An Early Kwerky Kuepfer

A friend who scours the second-hand shops found this quite remarkable sculpture by glass artist Tony Kuepfer in the Hospice Shop in New Plymouth. It reminds me of the 'Mr Potato Head' toys of the 1950s (and more recently).

It is clearly signed and dated AWK (Tony Kuepfer's initials) '76 NZ, which makes it an early piece of Tony's work. 

Tony has confirmed that it pre-dates the visit in March 1977 by English gaffer Fred Daden (see my November 2016 Blog about that visit and the wonderful film made in Tony's studio http://newzealandglass.blogspot.co.nz/2016/11/fred-daden-and-tony-kuepfer-at.html). 

Before Fred came, Tony was not well able to get his glass pieces sufficiently thin, and he could only form 'feet', for goblets or for sculptures, by dropping a gather of glass onto the marver [a flat iron plate], flattening it quickly, then picking it up on a rod to attach it to the object.  This piece demonstrates that clearly - it is thick and heavy, and the foot was not made in the way Fred showed Tony how to do, as seen in the March 1977 film.

Tony has commented: "I sort of do remember making this along with one or two other strange critters. Not much more to say other than having a bit of fun and seeing how far you could push your rudimentary skills at the time. I remember earning some critical comments from people like Don Driver about producing this California Flash. Didn’t sit well with the craft community then as the Bernard Leach strict school of fine craft was order of the day. Guess I sort of rebelled against that attitude." Don Driver (1930 - 2011) was one of New Zealand's leading artists of the day, based in New Plymouth.

I bloggged about another 'Kwerky Kuepfer' in 2012 (https://newzealandglass.blogspot.com/2012/01/easter-egg-head-by-tony-kuepfer.html), but here it is again:

Tony called this an 'Easter Egg-Head'. It is better made than 'Mr Potato Head', less heavy and with better modelled features, but it shares the use of silver chloride colouration to depict the hair (and ears in the earlier piece).

I just love this jug, which also has a sculptural quality. It is not dated, but Tony has suggested it was probably made "post Fred Daden visiting me in March '77... as I had to re-learn how to work glass". That is clearly still a work in progress, since the glass is very thick and heavy, but to me that adds to its charm.

  

  

A Tale of Two Wine Sets

In my blog in November 2016 [see http://newzealandglass.blogspot.co.nz/2016/11/fred-daden-and-tony-kuepfer-at.html ], I wrote about the wonderful archival film that has recently been resurrected through the NZ Society of Artists in Glass archiving project. In March 1977 English master gaffer Fred Daden came to Inglewood in Taranaki at the invitation of then almost beginner Tony Kuepfer, to show Tony some of the skills of the glass-maker. The film shows Fred repeatedly demonstrating how to make a wine goblet, and especially how to make the foot.

Quite out of the blue I was recently offered a decanter and four wine glasses. Together with a set already in my collection, they demonstrate beautifully how much Fred taught Tony, and indeed how good a student Tony was.

Photo: Greg Clarkson

These pieces certainly resemble the early glass Tony was making, but I wasn't initially entirely sure they were Tony's work. The decanters and goblets of his I have seen are quite elegant, and these are not that. Distinctively, the stopper is a hollow, blown form, and lacks the elegance of his later pieces.  So I sent Tony an email, enclosing this image. Tony is always friendly and helpful, and I got a speedy reply: 

'Yes, I am fairly sure they are mine… very early mine, before I brought Fred Daden down. They would be pre-1977. I was still very green then and only knew how to make feet for goblets by dropping a gather of glass on the marver [a flat iron plate], a quick flatten then pick it up on the stem. The design on them also is one I have done. Very thick and chunky they are. Also, I didn’t know about or use the cross pontil mark until Fred showed me, hence the more solid mark on the bottom.

All of which is very illuminating, and explains the chunky appearance.

In the March 1977 film Fred Daden demonstrates how to make a goblet foot, and it doesn't involve the use of the marver at all. A 'blob' (technical term!) of glass is applied to the bottom of the stem.

 

 

 After some forming, Fred then used a wooden pattern to shape the foot ...

 ... further shaping the foot with his tongs, using both the handle ...

 ... and the business end ...
 

with a finishing touch from a wooden paddle.

 
  

Tony made the set of goblets below after Fred Daden's visit. He had learned both the technical skills from Fred, but also a great deal about the aesthetic of goblet making. These goblets, with the decanter below, were purchased from an exhibition Tony held at the Canterbury Society of Arts in 1978 or 1979 (he had one exhibition in each year).

 

 

The matching decanter is typical of Tony's work after Fred's visit, and very different from the early 1975 or 1976 one seen at the beginning of this blog. It has a solid stopper, which is better both visually, and also allows a better seal in the neck.

 

Kathy Shaw Urlich 1954 – 2016

Northland’s renowned Māori stained glass artist Kathy Shaw-Urlich has died peacefully after a long battle with cancer. 

Kathy preparing panels for the wharekai at Whakapara marae in March 2013

Kathy was born in England, but as the daughter of Ron Shaw an English aircraft engineer and Desiree Joan Browne, a former Miss Northland, she affiliated to Ngāti Hau and Te Uri o Te Aho o Ngāpuhi. She made her first visit to New Zealand at the age of 26 to visit her Māori grandmother, and as a proud descendant of Patuone she eagerly explored her Māori heritage and especially her connection to her grandmother’s whānau of Ngāti Hau and Whakapara marae.

Although never one to promote herself, Kathy in fact achieved considerable success. She topped her class and won a national competition as well as a scholarship while studying at the Swansea Institute, in Wales, before completing a Masters in Fine Art at Central St Martins in London.  In 1990 she exhibited glass panels at New Zealand House for the 150th anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi and held another solo exhibition, Te Po me Te Ao (The Dark and the Light) at the Commonwealth Institute in London.

She was commissioned to design the inaugural window for the prestigious Human Genome Project campus near Cambridge. Her tribute panel to Rahera Heta Windsor, kuia of Ngāti Ranana in London, was one of 100 pieces selected by the Corning Glass Museum in New York, from 2,500 international entries, to feature in New Glass Review, the world’s leading journal of innovation in glass art. 

Wharenui window, Whakapara marae, March 2013

In 2007 Kathy married Rev. Rapata Urlich and moved to New Zealand, where she and Robert established a home and a studio for making stained glass artwork at Whatuwhiwhi. Kathy connected with the glass community in New Zealand, and made many friends, personal and professional, both locally in Northland and nationwide. 

She exhibited her work in solo exhibitions and in group shows.  Most of her public commissions are in England, but she made a wonderful suite of work for St Isaac’s church, the wharenui and the wharekai at Whakapara, the latter made with the support of a Creative NZ Te Waka Toi grant. She designed a wonderful Passchendaele memorial window for All Saints Church in Kaeo, though sadly she did not live long enough to complete the commission.  

Altar window, St Isaac's church, Whakapara, 1999

Her works are held in many private collections in New Zealand, as well as England, Wales, France and Iceland. News of her death has been greeted with a great sense of loss by those who are proud to own her work and by all those who loved and admired a warm and wonderful woman who bore her increasing illness with strength, faith and courage. 

Moe mai rā, e hine, te tohunga karaehe.

Pouakai Pareora, 2016

One Good Tamarillo...

I wrote yesterday about the wonderful tamarillos of Lou Pendergrast-Mathieson. But you can't talk about glass tamarillos and not refer to the work of Fran Anderton, who has made tamarillos very much her own fruit.  I have admired them for quite a while, and was very pleased to be able to acquire one from the Whanganui Glass Festival exhibition in October last year.

 

Fran was born in England (and nothing wrong with that, I say assertively) and moved to New Zealand as a schoolgirl.  She trained in glass design and production at UCOL Whanganui, graduating with a Diploma in 2003. She has a strong interest in the natural environment, which she attributes in part to having a plant propagator for a mother and a florist for a sister, though Fran says she is also influenced by the uniqueness of New Zealand's beautiful native bush, beaches and scenery. Avocadoes, citrus and olives have all provided inspiration for her bottles and bowls, but in my view it is her tamarillo bottles that are the most successful.  

Fran makes both cast and blown glass in her purpose built home studio in Whanganui.
Her website is at http://www.frananderton.co.nz/About.aspx

 

New Glass for Whakapara Marae

I have mentioned before my admiration of the glass of Northland artist Kathy Shaw-Urlich. Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting Kathy in her workshop and seeing the wonderful new glass windows she is designing and making for the marae of her Ngati Hau people at Whakapara, north of Whangarei. 

This is a project supported by a Te Waka Toi Creative NZ Arts Grant, which Kathy was awarded last year.  A new wharekai (dining room) Te Tawaka is to be built next year, and the project includes three windows for that, which Kathy has almost completed. Currently she is working on the three panels that will fit in the main window of the wharenui Te Ihi o Nehua, which was opened in 1998 (see http://www.naumaiplace.com/site/whakapara/home/page/147/marae-buildings/).

The designs for the windows have been developed by Kathy arising from discussions on the marae. There were also visits to places that are special to Ngati Hau such as the river and waterfall Waiariki and the maunga Huruiki. Kathy then selected and cut to shape just the right pieces of glass.  Some of them she has formed in the kiln and decorated with appropriate designs, with assistance from some of the people of the marae.

 
The wharekai windows contain themes and elements that relate to the awa (river), with tuna (eels) and fishing being depicted, and watery elements in the design.  The wharenui window relates to the sense of being on the maunga, with its wide views over the landscape. It includes on one side reference to the eponymous ancestor of Ngati Hau, Hautakowera, who is depicted by the reamy glass representing his breath (hau) and on the other side the dogskin cloak with its stylised cloakpin which represents Kahukuri, son of Hautakowera. There is also reference to the obsidian (volcanic glass) which occurs on the mountain.

 These cut pieces will be finished and leaded to form the central portion of the wharenui window

Even in the rough surroundings of the workshop, the beauty of these windows was evident - when they are finally installed in place, they will look amazing.

This project follows on from Kathy's making of the window for the adjacent St Isaac's Church at Whakapara in 1999. The window in the church (below) also contains many references to places, people and ideas important to Ngati Hau.  

When the wharekai is opened, Whakapara will have a remarkable group of buildings with wonderful stained glass by this talented artist who is one of their own. 

 

Avalon postscript - a New Zealand glass Film Star

In my last post I talked about the history of Avalon Glass, based largely on the account of it by one of the founders, Greg Smith.  Greg has provided a few corrections and clarifications of the roles of some of those involved, which is much appreciated. But he has also provided an update on what he is doing now.  Not currently making glass, he has been pursuing his career as an actor, and is about to be seen in New Zealand cinemas in the new release Mt Zion (in NZ cinemas from 6 February 2013).

Greg may be seen in the trailer which features on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0gHwasfR7g, and the screen captures shown here are drawn from there. Greg plays a promoter who auditions the wannabe Bob Marleys who are the centrepiece of the story - 'some sort of welcoming party for Captain Cook and his Endeavours' is a memorable line.

I know little about the film other than I have seen in the trailer, but you may be sure I'll be going to see it, and not just to see this early NZ glass artist in his new role - it looks like a great movie.

Not Such an Early John Leggott Paperweight

Recently I bought on TradeMe, from my usual supplier of Taranaki glass goodies, a paperweight.  It’s a good piece, well made, but what especially attracted my attention was the signature.  It seemed to be clearly signed J. Leggott ’81 N.Z. Now what made that interesting is that the story goes (not the least as provided by John Leggott in an interview in the Taranaki Herald in 1988) that there was this New Plymouth potter called John Leggott, who had previously been potting in North Queensland and fishing on the Barrier Reef. He saw the Pacific Glass ‘83 exhibition at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth, in 1983, and was so impressed by the wonder of glass that he set up his own glass studio at his pottery workshop in Kellyville Heights, Merrilands in New Plymouth.  There are four pieces in Stuart Park’s glass collection signed J. Leggott ’85, so one would assume they were relatively early pieces John made there.

But my friendly TradeMe supplier was quite sure that this said '81.  He's an honest and reliable sort, so I put in my bid and was successful.  And sure enough, when the piece arrived, it certainly seemed to be dated '81. It must be said there is a little mark near the top of the 1, but it certainly looked like a 1.

So that presented a conundrum.  Like so many NZ glass artists, John Leggott has always been helpful in responding to my enquiries, so I shot off an email to him.  Back came the reply from John:

'Yes, that weight was definitely made by me, Probably at Kellyville studio.  My guess is that I slipped with the Dremel when signing it and it should read '87 ... The bottom of the weight is not ground and the resultant curvature leading into the punty mark makes for some difficulty when using a cheapo vibrating diamond-point tool.'
 

So I don't have an antediluvian rarity after all, and it is confirmed that indeed John was not making glass in 1981. But it is a nice piece and I don't have any other paperweights John made, so I am pleased to add it to my collection.

Here are the 1985 pieces by John Leggott I already had, still the earliest of his in my collection:

 

Lots of Glass Doings

Recently I had a very enjoyable extended road trip to the South Island, culminating on my way back home with participation in the AGM and Conference of the New Zealand Society of Artists in Glass and the Wanganui Festival of Glass.

While my trip was about more than only glass, I did explore all sorts of exhibitions, collections and installations which offered me many new experiences in glass, yielded a lot of new information and offered me a number of opportunities to add to my collection. I'm planning to share the results of that trip in my blog over the next few weeks.

 

I don't propose to tell you what these rather varied images are - all will be revealed in forthcoming posts

Garry Nash Glass Workers 1993

Here's another group of New Zealand glass artists, taken ten years on from the NZSAG Inglewood conference photos I posted recently. Peter Viesnik mentioned the photo in an email discussing the Inglewood blog.  Entitled 'Garry and team 1993', the image is on Garry Nash's website at http://www.garrynash.co.nz/crew93.htm. I have viewed it there a number of times, and Garry kindly gave me a digital copy a couple of years ago.  But I was intrigued to realise that although Garry is easy to identify, punty in hand with a piece at the marver, I wasn't sure who any of the others might be.  Some looked a little familiar, but it was nineteen years ago, and I couldn't be certain.

From left, this group of workers at Garry Nash's Sunbeam Glass studio in 1993 were: John Penman, Judy from Sweden (note the Orrefors T-shirt), Stephen Bradbourne, Garry Nash, Lynette Campbell, Hoana Stachl holding a piece of glass, John a visiting house painter (do you know where Garry's ladder is?) and Dong Ju Shin from Korea.

Peter started me with some names, and that led on to an email exchange with several people - I am grateful for their help to Stephen Bradbourne, Garry Nash, Anna Palmer, John Penman and Peter Viesnik.  That has enabled me to identify everyone, with varying degrees of accuracy.  However, I accept full responsibility for the result, and would be grateful for any corrections or additions.  I don't know who the photographer was, hence the lack of credit (sorry).

From my collection here are some examples of the New Zealand artists' work:

John Penman 1997

Hoana Stachl 1999

Lyn Campbell 1996

Stephen Bradbourne 1998

Garry Nash 1992

 

I have a number of pieces by Garry Nash, but I chose to include this glass because there is a photo of Garry making a glass like this one, probably at the same photo session (same shirt!)