‘To me the fount of all creativity is women. In the beginning woman birthed man and man in his turn goes on and makes his own creative acts. But the supreme creative act is that of creating another human being. Women hold the seeds of creativity which are then passed on to their sons and daughters.’

Quicktime spin of Lapita Series Ipu One Mokopuna o Mahuika Ngarutoru

Colleen Urlich places herself within a tradition of clay work expressed by the ancient Pacific Lapita people at least four thousand years ago. She believes that the knowledge of working with clay, as well as the memory of clay embedded within the creation story, came to New Zealand with the first Māori settlers.

‘Even though we didn’t have a ceramic tradition,’ Colleen says, ‘we still understood the physical properties of clay, including firing or baking, and we used clay in a number of ritualistic practices.’

Though she began with wheel-thrown work in the early 1960s, Colleen decided that her real interest lay in simple and accessible technologies that brought her closer to clay. Her work is hand-built and either wood-fired or oxidation-fired in an electric kiln.

Rather than carving a pattern, a technique she sees as belonging to men, Colleen paints the pattern on the work with a water-based wax-resist, then coats the surface with terra sigillata, a very fine clay mixed with water. When the work is fired, the wax burns off, leaving the lighter body of the clay showing through the red terra sigillata. Colleen sees this process as having an affinity with the custom of using kokowai (a baked and ground red clay mixed with oil) in ancient rituals.

Colleen makes pieces that are not only beautiful but also useful within her culture. Her waka kakano (seed pots) are functional containers, but she has decorated them with figures related to fertility and planting.

Her work is a celebration of women. Images in clay of female deities from Māori creation stories are combined with materials associated with the creative work of women - muka (flax fibre), feathers, and shells.