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Turquoise vulva teapot For an upcoming group exhi

Turquoise vulva teapot
For an upcoming group exhibition… details tba!

#putavulvaonit #nzpottery #potteryispolitical #feministart #functionalpottery #functionalart

Kia kaha to all the teachers/kaiako out there hust

Kia kaha to all the teachers/kaiako out there hustling everyday to educate young people throughout the world.

I have done some teaching in schools in my past and it’s hard work and not nearly paid well enough for the energy required. I won’t go into pay equity here because we all know certain female dominated fields tend to be lower paid and that is BS! But teachers seriously deserve more recognition and better pay… alongside nurses, librarians, and so on…
Anyway digression aside, @takioautahi asked me to make these for her and her colleagues and I was happy to be able to gift my time to her.

Shout out to all the radical pedagogues out there working hard to decolonise schools and teach them kiddies to be quality human beings when they grow up. I am in awe of you!
Facing a room full of 10 year olds at 8am everyday would be an actual nightmare for me, and you do it everyday! 👏
Thank you!!
#decoloniseschools #radicalteacher #nzpottery #potteryispolitical

I made a thing to keep my tortillas warm with a ti

I made a thing to keep my tortillas warm with a tiny taco on top! 🌮🔥
They sell polystyrene tortilla containers at the American store in Johnsonville and I have always been tempted but polystyrene never biodegrades!

This one is unglazed so I can stick it in the oven to heat it up and then it should keep my freshly-grilled tortillas nice and hot. We eat a lot of black bean tacos around here!

…and if I ever get sick of it I can just smash it up and it becomes rocks again 😂

I’m thinking of making more of these but with other food-knobs just to have a lidded container I could use to bring my lunch to work. Usually I use a jar but I could have the cutest lunch in the whole office with one of these? And I could put it in the microwave and eat it right out of the container 😎

Watch out @tinyportions ! I’m enjoying the tiny food sculptures 🥳

#plasticfree #ilovetacos #nzpottery #functionalart #foodsculpture #claytaco

Self portrait, 2021. My first attempt at figurativ

Self portrait, 2021.
My first attempt at figurative sculpture is finally done after starting work on this 6 months ago! 🥳
Many many thanks to @donacn for her guidance, wisdom and friendship throughout this project. 🥰

I knew I wanted to push myself technically with clay when I started this but I wasn’t prepared for the emotional challenge this piece would be for me!

Imagery of the idealised female body is ubiquitous and from a young age I knew I didn’t have the ‘right’ body. Female bodies are objectified and sexualised. The media want us to keep thinking we’re never good enough and we need to always be consuming more products and services to make us better.

It’s taken me almost 42 years to stop hating my body and working in this way (sculpture is painstaking slow for me!) and so closely focused on my body was actually quite cathartic.

I’m so tired of seeing female figures in art that only reflect the male gaze and see the female body as an object. So this is part of a larger project I have started that explores the autonomy of a female artist considering my own body and my relationship with it.

I didn’t go to art school so I am just making this shit up as I go ! and I’m sure there are many other female artists with similar ideas! I should really educate myself about this stuff more…but I know I’m very privileged to be able to make just whatever I feel like with no pressure or preconceived ‘art’ ideas and amazingly share them here and have people appreciate what I end up with 🥰

I also feel so grateful for this bag of bones and skin of mine 🙏 I regret the years I spent not showing it the love and appreciation it deserves. All bodies are beautiful and I especially want to thank my honey W for helping me learn to love mine 💕

…and I know the face on this sculpture is a bit shit but faces are really hard and hey it’s not bad for a first try!

Now what should I do with it?! 😂

#selfportrait #selfportraitsculpture #stoneware #bodypositive #loveyourbody #allbodiesaregoodbodies

Did you know Te Tiriti ō Waitangi had at least 13

Did you know Te Tiriti ō Waitangi had at least 13 female signatories? (And possibly up to 18 - thanks @littlemakimaki !) Pre-colonial tangata whenua’s recognition of mana wāhine was something that early visitors from Europe and the colonial government did not understand. Their assumption was that only men had authority and power in society, and acted accordingly.

There is some amazing research that has been done by people like Ani Mikaere, Ngahuia Murphy and others exploring pre-colonial views on sex and gender in Te ao Māori. It’s such an interesting and empowering area to learn about. Unlike Western culture which is based on objectifying women’s bodies and shaming female sexuality, women and their bodies had powerful, meaningful, and respected roles in society. The whare tangata (womb) and awa atua (menstruation) were celebrated. Just look at the words to describe them - whare (house) tangata (people) - from the womb comes all people; and awa (water or river) atua (god or creation) - menstruation is the river of creation.

Patriarchy and capitalism are introduced Western constructs. We need to understand this and make space for other worldviews that enable equity. For too long we have operated as if inequity and systemic oppression is normal and the only way of being in the world.

So I’m very excited to have had the opportunity to create these mugs celebrating mana wāhine, some of which will be for sale at @kohaofaotearoa and hopefully some will also be available at @hetohunz 💕

More info about female signatories on Te Tiriti here: https://archives.govt.nz/discover-our-stories/nga-tohu-wahine-and-te-tiriti-o-waitangi
And a video of Ngahuia Murphy speaking about te awa atua / menstruation in pre-colonial society here: https://youtu.be/0PzG3ceWekk

I’m trying out a new ‘tap bio’ thing so these might appear if you click on the link in my bio...?

I have been busy lately working on a few big commi

I have been busy lately working on a few big commissions that I reluctantly have to keep secret for now! 🤐
So in the meantime I thought I would share some work I have swapped/been gifted/bought from other artists in the last year or so.
1.) Vase gifted from Gorgery, a friend and very talented artist. It’s so beautiful and finely detailed.
2.) Mug I bought from Lous Kittleson, president of @ceramicsnz that I now use everyday. It just fits in the hand so nicely! I love his work.
3.) Tumblers gifted to me by @coshantista - I think they are porcelain? Those colours! 💕💛
4.) A gorgeous set of bowls super generously gifted to me by @karlamarie_ceramics - what a gem she is! 💎
5.) An amazing teapot made by @richard_naylor purchased from @bountystorenz - I use this every day!
6.) A tumbler I purchased from @hellopaigejarman in a seconds sale. Her #nerikomi work is so amazing!
7.) A beautiful sculptural candle and incense holder I swapped @annafoxceramics for a teapot at @woodstokenz - I love this piece so much! I hope she is enjoying the teapot I swapped her in exchange 🫖
8.) @bravery.inc swapped me this amazing #kurinuki vessel - I hope she likes what I’ve sent her in return! Not as beautiful but hopefully useful 🥳
9.) I am obsessed with @mottoarts amazing body illustrations on clay. I wish I could have bought more of these awesome pieces celebrating body positivity, healing and strength. She also shared a beautiful story with me about this series that makes this piece all the more precious to me ❤️
10.) I got this gorgeous #shino #reductionfired cup in a swap from @cerebralpottery - I can’t remember what I swapped in return but I’m sure I got the better end of the exchange!

🙏 Thanks to all the amazing makers for sharing your work with me and the world. I also have pieces gifted/swapped/bought from artists like @ceramics.sophie.hathaway @jennyshearer78 and @locke_unhold that I didn’t get to include here - but I treasure all of them equally! It’s great having functional art around me in different styles; I feel inspired everyday! 🌈
And watch this space for details of upcoming exciting projects... I can’t wait to share details!!!

Yes I made some @chadvangaalen fan art in the form

Yes I made some @chadvangaalen fan art in the form of these porcelain samurai sword earrings.

I started out with about 10 of them but only 5 survived the drying and firing so we get 2 pairs + 1 solo. Not exactly folded over a million times by the lonely blacksmith who lives in the sky but rather painstakingly cut out of very thinly rolled porcelain clay then fired twice in an electric kiln by the potter blessed with many friends who lives in a shed (me). I didn’t quite have the right colour glazes but not a bad hommage if I do say so myself.

This is my first foray into the world of fan art for someone I don’t actually know personally (I don’t think my @classwaronthedancefloor ‘make cunts great again’ hat counts) Maybe I will get into LoTR slashie fan fic next? The sky is the limit and my ability to steal other people’s ideas for my own interpretation knows no ends!

Sorry I couldn’t fit the tiny little sticker of a dog.
Maybe in the 2nd version?

#worldsmoststressedoutgardener @subpop #fanart #ceramicjewellery #samuraisword

Thanks to Yasmin for giving me a wonderful undergl

Thanks to Yasmin for giving me a wonderful underglaze watercolour tutorial during @woodstokenz . I had these 2 tea bowls that didn’t make it into any of the kilns so experimented with some fun drawings and ended up with this rainbow bowl and a whānau bowl. I took them home, clear glazed just inside (as per Yasmin’s advice) and fired them in my electric kiln.

Part of my homework for my te reo course was to do a family tree so we have been learning the different words for family members. I think I messed up my brother (should be ‘tungāne’?) and yes W looks like a woman but I think they’re cute 🌈 I’m still trying to wrap my head around all the different words for family members depending on their sex and age but it’s a fun learning journey 🥳

It was really nice to have some free time at Woodstoke just to play and experiment and try out new techniques. Something I don’t normally get a lot of time for... but hopefully will do more colourful watercolour on clay drawings again in the future!

Fun fact: I used to do a lot of doodling and drawing of people and in university I made a zine that was a comic full of drawings about this guy in my physics course (when I was studying engineering before I decided I wanted to fuck off to France and drink wine and eventually be a librarian rather than do hard science) that I had a crush on and then I gave it to him. Once we made out a party but that was all that ever happened and I sometimes wonder where he is now but there’s like a million joey bakers on the internet so I guess I’ll never know 😂 I think that might have been the pinnacle of good looking men I kissed at university. Definitely of undergrad. Maybe if I had been better at drawing it would have worked out?

#watercolouronclay #tereomāori #rainbows #uenuku #uku #nzpottery #macsspeckledbuff

Warning: not pottery related content follows! It'

Warning: not pottery related content follows!
It's Privacy Week this week. Over the past 6 months or so I have been working with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and ID Care to help raise awareness around identity theft, as I had my identity stolen as a result of the negligence of an NZ govt department in 2019.
ID care is a registered charity that helps victims of identity theft by providing support and raising awareness about identity theft. They partnered with the NZ Herald to share my story in a recent article (with accompanying terrible photograph!)
This article is behind a paywall but you can read the 3 April NZ Herald free via Pressreader with your local library membership.
Most victims of identity theft prefer to remain anonymous but I really wanted some positive to come out of this overwhelmingly horrible experience in the form of prevention and education around privacy and identity theft.
The Privacy Commission will be publishing a blog I wrote sometime in the near future. In the meantime, request your credit report frequently and check the security of web forms before you upload any identity documents! All someone needs are the details from your driver's license or passport to get credit in your name.
And if you're responsible for collecting data, make sure you store it securely, and don't ask for details/documents you don't need!
You can read more about the 2019 Ministry of Culture & Heritage data breach if you do a web search. I thought I could trust a govt website but now I know 52% of NZ privacy breaches are actually public sector organisations. Stay safe online, you don't want to put yourself through the nightmare of identity theft.
xo Nicole

I was asked to be featured in this month’s Newto

I was asked to be featured in this month’s Newtown News as the May Notorious Newtowner 😎
You can read the full article at Newtowncommunitycentre.org.nz 💕
I love being a part of the Newtown community!! The article includes some shout outs to my favourite Newtown spots @mechanicaltempest and @veronicadesignlife 🌈

This month’s issue is the ‘Birth’ issue and there’s also an article by my pal @kikivannewtown of @giantessband - and coincidentally our current bedroom used to be hers 😂

#madeinnewtown #newtownnz #notoriousnewtowner

Lots of new work now available on niceassets.co.nz

Lots of new work now available on niceassets.co.nz!
Link in bio 💕
I hope you like what I’ve been working on...

#nzpottery #functionalart

Some mugs that reference the confidence gap will b

Some mugs that reference the confidence gap will be included in my next shop update - this week!

This is something I have been thinking about for a while after being passed over for a promotion in favour of a male colleague a few years ago. My manager (also male) told me I just needed to ‘be more confident’ and ‘make more opportunities for myself to show leadership’. My first reaction was that it was so much easier said (especially for a middle-class straight white man like my manager) than done.

Google ‘Atlantic confidence gap men women’ and you will find an article looking at research around this phenomenon. Numerous studies have found that men routinely overestimate their abilities while women underestimate theirs. Why? And what can we do about it? I think by starting to raise awareness around these issues we can begin to achieve more equity and address this gap.

After an experience taking steroids that were essentially synthetic testosterone for my chronic illness and the unreal ego and confidence boost (and libidinal boost!) it gave me I gained a lot of perspective into the biological aspects of confidence.

However, scientists in these studies have also suggested that confidence can be acquired. So, with that in mind I have been trying to do a sort of confidence training for myself. It’s still not easy for me, despite having a PhD I feel like an imposter and fraud a lot of the time, but I’m trying to just speak up and be more confident in myself and my work more.

I don’t know if I will ever recapture that irrational Prendisone-induced confidence again (or if I’d even want to!) but at least I can help start some conversations about this shit. I’m not trying to say any one way is better, just that there is a gap we should be aware of. Confidence ≠ competence!

I know there are dudes out there who struggle with confidence too. So those are some of my goals with this work, and I appreciate and value the opportunity to share it and this story with you. 🌈

I’ve also got some work coming in this update that references reading, space, domestic chores, and energy all with their own stories and goals.

Finally! A shop update coming this week! I’m thi

Finally! A shop update coming this week! I’m thinking tomorrow at midday. I just need to get everything on the website!
I have lots of great things, including these cute salt pigs, I just just didn’t have the patience to spend ages photographing them. So forgive the crummy photos. The actual pots all look amazing, trust me.
#nzpottery #ceramics #functionalart #shopsmallnz

I made some phone holder thingies so hopefully it’s easier to do throwing videos on a decent angle.
Should I make more? You could also use them to FaceTime your mom. Or masturbate. Whatever you’re into! I’m not judging 😉
#phoneholder #wankstand #ceramics #judgementfreezone

I made a wall! And a @shopwiksten #wikstenhaori A

I made a wall!
And a @shopwiksten #wikstenhaori
And a quilted @flesh_dozer @johnsoncyn tote bag!

The jacket and bag I made myself. I helped make the wall.

This was my first time quilting and first time building a wall. They are surprisingly similar. Both require maths and geometry and precision... none of which are really my strengths. But I’m learning!

#makingeverything #newtownnz #quilting #sewing #building #shedlife #lifelonglearning

✨✨MASSIVE THANK YOU ✨✨ To everyone who cam

✨✨MASSIVE THANK YOU ✨✨
To everyone who came to visit me this weekend!
It was so great getting to welcome people to my space and share my work with you 😎

Huge thank you to my amazing helpers @hmettner and @charlottefdarling for tireless smile action 💕 and Achille and Ya-wen for their awesome support! The bunting was 👌🏼

Also to my beloved W for putting on a great mini-festival and all the bands that played on Saturday. I didn’t get to enjoy the music much with all the visitors but it felt like such a great vibe! I’ve wanted to put on a neighbours day musical bbq and open studios for literally years so was so happy it all finally came together and with perfect weather ☀️🌈
Thanks Jon Terry for bbq management - only 1 thing got burnt!

It was also so great to finally take a peek into my neighbours’ workshops and see what @joeharlow_art @ciara.j.ohare @llyr_w_studio and Greg get up to in there! And to see the awesome group show and gorgeous frames @jwframing put together. Thanks also to @veronicadesignlife for stocking my work and sending visitors my way 😎

I didn’t get a chance to see any of the other artists studios but it’s been great getting to know the work of @miremoschella and @dhyana__artist through this event. I would really have loved to check out @nativesistar and @handsewnatelier — next time!

And huge thanks to everybody who came by! Especially the National Librarian!! It was also so nice to see some old faces from WPA who dared visit (@karlamarie_ceramics @philippa_clements @dennymarieford @sandy_connon ) and my pals from @mechanicaltempest along with meeting loads of new people including some I have been following on Instagram for a while!

The saying ‘it takes a village’ is really true — and I have the best village! It’s so great being a part of this awesome community of creative and wonderful people all doing cool shit and being amazing despite the capitalist neoliberal world we live in.

It’s like I’m in some kind of fantasy historical drama where I’m surrounded by poets and musicians and artists and writers BUT ITS MY REAL LIFE 💕 💕

Thanks to @newtownopenstudios for organising.

SECONDS SALE! M/305a Mansfield St Sat & Sun 2-7/

SECONDS SALE!
M/305a Mansfield St
Sat & Sun 2-7/Mon 5-7

Take all of these pieces away for a koha that will go to the bands playing at our neighbour’s day musical extravaganza!
There are lots of beautiful pieces here that need new homes. Most of them have glaze flaws, some have cracks, others I just think are ugly and don’t want to look at anymore. There are bowls, teapots, vases, mugs, cups, platters and more. Please take them away so I have room to make more and I can thank the lovely musicians who have volunteered to play at our mini-festival 😎

I was thinking of calling it ‘Assgrown’ in a nod to Homegrown (which I have had to annoyingly ride my bike around on the waterfront every day this week) + Nice ASSets but I went with ‘Neighbours Day musical extravaganza’ instead.

Sorry no holds and I am not shipping any of this so get in quick if you want to score some slightly flawed pottery 😘

There will be EFTPOS available too!

@newtownopenstudios @solo_ono_nz @yolkohno @k_m_paterson @flakeycat @watsonafied @newtownfestnz @erika_grant31 @neighboursdaynz
#newtown #newtownopenstudios2021 #newtownopenstudios #nzpottery #ceramicsnz

Giveaway now closed! Congrats to @ginell_sim !! 👏

⚡️G I V E A W A Y ⚡️

Kia ora e hoa mā! I thought now would be a good time to have another giveaway to celebrate the upcoming Newtown Open Studios 20-21-22 March!

Win a $50 voucher to spend on anything you like from the studio sale! The only catch is you have to come in person to use your voucher on one of the 3 days it’s on. More details at @newtownopenstudios

Just follow me and comment below on what you’d use your voucher for (real or imaginary!) to be in to win!

I will draw a winner next Thursday 18 March.

Good luck and hope to see you whether you win or not! Please feel free to visit even if you aren’t shopping. It’s a community event not a capitalist one!

If you aren’t in a position to buy but are keep get you hands on some of my pots please get in touch, I’m always happy to talk swaps!

🌈Art is for everybody 🌈

#giveaway #newtownopenstudios2021 #nzpottery #artisforeveryone

Happy International Women’s Day my friends! Lo

Happy International Women’s Day my friends!

Look at this beautiful rainbow of boob mugs created by amazing women in my most recent workshop.

I was really apprehensive about teaching after having such an awful experience trying to be an academic and full-time lecturer for 3 years. It’s been so wonderful and healing to be able to run these workshops that are actually fun 💕

The best part is meeting all the amazing ladies. Can you believe people came from as far as Feilding and Palmerston North just to spend a few hours sculpting breasts and smooshing clay with me for this workshop? I feel so special!!

Not just because my studio is also my home I get really nervous about having new people over and what they will think of our junk filled shed and will I be a good teacher and will it be too fast/not fast enough... etc

But everyone has been so awesome!

Not to mention how impressive it is that given the same set of instructions and tools people come up with their own interpretations and expressions and they’re all beautiful!

So thanks to @kerrynpollock @rebecca_celeste @georgeagius27 @_emmasnotsilly @ameliaetc and @caitlingggggg for hanging out with me and talking tits and bringing such great energy to these mugs and the world more generally 🌈💕 Thanks also to Anna of @veronicadesignlife for encouraging me to dip my toes back into the education space again after a long hiatus.

Despite being something many of us see everyday, breasts aren’t something you really think about or examine in close detail that regularly. These workshops are an opportunity to do that — and we should all show breasts more love and appreciation. They are important, beautiful, and powerful!

Who doesn’t love tits?

I’m hoping to run another workshop in April and I’d really be happy to welcome some men into this space so hmu if you’re keen!

Also; check out my new pink glaze 👌🏼

#internationalwomensday #titsup #boobmug #nzpottery #potteryispolitical

New mugs in this half & half turquoise colour way.

New mugs in this half & half turquoise colour way.

Excited to have these and heaps of other work for sale at Newtown Open Studios 20-22 March at my workshop 🥳

305a Mansfield St, Unit M, Newtown 🌈

I have been busy making since January in preparation! 🐝

Put it in your diary and make sure to come by and see where the magic happens! 😎

Also hopefully if we are at Level 1 and the weather is good we will be hosting a Building M Recording Studios showcase featuring music by @solo_ono_nz @yolkohno Psychic Paywalls, Erdington and more on Saturday 20 March 🤞

@newtownopenstudios #nzpottery #stoneware #ceramicmugs #newtownopenstudios2021

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