Ross Palmer
Those who have followed the New Zealand pottery scene from its insurgence in the 1970s will be familiar with Ross Palmer’s name and work. Over his forty-six years as a dedicated potter, Ross has established a special niche in domestic ware, combining masterly throwing skills with a clean, distinctive style, where beauty, simplicity and function fuse in tribute and celebration of the simple pleasures of daily life.
Originally a ‘Westie’ from Auckland, a time in his life from which he derives much continued inspiration, he found his calling for clay in Whanganui, counting as his mentors Nick Brandon, Mirek Smisek and George Kojis.
A contemporary and friend of Ross Michel-Anyon. Ross was active in the Whanganui potting scene, tutoring at the polytechnic, building brick kilns, and was a one-term chairman of Whanganui Potters Society. At 27 he turned down an offer to work with Barry Brickell in Coromandel, (a choice he still sometimes wonders at) and embarked on a full time career as a production potter, firstly in large garden vessels, and then specialising in domestic ware.
He has largely dealt directly with his collectors through his studio / gallery ‘Gooses Roost’ in various locations, starting with Upukongara, and then Pukawa, south Lake Taupo. It is while in this location most of his collectors from Wellington discovered him.
The last four years has seen a resurgence in his career, dating from a meeting with a visiting Australian, Annie, who soon became his wife and creative colleague. With no wasted time, unswerving vision and eyes on the goal, they have moved and rebuilt a lovely house from the Taupo township to a nearby valley, and established their shared artists’ dream, Tukairangi Gallery, now already in its fifth year of operation.
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
