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Journal // Studio Visit with Kirsten Dryburgh

We visited the studio of Tāmaki Makaurau ceramicist Kirsten Dryburgh and had a chat about her work and creative practice.

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How would you describe yourself and your work?

A storymaker, designer, inventor, artist/craftsperson/scientist. A manifestor of the theatre of domestic rituals. I would describe my work as investigative. I use a variety of clays and glazes to explore various styles of domestic ware.

For example I make a range that I call Nimbus. For this I use a beautiful dark chocolate high fired stoneware dipped in a very thin glaze. The raw clay has such a wonderful plasticity that lets you make beautifully fine but strong pieces that are light to hold but also strong and durable. These pots have an Asian influence to them. I make Udon bowls and large tea cups and tea pots etc. Compare this to another range that I make called Ilya, which has a more 1950s modernist vibe. It’s made out of a local white clay with a cream/whey coloured satin matte glaze. Everything is angular with rectangular handles and square edged bowls. Forms that can stack into each other.

These are just a couple of examples, some pieces are loose and fluid, others have classical silhouettes, but they all seem to sit well together and have a familiarity and continuity about them that means you can take from any range and put them together and they’ll complement each other.

You have a beautiful garden studio in Grey Lynn, surrounded by palms and greenery, how long have you been practicing out of this space and how did you end up here?

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We bought our home when my son was little. It used to be owned by a guy who worked in carnivals, so there was this marvellous huge tin shed that at the time, was full of circus paraphernalia. It had a big back yard with one tiny borer ridden orange tree in the middle of it.  
My son has now grown up and his tree house has been turned into a water tank tower. All the trees that we planted when we moved in are now huge and my mum who worked as an archaeologist and a gardener now lives with us and is in charge of making it look amazing. I started running the shed as a pottery studio about 8 years ago and have slowly bought and added to the furniture and equipment to fit it out and built up a community of people who flow in and out of the shed around me. I am always kept company by my two dogs, who if I’m honest are probably more popular than I am. 
What is your background and have you always been a ceramicist?
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When I was young and first left school I trained as a florist for 4 years After that and between office jobs (of which I was excruciatingly bad) I taught myself how to pot on a friends wheel which lead me to 7 years of pottery in and around Herne Bay. I illustrated children’s books and whilst my son was young went to Elam Arts School and did a bachelor of fine arts, majoring in sculpture. I’ve now come full circle and have been potting for the last 8 years.  <format> small right
Can you describe the process behind the Nesting Bowls that you make for Everyday Needs?
Nesting bowls are one of those Potters challenges - like the tea pot. They are made of multiple pieces that all have to fit together seamlessly in order to function well. Needless to say, making simple round nesting bowls wasn’t enough of a challenge and I had to add spouts onto each of the bowls as well! I have been making stacks of 5, although am pretty sure I could stack at least a set of 8 by now. I use a blend of Stoneware clays which go through three kiln firings to achieve the beautiful turquoise and copper textures on the outside. The biggest challenge is keeping the bowls from warping. Any time you pick up or move a bowl or if they dry unevenly you risk deforming the shape which means that a whole set won’t stack. Often these faults don’t appear until the very last firing , so it’s always a sigh of relief when they come out well.
The flag and sign board in front of your studio is iconic, many people drive past and note to stop in. How do you balance studio work with serving and chatting with customers and interested visitors?
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As my studio is fairly well tucked away down a drive at the back of Grey Lynn, the foot traffic to the studio is fairly light, but I’ve been open long enough now that I get locals dropping in on a fairly regular basis. It’s great to chat to people and get their reactions to what I’m making. My small studio shop is right in the thick of the studio, so you get to see a working pottery studio in action. I also try to do a small market day once a year, where I invite other creative people in to sell their wares. I usually collaborate with a local baker and make bread pots which they bake in. It’s a great way to build community.

 

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 What wonderful pieces are you working on at the moment that you’re excited to make and share?

 

I’ve been working on a couple of things which are both just ready for market. One of them is a small lantern that runs on olive oil. I saw online a company that recreates historical Roman artefacts and noticed the lanterns and thought I’d have a go and making one.

 

They work beautifully which is not at all surprising as the Romans used them for 1000 years or so. They are very compact and small enough to sit in the palm of your hand. The ones that I have made were influenced by an object that I saw in a craft museum in Japan. They are more cube shaped and come with a small custom made tray which they nest into. They burn for a good 4-5 hours or so and use about 70mls of olive oil and about a cm of wick.

 

The other thing that I have been developing is a range that I’ve named Genie. For the last couple of years I’ve been working hard on the glaze and chemistry side of my practice. My head has been full of chemistry ingredients and balancing of materials to create a perfect glaze. As a result, when out at a cafe a few months ago I was reading the label of contents on a bottle of Pellegrino mineral water and did a complete double take! What I was looking at looked like a perfect recipe for a glaze! After lots of research and testing, getting the correct concentrate, I have now transferred the contents of the bottle onto the surface of a range of pots. I was exploring an Italian café look in Pellegrino green. Genie - magic out of a bottle. <format> small right

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