Stepa.nz

These are wall hanging sculptures of Stingrays. Made by Bruce Yallop in the early 2000’s this popular form has been off the shelves for quite some time. The story is these were sold to another person during the Studio Ceramics auction, Gary made a few and was accepted into the Portage Ceramic Awards, his take was an altered variation of the form. The moulds made their way into our collection in 2023.

The large is 30 x 30 cms approx, and hangs from a lip on the underneath, on a nail or screw.

The small is 24 x 24cm approx and is similar to the large with putting it on the wall.

These look great in a small collection, making a great solution to improving an interior.

They are suitable for outside, but can be damaged by frost.

A delicate glaze finish in clear glossy with a blue grey, grey green, or reddish grey, all in a gradual toning effect.

Variations in the finish of each piece are individual with your choice being the tonal hue.

It is exciting to decorate these. Because the coloured glaze is applied thinly, the final effect is not know until it leaves the kiln. The glazes matures and  what seems to be a solid finish becomes a shift in tonal effect – every piece is unique – a guessing game to catch the ideal band between too dark or too light!

Stingrays are passive creatures that rarely harm people, although able to inflict a serious wound with their barbed tail. They sun bathe in swallow waters shifting sand over their wings to appear as part of the sea bed. They are graceful creatures in movement, as they seems to fly through the sea with a gentle rippling motion of their wings. It is a special moment to see one in it’s natural habitat, even more so to view a collection of them traveling together.