Rebecca Mackenzie Country: New Zealand Artist Discipline: Painting, Drawing/ Illustration Instagram: —

Rebecca Mackenzie is a multidisciplinary artist whose work spans painting, drawing, illustration, and clay. Her creative practice is deeply rooted in the interplay of colour, form, and the contrasts of light and dark, all explored as a therapeutic experience. With a keen focus on rhythm and beauty, Rebecca's work aims to inspire and uplift, particularly engaging tangata whaiora—those seeking wellness—guiding them towards healing and self-determination. Her art strives to make ideas and knowledge visible in an accessible way that supports and assists those who encounter it.

As an artistic therapist working both privately and within a kaupapa Māori NGO, Rebecca approaches her residency at Driving Creek with a desire to refine her own artistic practice and further develop therapeutic concepts. Introduced to the legend of Driving Creek by her mentor Helen Mason, she is eager to immerse herself in the residency’s unique kaupapa and environment. During her five-week stay, Rebecca looks forward to expanding her experience with clay and using the quiet time and space to deepen the healing potential of her work, all while residing at the welcoming Mouse House accommodation.

Sarah Harrison Country: New Zealand Artist Discipline: Pottery/ Ceramics, Mixed Media Instagram: @potty_sarah

Sarah Harrison has cultivated a distinctive artistic practice in pottery and mixed media over more than 30 years at her Shoal Bay Pottery studio on Great Barrier Island. She primarily works on the wheel using stoneware and porcelain, firing her pieces to cone 10 in both gas and wood-fired kilns. Her work is characterised by a quirky and expressive style, often incorporating a developed palette of ash and papa glazes. Sarah’s creative process is deeply connected to the national wood firing community, contributing to her unique domesticware and sculptural forms that reflect an intimate dialogue with her materials and firing techniques.

Returning to Driving Creek as a past resident, Sarah is motivated by a desire to reconnect with the special environment and the vibrant community that the residency fosters. She values the exchange of ideas and technical knowledge that arise in the communal workshop setting, cherishing the relationships built around Barry’s table. During her four-week residency, Sarah aims to develop a small body of work inspired by the unique Driving Creek environment and the current cohort, continuing her journey of artistic growth while nurturing both national and international connections.

Simon Horton UK Country: United Kingdom Artist Discipline: Pottery/ Ceramics Instagram: @simon.horton.pots Website: simonhortonceramics.co.uk

Simon Horton is a potter based in Oxfordshire, UK, whose practice centers on stoneware ceramics crafted primarily through wheel throwing. He employs a variety of techniques and develops his own glazes through extensive experimentation, often incorporating found and foraged materials such as wood ash and local clays. This approach connects his work deeply to its environment, reflecting his inspiration from quiet, understated pottery traditions ranging from medieval slipware to early Chinese and Korean ceramics, as well as mid-20th century studio pottery. Simon's work is predominantly reduction-fired, using a small self-built gas kiln, with occasional wood-fired pieces, embodying a dedication to form and the refinement of shapes through repetition and focused mastery.

Simon is drawn to the Driving Creek residency by the opportunity to engage with Barry's influential work and the rich ceramic traditions of New Zealand, aiming to foster cultural exchange between UK and NZ potters. He looks forward to dedicated time to explore and develop his teapot forms, seeking to create pieces that resonate with the unique environment of Driving Creek. Beyond technical growth, Simon values the residency as a chance to connect with fellow artists and the Driving Creek community, embracing conversation and idea exchange as vital to reinvigorating his creative practice, away from the often solitary nature of pottery work.

Kaiqi Qiu Country: New Zealand Artist Discipline: Pottery/ Ceramics, Sculpture/ Carving Instagram: @studio.qi_

Kaiqi Qiu is a New Zealand-based artist whose work bridges pottery, ceramics, sculpture, and carving. Drawing inspiration from the organic shapes and subtle textures found in nature, her creations reflect the fluidity and dynamic movement of water. She skillfully combines wheel throwing and coiling techniques to form vessels that embody these ideas of adaptability. Surface carving and selective glazing add intricate textures and patterns, bringing a tactile quality to her pieces. For Kaiqi, working with clay is a meditative practice that allows her to slow down and reconnect with her Chinese cultural roots, each piece revealing deeper insights into her identity and place in the world.

Kaiqi’s pottery journey blossomed just before the pandemic, transforming her garden shed into a creative sanctuary. After joining Auckland Studio Potters and completing a three-month apprenticeship at Dryburgh Pottery, she has honed her craft with a focus on functional ceramics imbued with personal narratives. Having previously participated in a wood firing workshop at Driving Creek, Kaiqi is eager to return for a four-week residency to deepen her connection with clay and nature. She aims to explore new water-themed sculptural forms, expand her wood and soda firing techniques, and refine her functional designs. Beyond her artistic goals, Kaiqi looks forward to embracing the vibrant community spirit at Driving Creek, building friendships, and carrying the residency’s creative energy into her future work.

Tara Luty Country: New Zealand Artist Discipline: Painting, Drawing/ Illustration, Mixed Media Instagram: @taraeluty Website: taraluty.com

Tara Luty is an artist based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand, whose practice is deeply rooted in painting, drawing, and mixed media. Her work investigates the intricate relationships between humans, non-humans, and environments, emphasizing the entanglement of culture and nature through site-specific research and material collaboration. Tara transforms natural and found materials into her media—such as oil paint, watercolour, and charcoal—actively involving the environment in her creative process to foster reciprocity. Her compositions range from abstract to figurative, often stripped back to highlight the material qualities of her media, with projects that explore local histories and natural-human interactions through innovative techniques like pigment-making from brick fragments and mark-making with plant materials.

During her three-week residency at Driving Creek, Tara aims to deepen her exploration of material processes by harvesting natural pigments, experimenting with dyeing, and refining her paint-making methods. She plans to create iterative paintings and drawings that respond to these material investigations while engaging with pottery techniques and the tikanga surrounding uku harvesting. Beyond her creative work, Tara values the residency as a time to immerse herself fully in making, expand her conceptual research, and build meaningful reciprocal relationships with the Driving Creek community and environment. Her commitment to ecological care informs her desire to contribute to the site’s legacy of creativity, experimentation, and conservation, enriching both her practice and the residency’s ongoing mahi.

Courtney Rodgers & Harri Burrell Country: New Zealand Artist Discipline: Pottery/ Ceramics, Sculpture/ Carving, Mixed Media, Photography/ Film, Textile/ Weaving Instagram: @francis_ceramics

Courtney Rodgers & Harri Burrell are multi-disciplinary artists based on the Kāpiti Coast who bring together ceramics, photography, and textile weaving to create unique, collaborative works. Courtney's practice is deeply rooted in natural environments and emotional expression, using ceramics, photography, and videography with techniques like etching and glaze experimentation to produce singular pieces. Harri’s work explores the intersection of functional homeware and artistic expression, weaving on a rigid heddle loom with natural fibers such as cotton, linen, nettle, and twine, often integrating hand-built ceramic elements like beads and faces. Their combined approach bridges their mediums into seamless artworks inspired by their shared surroundings and creative dialogue.

At Driving Creek, Courtney and Harri aim to develop works that merge textile art and clay, reflecting their immersive experience in this unique environment. Through both individual and collaborative projects, they seek to capture the essence of their time at the residency and hope to present a gallery show showcasing this progression. Their residency offers an opportunity to deepen their creative exchange and explore new possibilities in mixed media, ultimately enriching their artistic narratives and connections to place.

Emma Zhang Country: New Zealand Artist Discipline: Pottery/ Ceramics Instagram: @ruicermaics

Emma Zhang is a ceramics artist based in Warkworth, New Zealand, working under the name Rui Ceramics. She merges traditional techniques with inspiration drawn from the local landscape, especially the beaches near her home. Emma works primarily with stoneware and porcelain clay, often throwing on the wheel and combining this with hand-building methods. A key element of her practice is mixing her own glazes, experimenting with wood and salt firing to achieve earthy tones reflective of sand, soil, and the shifting blues and greens of the sea. Her pieces focus on functional domestic ware that evokes a sense of calm and connection to everyday life.

At Driving Creek, Emma aims to deepen her exploration of glaze development using natural, locally sourced materials that echo the Coromandel environment. She is particularly excited about the opportunity to engage with wood firing, embracing its unpredictable effects to enhance the textural and tonal qualities of her work. Beyond functional pottery, she hopes to explore more sculptural and conceptual forms while maintaining material honesty. Emma also values the chance to connect with the legacy of Barry Brickell and the vibrant community of potters at Driving Creek, seeing this residency as an important step to enrich her practice and share her growing knowledge with others.

Dakota Yewen, AUS Country: Australia Artist Discipline: Pottery/ Ceramics, Photography/ Film Instagram: @dakotayewen Website: dakotayewen.com

Dakota Yewen is an Australian artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans pottery, ceramics, film, and photography. Rooted in a deep appreciation for the imperfections found in nature, Dakota’s ceramics often balance on the edge between functionality and whimsy, featuring earthy, textural clays with hand-altered forms and natural glazes fired to stoneware. Her photography embraces film formats such as 35mm and 120mm, while she experiments with different film stocks and video creation, all capturing reflections of place and experience. Alongside these, Dakota’s creative curiosity extends into sculpture, printmaking, woodturning, and carving, reflecting her love for slow, intentional craft and the beauty of imperfection.

Dakota’s recent journey hiking and traversing the length of Te Araroa in New Zealand sparked a renewed passion and a desire to explore new creative processes that she hopes to pursue during her residency at Driving Creek. She looks forward to blending the freedom and immersion she found in nature with the hands-on opportunities a studio offers, aiming to create ceramic and wood-carved frames for her photography, experiment with wood firing and reduction atmospheres, and possibly write and illustrate a children's book. This residency represents a long-held dream and a chance to reconnect with a place she feels deeply connected to, while fostering new relationships and furthering her artistic exploration in a unique and inspiring environment.