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I live in the Waitakere Ranges in West Auckland. The bush, the coastline and beaches in this environment have a major influence on the pots I make. I have also been influenced by the simple elegant pots made in 13th century China during the Sung Dynasty.
The clay I prefer to use is porcelain, and my work is traditionally based on the vessel form. Porcelain has qualities that appeal to my senses - its purity enhances the
colour clarity in glazes and its translucency adds mystery in different lighting situations.
Bowls, boxes, vases and bottles are the pots I like to make. I use several techniques including wheel throwing, press moulding, slabs and slip casting to make my pots. I then decorate them using carved, imprinted and pierced designs which are coated in a matt-white glaze and airbrushed with oxide washes before firing in an electric kiln to a temperature of about 1260 C.
I use lustres on a satin-finish glaze on some of my pots for other decorative effects.
I also recycle the broken pieces of my unsuccessful and broken pots to make mosaic mirror frames.
Contacts:
Telephone: 09 814 9701
Email: jan.cockell@xtra.co.nz
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