The regional variations in New Zealand's geology are reflected in natural glazing, embracing impurities to create a unique and distinctive beauty specific to the country.
Janeen is a potter who works primarily with local Taranaki rock, an early tertiary mudstone from Mount Messenger/Parininihi. By varying ash and volcanic remnants, she creates a palette of natural colours in her ceramics. With support from Creative New Zealand, she has expanded her exploration of natural glazes, researching geology beyond Taranaki and deepening her understanding of early New Zealand potters’ relationships with local materials.
Inspired by Minna Bondy’s 1950s publication Rock Glazes of New Zealand, Janeen has revisited and expanded this research, collecting, mapping, photographing, and testing rocks and sands for their glaze potential, while drawing on insights from other New Zealand potters. She values the distinctive beauty of natural, locally sourced glazes, which embrace regional geological variations and impurities in ways imported ingredients cannot replicate.
The regional variations in New Zealand's geology are reflected in natural glazing, embracing impurities to create a unique and distinctive beauty specific to the country.
Janeen is a potter who works primarily with local Taranaki rock, an early tertiary mudstone from Mount Messenger/Parininihi. By varying ash and volcanic remnants, she creates a palette of natural colours in her ceramics. With support from Creative New Zealand, she has expanded her exploration of natural glazes, researching geology beyond Taranaki and deepening her understanding of early New Zealand potters’ relationships with local materials.
Inspired by Minna Bondy’s 1950s publication Rock Glazes of New Zealand, Janeen has revisited and expanded this research, collecting, mapping, photographing, and testing rocks and sands for their glaze potential, while drawing on insights from other New Zealand potters. She values the distinctive beauty of natural, locally sourced glazes, which embrace regional geological variations and impurities in ways imported ingredients cannot replicate.
The regional variations in New Zealand's geology are reflected in natural glazing, embracing impurities to create a unique and distinctive beauty specific to the country.
Janeen is a potter who works primarily with local Taranaki rock, an early tertiary mudstone from Mount Messenger/Parininihi. By varying ash and volcanic remnants, she creates a palette of natural colours in her ceramics. With support from Creative New Zealand, she has expanded her exploration of natural glazes, researching geology beyond Taranaki and deepening her understanding of early New Zealand potters’ relationships with local materials.
Inspired by Minna Bondy’s 1950s publication Rock Glazes of New Zealand, Janeen has revisited and expanded this research, collecting, mapping, photographing, and testing rocks and sands for their glaze potential, while drawing on insights from other New Zealand potters. She values the distinctive beauty of natural, locally sourced glazes, which embrace regional geological variations and impurities in ways imported ingredients cannot replicate.
From the Earth
Janeen's fascinating process
After 18 years of potting, Janeen discusses her journey learning about the history of glazes and minerals gathered from around Aotearoa.