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Fruit; Smyth, Katherine; 2005; 2005/9/3
Name/Title
Fruit
Fruit
About this object
In 1993 I went to work in Taibeh village in Jordan as a volunteer assistant to English potter Jim Mason. He had set up a project where he was teaching pottery skills to six local girls under the auspices of a local charity. Taibeh is very near Petra where Jim had recently been part of an excavation team looking at Nabatean pottery production. He was looking for an English speaking female assistant to help bridge a gap. I was looking for an adventure. Although I was only in Taibeh for three months, the time felt more like three years in that it was rich - romantic, frustrating, humbling and inspiring. I fell in love with it. I gave as much as I knew how to the project but I feel I came away with so much more. My own work has been heavily influenced by this first and four subsequent visits to the Middle East- a place which to me represents warmth, good humour and complex fascinating history. - Katherine Smyth A chef before turning to ceramics, the connections between food and clay frequently inspire her work. In 2004 Katherine Smyth travelled to the Middle East and London to research Bronze Age ceramics and traditional foods. At the Palestine Exploration Fund in London she came across a small Cypriot pot made in the shape of an inverted opium poppy. Subsequently, she began to see organic forms in other pots. On her return to New Zealand she made a juglet in the form of a fig - a fruit that permeates her memories of living in the Middle East. She began making additional juglets based on Middle Eastern produce such as capers, olives and lentils.
In 1993 I went to work in Taibeh village in Jordan as a volunteer assistant to English potter Jim Mason. He had set up a project where he was teaching pottery skills to six local girls under the auspices of a local charity. Taibeh is very near Petra where Jim had recently been part of an excavation team looking at Nabatean pottery production. He was looking for an English speaking female assistant to help bridge a gap. I was looking for an adventure. Although I was only in Taibeh for three months, the time felt more like three years in that it was rich - romantic, frustrating, humbling and inspiring. I fell in love with it. I gave as much as I knew how to the project but I feel I came away with so much more. My own work has been heavily influenced by this first and four subsequent visits to the Middle East- a place which to me represents warmth, good humour and complex fascinating history. - Katherine Smyth A chef before turning to ceramics, the connections between food and clay frequently inspire her work. In 2004 Katherine Smyth travelled to the Middle East and London to research Bronze Age ceramics and traditional foods. At the Palestine Exploration Fund in London she came across a small Cypriot pot made in the shape of an inverted opium poppy. Subsequently, she began to see organic forms in other pots. On her return to New Zealand she made a juglet in the form of a fig - a fruit that permeates her memories of living in the Middle East. She began making additional juglets based on Middle Eastern produce such as capers, olives and lentils.
Maker
Smyth, Katherine
Smyth, Katherine
Maker Role
Artist
Artist
Date Made
2005
2005
Place Made
New Zealand
Medium and Materials
Terracotta (red earthenware) and slip
Terracotta (red earthenware) and slip
Collection
TheNewDowse Permanent Collection
TheNewDowse Permanent Collection
Credit Line
Collection of TheNewDowse
Collection of TheNewDowse
Object Type
Ceramics
Ceramics
Object number
2005/9/3
2005/9/3
Tags
Copyright Licence 
All rights reserved+ Add Comment
Wendy Steward - Columbia MD and if you're in touch with Jim, my name was Wendy Jones when I knew him in Jordan. He was a friend of my fiance Ken Russell (Petra Church)
11 Apr 2010 21:16 PM,UTC
Kathryn - your work is wonderful, where do you list what is available for sale? Also, do you keep in touch with Jim Mason? Is he still in Taybeh?Wendy Steward - Columbia MD and if you're in touch with Jim, my name was Wendy Jones when I knew him in Jordan. He was a friend of my fiance Ken Russell (Petra Church)