Nola Barron, potter, sculptor, gallery director

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This book is a record of the artistic career of Nola Barron. It covers three different aspects of her life and works. After an initial interest in painting, she found that pottery was the craft she wished to follow. She enrolled at the Studio of Design, which was established by Yvonne Rust, an influential New Zealand potter, and learned the basics of throwing, glazing and firing stoneware pottery. After about two years of tuition, she established her own studio and built a kiln. Not satisfied with wheel-thrown domestic objects she experimented with hand-built forms of a more decorative nature, using clay to produce sculptural shapes. She also made ceramic tiles which were assembled and mounted on plywood to make decorative panels. Wishing to expand her knowledge, Nola enrolled as a part-time student at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts where she studied design and sculpture. She also extended her range of materials, producing sculptures in fibreglass, cast aluminium and cast bronze. Some of these objects were produced from clay moulds. During her career as a potter and sculptor, Nola Barron achieved success and acceptance of both her peers and the public. Her work also received the approbation of critics. She exhibited widely throughout New Zealand over a long period and sold work through a number of outlets. Her work is included in several public collections and she received commissions from both private clients and commercial collectors. She was recognised as an honorary member of both the Canterbury Potters' Association and the New Zealand Society of Potters. In 1977 Nola Barron was appointed director of the Canterbury Society of Arts (CSA) Gallery. This was an entirely different challenge and responsibility, which she found most rewarding. During her 10-year term (1977-1986) the gallery held an average of 90 exhibitions a year, attracting large gatherings of supporters. Around 25 per cent of these shows featured fine crafts in group or solo exhibitions. The gallery was also a leader in the promotion of non-object or performance art.