FGY Art Gallery Christchurch’s Ceramic Art Flash Exhibition Brought Out the Best in Artist Della
Fo Guang Yuan (FGY) Art Gallery Christchurch held a Ceramic Art Flash Exhibition for New Zealand ceramic artist Della Goodinson from 7th to 15th August 2021. At the Flash Exhibition, a live demonstration was conducted by Della and 70 pieces of her pottery works were on display. Della's pottery works were produced entirely locally in Christchurch. The material used was the iron bearing sand from Banks Peninsula and Taylor Mistakes, a famous beach in Christchurch. Because of the mineral content of the material used, special spots, textures and colours appear in the ceramic pieces.
Della, a former nurse, was seriously ill a few years ago and was in danger of dying. She was bed ridden for several months, and her family thought she would not live long. Knowing that she loved to create potteries, her husband built her a studio to make her dream come true. When she learned about this, her fighting spirit was re-ignited and she decided to use ceramic art as the driving force to move forward. Della gradually got rid of the entanglements of her illness and slowly recovered. From then on, Della began to regard pottery as the whole of her life, and decided to change from a full-time nurse and an amateur ceramic enthusiast, to become a full-time ceramic artist. Two years ago, by their good fortunes, Della and her friend Amanda Brooking managed to hold a joint art exhibition, the "Course of Existence", at FGY Art Gallery Christchurch to commemorate her change of direction in life.
FGY Art Gallery Curator Venerable Abbess Manshin, appreciates Della's ceramic works greatly. During the Flash Exhibition, Abbess not only encouraged Della in person and praised her works for their pure spirituality and special character, but also called upon members of Buddha’s Light International Association (BLIA) to lend their supports to Della so as to motivate her. Within a week of the Flash Exhibition, more than 50 of the 70 works exhibited by Della were bought by art collectors. Della was very moved by the good response and thanked the Gallery and BLIA members for their supports.
On 12th August, Della sent a thank-you letter to thank Abbess Manshin and the Gallery for providing her a platform to present her first Flash Exhibition of her life, and for providing assistances and encouragements. Della mentioned in her letter that she enjoyed very much conducting the 7th August live demo, because it gave her the opportunity to interact with the public at close range. She was especially amazed by the children’s acumen in learning and in creative thinking. A lady participant remarked that she felt physically and mentally relaxed participating hands-on in pottery making, and that the experience had indeed left her with an unforgettable memory.