Glass Artist Di Tocker in her studio. Photo / Supplied
Glass Artist Di Tocker in her studio. Photo / Supplied
Fulltime, established glass artist Di Tocker is set to open an exhibition of cast glass art, A Glass Lens on Kōpiko Aotearoa (an epic bikepacking adventure). This will open in her Cambridge studio, Di Tocker Glass Studio & Gallery, at 33 Jarrett Tce on August 5, from 11am to 3pm, and runs until August 26. Fridays and Saturdays are open 11am to 3pm. Other times can be arranged by appointment.
Taking her love of cycling to the next level earlier this year, Di Tocker rode her bike, Betty, 1070km across the North Island over 13 days following the Kōpiko Aotearoa route. With 92 hours in the saddle, Di had plenty of thinking time, inspiring her to share this epic adventure in a glass.
Kōpiko Aotearoa is a bikepacking route designed by the Kennett Brothers (infamous in NZ recreational cycling), who describes it as a step up from their renowned Tour Aotearoa course.
It’s a ride from coast to coast traversing extremely hilly and remote landscapes — from East Cape in Tairāwhiti to Cape Egmont in Taranaki. While the route is described as “technically easy”, it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted. As it traverses the widest point of the North Island, riders travel over 1000km through rural Aotearoa, along the way climbing more than 17,000m — almost the equivalent of climbing Mt Everest twice.
Poster for exhibition A GLASS LENS on Kopiko Aotearoa (an epic bike packing adventure). Photo / Supplied
The Kōpiko Aotearoa brevet is held annually starting in late January. A maximum of 100 riders a day set off from either east or west riding at their own pace. Note that a brevet is not a race. The only rules are that you ride self-supported, carrying all your own gear, and finish no faster than four days or slower than 14 days.
Di studied glass at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, in Australia. Exposed to all aspects of glass making, she chose to focus on casting, graduating in 2002 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts – major in Glass.
She then returned to New Zealand and now works from a studio beside her home in Cambridge. It is here that Di produces stunning glass artwork for five prestigious galleries throughout New Zealand and the small gallery space next to her studio.
The technically challenging process of casting glass occupies Di fulltime. She spends her days working with many materials including wax, clay, silicone rubber and plaster to make the moulds, which get fired in one of her two kilns. Lead crystal for casting is imported from Australia — this flows into the moulds, creating superb and unique colour blends that Di Tocker Glass artworks are known for.
The kilns are firing for 1-4 weeks depending on the thickness of the glass. After this stage, the mould is broken away and Di spends hours hand-polishing the surfaces of her small sculptures for maximum light refraction.
This began in 1985, when Di was just 15 and a student at Tauranga Girls’ College. On a school camp trip, Di and a group of fellow students cycled from Tauranga to Rotorua and back during three days. She says this was on her school bike — a Healing 10-speed, which would not have been very comfortable on the gravel roads back then.
Then in 1998, newly married and living in Melbourne, Di and her husband, Mike, started seeking adventures on two wheels, starting with small “cycle touring” weekends in Victoria and culminating with a three-week trip circumnavigating Tasmania to celebrate the new millenium.
The bikes got put away for some years as family life and her glass art practice took over, until 2019, when Di joined a group of girlfriends at one of NZ’s Great Rides — Mountains to Sea. Having a goal to keep fit suited Di, and these trips have continued annually for the group.
Seeking a bigger challenge, Di wanted to undertake a solo trip and decided the Kōpiko Aotearoa brevet was it. Training began in September, gradually increasing cycling distances and frequency until early January when Di was riding for 16 hours/250km a week with her bike ‘”ully loaded” to simulate what the trip would entail.
Last summer was consumed by poring over the route and planning where to stay and what to take. Riding solo was Di’s main fear, knowing she would be totally responsible for any mechanical issues with her bike or body.
On January 21, Di flew to Gisborne with her trusty 29″ hardtail bike, Betty. The first challenge of the trip was to reassemble the bike after packing it into a box, then it was a three-hour shuttle up to East Cape. There was a heady mix of emotions at camp that night as Di enjoyed meeting other riders and getting herself and her gear organised for an early start the next day.
After what seemed like no sleep, Di was up at 4.30am to pack her tent and belongings onto her bike to get out to East Cape Lighthouse for sunrise. Forty riders set off that morning after a karakia led by passionate local Mahanga D Maru.
Di says, “Each rider has their own plan for how long they want to ride. Some are keen to smash it out in 6-7 days and others want to see it all and enjoy the ride with less pain. That was my objective. The like-minded people I met absolutely made my trip. Though I rode solo, I never felt alone. I liked riding a few km with others at times and sometimes a whole day. Most nights I shared a campsite or accommodation with other Kōpiko riders.”
A Glass Lens on Kōpiko Aotearoa takes place in Di Tocker’s bespoke Glass Studio & Gallery (usually open only by appointment).
The 13 Glass Lens artworks cast a unique perspective on her journey across the North Island by bike. Di says, “The Glass Lens is the ideal shape to let you, the viewer, into my world and to share moments of this epic trip with you. Amplifying colour and the story within, each lens relates to a particular moment, place or sensation from my Kōpiko adventure”.
