During the 1999 New Zealand sojourn a studio deck was built in a secluded spot of the Hahei property. This bird serenaded platform supports an outdoor artist studio that includes a working area, a shed housing a large gas kiln, plus a larger shed for slab roller, glaze preparation, and working storage. Such a surfeit of equipment was due largely to my husband, whose enthusiasm for ceramics has never wained since he and I took evening classes with Doreen Blumhardt in the early 60's. Before and during student years in the ceramics department of the Division of Art at The Ohio State University my prefered method for working with clay (other than for figurative sculpture) was wheel throwing. Thus the first challenge was to develop concepts and techniques that used slabs. The second was to turn the pages of old notebooks and tweak the mind into developing a suitable glaze pallet.

“Coromandel Coast 1”
2000-2002 Stoneware.
h14" x w23" x d14"
Provenance

The Coromandel is a uniquely rugged peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. Its rocky backbone, the hard core residue of extensive volcanic activity etched by centuries of erosion, sends fingers of rock with precipitous sides to the coast east, west, and north. Primarily covered with regenerating native rainforest, the sprawling central core is in many areas impassable except by hiking trails. Highways snaking around the periphery are like roller coasters with views from the heights of the fabulous rock and sand beaches between. The precipitous landscape of the Parapara region in which I lived as a small child formed my predilection for landscape and sculpture, thus this mountainous landscape is compelling.

“Leda and the Swan”detail
2006. Stoneware Planter.
33cm x 34cm
Provenance

“After Matisse”detail
2006. Stoneware Planter.
33cm x 34cm
Provenance