John was fearful of horses, and over a period of several years, made many versions of the horse. The Green Horse was the final one, and in his words: “This deals with my fear of horses and my eventual overcoming of it. You will notice that the Green Horse has a human face and a figure lies on its back. The horse has become servant and friend. The figure is in some ways part-dead hero, part-fear, put to bed on its back.”
John was born in 1951 and brought up in Runanga on the West Coast of the South Island.
Yvonne Rust, his art teacher at Greymouth High School, saw his ability with art and encouraged him. He in turn helped her to fire the coal-fired kiln at her studio which was in a disused brewery. On leaving school in 1969 Yvonne arranged for him to go to Waimea Craft Pottery in Nelson to work with Jack Laird. It was there that he met his wife Anne and they married in 1973.
In 1974 they left Waimea to establish a pottery at Hector on the West Coast, north of Westport. Later they moved to Ngākawau further north on the West Coast. John and Anne ran their own gallery in Westport from 1980 to 2011.
John was president of the New Zealand Society of Potters from 1985 – 1989. His work was included in eight Fletcher Brownbuilt/Challenge Pottery Award Exhibitions. He exhibited widely throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, in Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, UK, and Canada. In 1986 he was the New Zealand guest potter at the first National Australia Ceramics Symposium in Canberra.
Apart from being an accomplished maker of domestic ware, John’s skills with the brush brought a very individual subject matter to those functional works. His sculptural works evolved from his daily life and happenings and he expunged his fear of horses through making many varied versions of horse sculptures.
In 2012 John died at the age of 60 leaving an enormous repertoire of works exhibiting an extensive variety of skills and ideas.
Rick Rudd 2026
