Amber Smith is a printmaker from Nelson who is also well known for her work in ceramics. The imagery that Smith uses in her prints are Amber’s exploration of her wairoa (spirit) and what it means to come from Aotearoa. The artist says

I love words and nearly always use them in my work. Maori whakatauki (proverbs) and waiata aroha (songs about the nature of love) have such an emotional resonance that they become part of the image itself.

I work in ceramics in the same way as a printmaker etches in intaglio plate. All the images and words are intuitively drawn, and the detail carved back into the black ink with a stylus. The hearts, vessels and bowls are all hand built. Each piece, has been crafted as an individual work without any use of transfers or stencils.