Waikouaiti Old Post Office Gallery

Our Studio Hours are , Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday 1-5pm

2010-05-28T03:20:00.000-07:00

Exhibition at Gallery On Blueskin, Waitati

2010-04-04T04:41:00.000-07:00

We are open 1-5pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays!

2009-11-28T00:48:00.000-08:00

Oamaru Victorian Fete this Sunday. Do drop in on us on the way past!

2009-11-20T11:13:00.000-08:00

I took the photos that are with this at the 2007 Oamaru Victorian Fete, which is held in the Historic area of Oamaru amongst its lovely restored Oamaru Limestone buildings.

It is the wonderful 2009 Oamaru Victorian Fete on this Sunday. Well worth the trip to take part in all the fun. And, yes.... the wee person with the big saw in the last photo is Laura about to do really well in the stone sawing competition in the 2007 Oamaru Victorian Fete!

So, if you are driving through Waikouaiti on your way to Oamaru for the Fete, do visit our studio at Waikouaiti's old post office building. We are open from 1pm to 5pm on Sunday, and also on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Waikouaiti Museum Tour

2009-11-13T00:50:00.000-08:00

Sunday 15 November, 10am to 4pm
Waikouaiti Museum invites you to take a tour of Otago's earliest settlement...

Visit historic and heritage properties including a former post office and a dame school. See heritage gardens, historic trees, roses, irises, and herbs. Visit studios of local weavers and potters, buy preserves and plants.

$10 ticket includes entry to the Waikouaiti Museum (newly renovated Aitcheson Room), programme, garden visits and Devonshire tea. Tickets available from the Museum.

Yes folks, Sunday in Waikouaiti will be a busy day this weekend. Our home and studio will be one of the places to visit as part of the tour that the museum has organized. I hope to be demonstrating with my potter's wheel, and we will have a display of photos and memorabilia that will illustrate some of the history of the Waikouaiti Post Office. Also on display will be my pottery and our paintings.

Peter's Pottery

Most of Peter's pottery is fired in a wood fired kiln. Not many potters use wood fired kilns in New Zealand these days, and Peter is one of very few firing with a wood fired kiln in Otago. Wood fired pottery is quite different from pottery that is fired in an electric kiln, or even in a gas kiln. The fire, ash, and ever changing atmosphere inside a wood fired kiln adds its own patina to the pot, and makes each object unique. There is a wide variety of Peter's pottery on display at the Old Post Office, and prices range from $10 to around $400, with many items being $25 - $40, making them ideal as gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Peter makes functional and decorative pottery, including tea pots, jugs, mugs, bowls, vases, bottles, and planters, he also has been commissioned to make tiles.

Laura's Paintings

Laura paints people, angels, fish, and all sorts of things out of her imagination, her work is brightly coloured and very original. Her paintings are collected by people all over New Zealand and overseas, and each painting usually takes more than a week to produce.

Longer Hours

Beginning November 2009, we will be extending our opening hours. Our new hours will be, Wednesday to Friday 1 -5pm and Sunday afternoon 1-5pm. (We will no longer be open the first Saturday of the month). There will be a display of pottery and paintings at our studio, as well as work in progress.

Our New Extended Hours: Wednesday to Friday 1 -5 pm, and Sunday 1 -5 pm

2009-10-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

A Special Occasion at the Waikouaiti Old Post Office.

Article by Peter Gregory.

Two years ago we celebrated Waikouaiti Old Post Office's Centenary, this November we have another special occasion. On Sunday 8 November we will celebrate our 20 years of living and working at the Waikouaiti Old Post Office which is our home and studio, so do come and join us, we open 1pm – 5pm. There will be nibbles and refreshments, an exhibition of paintings and pots, and a prize to win too!

Peter's Pottery

Laura's Paintings

Longer Hours

Open Every Sunday!

2009-10-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

We will be opening Every Sunday from 1pm to 5pm from now on.

On the first weekend of each month we will also have our studio open on the Saturday as well, 1pm - 5pm.

Things to see in Waikouaiti and Waitati

2009-09-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

The first weekend of the month is almost with us again. This is an exciting time to be in Waikouaiti as you can visit a painter, a potter, and a weaver and see their work and their studios. So do visit us, and Marion Day, we are open the first weekend of the month, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, 1pm -5pm.

As the warmer weather approaches, we hope!..., Marion Day and ourselves are considering opening more frequently. We will try opening most Sunday afternoons from this month onwards and may also begin to fling the door open other times too. As we are a working studio, and I have kilns to fire and pots to glaze, things sometimes come up that make it impossible for us to open the door. We will put signs out and, in our case, fly the flag when we are open. If you are making a special trip to see our work, it is a good idea to give a ring first to make sure that we are open.

If you are driving to Waikouaiti, why not combine it with a visit to the Gallery On Blueskin at Waitati? The gallery is the first building you come to on the left as you turn off the main road on the big bend at blueskin bay. The gallery is situated just before the garden center entrance. The gallery is holding its Spring Show at the moment. The show runs until 11 October. Laura and I are two of the 13 artists taking part.

Where you can see our paintings and pottery

2009-09-07T01:06:00.000-07:00

We open our studio to the public on the first weekend of each month and we are also happy to see people at other times too. Just phone us to make sure we are home, send me an Email at opogallery AT gmail DOT com, or leave a message on our blog site a day or two before you would like to visit so that we can make arrangements.

Gallery on Blueskin at Waitati, 15 minutes North of Dunedin, have a good selection of Peter's Pottery on show. This gallery is well situated beside beautiful Blueskin Bay and can be part of a nice day out from Dunedin. Louise and Nicky are the delightful people that run the gallery, and you can be sure of a warm welcome there. The gallery is open every day except Monday.
www.gallery-on-blueskin.co.nz

Laura's paintings may be found at Moray Gallery in Princes Street, Dunedin, quite close to the Octagon.
www.moraygallery.com

Peter is a member of the Stuart Street Potter's Co-operative, and always has pottery on show there. The Co-operative Gallery is situated in Lower Stuart Street, Dunedin, just opposite the Law Courts. The Co-operative Gallery is open 6 days every week, Monday to Saturday. Co-op members take turns to look after the gallery, and Peter is there once a fortnight on a Tuesday; he will be there next on Tuesday 8 September.

Peter and Laura usually also have a small selection of work available at Renaissance Gallery, Dunedin, which has a lovely rural location with displays outside of sculpture, a bead shop, and a nice gallery. Check their web site for how to get there. www.renaissancegallery.co.nz

Open Studio This Weekend, Sat & Sun 1pm - 5pm

2009-09-03T12:39:00.001-07:00

Open Studio First Weekend of the Month, or when the flags are flying!

2009-08-05T03:08:00.000-07:00

These are images from our recent open studio. We open on the first weekend of every month, or when the flags are flying. People are also welcome to contact us and visit by arrangement.

Open Studio This Weekend, Saturday and Sunday 1pm - 5pm

2009-07-27T02:36:00.000-07:00

It is good to see you!

2009-07-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

We open our studio to the public on the first weekend of each month and we are also happy to see people at other times too. Just phone us to make sure we are home, send me an Email at opogallery AT gmail DOT com, or leave a message on our blog site a day or two before you would like to visit so that we can make arrangements.

Over this winter period I would like to make some alterations to our studio to arrange better storage for work in progress, and a more enjoyable place for Laura to do her painting, this could mean that we are in chaos sometimes while the alterations are being done, but we usually have some of our paintings and pottery here for people to see.

Gallery on Blueskin at Waitati, 15 minutes North of Dunedin, have a good selection of Peter's Pottery on show. This gallery is well situated beside beautiful Blueskin Bay and can be part of a nice day out from Dunedin. Louise and Nicky are the delightful people that run the gallery, and you can be sure of a warm welcome there. The gallery is open every day except Monday.
www.gallery-on-blueskin.co.nz

Laura's paintings may be found at Moray Gallery in Princes Street, Dunedin, quite close to the Octagon.
www.moraygallery.com

Peter is a member of the Stuart Street Potter's Co-operative, and always has pottery on show there. The Co-operative Gallery is situated in Lower Stuart Street, Dunedin, just opposite the Law Courts. The Co-operative Gallery is open 6 days every week, Monday to Saturday. Co-op members take turns to look after the gallery, and Peter is there once a fortnight on a Tuesday; he will be there next on Tuesday 14 July.

Peter and Laura usually also have a small selection of work available at Renaissance Gallery, Dunedin, which has a lovely rural location with displays outside of sculpture, a bead shop, and a nice gallery. Check their web site for how to get there. www.renaissancegallery.co.nz

Open Studio this weekend

2009-07-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

4 Men's Media, June 22 until June 28 at the Community Gallery, Dunedin

2009-06-21T02:02:00.001-07:00

Where you can see our pots and paintings

2009-06-11T02:15:00.000-07:00

Coming up soon.....
Peter will be taking part in a group show featuring four Dunedin artists at the Dunedin Community Gallery from June 22 to June 28. The three other artists are Mike Bowden, Jack Monaghan, and Justin Morshuis. Peter will be the only potter taking part in the exhibition, and will demonstrate making pots on the wheel on the Thursday and Friday of the exhibition, from 11am to 2pm.

Laura sells her paintings at Moray Gallery, Dunedin; which is on Princess Street, close to the Octagon.

Peter sells his pottery at Stuart Street Potter's Co-operative, Lower Stuart Street, Dunedin; opposite the Law Courts.

Peter also sells his pottery at Gallery on Blueskin, Waitati; 15 minutes North of Dunedin.

Peter also has some pottery, paintings, and printmaking at Renaissance Gallery, Ravensbourne, Dunedin. Laura usually has some paintings there too. Check their excellent website for how to get to this magical place.

On the first weekend of every month we open our studio at Waikouaiti Old Post Office to the public on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1pm. You can see us at work, talk to us, and see a display of finished pots and paintings.

Open Studio This Saturday and Sunday afternoons

2009-06-04T15:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is the first weekend of the month and time for our regular monthly open studio weekend. Our hours are from 1pm to 5pm Saturday and Sunday, and this weekend we have a selection of brand new pots on display that we fired in the wood fired kiln last weekend.

The map below shows where we are located. Please note, "What's Looming", the weaver's studio, is not open this weekend due to sickness.

Where you can see our work

2009-05-08T03:05:00.000-07:00

On the first weekend of every month we open our studio at Waikouaiti Old Post Office to the public on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from 1pm. You can see us at work, talk to us, and see a display of finished pots and paintings.

Laura sells her paintings at Moray Gallery, Dunedin; which is on Princess Street, close to the Octagon.

Peter sells his pottery at Stuart Street Potter's Co-operative, Lower Stuart Street, Dunedin; opposite the Law Courts.

Peter also sells his pottery at Gallery on Blueskin, Waitati; 15 minutes North of Dunedin.

Peter also has some pottery, paintings, and printmaking at Renaissance Gallery, Ravensbourne, Dunedin. Laura usually has some paintings there too. Check their excellent website for how to get to this magical place.

Open Studio at the Old Post Office Coming up Soon, and Visit a Waikouaiti Weaver!

2009-04-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, another open studio weekend is fast approaching at the Waikouaiti Old Post Office. We have them on the first weekend of each month.

Hours are Saturday and Sunday 1pm - 5pm. There will be displays of finished pots and paintings, as well as a chance to see work in progress and to talk to us about our work.

Peter usually throws pots on the wheel through the weekend, especially on the Sunday afternoon and talks about the process. Visitors are welcome!

Why not combine a trip to our open studio with a visit to the near by studio of Marion Day, who is a weaver?

Marion does beautiful work, she and her husband Eric are great people, and they have a lovely garden.

They open the same hours as us on the first weekend of every month, and we can easily give you directions from our place.

Here is a map of how to find us.

Where you can see our work.

2009-04-19T11:24:00.000-07:00

Josephine's Tea Party at Stuart Street Potter's Co-operative

2009-04-07T02:31:00.000-07:00

The Stuart Street Potter's Co-operative in Dunedin, of which I am a member, had an enjoyable opening of Josephine's Tea Party on Saturday. The exhibition of teapots and other tea making paraphernalia is colourful and fun. Most of the 12 member Co-op have taken part in this exhibition, and some have made teapots the like of which have not been seen before! The exhibition is well worth a visit, and with the weather forecast being somewhat grim for the next few days, why not spend time in the colourful and dry Stuart Street Potter's Co-operative gallery that can be found on Stuart Street opposite the Law Courts near the Dunedin Railway Station!

Teapots and tea making things by Judy Ringland-Stewart.

Tiger Tea making things by Paddy Carr.

Kiwi Teapot and reading material, by Nicole Kolig.

Yes, We Are Open This Weekend!

2009-04-04T11:04:00.001-07:00

Why not come out for a Sunday drive to Waikouaiti and see some pottery being made, and have a look at some new pottery that was fresh out of the kiln on Friday. There are also paintings here by Laura, (and still some by Peter as well). Waikouaiti also has the world's best fish and chip shop, there is a local weaver who has her studio open (we can point you in her direction), and we have a beautiful beach. So...., don't stay indoors this weekend. Come and see us!

Open Studio Weekend, and Josephine's Tea Party

2009-03-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

As usual, on the first weekend of the month, we will open our studio at the Waikouaiti Old Post Office to the public, Saturday and Sunday from 1pm to 5pm. This gives people a chance to meet us in our studio, and to see work in progress as well as the finished article. I often spend the Open Studio weekend working on my potter's wheel, and have been known to give an impromptu lesson or two

Josephine's Tea Party
Attending a meeting is always a chancy thing. There is a risk that you might end up with something to do or to organise! All it takes, is a stray suggestion, a mere throw away line, when the meeting is getting into General Business, and you can be for it! Near the end of a meeting of the Stuart Street Potters Co-operative, as some were yawning and reaching for their coats, a voice said “why don't we put on an exhibition of tea pots”. The someone was Josephine Waring, a salt glaze potter from Waitati. An innocent enough remark. A couple of dates around Christmas and New Year were suggested, and we all went home. Of course, no one in their right mind actually organises an event for Christmas/New Year, and it was not long before our right minds kicked in and we sheepishly shifted the date to 4 April.

Over the last few weeks the 12 members of the Co-op have been making tea pots and other tea related items. In our various workshops and studios, there has been the “odd drama”. Teapots cracking or exploding in the kiln, glazes developing bubbles and pustules like adolescent acne, but we are mostly succeeding, and as the time for the exhibition draws close we are excited about how it will look.

Do come and celebrate this exhibition with us when you are in Dunedin. The exhibition is called “Josephine's Tea Party, an exhibition of teapots and other tea-making paraphernalia”. The public opening is at 10.45am on Saturday 4 April. The exhibition runs until 17 April. You will find the Stuart Street Potters Co-operative located in Lower Stuart Street, Dunedin, opposite the Law Courts.

Wheels to Waitati

2009-03-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

On Sunday 29 March I will be taking my potter's wheel to Gallery on Blueskin at Waitati (15 North of Dunedin) and demonstrating how I make pots. There will be opportunities throughout the day for the public to try their hand at potting. I expect to be at the wheel from about 11am onwards. It should be a fun day!

Coming Up Soon...

Open Studio This Weekend

2009-03-03T15:16:00.001-08:00

Wheels to Waitati
On Sunday 29 March I will be taking my wheel to Gallery on Blueskin at Waitati (15 North of Dunedin) and demonstrating how I make pots. There will be opportunities throughout the day for the public to try their hand at potting. I expect to be at the wheel from about 11am onwards. It should be a fun day!

Visitors

2009-02-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

Friends teach us about what life is for, what things matter, and how precious time is. Rob and Shona visited from the UK. Rob was my Best Man when Laura and I got married. He teaches people how to make violins at the Violin making school in Newark On Trent in England, Shona works with Xrays at their local hospital.

Passive Smoke, Sharing Tragedy

2009-02-08T11:01:00.000-08:00

Later on Sunday the weather changed, and a strong, hot wind blew to near gale force at times, first bringing with it the heat of dry Central Otago, then, by afternoon, the sky thickened, clouds lost their boundaries, touched, joined, and merged into a mantling orange lens. The sun lost its light. Not entirely, but enough to make some of our rooms have a Rembrandt like ambience at 4pm on a summer afternoon. We felt anxious, hot, weighed down by it all, and the temperatures climbed with that ever present gusting wind.

News of killing bush fires in Australia came over the radio through the day. More than 70 dead. A village destroyed. The smoke reaches to us, high in our bit of sky.

We think of our friends and family in Australia, and all those people who we don't know there.

Southern summer flowers and morning sunshine!

2009-02-07T12:30:00.000-08:00

I have been reading some delightful potter's blogs recently and enjoying news of life in Devon and Scotland. It would seem that winter in the UK is rather cold and snowy at the moment, so I thought that I would post some sunshine and summer flowers on my site to compensate!

The view across farmland to the hill was taken from our front doorstep first thing this morning. I have cropped out the main road from the front of the picture (who needs them!).

I took some photos yesterday evening in our garden of flowers and some fruit. There are apples that will be ready in a few weeks, and a quince growing amongst the red berries of a viburnum.

A Short History of the Waikouaiti Post Office

2009-01-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

The Waikouaiti Post Office was built in 1907 out of double brick, at the bottom of a hill, in a swamp. The ground on which it was built was known to flood, and this is indicated by a line on the original plans. The foundations are huge and must have cost a small fortune to put in, but they have done a good job and, more than 100 years later, there are no cracks in the main building.

In the beginning, telegraph and Morse code was used to connect with the outside world, later, with the advent of the telephone, a manual exchange was installed. The exchange provided jobs for local people, and several have told us experiences of working there.
Eventually the manual exchange was dismantled and replaced by an automatic exchange that was built in Beach Street. To this day, however, what looks like many kilometres of telephone wires lie under the floor of the room where the manual exchange once was.

We live and work in the Waikouaiti Old Post Office, but we are not the only people to have done so. I am informed by an elderly resident that the first Post Master lived here with his wife and five children. Quite how all of them managed to fit in the two small bedrooms, living room and kitchen, I find hard to comprehend.

The Post Office was closed down in 1989, and we bought it later in that year, after it had been vacant for several months. In one way, the closure of the Post Office ensured its survival. Evidently there were plans to build a new Post Office at the top of the hill where it would have been handier to the shops and medical centre. Land was purchased for this, and the Old Post Office would have been demolished had the new one been built.

The closure of the Post Office was one of the first of several other services to be lost in the area, Cherry Farm Hospital, two banks, a drapery, and a supermarket were to follow.

About one year after we bought the Post Office, we opened it as a gallery for us to sell our own work. We ran this five and a half days a week for several years and derived most of our income from it. We made some good friends as a result of having our door open to the public, and many cups of tea were consumed around our kitchen table.

Over time our art work changed, and more of the space that had been taken up by the gallery area was needed to house an etching press and other print making and painting equipment. When Peter began potting, it was only a matter of time before the gallery area had to go.

These days our art work is mainly sold in Dunedin, and we use the building as our studio and as our home. We do open our studio to the public on the first weekend of every month. It is a chance for people to look at work in progress, some may even have a go making something out of clay, and we try to keep a reasonable amount of our artwork on display here too.

In September 2007, we had the joy of being part of a celebration to mark this building's 100^th birthday. Many of the local people turned up for the fun, as well as some from further away.
New Zealand Post Kindly paid for our local bakery to make and ice a special cake, and the Community Board gave funding towards an exhibition of memorabilia and photographs that was held at the local library to mark the event. Friends helped with giving the front of the building a much needed clean and coat of paint, and many people generously gave of time and encouragement.