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 Manuka Pottery
179 Collingwood St,
Nelson
Like many potters I was introduced to clay through evening classes (circa 1970.) I enjoyed using hand made domestic ware and was excited by the possibilities of an independent, creative life style.
I had completed an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner and done a stint as an engineering sales rep. Skills I have been able to call on during my potting career. Heading off on my OE (72) I visited potters in the US and Canada, and on arriving in London, enrolled in further evening classes at The Sir John Cass School of Art. This was part of the city of London Polytech. The opportunity arose for me to become a technician in the ceramics department, where I was also able to attend classes in drawing, clay and glaze chemistry, as well as handbuilding and wheelwork. After two years at the Polytech and a summer travelling in central and southern Europe, I finished my OE working in a small pottery in Kent, where I was introduced to casting and mould making.
Returning home for Christmas 74, then moving to Nelson I started work for the Lairds at Waimea Pottery at the start of 75. This was five years of disciplined work where I gained the craft skills needed to venture out on my own. I was also exposed to sound industrial design, an area that has developed into an intense interest for me.
The transition to self-employment went smoothly due to the sound training I had received and the ready market for well-made domestic ware. My first workshop was housed in the garage beside our home with a new LPG fibre kiln. I produce a range of reduction-fired stoneware that I wholesaled to craft shops.
After two years I moved my workshop into the old shop in Collingwood St, which gave me more space and a show room where I would deal directly with the public. Over the years I have taught evening classes, an experience that I enjoyed. Since then I have dispersed my potting with periods as a technology teacher in schools in the top of the South Island.
My work at present is moving a way from purely utilitarian, to include decorative elements and materials other than clay, however I intend to continue producing some domestic ware for the true believers.
Charles Shaw
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Membership Type: Full |
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035482191
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chasnrose@xtra.co.nz
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15 Erin St
Nelson
New Zealand
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