Ross Mitchell-Anyon is a Wanganui based potter exhibiting in the Studio Gallery. This exhibition provides a unique opportunity to view his work as he rarely exhibits outside the region. His work centers around the production of functional domestic pots. Their scale and presence give them a grandeur and remarkable beauty, while his subtle ash glazings accentuate the versatile forms of the pots.
Artist’s statement -
These pots were made in Wanganui at my workshop on the bank of the river. They were all thrown on a potters wheel with either a single clay dug near Pahiatua or blended with white Nelson clay. They are glazed with simple high temperature stoneware glazes; for example, half clay and half ash collected from the kiln.
The kiln is wood-fired and is relatively inefficient, necessitating a long firing which gives the result I like. These pots are made for use. I want to show in this exhibition the nature of my work as a potter - the repetition of form and surface and the subtlety of the variation within this things. I want my work to speak of simplicity - even familiarity - and like to think that such work transcends fad or fashion, and will last as long as it is put to use. It is through use that a good pot becomes special and a patina of handlings and usings acquired.
Press
→ Pottery, New Zealand Herald, 02-02-1989
Ephemera
→ Ross Mitchell-Anyon: Potter, 1989, exhibition card