with something stronger than her customary expletive.
Getting slightly shakily to her feet, she moves to her desk, slides back a panel and pushes a button. Time to gather the troops, she thinks, and turns to start tidying up the mess while she awaits their arrival.
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17 March 2016 opening of
LUSH: sensational ceramic surfaces The opening was a lovely evening, with many friends and family coming down from Auckland to join the Waikato supporters.
Feedback over the ensuing weeks of the show were very positive and sales were good. Most satisfying of all, we heard that people not only spent a long time in the gallery really observing and studying the works, but also came back several times, often bringing friends with them. |
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LUSH: sensational ceramic surfaces
18 March - 18 April 2016, Margot Philips Gallery, ArtsPost, Hamilton, NZ by the Beyond The Bombays Ceramic Group Eleven LUSHious potters give the audience a rich sensory experience of ceramic surfaces. Here's a sneak preview. |
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The eleven LUSHious participants in our upcoming exhibition
LUSH: sensational ceramic surfaces 18 March - 18 April 2016, Margo Philips, ArtsPost, Waikato Museum, Hamilton:
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27 June 2015
Crow II, won second place NZ Potters 2015. Very chuffed. :-) Big thanks to Botany Pottery (BotPots), Flatbush, Auckland, for their generous sponsorship. |
Crow II, St Lawrence 2015
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Kelvin Bradford, President NZ Potters, and moi.
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27 June 2015 is Ceramics day!!
As the fates would have it, my work is in four Auckland shows over the coming month: Uncanny at the Wallace Arts Centre in Hillsborough (12 May-28 June 2015), The Vessel at the Allpress Gallery in Freemans Bay (24 June-04 July 2015), Ceramics 2015 at the Auckland Memorial Museum (27 June - 04 July 2015), and Helen and my show Small Stories II at the Front Room Gallery in Pt Chev (27 June-05 July 2015).
The common date for all of them is Saturday 27 June. Treat yourself to a rare day of top class ceramics by visiting all four shows and seeing a wide variety of work by some of New Zealand's top ceramists :-).
The common date for all of them is Saturday 27 June. Treat yourself to a rare day of top class ceramics by visiting all four shows and seeing a wide variety of work by some of New Zealand's top ceramists :-).
Canterbury Potters' Assoc - Weekend Workshop
7-9 November 2014
The kiln building and firing team, Canterbury Potters Assoc, Christchurch, Nov 2014
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I flew down to Christchurch on Friday and that evening I gave a slide show on the Community Hearth events.
On Saturday, when the original kiln idea proved to be a no-go, some quick thinking saw us adapt a method I learnt for melting bronze for bronze casting. Some fibre, a few lengths of rebar, a great gas burner and the odd dry twig or two, saw us get the sculpture up to about 1000-1100 C, with a nice resulting raku glost, in 3.5 hrs. Sunday was a lovely relaxed day for everyone, chilling out with me doing a demo workshop on the tips and techniques for building big sculpture. Lisa and Kathryn kindly rescued supernovaStar from the boarding kennels on Sunday afternoon so she was home safe and sound by the time I got back to Hamilton later that night. Phew. Great experience, lovely enthusiastic people, stunning weather, flame and clay. In what better way could you spend a weekend?! 
supernovaStar super happy to be home after being incarcerated in THAT boarding kennel (her words, not mine).
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Going for it
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'St Lawrence Upon Brickell', M Colston, 2014
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Private Classes in the Wrapped Studio
23 Sept 2014
Michelle inspired by Barry Brickell, is embarking on a multifaceted abstract sculpture.
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This term saw me take on several students at home. Some people like the smaller groups and the more intimate, relaxed atmosphere of working from my studio. This term, students range from a long time attendee right through to someone who hasn't touched clay before. And with the general election a current topic, conversation can get pretty lively around the table :-).
Michelle and Karen getting stuck in, Sept 2014
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It's A Wrap: My New Ceramic Studio
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The new winter ceramic studio. Me and supernovaSTAR enjoying the sun whilst it lasts.
It's a wrap. Sort of does look like fabric, quite pretty I think!
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Waikato Museum, ArtsPost gallery and shop, Hamilton, NZ.
Peter Collis, Collis Studios, giving a floor talk on Narrative Ceramics at our exhibition.
Kate Burchett, ceramic artist and Trish Seddon, Mgr Waikato Soc. of Potters
Helen and Martin, ardent supporters from Snells Beach
Susan and Helen
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27 March '14. Opening of
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Helen and Roxy pondering the exhibition set up
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Helen and Susan hanging the Dinner Conversation Veil. Star keeping guard underneath the table.
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Julie Collis, actress and ceramic artist, and David Lloyd, sculptor and arts patron, and Star, SuperNovaDog