Containment is particularly suited to our time and to the vessel.
A group of vessels that demonstrate the vessel as a metaphor, or document of our current situation.
Ceramic Manifesto.
Ko Terry Anita Bell ahau
I look at working clay into an art form.
My work is an expression of my ideas driven by process and affected by the environment, clay, glaze and the firing. I endeavour to convey current local and world concerns in my ceramic work and have impact on the audience.
I use all making methods, regularly combining techniques to create composite shapes of moulded sections with slabbed additions, thrown sections with pinch and coiled additions.
I will use a variety of clays sourced from the backyard, potters supplies and my homemade paper clay.
Inspiration for form and pattern is drawn from many sources, especially the environment. The view from my house and shed windows which look over garden and a tidal watercourse has the most persisting influence, everchanging with the tides, a rich palette of colour and shape.
I am extremely happy to have found clay and I’m continually excited by the processes of working with it.
It conveys the feelings and it allows my creativity to become manifest.
I have used a seed pod mould made at Brendon Adams studio to make my Waka .
To demonstrate our current situation of containment. I have made 2 plinths out of cut paper clay to hold the Waka up . The plinths are to look like stone so I will use oxide and an ash glaze . The Waka has been made from porcelain slip so expect to use a clear glaze on the inside and a Matt glaze on the outside. ‘High and dry’ is the name for this Waka and will convey to the viewer the time of pause and containment. ( containment can be defined as keeping something harmful under control or within limits).
The ‘carrier’ or the three jugs have been created out of composite shapes made in a bowl shaped mould, pinch legs and slab additions with a coiled handle. They have been made out of Whitestone clay. They have been made to complete my last project made with 3 legs. The legs here can also be viewed as the protein spikes on the covid 19 virus cell. Two of these jugs have been created for this time of containment.
He Waka eke noa (we are all in this together).
A delicate and fragile High and Dry. 
The carrier 
The most robust High and Dry 
A more robust High and Dry
I have embarked on creating more vessels for this project. The focus seems to be on food procurement so I have made three kumara in a mould and am painting paper clay on to a food basket I wove from flax.
The project for this module centres on my idea ‘High and dry’. An analogy of our ceramic journey I see as a Waka journey. A project where metaphor can be used allows me to utilise my Waka mould to express sometimes what is hard to articulate. A boat out of water where all movement outside it stops from March 26th to April 27th for lockdown level 4 makes me think of containment. A boat up on plints to me is High and Dry. The Waka/boat is a contained space and lends itself to be seen as a confinement Bubble. This Waka has been porcelain slip cast in what I term as my seed pod mould (a name given by Brendon Adams). Hence a seed or seeds will be sown and we will look at the world differently. Porcelain is fragile when working it and when fired is resilient and durable. Hopefully the outcome will be resilience, our ability to weather the Level 4 lockdown of containment against covid 19. Porcelain paper clay plints to support the Waka out of water will be like immovable mountains that endure. This speaks to me of the government of NZ and our essential services. The back bone of our NZ community.
After discussion with Anne, Penny and Anne Crane I was able to come up with a simple scenario of our containment time. Ideas of a national identity, lift to the object to expose and focus. Rowena Brown’s ceramic artwork at the London ceramic art show, 2019, of 3 houses on their own high cliff was my inspiration.
Yellow iron oxide has been applied to all vessels to link them together for the containment project. Finishing glazes are still to be considered.
Kumara have ideas of brick etched on a small area to link them to Peter Lange’s Kumara sculpture situated in Mt Eden shopping centre. A few crosses on the other side which I see as a sign of hope.
Simone Fraser yellow iron oxide on roof , which turns red with clear glaze over to make it pop. Simone Fraser white engobe on walls and bronze slip on mountain with fake ash glaze over. To be attuned to Rowena Brown’s cliff by giving a more painterly look. Simone Fraser white and yellow engobe with strokes of Toms Black to add dept. Photo to follow.
Broken shards of porcelain talk of fragility and temporality in amongst the more robust monumental vessels which will remain intact.
Made from different types of plant material joined together with paper clay and Egyptian paste applied before bisque firing. Expecting to use slip and volcanic glaze.
Encouraged by Anne Hudson to consider other contemporary conceptual work by artists from Artsy .
Terrys Pottery 