Karin Bettley’s journey into ceramics started seven years ago with classes at the Waikato Society of Potters.
There was something about the messiness and the tactile nature of working with clay that resonated with her.
“In the first class I made a swan with its head tucked under its wing. The tutor said to me, ‘you’ve got a real feel for this’. My heart said, yes, I’ve found it. This feels really good.”
Birds continue to feature strongly in Karin’s work. Sturdy shags, cheeky kingfishers; they are birds of the sea.
“I guess birds are my thing. I am deeply inspired by the ocean. The beauty and life that revolves around the sea is what I’m wanting to somehow capture. At the moment it’s birds that tell the story, but also in there is my childhood growing up on the ocean, the sea as my healer, my muse and my playground.”
But they’re not her only thing. She loves playing around with the human form to tell a story about the gritty stuff of life.
As a midwife, Karin is very familiar with human anatomy – bones, muscles, flesh, skin – and her sculptures of torsos, busts and hands feel imbued with the human condition.
You get a sense of the movement of the sculptor’s hands and fingers as she brings to life what was once a lump of clay.
There’s a sense of desperation in her human forms but also of underlying joy.
“What really interests me are the struggles that people have, within their relationships, their family, within themselves. Women are so unsung for the work they do. A lot of my art is inspired by the people who stay, who dig deep and put others first. I want to shine light on our everyday heroes. They do the hard stuff that maybe isn’t so glamorous but makes a profound impact. This I find really rich and deep,” she says.
Like many artists, Karin uses her sculptures to make sense of the world. As an essential healthcare worker during the Covid lockdowns, she cared for women at a vulnerable and joyful time of their life.
Through clay, Karin shares this fragility that is at the same time a source of strength.
During this time her birds morphed to resemble the 17th century plague doctors whose crow-like masks were often filled with sweet- or strong-smelling herbs to ward off disease.
“It was that really scary time, facing this unknown virus. People were dying overseas and we were scared of what was to come. The work is an acknowledgement of people helping each other and the kindnesses done in all different ways. When many of us just wanted to hide away, people were donning their masks and PPE gear and providing essential services. This was at risk to themselves. That kind of humanity really inspires me. It’s that story behind the work that makes it more than just stuff.”
The sculptures are just one part of the creative process for Karin; she loves the magic of the glaze which transforms the clay into colour.
“It’s the fusion of glaze turning into glass and fusing with the clay. I love the journey from a raw lump of clay; dreams and ideas sculpted and given form. This is then baked hard. The next phase is to coat it with glaze and melt it in at super high temperature… it comes to life and the magic happens.”
Having grown up on a boat that her parents built, Karin’s colour palette is inspired by the greens, blues, greys, and whites of the ocean. But it’s more of a stormy west coast sea than a tropical one.
Her stunning range of home wares is awash with the colours of the ocean.
Drawn to muted colours, Karin creates a glazed effect – a combination of black and brown tones that has some of her sculptures being mistaken for bronzes.
When Karin started on her creative journey, she was doing the work to bring herself joy and it’s something she still holds true to.
“It’s not about perfection, that doesn’t really matter. The clay is purely for me. I’m not trying to make a career out of this – just art.”
Like many women, she’s the first to admit she suffers from imposter syndrome when it comes to her art.
“Am I an artist? Who am I? I’ve had this studio for the past five years, and have exhibited and sold some considerable pieces – I think I might be an artist now,” she laughs.
When she knew clay was really her thing, Karin had contemplated taking her artistic endeavours further through formal study.
Having done her time in the Clay Shed at the Raglan Old School Arts Centre and, she says, got the best out of what they had to offer, she decided to spend the money on renting her own studio and buying a kiln.
“Susanna (Prinz) is amazing. She’s really, genuinely supportive. But I was just getting to be too experimental, and I’m too abundant for the space. Because if I’m gonna drip on everyone’s work and blow things up I need to have my own space. And I thought, do I want to go and study, which is actually really expensive? Why don’t I take that money and buy myself kiln?” she laughs.
Working part time as the local independent midwife and raising two young daughters, clay started out as something that was just for her – a bit of sanity to cling to amidst the chaos and the mundanity of motherhood.
Added to this is the steady development of her creative journey as an artist and ‘playing with clay’ has become more than just a pastime.
In many ways her art is reflective of this; not that it’s rushed but it has a sense of playfulness and movement that carries you on a journey.
Like her birds, Karin’s creations are poised and ready to take to the skies.
Check the map on the following page to find the location of Karin Bettley’s open studio on Cross St during RAW.
by Janine Jackson
