Kim Morgan - Artisan Potter

Destiny moulded in clay

When Kim Morgan first entered a potter's workshop and plunged his hands into a lump of wet clay at the tender age of nine, he know instinctively he wanted to be a potter.

After more than 30- years as an artisan potter, Kim has lost none of that early fascination and still has a deep admiration for older potters, who work their clay into amazing forms with uncanny ease.

His goal is to remain at the leading edge of his craft as he continues to experiment with different techniques and ideas to produce new designs that are both functional and artistic.

Back in the early 1970s when Kim Morgan first stepped into a Palmerston North potter's workshop during a primary school trip, the small of the clay, the sight of muddy industrial age wheels, the shelves of pots in varying stages of completion and the blast of heat from the kiln, took him quite by surprise.

Once he got his hands into the clay, he knew that this was something he could be good at.  Even today when he steps into his own gallery or visits other potter's workshops, there's often a sense of deja vu as he recalls that primal moment.

Hands on learner

In his high school years, Kim was encouraged by an art teacher, who opened the way for him to attend a year long course at Dunedin Polytech Art School.  On returning to Palmerston North, he built a kiln in his parents' back yard and continued to experient.

Instead of pursuing further academic studies, he chose a hands-on approach, heading to Australia where he was determined to get into a factory environment to improve his skills as a production thrower.

Kim ended up making pots for a company that sold through a party plan. "When I arrived in the mornings all the clay was sliced to size and ready for me to work.  Over a year I went from being a pretty dismal thrower to the top man."

After a skiing trip in Canada and Austria, he went on to the Greek Islands for a summer and then on to Paris.  While in Greece he met his future wife, Debbie, who invited him to come and visit her in Jersey in the Channel Islands.

For the next nine years, Kim ran his own pottery business in Jersey, a popular banking, finance and tourist centre.  "I traded on that kiwiana hands-on thing as most people had never seen a potter creating in his workshop and selling directly" he says.

Back to the roots

In 2000 Kim Morgan returned to New Zealand with his young family, opting to live in rolling farmland along the banks of Hawke's Bay's rambling Tukituki River, where they established a lifestyle block and purpose built potter's workshop.

After a decade of producing pots for the wholesale market, Kim opened The Potters Gallery retail outlet in Havelock North, where he enjoys meeting customers and learning where his pots, mugs, jugs, plates, bowls and vases will end up.

It's a constant learning curve, and as Kim gets older he reckons a new quality is starting to show in his work. Perhaps it's that X-factor that he observes in older potters who've been doing it for decades.  "You can just see when it comes naturally.  They poke their finger at a pot and it works: what comes through is life experience." 

Kim quotes some seasoned expert who told him that it takes 20 years to learn, 20 years to forget and then you start making some good pots.  "I've been making pots now for 30 plus years so I figure my best years are still a head."

When asked what's been his most satisfying experience, Kim's quick response is: "The pot I made last night and the pot I'm going to make this afternoon".