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honour of gallerist partner-friends who had
died over the previous year. From these, her
still life works were born. She was unfailingly
generous when asked to contribute and went
to great trouble to borrow back several works
(so that she could make up the requested five
works) for a show I curated for The Dowse in
1997/8, Singular Views: The Ceramic Still Life,
a show from four makers from four countries
with four approaches to what was then a
new genre. Ann Verdcourt, James Makins
from USA and Dorothee Schellhorn from
Switzerland made up the other three. She
enjoyed the show and the contrast in qualities
evidenced. In early 2000s she participated in
an exhibition I put together for Anna Bibby’s
Gallery, in Auckland, also concerned with the
still life and in 2010 she again sent work for
my International Biennale curated exhibition,
Korero, at the International Ceramics Museum
in Taiwan and turned up for the opening
in support. She came to New Zealand on
private visits too and was always a gracious
house guest and a wonderful raconteur on
her various adventures and observations. She
would sit, in her pure linen or pure cotton,
white or indigo-dyed clothes (never anything

else) be fully engaged and quietly smile or

hoot with laughter as memories returned and
the night became ever later.

She was pleased with the circles her work
had traversed and happily acknowledged
her many teachers from McMeckin and
Harold Hughan, to Cardew and Rie and
influences from the meditative qualities of
the Northern Song wares to the paintings
of Morandi or Ben Nicholson. There were
more; her aesthetic passions were legion. We
would discuss the clarity of form that might
be taken for Scandinavian apparent in her
work; the refinement to a state where nothing
more might be taken away and the silence
and calm this engenders. The cool warmth
and deceptive simplicity evident that masked
the considerable attention she had given to
reconciling the desire to be original and true

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to a creative spirit with the responsibility and
weight ofa tradition. Gwyn was an intelligent,
dedicated maker who had reflected extensively

on this over time.

“T no longer care if the cup, with its careful
handle and balanced weight (the heritage
of years of tea set making), stands unused
among a quiet group of table-top objects
arranged as a still life, somewhere higher
than table height. It is still a cup — an
everyday object as ordinary and simple as
can be — but from somewhere, because of
its tense or tenuous relationship with other
simple, recognised, even banal objects,
pleasure comes. I am surprised. It is a weird
idea. It is not what I thought my work
would ever be about when I tried to live
like the unknown craftsman in a hamlet
in France, or a hillside in Tasmania. It is
alarmingly contradictory; to make pots
that are sweet to use and then place them
almost out of reach. To make beakers that
are totally inviting and then freeze them in

an installation.”

Gwyn was warm and positive, interested
in everything and always a vibrant and lively
presence. She will be sorely missed by her
numerous friends, admirers and mentees
around the world who will remember her for
her numerous attributes and wonderful work,
and as one of Australias most significant
artists in any genre.

Moyra Elliott is an independent writer and
curator in ceramics. Her recent projects include
curating the Taiwan International Ceramics
Biennale 2010; participating in the 2010
European Ceramics Symposium, presenting
at Critical Santa Fe, a symposium on critical
writing in ceramics 2010 and publishing
Cone Ten Down co-written with Dr Damian
Skinner on studio ceramic history in New
Zealand. In 2012 s presented at Ceramic
Visions at the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale
in July, at Subversive Clay in Adelaide in
October, and she was a moderator and panellist
for presentations at the International Academy
of Ceramics Assembly, Santa Fe, NM, in
September. Her current projects include research
towards a second book on ceramic history in
NZ and the blog Cone Ten and descending,
(http://conetenanddescending.wordpress.
com) which she produces with a small team of
colleagues,

Those wishing to record their memories and
observations of Gwyn Hanssen Pigott are
invited to log on to the blog and contribute to

the comments.

Potters Guild of BC Newsletter « July/August 2043