December 2024 Newsletter
Club Notes and Updates
Welcome, Bella! We're excited to have you on board as our new Studio Technician.
Meet our new Studio Technician, Bella F!
Bella F has signed on to be our new Studio Technician. She joined us officially on Monday 2 Dec so please make sure you welcome her to the rooms when you see her. She will be working alongside Holly for the remaining club firings of 2024 to learn how we do things here and how our kilns operate before the kiln room closes over the Christmas break.
Bella has worked in a similar capacity for Karla Marie Ceramics as well as enjoying some overseas travel but is now wanting to settle back into Wellington and dive into all things clay. She has been a member of WPA in the past. We’ll do a fuller introduction in the new year as this appointment is hot off the press!
Don’t forget that, even with a Studio Technician secured, we still expect everyone to do their volunteer best to help out with various activities - whether they are your PlusONEs or participating in volunteer activities like Clay Club, Glaze Club, and working bees.
We’d like to also acknowledge Holly for all of her mahi with the kilns as we slogged through this process. She’s been patient with the Club and this process, and steadfast in her dedication in pushing everyone’s work through in a timely manner. Ngā mihi nui, Holly, for it all.
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Have you reset your HelloClub account yet?
HelloClub looks a little different after the software upgrade.
Following a recent software upgrade, everyone needs to recreate their HelloClub account. If you haven’t already done so, the link expires in a week so don’t delay any longer!
Please look for a HelloClub email titled “Welcome to WPA, [your name]” sent on Tuesday, 19 Nov and click the “Reset your account” link at the bottom of the email. If you can’t find that email, we have to regenerate the link for you individually, so have a hunt around your inbox first.
Any issues, contact Ingrid on wellingtonpotters.membership@gmail.com
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Volunteers Needed!
During the first 2 weeks of January we need many hands to get the kiln room and the grounds the attention they need (and deserve!).
From 16 December there will be a link on the HelloClub FAQ page for a Google Doc list of jobs that need doing. Identify the job you wish to volunteer for, the date(s) and time(s) you are available and Peter Rumble will be in touch with a proposed schedule. We’re looking for everyone from:
• budding mountain goats with secateurs (rid the Grant Road slope of nasty Old Man’s Beard, Convolvulus and Tradescantia),
• to people who love kilns and cleaning (shelves and floor in the kiln room),
• to members with a bent for orderliness (props to sort),
• and maintenance-oriented folk to rebuild the wall, berm and slope near the garage…as well as scour and paint the garage roller door.
• We’ll have lots of other tasks as well to get the rooms set up for a great start to 2025.
If you can give even a couple of hours, that will be a help and much appreciated.
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Ceramicus 2024 at the Wellington Botanic Gardens’ Begonia House
Wrapping up Ceramicus 2024
A message from the Convenor
Our 66th annual exhibition is done and dusted! The standard of pots submitted was super high and I hope you all shared the same sense of pride that I had when viewing the exhibition.
This was our second year back in the beautiful, bustling Begonia House. We ran another successful pop-up market in the rose garden on 2-3 November with 20 stalls per day and hundreds of visitors taking home pots.
Here are some numbers that summarise the exhibition:
• 56 potters exhibiting (up from 51 in 2023)
• 116 pots exhibited (up from 109 in 2023)
• 10 awards
• 75 people at opening night
• 38 pieces sold (up from 32 in 2023)
• $9,491 total sales (compared to $6,038 in 2023)
• 3,497 visitors over 11 days (up from 3,360 over 12 days in 2023)
A digital copy of the catalog is available here. If you’d like to share your highlight, provide feedback from this years exhibition or submit ideas for 2025, follow this link to our feedback form.
Thank you
To all our volunteers, Ceramicus wouldn’t be possible without you! Transporting plinths & pots, creating a playlist, spreadsheet wizardry, dropping posters off around town, processing payments - lots of us spend hours bringing Ceramicus together. Thank you to all those who contributed, in particular:
Coral Dolan, our exhibition lead, who calmly and cleverly fit 116 entries (233 individual pieces!) in a small space and made them all shine. Thanks also to Sarah Drake, Georgina Parker and Paola Nigris for supporting set up.
Mel Waite, our favourite photographer, thank you for capturing all our pots and our opening night event. Our Instagrams have never looked better!
An addition from the Committee: we’d like to give a HUGE shoutout to Kate Mac as Ceramics Convenor again this year. Her role is entirely unpaid, and she tackles it with a very small team. Ngā mihi nui, Kate. We can’t thank you enough.
Left to right: Kate Mac, Felicity Donaldson Smith, and WPA President Martin Henty
To our wonderful Guest Selector, Felicity Donaldson Smith, who had a very tough job! Thank you for the careful consideration given to each entry, your lovely words for our award winners and for being great to work with.
And one last shout out to our sponsors: CCG - our opening night sponsor, Wellington City Council - our venue partner and to our awards sponsors - Clay Down Under, Bot Pots, Kiwi Underglaze and Nelson Pottery Supplies.
A recap of our winners
Following the close of the exhibition we tallied up the votes for the People’s Choice Award and this year it was a tie! Congratulations to Elodie Liguori for her piece ‘Padaung’ and Ish Doney for their piece ‘Cephalopod’. And a shout out to Paola Nigris, her pieces ‘Earth’s Plea’ and ‘Transmuting our Nature’ were a close second-equal. Check out this month’s ‘Member’s Gallery’ for the photos of all the winning pieces!
The future of the Begonia House…
The Begonia House at Wellington Botanic Gardens.
You may have seen the news about possible demolition of the Begonia House as part of the Council’s plan to reduce expenditure. I have been in touch with the team at WCC who advise that if this does happen, it will be mid-2026 so the Begonia House is still an option for our next exhibition.
Before any decisions are made by Council the public will have an opportunity to make submissions. WCC have provided the a document on the process should you wish to know more or make a submission. View it here.
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Farewell to Spring Potter in Residence, Gaspar Huala
In September we welcomed Gaspar to our community. He had a busy time preparing for his exhibition ‘Hornero - a bird away from home’ at Rice Pudding in October. Three of these pieces were also on display in Ceramicus.
Gaspar Huala’s three pieces as seen at Ceramicus 2024.
In November, Gaspar ran a very special workshop series. Participants learned about this history of pre-Columbian pottery then constructed, carved and burnished traditional ‘kero’ ceremonial vessels. We built a basic kiln in the carpark, fired the vessels and then put them into reduction. After firing slip was added and the vessels were waxed. As Gaspar put it: hand + fire = soul.
Welcome new members!
Aimee G | Fiona O | Jasmine C | Joseph S | Kathleen W | Lana S-D | Maddison T | Nancy C | Rosie F | Sarah M | Tom W | Antonia C | Audrey W | Becca S | Bryan W | Claire A | Georgi H | Jan McC | Kylie K | Louise E | Rochelle H | Tahlia A-M | Baden V | Barb K | Grace M | Jess B | Laurel A | Michael A | Molly E | Sam Y | Simone K | Tess K |
Aimee G | Fiona O | Jasmine C | Joseph S | Kathleen W | Lana S-D | Maddison T | Nancy C | Rosie F | Sarah M | Tom W | Antonia C | Audrey W | Becca S | Bryan W | Claire A | Georgi H | Jan McC | Kylie K | Louise E | Rochelle H | Tahlia A-M | Baden V | Barb K | Grace M | Jess B | Laurel A | Michael A | Molly E | Sam Y | Simone K | Tess K |
DID YOU KNOW…?
What the Glaze Team has been up to?
Our volunteer glaze team has done an amazing job all year keeping us topped up with lots of lovely glaze. They’ve been tracking the numbers so we can now tell you that, between January and December 2024, they’ve made an astonishing 252 litres of glaze! Want to see the breakdown? Check it out:
Glaze name (Litres made)
Clear (49L); Magic White (39L); Glossy White (24L); Magic Green (21L); Zinc Blue (20L); Ivan's Seafoam (19L); Tenmoku (12L); Olive Green Celadon (11L); Honey (11L); Raspberry (11L); Club Recycled (11L); Satin Clear (10L); Satin Matte Black (6L); Harris Tenmoku (6L); Misc. (2L)
As you can see, far the most popular is our Clear glaze followed by Magic White. Let’s give a big thanks to the team for their impressive work, generously and capably led by James D.
The glaze team has also been working hard finalizing the new test tile system and testing a new club glaze. You may notice that most of the glaze buckets have a new test tile on them, which are on Standard Stoneware. They will show you how the glaze performs in three dips, as well as how the dips break over texture. They are planning a new display system of the sample tiles, we’ll feature that in a future newsletter when they are ready!
Member’s Gallery: Ceramicus 2024 Awards
Below are your award winners from Ceramicus 2024. All photos are from last month’s ‘Volunteer of the Month’ Mel Waite. If you would like to use any of the images below, be sure to credit her in your post.
Click on the image to view larger.
Is there something you’ve made that you want to show off? If so, please email your photos (and descriptions, if you’d like) to wellingtonpotters.info@gmail.com.
PSAs from the Club Admin
REMINDER: Kiln Room holiday schedule
LAST CLUB FIRING FOR 2024: Monday 16 December
ALL PIECES OUT OF KILN ROOM SHELVES: 31 December
FIRST CLUB FIRING FOR 2025: Monday 20 January
All pieces – yes; absolutely ALL pieces - must be removed from the kiln room shelves by midnight 31 December. If you can’t comply yourself, please either arrange for another member to pick up for you or leave your work on the drying shelves upstairs (Stacks A, B and C). Note that the 14 days limit will be extended so that any pots dated after 1 December may remain on the shelves until 1 February before being considered for recycling.
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Glaze Room closures
A reminder to check HelloClub / Facebook to see when the glaze room is closed for other activities such as Glaze Club or Raku glazing and to be considerate of those who have priority in the kiln room.
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We’re going to need a Treasurer!
Our beloved Treasurer will be jumping ship and moving abroad in the new year. Is there anyone out there with accounting experience who would like to be our next Treasurer?
If you are interested, please contact either Admin (wellingtonpotter.info@gmail.com), or talk to any Committee member. We’ll get you connected to Kelly so that you can learn more about this very important role for the Club.
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Have you noticed??
Yes, we have a shiny new wheel and one more will be coming at the end of the month! We will slowly be replacing our wheels over time and selling off the old ones (more info on this in the new year).
The new wheels will not have holes for pins at this stage while we work out the best system for use at the club.
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Free firewood!
These are leftovers from Gaspar's pit firing. Disassembled pallets under the tarpaulin on the rear carpark. Come collect it yourself and when it's gone it's gone.
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Ngā mihi!
Suggestion Box
Thanks for your suggestions in the suggestion box! Believe it or not, the suggestion box is NOT a black void of notes from you all. Suggestions get read, discussed, and logged at the Committee Meetings. Below are the suggestions and outcomes from September’s meeting (click the “+” to expand).
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We talked through this and agree that the desk has become a bit of a dumping ground for unloved pieces. The positives of getting rid of it outweighed the negatives so we are going to trial getting nixing “sale” shelf entirely. Once we have cleaned it out we can always bring it back if enough demand warrants a return.
If you have a piece you’d like to donate to the club for fundraising, please come see Admin. We can make a plan to raffle/sell it off in an appropriate way!
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It is on our radar that the new extruder is difficult. We will work through the steps and put together something for the visual learners.
Salsa for Summer
Technically, this is a pico de gallo, as “salsa” literally means “sauce”. It is delicious, and you can swap out the pineapple for mango if you’ve got that instead. Fresh jalapeños are hard to come by in NZ, so the second you find one—save it for a pico. The inner ribs and the seeds carry most of the heat in peppers, so trim carefully, use only half a jalapeño, and be sure to scrape out all the seeds if you can’t tolerate any heat.
Original recipe and photos from https://cookieandkate.com/fresh-pineapple-salsa-recipe/
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INGREDIENTS
• 3 cups diced fresh pineapple (about 1 medium)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ cup chopped red onion (about ½ small onion)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh coriander
• 1 medium jalapeño*, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons lime juice (from about 1 ½ limes), or more if needed
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea saltDIRECTIONS
1) In a medium serving bowl, combine the pineapple, bell pepper, onion, coriander, and jalapeño. Add the lime juice and salt, and stir to combine.
2) Season to taste with additional lime juice (for zing) and/or salt (for more overall flavour) if it doesn’t taste amazing just yet.
3) For best flavor, let the pico de gallo rest for 10 minutes or longer before serving. It’s best served fresh but keeps well, chilled, for up to 4 days.
*Spice level note: This salsa is well-balanced as written. If you’re worried about the spice level, though, use half of the jalapeño and be sure to remove the ribs and seeds. If you want spicier salsa, add up to two peppers, to taste.
Upcoming Events/Community News
Discover the Art of Yakishime: A Journey Through Japan’s Ceramic Heritage
23 November 2024 - 19 January 2025
Whirinaki Whare Taonga, 836 Fergusson Drive, Upper Hutt
Admission: FREE
(daily except public holidays), 10am - 4pm
The Embassy of Japan is delighted to announce that “YAKISHIME - Earth Metamorphosis” (the Japan Foundation Travelling Exhibition) will take place from 23 November 2024 until 19 January 2025 at Whirinaki Whare Taonga in Upper Hutt.
Since 2016, the Japan Foundation Traveling Exhibition, "YAKISHIME - Earth Metamorphosis", has been captivating audiences worldwide. This exhibition delves into Japan’s rich cultural tapestry by tracing the evolution of Yakishime ceramics from their ancient origins to contemporary creations.
Visitors will be enchanted by the display of Yakishime tea ceremony utensils, elegant tableware, and stunning non-utilitarian objects d’art. Curator Mieko Iwai highlights, “This exhibition showcases the unique development of Yakishime ceramics within Japanese culture. It spans the historical journey of Yakishime, its practical use in tea and dining, and its transformation into artistic masterpieces. For those unfamiliar with these simple yet profoundly elegant ceramics, this exhibition offers a rare glimpse into Japan’s distinctive aesthetic and sensibility.”
We hope you can experience the timeless beauty and innovative spirit of Yakishime ceramics, an integral part of daily life in Japan, where tradition and modernity seamlessly intertwine.
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Links to other clubs’ newsletters
Ceramics New Zealand national news can be found here, with the Wellington / regional news here.
Gear Homestead Woolshed Potters’ October 2024 Newsletter can be found here.
The Kilns at Te Horo August 2024 Newsletter can be found here.
Ōtaki Potter’s October 2024 Newsletter can be found here.
Have some content for the newsletter? Email it to wellingtonpotters.info@gmail.com.
There will be no January newsletter, therefore the deadline for the next newsletter is 25 January. We’ll see you again on 1 Feb!
