Brendan has been making a living from his craft since 1987. Originally trained as a painter, he received a Diploma of Fine Arts from Otago Polytechnic in 1983. While painting gave him a strong foundation, it was clay that truly captured his imagination, offering endless possibilities of form, colour and texture.

Over the years, Brendan’s practice has spanned both domestic pottery and contemporary sculpture. He enjoys combining ceramics with other materials, including steel, brass, aluminium and wood. His work has been exhibited throughout New Zealand in major exhibitions and competitions, earning several awards. Brendan’s work is held in public and regional collections, including the Auckland Museum, Waikato Museum and The Arts House Trust at Pah Homestead.

Brendan loves the moment the kiln is opened, when clay and soft glazes are transformed by heat into objects that may become a favourite cup or a piece of intrigue. Constantly evolving his glazes, Brendan treats each firing as an experiment, where the final result emerges only through the unpredictable reaction between clay, colour, oxides and heat.