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

Life

Airey was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

in 1926, to Willis Thomas Goodwin Airey, a university lecturer, and Isobel Lilian Airey (née Chadwick). She attended Epsom Girls’ Grammar School in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, followed by the

University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine The Dunedin School of Medicine is the name of the School of Medicine that is based on the Dunedin campus of the University of Otago. All University of Otago medical students who gain entry after the competitive Health Sciences First Year prog ...

. She graduated

MB ChB Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

in 1953, and practised medicine in Auckland until settling in the

Coromandel Coromandel may refer to: Places India *Coromandel Coast, India **Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements ** Dutch Coromandel *Coromandel, KGF, Karnataka, India New Zealand *Coromandel, New Zealand, a town on the Coromandel Peninsula *Coro ...

in 1960, where she was appointed part-time superintendent of the Coromandel Hospital. 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. In the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours, Airey was awarded the

Queen's Service Medal The Queen's Service Medal is a medal awarded by the government of New Zealand to recognise and reward volunteer service to the community and also public service in elected or appointed public office. It was established in 1975 and is related to ...

for public services. Airey died on 16 August 2002, and she was buried at Buffalo Cemetery, Coromandel. 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 Waikato Museum ( mi, Te Whare Taonga o Waikato) is a regional museum located in Hamilton, New Zealand. The museum manages ArtsPost, a shop and gallery space for New Zealand art and design. Both are managed by the Hamilton City Council. Outside ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Airey, Deidre 1926 births 2002 deaths New Zealand ceramicists New Zealand women ceramicists 20th-century ceramists People educated at Epsom Girls' Grammar School University of Otago alumni Artists from Christchurch Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal