Dorothy Waetford
Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu

Dorothy holds Bachelor of Applied Arts from NorthTec, and post-graduate diploma in Māori Visual Arts post-graduate from Massey University, Palmerston North. She is also a qualified teacher and for many years taught on the Applied Arts and the Maunga Kura Toi programs at NorthTec. In 2016, she assisted in the development of Piki Tū Rangitia a 25year arts and culture strategy for Ngāpuhi. 

Dorothy has attended indigenous arts and cultural exchanges in North West Coast of America, Pacific Islands and Australia since 2001 in her capacity as a Māori clay artist, exhibiting and representing both Ngā Kaihanga Uku and Te Taitokerau Māori Arts Collective. Dorothy is based in Te Taitokerau.

Dorothy is a member of Ngā Kaihanga Uku, National Māori Clay Workers Collective; Te Taitokerau Māori Artists Collective; Te Ātinga Contemporary Māori Visual Arts committee of Toi Māori Aotearoa; and Toi Ngāpuhi an advocacy and support agency inspiring excellence in Ngāpuhi cultural and creative expression across Te Taitokerau. Dorothy was also an original member of Te Kanikani o Te Rangatahi and Taiao Māori Dance theatre in the eighties and nineties. 

https://toingapuhi.co.nz/
https://www.teatinga.com/page/about/

Rhonda Halliday
Ngāpuhi, Te Uri Taniwha, Ngāti Hineira, Pākehā

“Ehara tāku toa I te toa takitahi. Engari, he toa takitini. I acknowledge those that have helped shaped me and my art. Your love and support have always been, and will always be, received with gratitude and humility – he taonga tuku iho.”

Rhonda was born in 1970 and resides in Waipapa just north of Kerikeri. She gained her Bachelor of Applied Arts Visual Arts from Northtec Whangarei in 2000 and enjoyed the mentorship of Colleen Waata Urlich and Manos Nathan before their passing in September 2015. She is owner/operator of Uku Toi Gallery in Waipapa, Northland, and a member of Member of Te Taitokerau Māori Artists Collective and of Ngā Kaihanga Uku, a contemporary Māori clay artists collective. She has exhibited nationally and internationally and has also been actively involved in several Toi Ngāpuhi exhibitions and other indigenous art events.

Over the years Halliday’s art style has been mostly recognised for her highly burnished smoke fired pieces representing rebirth and emergence. However, more recently her work has begun to shift and move into new forms and techniques. One area of exploration is combining clay with mixed media to enhance her stories and personal views on various topics hoping to encourage conversation and awareness.

Mauri ora!

https://www.instagram.com/ukutoi/
https://www.facebook.com/ukutoigallery

Alix Ashworth
Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, Waitaha.

Is a freelance ceramic artist. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, from the University of Canterbury, a Diploma in Ceramic Arts from Otago Polytechnic and a Certificate in Mechanical Engineering. She is currently in the Whakakai Mentorship Programme Toi Māori Aotearoa. 

Alix’s work discusses identity and belonging through ceramic sculpture focusing on strong narrative. Working from her home studio she uses personal reflection to influence her work, which often instils an emotional response. Poems are placed alongside the sculptures to inform the viewer of the emotion behind the piece. Having a Bachelor in Fine Arts and Pre-trader of the year in Tool making, her eclectic learning choices lead her to explore clay through Otago Polytechnic. Graduating in 2018 it became apparent that clay/uku was the medium she had been searching for.

Alix has exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions. 

https://www.alixashworth.com

Todd Douglas
Born in 1965, award-winning ceramic artist Todd Douglas is of Ngāpuhi and Pākehā descent and lives at Muriwai Beach, northwest of Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland.

Primarily self-taught Todd uses a broad range of ceramic techniques and surface treatments.  His contemporary Maori sculpture combines carved clays with technically-fired glazes, lashing and native timbers.  Todd's wife and studio partner, glaze artist Karuna Douglas developed his signature ‘pounamu' crystal glazes which Todd uses in his award-winning hoe, and toki pou tangata.   

“My work stems from a love of uku. When I work with it, everything about it, from its tactile nature to its transformation in the kiln, grounds me. How it feels in the hands. Each stage of the making is a transformation that you nurture and guide.”

As a proud member of Ngā Kaihanga Uku (Maori Clay Artists Collective), Todd has participated in a number of international indigenous artist hui and exchanges. His works can be found in key private, iwi/tribal, corporate, and government collections throughout the world. 

Karuna Douglas
Born in Aotearoa/New Zealand to Indian parents, Karuna's work evokes a sense of place.  Her Indian heritage influences her work through colour, texture and imagery and her signature crystal 'pounamu' glazes are unmistakably of the here and now, literally and metaphorically referencing Aotearoa's dynamic and volatile landscape.

“Through my husband and creative partner Todd, I've been blessed to have been embraced by Ngā Kaihanga Uku.  Working alongside the muddies engaging with clay and materials from a Māori world view has been pivotal to my growth as an indigenous clay artist, as well as a first-generation born New Zealander.  In their company, I have found a space where I've been able to walk my own path and find my own voice.”   

https://www.facebook.com/karuna.douglas
https://www.instagram.com/karunadouglasceramics