Shared Stories

Tom and Wailin Elliott works in ceramic and wood

14 October - April 2008

Mr and Mrs Noah, ceramic and wood, 1994, Collection of the artistsWhen artists work in collaboration, there is often a synergy that binds the work together. This is the case with the partnership of Tom and Wailin Elliott. As a married couple, they share a passion for making sculptures from wood and clay. Telling stories through carving and the shaping and carving of clay. This selection of works is also an indication of their individual and corporate skill as artists. The Elliotts currently reside and make works at Driving Creek in the Coromandel.

Meet Tom and Wailin Elliott

Tom Elliott b. 1936 (Ouston, Durham, England)

Wailin Elliott b. 1939 (Chinese New Zealander)

Wailin Elliott began working with clay in 1955 and exhibiting since 1958. Helen Mason, Mary Hardwick Smith, Len Castle, and Barry Brickell are not only her peers but also her friends.

After marrying Tom in 1971, they moved to the famous Driving Creek in the Coromandel where they work closely with Barry Brickell. Having exhibited at Abernatheys’ Gallery in Dunedin, Oedipus Rex Gallery, Auckland, The Dowse in Upper Hutt and more recently in the New Dowse Gallery, it is safe to say that Wailin has a very highly respected practice as a potter and ceramic sculptor in New Zealand.

The practice of woodcarving in Aotearoa is synonymous with Maori traditional carving. Tom Elliott is English born and he has been using wood as a medium for the last 35 years or so. Among the highlights in his artistic career is the show IKON in 1985 with ceramic artists Barry Brickell, Deirdre Airey and his wife Wailin.

In 1986 he was commissioned to make a triptych for the St Patrick’s Cathedral in Auckland, and in 1991, St Marks Church in Pakuranga, Auckland commissioned him also.

This feature exhibition is one of many they have had as partners in art and in life.