Rosy & Rich aka Rosie Parsonson and Richard Darbyshire are Tai Tokerau artists, currently working out of their studio located at the Quarry Arts Centre, Whangarei. They officially established Rosy & Rich in 2013, successfully merging their specific skills in ceramics, painting, printmaking and sculpture. The practiced, engraved line and infused colour composed by the hand and mind of Rosie Parsonson, sits over and around the archetypal vessels and forms thrown, sculpted and fired by Richard Darbyshire. Engaging the ceramic medium to work on a scale that reflects the epic nature of the enduring human condition, their distinctly collaborative works sit politely in western art fascination of classic themes, whilst maintaining a contemporary, unfettered conversation challenging archetypes.

The collaborative practice of Rosy & Rich starts in art history, a perception, a sharing, a conversation, often an argument, leading to germination stages. The form is constructed through wheel throwing and hand building techniques in clay. What follows is a surface response where graphic ideas are etched and painted with their own underglaze recipe. Colour and sheen bounce around between clay and glaze for several seasons and withstand multiple firings before each unique piece is completed. In this crucible of to and fro between the pair, surface and form, past and present, art and craft meets the heat of the kilns to melt into an abundant, generously adorned function, ornamentally speaking.

Richard Darbyshire has exhibited widely in New Zealand. His tree-scape paintings of the 2000s were highly regarded, leading to representation by prominent Auckland galleries. A subsequent return to ceramics has resulted in an original and provocative body of work. Dedication to the craft has seen a steady progress of ambition, technical expertise and scale.

Richard was born in Hamilton in 1973, has a Diploma in 3D Design ceramics major from Waikato Polytechnic, 1995, Advanced Diploma in Art and Craft a painting major from Hungry Creek Art and Craft School, 2002, BAA in Visual Arts from NorthTec, 2011, and Elam postgraduate studies, 2014.

Aside from being a practicing ceramic artist, Richard is the Quarry Arts Centre Kiln technician with wide experience in different types of kilns and firing processes. Having run the ceramic department at Hungry Creek Art & Craft School for many years, and tutored and trained in different ceramic environments he has developed a strong passion for kilns in the community, their preservation and accessibility.

Rosie Parsonson background is in painting, printmaking and ceramics, but it’s as an illustrator and painter on canvas and ceramics that her talents have become known in New Zealand. She has exhibited in solo and group shows around the country. Her hallmark is a sensuous line that expresses her interests in myth, nature and culture.

Rosie was born in Auckland in 1987, currently working out of Studio 11 at the Quarry Arts Centre alongside her partner Richard Darbyshire. She has a Diploma in a ceramics & painting major from Hungry Creek Art & Craft School, 2009 and a BAA in Visual Arts from North Tec, 2011, and a Diploma in Jewellery from Hungry Creek Art & Craft School.