Page 17 - Constructing Craft

hope that craft would somehow help define New Zealand as a modern

sophisticated nation with a unique character.

Folk musician, theologian and writer Peter Cape sitting at his desk.
Wellington 1960. Photo: Alexander Turnbull Library.

A Note about the Author and his Craft

It has been over forty years since Peter Cape’s first book on craft was published

and, in the opinion of this writer, it is time to take a historical look at the studio

craft movement. I come to this task as both a participant and an observer. In this
book, based on a PhD thesis completed in 2012, I attempt to understand the

movement I was a small part of for over thirty years as a studio potter/ceramic
artist, administrator and occasional writer. Like many others the making of the

pottery objects was not the only reason I became a full-time craftsperson or why
I enjoyed being a potter so much. I loved the freedom my job gave me and I was

excited by the challenge of making a living from my craft. The public also

Constructing Craft