Deidre Airey

Deidre Morag Airey QSM (9 December 1926 – 16 August 2002) was a New Zealand ceramic artist.[1][2] Her work is held in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.[1]

Deidre Airey

QSM
Born
Deidre Morag Airey

(1926-12-09)9 December 1926
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died16 August 2002(2002-08-16) (aged 75)
Alma materUniversity of Otago
Known forCeramic tiles
RelativesBill Airey (father)

Life

Airey was born in Christchurch in 1926, to Willis Thomas Goodwin Airey, a university lecturer, and Isobel Lilian Airey (née Chadwick).[2][3] She attended Epsom Girls’ Grammar School in Auckland, followed by the University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine.[2] She graduated MB ChB in 1953,[4] and practised medicine in Auckland until settling in the Coromandel in 1960, where she was appointed part-time superintendent of the Coromandel Hospital.[2]

Airey's friend Barry Brickell inspired her to begin working in clay, and she began to experiment with creating relief tiles from local Coromandel clay. The tiles were wood-fired at Driving Creek Pottery, producing interesting variations in colour and glaze, and depicted scriptural scenes from the gospels of the New Testament. Many of her scenes are set in the local landscape.[2]

In the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours, Airey was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for public services.[5]

Airey died on 16 August 2002, and she was buried at Buffalo Cemetery, Coromandel.[6]

In 2004, a group of Airey's friends mounted an exhibition of Airey's work at Hauraki House in Coromandel. In 2008, her work was exhibited at the Waikato Museum.[7]

References
  1. "Deidre Airey". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. "Dr Deirdre Airey QSM, MD". Ceramics Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. Bassett, Michael. "Airey, Willis Thomas Goodwin". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  4. "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: A". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  5. "No. 47871". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 16 June 1979. p. 29.
  6. "Cemeteries viewer". Thames Coromandel District Council. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  7. "Deirdre Airey artist in clay". Waikato Museum. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
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