Welcome to at Puriri Grove Studio

Unique ceramic art from Aotearoa New Zealand

Ceramic CollectionCulture in Conflict Series

Studio Ceramics by Linda Wigley at Puriri Grove Studio

Linda started her creative journey at an early age, completing a two-year Art & Design Foundation Course in her home town of Sutton Coldfield in the U.K. She later studied Art History at Leicester University and following graduation, pursued a career in museums and historic built heritage, absorbing a rich source of decorative arts from the ancient to the contemporary. Linda has a post-graduate diploma in Museum Studies, is a Fellow of the U.K. Museum Association, and a Winston Churchill Fellow.  In 2024 Linda was shortlisted for two national awards the UKU Clay Awards and the Quarry Ceramic Awards. In 2023 Linda established Puriri Grove Studio in Rangitane, North Island New Zealand, where she is in her element creating hand thrown and sculptural ceramic works, inspired by the bush backdrop to her workshop and heritage & Culture. Private commissions of one off ceramic works are undertaken on request. Linda’s ancestors were potters working in the Stoke on Trent potteries in England, and she is delighted to be carrying on this ceramic tradition. 

Unique Studio Ceramics

In 2024 Linda established Puriri Grove Studio where she creates hand thrown and formed works, inspired by the bush backdrop to her workshop and the volcanic landscapes of her surroundings. 

All works are formed from New Zealand and U.K. stoneware and earthenware clays, some of which are sourced locally. 

Pieces are firstly bisque fired, then individually hand glazed before
receiving a final glaze firing. Linda mixes most of her own glazes and fires the work in her solar-powered electric kiln.

Linda is currently experimenting with the ancient technique of sprigging, popularised by the Wedgewood factory in the late 18th century, however taking on a more 2-dimensional effect.

Each piece Linda creates is unique in form and colour.

Culture in Conflict series

Linda is currently exploring a series of ceramic interpretations on the deliberate and widespread destruction of cultural heritage during wartime. 

Culture in Conflict - Gaza

An interpretation of the deliberate and widespread destruction
of cultural heritage during wartime. 

A manuscript library is destroyed, what remains is in tatters,
and the nearby minaret is crumbling.

There is tragic loss of life, heritage, and cultural identity, yet Palestine’s national flower the poppy, continues to flourish.

Culture in Conflict - Ukraine

An interpretation of the deliberate and widespread
destruction of cultural heritage during wartime. 

A historic building is collapsing, paintings are ripped from frames,
archives, books and textiles are looted, many lost forever. There is tragic
loss of life, heritage, and cultural identity, but wheat a national symbol,
continues to flourish.

Featured Ceramics

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