New Zealander Peter Collis has worked with clay nearly all of his life. The main focus to his work has been the handling of shape and surface. He creates pure form vessels, which he then treats in a wide range of methods. Crackle glazes, textured engobes, rich colour, finish the surface to complement the form.
The predictability and ubiquity of his forms and surfaces perhaps led to the grant application to develop bone china,. It’s a challenging medium. Bone china is usually cast and his moulds were of a scale beyond what is typically seen for this body formulation, even by industry, the customary producer in this material originally developed to replicate porcelain.
Collis is a highly skilled thrower and a leader in technical aspects – he makes his own luster glazes, formulates clay bodies for particular purposes and adjusts a glaze to give him precisely what he requires in an eyelash drop. He is acknowledged as bone china’s master practicioner. The predictability and ubiquity of his forms and surfaces led to a recent grant application to develop bone china,. It’s a challenging medium. Bone china is usually cast and his moulds were of a scale beyond what is typically seen for this body formulation.
Peter Collis is a superb maker of the formalist pot, few can match his abilities and sheer application of years of hard-won knowledge,
A highly respected potter, Peter exhibits internationally and is represented in collections around the world.