Kim Morgan - Handmade Pottery - New Zealand

Lifestyle kitchenware "Complementing the Chef"

New Zealand potter Kim Morgan loves presenting and eating food from kitchenware fired in his own kiln believing it enhances the overall dining experience.

Kim was impressed recently when he and his wife were dining out with friends and the food was served on handcrafted bowls and plates rather than the big white plates typically used at restaurants.

"It was a good location, great company; we were drinking some superb wine, and fantastic food which came out in hand-made bowls that were so individual like little works of art. That nailed it for me. Everything came together for those two hours."

Kim says he and his family come to Hawke's Bay to enjoy "good friends, wine, food and weather" and likes to think he literally brings something distinctive to the table to complement people's lifestyle choices with his handcrafted plates, bowls and mugs.

Kim Morgan supplies a number of Restaurants with his pottery, specifically made for to their requirements.

Range of discipline

Pottery is a precision business requiring skill and craftsmanship that can only be acquired with time and practice.

Throwing and shaping the clay is clearly about design, art and even engineering to ensure each form is viable and can withstand the intense heat in the belly of the kiln. There's also an element of science and chemistry in knowing how different glazes and colour mixes will react with the clay and the heat.

While there's always an element of trial and error and the possibility that something entirely unexpected will happen, Kim Morgan has to be able to fine tune his processes so successful runs can be repeated with the same result.

His domestic mugs, jugs, bowls and plates are high fired at 1300 degrees Celsius and are microwave, dishwasher and ovenproof. He also fires terracotta planters, porcelain vases and a range of other functional pots.

Some days Kim is a manufacturer engaged in a production routine, others he's an artist at the wheel drawing from his one creative reservoir with an exhibition in mind. Regardless the plan is to keep innovation. "I'm continually experimenting with approaches that might take me off in new directions. I've always got little tests going on in the background even when I'm in production. I'm trying different techniques and glazes and often revisit what I've done previously to see how I can develop it."

Balancing form and function

Massaging a lump of clay might not seem a very glamorous way to make a living but Kim Morgan continues to be inspired by the possibilities as each formless mass takes new shape on the spinning wheel beneath his expert fingers.

While much of his pottery is utilitarian, designed to go straight from the oven to the table and is safe to use in both the microwave and the dishwasher, a number of his more aesthetic creations are purely ornamental or suited for exhibition.

Clearly both form and function have helped established Kim Morgan as a world class artisan and Master Potter. During nine years in Jersey he sold his pots to buyers from around the world.

A personal touch

Essentially Kim Morgan makes pots and bowls he personally likes; fortunately other people seem to like them as well. His output runs a fine line between what the market wants and the art side which is more about expressing his own ideas.

Some days the New Zealander simply has to sit down and make loads of pots to meet orders, or as part of a new line he's marketing. 'You have to have a business sense. I can't be creative and make art all the time' he says.

"The hard part is leaving the workshop to market and sell product when you know it can take six months for something new to catch on. Every artist goes through all that."

Kim Morgan recalls resistance to one particular line he was working on. "I made these large casserole bowls and some people commented that they were too big. I explained they fitted perfectly into my oven with three or four pheasants and red wine and onions. They were impressed with that and purchased one. It's all about how you market things' he says.