Page 164 - Constructing Craft

Chapter Eight: The Simple Life

During the 1960s and 1970s there was a move by craftspeople to the countryside to

set up studios and live a simpler way of life. In part, this occurred because there

existed amongst craftspeople the belief that the strength of the studio craft
movement was to be found in its history and by replicating the ways of the past,

including the perception of craft as a largely rural occupation, their vocation would
be truer to its origins if practised in the countryside. This was not a new

phenomenon – most craft movements in the hundred years leading up to the mid
twentieth century movement believed that craft was linked to traditional, simpler,

and healthier ways of living – and that was most likely to be found in the

countryside.

The individuals who feature in this chapter expressed their opinions on these issues
and often they were representative of a particular group of craftspeople ‒ British

immigrants for instance. Potters appeared to express their opinions more than

others on this topic and this seemed to be because, as indicated in earlier chapters,
potters were more likely to be earning most of their living from their craft than other

craftspeople and pottery was often featured in articles and books that portrayed
craft as a rural pursuit. Furthermore, the technology of studio pottery presents an

interesting example of how a craft that had strong links to the urban industrial

environment was transposed into the New Zealand countryside and how rural
dwellers reacted to their new neighbours. Therefore, pottery is the major focus of

this chapter.

Craft as Defiance

The studio craft movement began to flourish in New Zealand during a period when

many people had become accustomed to the benefits of living in a technologically
advanced, prosperous and largely urban society. Craftspeople in New Zealand

called on earlier traditions and employed craft processes and technologies from the

past, but found themselves supported by a technological and social infrastructure

Constructing Craft