Ross Palmer
I am one of the ‘second wave’ of NZ potters from the 70’s, alongside mentors Nick Brandon, Mirek Smisek and George Kojis - I guess I’m one of the few from that time still active!
I’ve done nothing but wheel-throwing ever since the days of kiln-building and tutoring in Whanganui alongside Ross Mitchell-Anyon, and have always run my own gallery outlet ‘Goose’s Roost’ until 2015.
These days I work alongside my Australian artist wife of ten years, from our gallery workshop we built together in the beautiful Tukairangi Valley, just out of Taupō.
I have so much I still want to say with clay, and get a huge amount of satisfaction exploring and making sculptural pieces, as well as domestic ware that never loses its magic.
At 78 of course it is a challenge to balance the heavy demands of running a full time gallery and it does require a careful work/life balance - but it is possible, and I never underestimate the great privilege of living an artist’s life.
Artist Statement
I could always have been described as ‘a painter who pots’.
I love the process, the forms and the colours.
In wheel throwing I love the throw lines,
That sense of frozen movement,
I give my attention to each individual piece,
refining it beyond its basic functional shape
Featuring an economy of touch,
yet with the energy of material and maker,
Once fired and glazed,
transformed from its soft shell
into fused glass, fresh-minted and lasting.
It’s my celebration of the small things.
We can choose a rich and soulful life
when we value the little things
I have always loved making a piece
that I know will be used everyday.
I am asked how long it takes to make a piece,
and in truth the answer is a lifetime.
Speed takes practice and practice takes time.
The process of making with heart is a joy that never pales.
-Ross Palmer
