Did you know Connie Missen of Castlecliff?

Whanganui Midweek·

16 Jan, 2023 03:00 PM2 mins to read

Connie Missen’s work is on display at Quartz Museum of Studio Ceramics.

The current exhibition at Quartz Museum of Studio Ceramics is a selection of work by Whanganui potter, the late Constance (Connie) Missen. Included with the display is a written record of her work from 1975 to 1982, with notes, shapes, designs and glazes for her work, all in her own flamboyant handwriting.

Curator Rick Rudd loves the book, and he can see designs she has drafted for works actually produced.

“And she’s such a good decorator [of her work].” Rick points out the pieces Connie has decorated with her own painted designs. “They are so good, and they’re all done by hand.”

Born Constance Collins in Gore in 1905, she studied to be a painter at ILAM School of Art, Canterbury University, in Christchurch. She went on to further study in Australia.

Her family moved to Whanganui and Connie taught at the Workers’ Education Association (WEA). It was there she met Leon Missen. They married and had a son, Lindsay.

“Connie probably took up pottery when she retired,” says Rick. That would have been in 1965, when the retirement age was 60. The Missens lived in Castlecliff, where they both had studios. Connie made her pots and used her painting skills to decorate her work. She fired her pots in her electric kiln and would sometimes join other potters to fire work in a wood-fired kiln. Leon whittled and made objects out of wood.

Rick Rudd would like to meet anyone who knew her who could flesh out the details of her life and personality. Recorded knowledge of her is sketchy.

“I’m also hoping to add to the collection,” he says.

Connie never achieved national recognition, but her work is exemplary and deserves a place in the national memory. That’s where Quartz Museum of Studio Ceramics comes in, and the exhibition of Connie’s work.

“Her work is of its time,” says Rick. He points to a small bud vase and the obvious level of skill and care that went into creating it. “It’s beautifully done.”

The decorated bud vase. Photo / Paul Brooks

I called it charming.

“It is [...] but it’s so well executed,” says Rick.

Connie continued to make two-dimensional works. Her proficiency with a brush set her apart from most others working with clay at that time in Whanganui.