Artist Profile
Originally working at an art gallery in Auckland, Josey heard about a carving course at Tai Poutini Polytechnic in Greymouth. Propelled by a search for a lifestyle that would allow her to be creative and simultaneously connect herself with the natural world, she packed up her car and took off. Josey uses carving as nourishment for her feminine creativity and the sensuousness of natural forms inspires her designs, often paired with sterling silver.
When I decided to give carving a go, I was working at an art gallery in Auckland and searching for a lifestyle that would allow me to be creative and connect myself with the natural world. I’ve always really loved greenstone and thought of it as a treasure, something super beautiful. So when I heard about the carving course at Tai Poutini Polytechnic on the West Coast I decided to pack up my car and take off! I started carving in 2016 and just instantly fell in love with the craft. My course lasted two years, and I was fortunate to have mentor relationships with local carvers as well as my tutors at the polytechnic.
I love the process of carving itself and the momentum of what my work goes through in its stages of creation. There’s almost always a period of self-doubt that I go through with each piece, but I’ve learned that this is part of my working process and it teaches me to value patience and persistence. I also enjoy always striving for perfection, even if it is unattainable, and I’m very conscious of producing work that has craftmanship and integrity – there’s nothing more beautiful than something that has been created with patience and dedication to the craft.
Feminine curves and the sensuousness of natural forms have always been a big inspiration for my designs. When I was first interested in jade, it seemed that only the more traditional designs and forms were out there. That drove me towards making more feminine greenstone designs that would connect women to the stone. I love working with silver and I think that also adds to the feminine nature of my work, making my designs pieces of jewellery, rather than traditional pendants. I think my work is always transforming and changing even with my mistakes and failures, but I’m always on the pursuit of elegance. I’m currently in Hokitika but I’m getting ready to pack up and move to Motueka where I’ll be moving into a new studio with a much larger workspace – so I’m quite excited about that! One day I would love to open my own store or website, but right now I plan to keep focusing on my craftsmanship and developing my style.
