Forming ideas

Debra Powell shapes her fascination with crime history, anthropomorphism and her beloved greyhounds into whimsical ceramics

- Text Bryony Ammonds-Smith

From her home studio in rural Waikato, Debra Powell crafts whimsical and wonderful artworks. Rich with detail and story, it's hard not to fall in love with every piece.

Tell us a little bit about your creative journey so far. My first job out of school was painting fine china figurines for Hereford Fine China. That led to a two-year diploma in craft design at Waikato Polytechnic where I majored in ceramics. In the intervening years, I moved from being a self-employed studio potter and single mum into the world of academia. For 10 years, I was completely lost in learning, soaking up everything from world history and politics, art history and classics, gender studies, law and criminology. I came out the other side with degrees in New Zealand history and a PhD in criminal legal studies. But the creative pull has been strong and coming back to the clay was inevitable. Making stuff from mud is humble and honest work. Essentially, that's what I do and it fits me just fine.

How often does your academic background influence your work? My final thesis looked at homicide cases in the 19th-century New Zealand court system, uncovering the complex narratives we tell ourselves to make sense of the world. That concept of storytelling drives everything I make. But now I garden and plant native trees and hang out with birds and sleepy greyhounds, so my stories tend to be of the quieter, gentler variety.