Leigh Thompson’s sculpture work is breathtaking. Inspired by nature, figurative forms and the world around her, the Nelson-based artist dives headfirst into the mythic and the beautiful.
Can you tell us a little bit about your artistic journey so far?
My artistic journey started at school in New Zealand, then I attended an art college in England. That was where I was introduced to weaving. When I returned to New Zealand with a young son, I explored natural dyes, spinning and weaving. I knitted jumpers and wove rugs. Later, I made tables with mosaic tops.
What drew you towards pottery and sculpture as your main medium?
My pottery and sculpture work developed in Australia, when a small pottery studio where I was living in Noosa Heads opened up. Finding that I didn’t enjoy the pottery wheel, I asked if I could stand at a bench. By doing this, I was able to build pieces using the coil method, which I have done ever since. Covid came, so my work moved to my laundry, and I would order clay online. Teaching myself meant I had no rules, so I was free to experiment. Back in New Zealand, I took a space at Kiln Studio in Nelson for two months, which was wonderful. I then spent a month in residency at Frost & Fire in Tasman and my work there was fired by Darryl Frost in the magic of his anagama wood-fired brick kiln. That was a great experience.
Where do you look for inspiration?
My work is inspired by nature, water flow and organic forms. I also incorporate figurative forms. Recently, the situations in the world have come into my work. I seem to be processing and expressing these events with my hands and clay. My garden is also an inspiration. Being bordered by a reserve on one side and a road reserve on the other, that has two large kahikatea (male and female) I have been able to plant five māmākau (black tree fern) to join them.
What does your artistic process tend to look like?
A piece can change as I work from the bottom up, in a way I hadn’t anticipated. It’s an intuitive process with the clay as the medium. Often I stand back from a piece and ask, “How did I do that?” As I start a new piece of work, I go through stages. The start is an idea that I may have in my head or have drawn a sketch of. I then go through a stage of not liking it or finding that something doesn’t work. Then the magic happens. I get a burst of something that takes over and I work very fast and slightly chaotically. Then I stand back and wonder how it happened. My work then slowly dries in the studio for a few weeks, then goes into my faithful, secondhand 30-plus-year-old kiln.
The pieces are fired gently in a long, slow, single firing up to Cone 6 (mid-fire temperature). This takes approximately three days before the pieces have cooled enough to remove from the kiln.
You use elements like gold leaf and colour sparingly. How do you decide whether or not colour is right for the piece?
I love clays in different earthy colours, so I make clay slips from these. I also love vibrant colours. I use these when I feel it will express what the piece is saying.
Are there any pieces that you are particularly proud of?
When it comes to my favourite pieces, that’s hard to choose. I tend to love the one I have just made. After firing, I will often bring work into the house so I can enjoy it first. Some work stays in the house, like my Three Cave candelabra that stands in front of the fireplace. That piece was inspired by a hike to the limestone stalactites in the Rāwhiti Cave, with its twilight-zone flora in Golden Bay. Lamps I have made have also found their way into the house. They have been constructed from anagama-fired pieces and my handmade raffia lampshades.
My blue Ghost Eagle was inspired by New Zealand’s extinct pouākai (Haast’s eagle). He stands handsomely in the courtyard. On the dining table is a work from my Fossil series. The inspiration for the series came from another visit to Golden Bay, this time to Rangihaeata Beach and the remnants of ancient fossils of a kahikatea forest embedded in the beach.
What do you have on the horizon for your art?
Having just returned from a visit to beautiful Bhutan, I’m curious to see and feel what comes next with my work. My work is being exhibited in October for Nelson Clay Week at The Gallery Nelson. The exhibition is called Let the Hands Do the Talking.
Where can our readers find you and your work?
My work is also at Macmillan Gallery Tasman, or contact me on Instagram @leighclayfibre.
Read next:
- Artist Alice Alva’s colourful world of reused materials
- Inside artist Bronwyn Lloyd’s world of wonder
- Meet Sara Boult, the Wairarapa clay artist turning emotion into form
