Naomi Eva Robbins

22-year-old Naomi Eva Robbins has her hands full.

She’s studying both a Diploma in Ceramics (Level 5) and the Master of Architecture.

“Architecture is very computer-related. I really wanted to use my hands and to see results quickly,” Naomi says.

“Ceramics is a breath of fresh air. I only need to be here half a day each week, but I’m always coming into the studio to see if something’s out of the kiln, or to work on something. I come in nearly every day.”

Naomi sees the two disciplines fitting together well. She is inspired by architects like Van Brandenburg who incorporate ceramics into their buildings.

“I want to be an artist and an architect at the same time, and so that's what I'm trying to achieve by learning both.”

Naomi comes from a family of artists, so studying ceramics was a way of embarking on her own artistic journey. She decided to transfer to Otago Polytechnic after touring the campus with her sister.

“I came from a bigger university where there were 300 people in my course, and now I’m in a course where there are only 15 of us. I think that's the that's the biggest thing that I've found — the amount of attention that you get from all of your teachers.

“It definitely encourages you to be here and be a part of something. You don't feel like a number. You feel like a person here, and that's definitely what brought me into the school and why I really enjoy it.”

The ceramics programme at the Dunedin School of Art is unique in New Zealand, with a focus on learning and implementing technical elements of the craft in a studio setting. There is a strong focus on producing career-ready ceramics professionals, and Naomi has incorporated that into her practice, using ceramics as a medium for building architectural models.

Alongside the satisfaction of creation, Naomi enjoys the sense of community in the ceramics studio at Otago Polytechnic, pointing out that there’s a lot of diversity among the students.

“I really love the programme, I love the culture between the people. Everyone is so encouraging and it’s beautiful to see how we learn the same things and do the same exercises, but all produce very different work. I’m one of the younger people here, and there’s a mixed range of cultures and ages which makes a great place to become creative and do creative things.”

Naomi points out that working with clay also has mental health benefits.

“I developed anxiety and I thought I needed to do something completely different. I’ve been a lot better since I started. And when I have a bad day I can come in and throw some clay around. And it’s really, really great.”

Naomi says the best thing about ceramics is that it’s a forgiving medium, where making mistakes and experimenting is a key part of the process.

“My goal for this year is to explore, and create something new, and kind of push the boundaries. For me that's really freeing because with architecture it's about making something that will actually work. With pottery, no matter what you do, even if it breaks or doesn’t turn out correctly, you’ve done it right. I love the freedom of that.”