Ross Mitchell-Anyon spoke to the Chronicle on Thursday about being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts. Photo / Mike Tweed
Ross Mitchell-Anyon spoke to the Chronicle on Thursday about being made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts. Photo / Mike Tweed
Whanganui's Ross Mitchell-Anyon has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts.
He said he was "absolutely blown away" to receive the honour.
"It's a wonderful feeling."
Mitchell-Anyon has worked as a potter full-time for more than 40 years, having quickly turnedto ceramics after graduating from Palmerston North Teachers' College in 1975.
'There was a classroom at the college that just did ceramics," Mitchell-Anyon said.
"I was introduced to it and immediately thought, 'Actually, this is much better than being a teacher, I'll do this instead.'
"I came back to Whanganui, set up, and got to work."
Ross Mitchell-Anyon in Whanganui in 2016. Photo / File
He became a polytechnic ceramics tutor in the late 1970s and mentored emerging potters at his workshop, including Paul Maseyk and Martin Poppelwell. Mitchell-Anyon has exhibited in Australia and New Zealand, particularly in Whanganui and Auckland.
His wood-fired domestic ware has been represented by major art dealers in Auckland and Wellington and his work is held in public collections at the Sarjeant Gallery, the Quartz Museum of Studio Ceramics, Auckland Museum, and Te Papa Tongarewa.
Mitchell-Anyon's art has taken him as far afield as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, when he was awarded a Unesco study tour in 1998 to observe their ceramic traditions.
In 2001 he featured on the TVNZ series The Big Art Trip (where he was described as the "King of the Whanganui Art Scene"), and in 2015 a survey exhibition of his work, Celebrating Ross, was presented at the Quartz Museum.
Mitchell-Anyon played a key role in the establishment of the current Glassworks foundry in Whanganui which has become recognised as a centre of excellence for contemporary glass art.
He has also been a passionate heritage and community advocate.
Along with his business partner, Gail Hickman, and his wife, Bobbi Mitchell-Anyon, he purchased, restored, and tenanted many of Whanganui's most iconic old buildings.
His first acquisition was the Bedford Avenue wool stores in 1996.
Mitchell-Anyon still lives on Bedford Avenue, overlooking the Whanganui River.
"There are a lot more buildings around town that are being used these days," he said.
In 2001 he persuaded UK glassmaker Emma Camden and her partner, David Murray, to relocate to the city, and they purchased one of his historical properties to use as a residence and art studio - the Freemasons Lodge on Bell Street.
Another of his buildings, the former Whanganui Chronicle on Drews Avenue, now houses New Zealand Glassworks and Article, a café and home to artists' studios.
His sister, Susan Shand, has a small studio in the Drews Avenue complex.
"People come in there all the time and say what an arty place Whanganui is, because there are so many artists and studios," she said.
"I say, 'Well, it's because my brother bought all these old buildings'. I don't think it would have happened if Ross hadn't stuck his neck out and made the decision to put money into it.
"There would have been a lot of people who thought he was an idiot for buying an old building like that, but he had a vision."
Mitchell-Anyon said his artistic endeavours slowed down when he moved further in the building industry.
A life-threatening accident in 2015 also affected his output.
"I have been making the odd little thing lately, little beakers and stuff like that," he said.
"My right arm is hopeless, but fortunately I'm left-handed. I've still got good control over my left hand."
Despite his injury, Mitchell-Anyon said he remained very active every day.
"I take Meg [his dog] out for a long walk, then I'm on my bike and up to a lovely little cottage I have on the other side of the river.
"It's got the perfect view, and it's really peaceful. I can just sit there and smoke my cigarettes."
