Festival of Pots 2023
Maria Brockhill
Iwi Affiliations: Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Maniapoto
I’ve been interested in making with clay for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until 2008 that I left an office job to pursue a full time career in ceramics. No formal training for me, I learned the basics at the NP Pottery club, and after all this time consider myself still learning.
What I enjoy the most is discovering new ideas and also working out solutions, and it’s these aspects that have kept me so interested in clay and pottery for so long. There are so many variables involved in making, firing and glazing and it means every time I open the kiln I’m never certain of what the results will be. Every jewel that comes out of the kiln is a prize and every fault is a lesson to learn about. As most pottery artists will agree, kiln openings are always highly anticipated.
These days I mostly do sculptural and decorative artworks. I enjoy making large pots and add textural elements to my pieces. My work reflects who I am as a contemporary Māori artist.
My work has been shown at many exhibitions throughout New Zealand’s as well as overseas. I have works at Kura Galleries in Wellington and Auckland, and Koru Gallery in New Plymouth.
I am from Waitara in North Taranaki. I now live in Bell Block, 10 minutes north of New Plymouth and work full time as a ceramic artist at my studio and retail shop at the Bell Block shopping centre.
I’ve been interested in making with clay for as long as I can remember, but it wasn’t until 2008 that I left an office job to pursue a full time career in ceramics. No formal training for me, I learned the basics at the NP Pottery club, and after all this time consider myself still learning.
What I enjoy the most is discovering new ideas and also working out solutions, and it’s these aspects that have kept me so interested in clay and pottery for so long. There are so many variables involved in making, firing and glazing and it means every time I open the kiln I’m never certain of what the results will be. Every jewel that comes out of the kiln is a prize and every fault is a lesson to learn about. As most pottery artists will agree, kiln openings are always highly anticipated.
These days I mostly do sculptural and decorative artworks. I enjoy making large pots and add textural elements to my pieces. My work reflects who I am as a contemporary Māori artist.
My work has been shown at many exhibitions throughout New Zealand’s as well as overseas. I have works at Kura Galleries in Wellington and Auckland, and Koru Gallery in New Plymouth.
I am from Waitara in North Taranaki. I now live in Bell Block, 10 minutes north of New Plymouth and work full time as a ceramic artist at my studio and retail shop at the Bell Block shopping centre.