New Year Honours: Making magic out of clay, fire

By THERESA GARNER

For more than half a century the nimble fingers of Len Castle have been spinning clay pots. They feature in homes across New Zealand, museums around the globe, and even in Buckingham Palace.

But New Zealand's leading potter was almost put off his art in childhood.

At the age of 10, and determined to emulate a potter he had seen at an exhibition, he decided he, too, would spin clay on a wheel.

"But the only wheel I had was the wheel of my scooter. I clamped it in my father's engineer's vice, went down to the beach, got a lump of clay, and whacked it on to this scooter's wheel and spun it vigorously with my hand," he recalls.

"All I wound up with was just a mess. I decided, 'I can't make this work'."

But the childhood fascination with clay, and the magic of modelling shapes, was reignited at Auckland Teachers College in 1947 when he found a potter's wheel in the craft shed. This kickstarted a lifetime of creativity, for which Castle is today made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

When his clay-encrusted hands opened the envelope with the news, the 79-year-old thought he was being invited to a function at Government House.

"My immediate reaction was one of disbelief because the DCNZM is a singularly high honour and I'm not an extraordinary person."

He is aware, though, that as a standard-bearer for the studio pottery movement, his work has helped bring pottery into New Zealand's mainstream arts culture.

"It gives me personal pleasure because working with clay and fire - such elemental substances - has been and still is a strong form of personal expression."

Castle, who now lives in Warkworth, has worked and exhibited around the world. He has developed a high profile internationally, especially in Asia, and represented New Zealand at the World Expo in Seville in 1991.

His latest work refers to nature and reflects his desire to point out to people the importance of the world of nature.

It has been a year of recognition for Castle, who was honoured in June as one of 10 cultural Icons of New Zealand named by the Arts Foundation.

Castle, who was appointed a CBE in 1986, said this latest honour was satisfying, but his "Buddhistic leanings" meant he should "eliminate the ego".

"But that is a difficult thing to do. So I would like to accept this honour graciously and then just quietly put it to one side and get on with work.

"It is the creativity which gives me tremendous joy."