Award-winning ceramic artist Karuna Douglas had no artistic abilities until a brain injury in 1997 unleashed her creative talent. She’s the first to admit that she can barely ‘make’ anything but luckily, she’s saved by her passion and skill for glaze chemistry and ceramic surfaces.

“My work exists in the layers just below and just above the clay. It’s only microns thick but in that space, I can create a universe.” 

Karuna shares a studio with her husband and sometimes arts collaborator, Todd Douglas. 

 Since 2020, Karuna has been translating her glazes onto ceramics for serving and eating.

 “Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 changed the way we were living. Life slowed right down and meals became an event. In response, I wanted to surround myself with beautiful tableware.”  

 In 2021/22 Karuna led the roopu, The Indigenous Clay Artists Collective, whose entry Tāiki e! won the McDonnell Family Supreme Award at the prestigious biennial Sculpture in the Gardens at the Auckland Botanic Gardens. 

 After a serious accident in 2022, followed by being evacuated after Cyclone Gabrielle struck Muriwai in February 2023, Karuna has embarked on sharing her knowledge and experience, inspiring and guiding other clay practitioners to understanding and mastering glazes. 

 Mentored by the late Colleen Waata-Urlich ONZM, Karuna is a proud member of Ngā Kaihanga Uku and is profiled in Ngā Kaihanga Uku: Māori Clay Artists by Baye Riddell (Te Papa Press, Oct 2023)