Andrew Killick from Laughing Pottery in Waihi. Photos / Rebecca Mauger
Andrew Killick from Laughing Pottery in Waihi. Photos / Rebecca Mauger
Andrew Killick's first clay creations were wee cavemen carrying clubs with sheep's wool for hair.
Young Andrew didn't get pocket money, so if he wanted money he had to create something to sell.
''It was great for us, I would get 80 cents per caveman. So when we were going away on holiday and I wanted some extra cash I'd make these little things with clay and I always loved it.''
These days Andrew can command a little more for his domestic ware pottery at Waihi's Laughing Pottery gallery. Andrew is the coordinator with Dianne Caton of the Clear as Mud Pottery Exhibition on Labour weekend.
Why Laughing Pottery? ''Because pottery makes people happy,'' Andrew says.
The shop on Rosemont Rd has been open for four years. Prior to the shop, Andrew worked from home.
Andrew's parents were fulltime potters as well.
Originally from Pukekohe, Andrew has moved back and forth between making and selling pottery and his trade as a joiner. He started playing with clay again when he and wife Anne and son Marc moved to Waihi 16 years ago.
''There was a wheel in the garage and one day I thought 'I'm going to get some clay and throw it on the wheel' and it felt like coming home. So I handed in my notice and I started up in the garage.''
Laughing Pottery is a place where people can browse and slow down a bit, Andrew says.
Sometimes speckle of various material is introduced into clay works.
They encourage shoppers to pick up the individually crafted works as pottery is a tactile art, he says. With Millie Robinson, the two create functional domestic ware, often leaving their throwing marks on the works.
''We're not fussy potters,'' Andrew says.
They also hold workshops.
The material is not all clay — at times Andrew incorporates speckle from beaches, wood ash, scoria and ash (such as from Mount Taranaki and Lake Taupo).
There is a respect for the material, he says, as clay can take hundreds of years to form.
Andrew and Dianne have opened up the Clear as Mud Pottery Exhibition for all — from novice to professional. Andrew says it can be hard for potters to get their work into exhibitions so Clear is Mud is not judged.
The Details What: Clear as Mud Pottery Exhibition Where: Waihi Arts Centre and Museum When: October 22-25
