Sam Dickenson

Country: NZ
Field of Art: Ceramist
Instagram: @samdmakes

Sam Dickenson is a passionate ceramic artist who discovered her love for pottery as a teenager. She went on to study ceramic design at Central St Martins and spent five years designing and creating pottery in London before relocating to Auckland in 2007. After a break from her practice due to family commitments, Sam has returned to ceramics with the support of the Auckland Studio Potters. She now explores handbuilding, working with slabs, plaster, and ceramic molds made from found and self-created forms.

Andrea Gaskin

Country: NZ
Field of Art: Ceramist/ Art Educator
Website: www.connectthedots.org.nz

Andrea Gaskin is an artist and arts educator committed to removing barriers to arts participation and celebrating diverse visual languages. She has focused her practice on arts education, particularly in the areas of brain injury and dementia, and now aims to expand her own artistic journey. A passionate hand builder, Andrea has years of experience in both practicing and teaching handbuilding techniques, valuing the individual expression that each maker brings to the craft. She has held a residency at Studio One Ponsonby in Auckland and integrates her pottery skills into her charity, Connect the Dots.

Trevor Sphor

Country: AUS
Field of Art: Ceramics, Sculpture

Australian artist Trevor Spohr graduated from the Queensland College of Art with a ceramics major. After years of traveling and working in studio potteries in Europe, Trevor established a workshop and retail gallery on the Sunshine Coast. Trevor also taught Ceramics at Fraser Coast TAFE for 9 years before moving into a role as an Arts Developer Officer in the local council. Trevor has now moved to phased retirement with the intention of devoting more time to creativity and sharing the experiences gained over the years.

While Trevor's major passion is working with clay, he is drawn by all forms of creative practice. Trevor's recent work reflects a sense of place, drawing inspiration from the Fraser Coast region. Creating  vessels as usable objects allows Trevor to paint, draw, and experiment with lines and a variety of glazes to create unique works.

Naomi Allen

Country: NZ
Field of Art: Ceramics, Sculpture
Instagram: @namzeedidit

Naomi Allan is a Tāmaki Makaurau-based ceramicist, avid second-hand shopper, and hot beverage enthusiast. With a strong passion for the potter's wheel, Naomi has been awarded the Driving Creek residency through the Auckland Studio Potters' annual Fire and Clay competition. This opportunity allows her to escape the city and immerse herself in the beauty of Driving Creek. When not potting, she works as a waitress at her family business, Ima Cuisine, or indulges in horror and science fiction, themes that often influence her ceramic work.

Isobel Thom

Country: NZ
Field of Art: Ceramics

Isobel Thom has been creating slab-built ceramics for nearly 15 years. Initially focusing on domestic ware, she has expanded her repertoire to include various household items and building materials, such as tiles and bricks. Isobel enjoys crafting practical items and small off-grid appliances, including sinks, mushroom farms, and alternative cooling vessels. She predominantly uses recycled clay, which she processes through a slab roller, favoring a highly grogged clay with a bit of texture.

Ben Pyne

Country: NZ
Field of Art: Ceramics
Instagram: @benpyneveramics
Website: https://benpyne.com/

Ben Pyne is a ceramicist and designer based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. His work explores the connections between local geology and ceramic craft, and how these connections influence our built environment. A significant part of his practice involves researching the geological materials of Aotearoa, drawing inspiration from their formation, history, and chemistry. Ben has extensively researched and tested the use of basalt, the bedrock of Tāmaki Makaurau, as functional glazes.

Wendelien Bakker

Country: NZ
Field of Art: Pottery/Sculpture/Drawing
Instagram: @w_nd_li_n
Website: https://wendelienbakker.nl/

Artist Wendelien Bakker’s practice is project based and conceptually driven, navigated through a DIY approach and a strong reliance on the individual and her direct environment. This self-reliance adds mentally and physically performative elements to otherwise largely research-based projects. Wendelien's work is generally concept driven and very much linked to the immediate environment that she works in. She works with environmentally conscious materials, either found in the location or that which feels natural to the space.

Ellie Woods - Leach Apprentice

Country: UK
Field of Art: Ceramist
Instagram: @elliewoodspottery

Ellie Woods from Leach Pottery is staying with us for three months doing a production pottery apprenticeship with us. She is first our first exchange apprentice from Leach Pottery in Cornwall and we are looking for many more to come as we are working toward establishing a pottery exchange program with them. Ellie has worked as a pottery apprentice at Leach Pottery in Cornwall since the summer of 2021 learning production pottery full time. Over the past three years, she has mastered technical skills such as creating standard ware shapes, mixing glazes, and firing gas kilns, while also developing her own work.