Robert Franklin was a part time studio potter for a decade in the 1970’s supplying a number of retail outlets. He now lives and works in Bannockburn, near Cromwell, Central Otago in his working studio and gallery.

After a long career in banking and finance Robert’s return to ceramics was a very rewarding experience. Deciding to once again sit at a pottery wheel to see what happened released dramatic results. His knowledge and experience in studio pottery some thirty years ago remained in the head and hands but the pieces produced were like nothing that had gone before.

Robert now utilises that knowledge to create works in many of the genres of ceramics, including Raku, Saggar Firing, Stoneware and Porcelain, and he exhibits locally and nationally.

His work is strongly influenced by both Japanese and Chinese early ceramics. A visit to Japan to the village of Mashiko, the home of now deceased Japanese National Pottery Treasure Shoji Hamada, was a highlight. His work has found its way to Norway, London, Hong Kong, USA and various places in between.

Robert’s work is an expression of form, finish and texture; more of the fire, and less of the glaze. He is not constrained by the demands of production but more by what flows from the hands on the day.

“The true work of art is but a shadow of divine perfection”. Michelangelo

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bannocks@mac.com

021 548 025