Meet the Artists

John Campbell

John’s interest in art evolved from the age of 13 when he attended Coventry College of Art, UK from 1952 to 1954. On completion John took up printing.  John emigrated to New Zealand in 1964 and continued in the printing industry until retirement. In 2004 he again took up watercolour painting.

Now retired and living in Westmere, Auckland, he is looking forward to spending more time doing the hobby he loves. Specialising in New Zealand and Australian landscapes, as well as trying to capture the rural scenes of old buildings, letterboxes, buses and anything that captures his eye, every subject is a challenge which he enjoys capturing and sharing with others.

Grace Coyle

Grace Coyle is a teenage artist who loves to draw and paint. She has had art tuition in multiple mediums but chooses to use water colour and acrylics in addition to ink pens to create her beautiful mandalas and canvas paintings. Grace gains inspiration from nature and art surrounding her. She has exhibited her art previously and aspires to bring joy to those around her through various art forms.

See Grace’s work

Jenny Coyle

Jenny is a ceramic artist who lives in Titirangi and is the owner of Wood Bay Studio.  This is a purpose built space with an adjoining electric kiln.  She likes to take a creative approach to her work and work on individual unique pieces.  Within her pottery Jenny is constantly experimenting with new ideas, shapes and techniques to create stunning pieces and loves the challenge of trying new techniques.  Jenny runs pottery classes for adults and children and loves sharing the joy of pottery with others- see classes section of website.

See Jenny’s work

Adrian King

Adrian is very inspirational in the technical creative pieces of pottery that he makes.  He is inspired by his travels around the world and recreates pieces with similar attributes at times.  Adrian has been a member of Titirangi Potters for about 10 years.  He individually crafts each piece and handpaints them to create individual items that are unique and lovingly made.

See Adrian’s work

KP Beads

Kate gets inspired while walking in nature and appreciating the environment. Because of her huge exposure to art while growing up with a mother who was a well known NZ potter and teacher who won awards, Kate became inspired with using polymer clay. After having kids Kate realized what amazing things she could do with polymer clay and she finds it very exciting for it’s endless possibilities. Kate uses stamps and silk screens and mixes some of her colours and manipulates them in many different ways colouring the clay in, carving it out or using resin sometimes. She is always actively looking at and getting inspired by the many resources and mediums around her and adapting it to her own methods. The cutlery and jewellery components are all from high quality sources.

See KP Beads work

Jenny Masterton

Jenny is a vibrant experienced silversmith who works with sterling silver, carefully sourced semi-precious stones and other natural and upcycled materials. She is influenced by living in beautiful bush and coastal surrounds. The koru features in all her designs. It symbolizes new life, new beginnings and its meaning, along with  the beauty of the unfurling fern frond seem to resonate with her. The finished quality of her pieces are as important to her as the design.  Jenny finds satisfaction in creating mini works of wearable art.

See Jenny’s work

Richard Naylor

Richard’s first experience of doing pottery was at school many years ago, but it wasn’t until he moved to Japan with his job in 2000 that he got back to it. In a vain attempt to learn Japanese he thought it would be a good idea to study something in the language, so he turned to a private pottery school. Little did he realisee then that he was embarking on a passion that would be  with him for the rest of his life. He was, and still is so grateful to the young Japanese pottery teachers and their willing encouragement. Indeed, he still signs all his work in Japanese because of them. On moving to New Zealand the following year, he immediately continued his education at Auckland Studio Potters under the guidance of Peter Lange and Renton Murray before becoming a member of Titirangi Potters, in whose studio he still does the majority of his work,

The influences on his work are mostly explained by the above history. Firstly, he developed a great love of clean classical shapes and lines and a rather sparse feel to his work from his time in Japan. He has always been fascinated by bright colours, with the blues and greens in his work reflecting the environment of Auckland’s west coast and the Waitakere forest. He loves working on the wheel, although for large pots he sometimes use coiling’s as he finds it a very therapeutic way of working and it gives him the opportunity to develop the idea of the pot as he is going along.

See Richard’s work

Hakan Nedjat

Hakan has lived in New Zealand since 2013. His photography which started like many visitors as holiday snaps has quickly developed into a fully-fledged passion. Hakan has a huge interest in wide field astro photography and nightscapes. Astro photography requires considerable dedication and often missed sleep! A simple star trail image can take up to two hours to capture excluding the drive/hike to the location. Hakan wants to develop his passion and continue to showcase the beauty of New Zealand through his creative and stunning imagery.

See Hakan’s work

Judy Newton

Judy Newton, the creator of green heart jewellery, lives in Titirangi, West Auckland. She is originally from the South Island.  The materials she uses in her jewellery include coloured window glass, stone, ceramic (broken china), and sterling silver.  All pieces are individually shaped and engraved, using diamond equipment.  Judy uses recycled materials as much as possible e.g. the glass is off-cuts sourced from leadlight-glass studios; the ‘pressed’ glass often had a former life in the doors and windows of old villas; the broken china is from various sources – her kitchen, second hand shops, people’s donations…  Some china is historic – found in old settlement sites around NZ, it can date back to the 1800s.

The idea of giving materials a new life in another direction appeals – broken china or off-cut glass becoming a personal adornment.  Judy likes to use recycled china as there are often stories behind its designs and patterns, with associations and memories that are evocative.

See Judy’s work

Kelly Oh

Kelly is a beautiful woman who is very talented in painting ceramics.  The fine detail is astounding and her skills are so impressive.  You can appreciate the loving time she puts into creating her masterpieces.  Kelly studied graphic design and ceramic art in South Korea where she had her own ceramic studio and exhibitions.  Kelly works at Botany Pottery Studio as a ceramic artist and has lived in NZ since 2011.  Kelly’s work has won her awards at various exhibitions and shows.

See Kelly’s work

Matafetu Smith

Matafetu is a Niuean artist who creates beautiful and brightly coloured woven pieces.  Her kete are fine and complex, made with locally sourced flax or keke and she has exclusive permission from Auckland Council to collect from protected reserves.

Each piece of flax is individually selected, hand processed and dyed to help her achieve the intricate designs in her creations which are sort after around the world.

In 1983 she attended a weaving hui in Tokomaru Bay and from that time onward her interest and involvement in weaving increased markedly and became a lifelong passion.  Matafetu has also been a Pacific Island representative on a weaving committee set up by the Maori and South Pacific Arts Council and has taught weaving in New Zealand and overseas as a way to preserve and promote this significant Pacific Island art.

Matafetu has perfected the art of traditional weaving over the years, and in 1999 was appointed an Art Laureate by Mayor Bob Harvey for Waitakere City Council and is a Senior Pacific Artist Award winner.

See Mata’s work

Odile Sprenkeling

Odile has lived out West since 1990 and was born in Holland. She considers herself very lucky to have been exposed to many of the Dutch Masters artworks as a child growing up in Holland. From a very early age she admired Art, and enjoyed creating things. Odile has been painting for 15 years and has incredible talent with an eye for detail.

She loves experimenting with different mediums and tends to paint images that personally move her. Odile has worked in Chigirie (a Japanese Art Form) Water Colour but she mainly works with acrylics.

Recently Odile has taken up ceramics and loves the three dimensional aspect of working with clay.

See Odile’s work

Chris Soulje

Chris is an experienced potter from Titirangi.  He has been potting for pleasure for about 30 years doing hand building as well as wheel work.  Chris recently won an award at the Titirangi Potters Exhibition. Within his pottery work he likes to experiment with shapes and makes a vast range of creative pieces that are mostly inspired from nature.

See Chris’ work

Kieran Taylor

Kieran is a local Auckland artist who works from home surrounded by bush with city views above the canopy. She lives on the northern slopes of the Waitakere Ranges just beyond Titirangi Village. Her work covers a span of 30 years art practice and she has a diploma in Visual Arts. Kieran has exhibited around Auckland and in the Coromandel. She works mainly in acrylic paint and mixed media on board and also does pottery. Her inspiration comes mainly from the bush and rugged west coast in a visual plus metaphoric way.

See Kieran’s work

Val White

I am mainly a self taught artist of Russian origin with a typically British education. I achieved 3 ‘A’ levels, including Art and much to my father’s dismay went on to complete an Art and Design Foundation Course from West Notts College in the Midlands.

I also have a degree in Interior Design from Christchurch Polytechnic but decided I didn’t want to pursue life as a designer although aspects of that knowledge have been rather useful – eg learning to draw in perspective and colour theory.

All I know is that I have been drawing and painting as far as I can remember and if I don’t physically sit down with a paintbrush or marker of some sort every other day I actually get creative withdrawal symptoms !!!

My style of work and application is very much an extension of myself and my personality; – diverse, somewhat traditional, eclectic, explorative and fun. I hope you enjoy it.

See Val’s work

John Wyse

John is an amazing enthusiastic potter who expertly throws all his pieces and high fires them in a gas kiln.  He is very experienced and has been perfecting the art of creating domestic ware for 30 years.  John likes to create functional pieces that can be admired and used daily.  In a recent exhibition John received the award for the best thrown piece.

See John’s work

Wild Poetry

Thea and Shirley are Wild Poetry. They are passionate about what they do and very enthusiastic and personable.  Wild Poetry design soft furnishings – cushions, bed scarves, table runners, curtains, upholstered head boards, chairs are made to order. Using an ancient “resist” textile painting technique with its origins in Africa, Wild Poetry create a wide range of unique hand painted fabrics and upholstery.

Thea and Shirley also are available to come and personally consult with you to create a new look with their awesome interior design skills.  If you have dined in the trendy “Deco” restaurant in Titirangi you will recognize their gorgeous Wild Poetry cushions. They source a range of accessories to help you with the look you would like to create.  Their products are very high quality and their chairs are amazingly comfortable and modern.

See Wild Poetry’s Work