New Zealand Rock Glazes 2020
Using the booklet “Rock glazes of New Zealand” (1960) by Potter Minna Bondy as a field guide,
I have recollected, documented, and mapped a wide variety of rock from volcanic areas, river beds, and igneous rock deposits in the North and South Island, testing for their glaze potential.
Stage One: July 2020
Collecting and documenting New Zealand rocks from over fifty locations in the North and South Island.
https://www.janeenpage.com/blog
Stage Two: August/September 2020
Studio based: grinding, preparing, glazing samples, testing rocks, documenting, and photographing field specimens.
Potters have long relied on oral traditions, pottery clubs, and local knowledge for sources of these materials. This knowledge is being lost, and this research and conversation must be recorded.
With the passing of some of New Zealand's masters, we must gather the scraps and notes that have collected in studios and club rooms and record their significance. Clubrooms are filled with this knowledge and sadly potters of the 1960s and '70s who worked with pre-imported ingredients are passing on.
I have created a blog; photographing, digitalizing and documenting New Zealand rocks with their location and potential use as a material for natural ceramic glazes.
This documentation can be greatly expanded upon in the future, these are initial tests, and further research could result in further success.
Bondy refers to her paper as "a progress report on experiments to date and it's presented in the hope that other potters will be encouraged to use New Zealand indigenous materials."
Imported ingredients are easily purchased but do not provide the beauty of the accidental that glazes sourced from natural rocks provide. The regional differences of New Zealand geology in natural glazing embrace the impurities and deliver a wealth of beauty specific to New Zealand.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have further questions or would like to contribute to this research.
Please respect all sites and consult local Iwi, DOC, local councils or landowners before sourcing materials.
This is a working map and is continually being updated.
This project was supported by the Creative New Zealand Continuity Grant 2020
Many thanks to Ann Bondy, Jeff Bondy, Rebecca Stewart, Suzanne Bloch-Jorgensen, Hugh Cargill, Sally Hikaka, Paul Hartigan, Peter Lange, Peter Collis, Francis Upritchard, Bruce Phillips, Barbara Nicholls, Kathy Gates, Nick Brandon, Ian Daziel, Royce Mcglashen, Steve Fullmer, Ngaire Van Grondelle, Ata ceramics, Natalie Sweetapple, Dave Marshall, Brian and Ann Scott...and all those who supported via Instagram and Facebook.
