In this edition of Life + Style, we take you beyond the collections and towards the women that inspires them. Meet ceramic artist Lynn Ross. From glass blowing to sailing to ceramics, her path has been anything but conventional.

Q. What inspired you to start working with ceramics, and how has your style evolved?

My creative journey started in the late 70’s working with stained glass and in the 80’s I spent four years studying and working in glass blowing and design. I then took a very long break to raise two sons, learn to sail and pursue a career in health care management. After fifteen years sailing throughout British Columbia we embarked on a sailing adventure with our two boys. We traveled throughout Mexico and then crossed the Pacific Ocean to explore French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga and finally we landed here and made Aotearoa our home. After quite a few more years working in health care, I found myself craving an outlet for my creative side once again - and so my journey in ceramics began. I started out doing both wheel throwing and handbuilding techniques but soon settled on handbuilding as my perferred method of expression. I mostly create one-off pieces and handbuilding suits my love of texture and organic form.

Q. Can you describe your creative process and a typical day at your studio?

My day often starts with a work out at Mount Drury with my girlfriends and our wonderful trainer, Mark from Outdoor Personal Training. Next on the agenda - a strong coffee! I like to be in the studio mid morning while the light is good and my energy is still high. I am a hand builder and use both coil building and slab work to create my pieces. Often with hand building I may be working on more than one piece at a time as the clay may need to ‘set’ up in order to support itself. I work with a lot of texture in my pieces and, in addition to traditional carving tools, I use an infinite selection of bits from nature to get the desired result - seed pods, coral, bits of shell, wood, fabric.

Once my pieces have their first firing (Bisque), I move on to expressing my final vision with oxide stains, engobes and glazes. After the final firing some of my pieces will have the addition of a special piece of wood or stone from my collection of found objects.

Q. How would you describe your personal style, and how does it refect your work as an artist?

I have always been a fan of anything black - for me it is the perfect canvas for a special piece of jewellry, a bright scarf or colourful jacket. One of my favourite clays is a beautiful silky smooth black clay. It looks fabulous glazed or unglazed so I often use it for my large bowls - a colourful glaze on the inside and the natural black on the outside. Now that I am spending time exhibiting in Phos Gallery I really love dressing up again and have been enjoying some of my timeless Repertoire pieces - they never go out of style.

Q. What do you love about Repertoire outifts you’ve worn for this shoot?

All the outfits we put together for this shoot reflected what I consider ‘my’ style - a little bit dressy and a little bit casual. I like to be able to pull things from my closet that suit a night out at a friends’ house or rocking up to a gallery opening or the theatre and these outfits suited this brief perfectly. The Tokyo pant and the newest version of the Bay dress would be staples in my wardrobe and both look great with chunky sneakers or a dressier leather boot.

Q. How do you unwind and recharge when you aren't working on your art?

I live close to the beach at the Mount and time by the ocean is my idea of perfect relaxation. As a fan of historical fiction, finding time for reading either on my deck or at the beach is perfect for unwinding and turning off the chatter in my mind. My garden is also a place where I like to relax whether enjoying my collection of tropical plants or nurturing my small vegie garden.

Q. Where do you draw your biggest sources of inspiration from, both in your art and personal life?

I was raised on a farm in Canada and one of my most hated jobs was picking up rocks in the hot sun but I have to confess that I often kept quite a few aside to enjoy their beauty. This continued with a passion during our sailing years and I was known to weigh down our dinghy with my latest treasures which now included shells and driftwood. This, of course, has continued in my 24 years here in NZ. So I am a committed collector and constantly marvel at the textures and colours found in the earth, the rocks, our trees and all things from the sea. The beauty and imperfections of nature inspire me and fuel my creativity.

Discover more of Lynn's work at Phos Gallery’s exhibition (20th–29th March, Tauranga) and follow her creative journey on Instagram @lynnrossclay and @phos.gallery.nz