How passion for pottery took shape
The 27-year-old began the trade in 2020 and says that although the craft was once seen as a bit of an "old lady" hobby, there are more young people working with ceramics than ever before.
"I think it is re-emerging. It was very much a hobby for older people, but there has been a change of view on pottery I think.
"In the past five years there has been a boom in pottery and arts. There is a mass range in Wānaka some make it for fun and some people are making their hobby a business too
Cardus moved to Wānaka in 2018 because she had always spent much of her University of Otago holidays here because she was a keen skier.
That turned into a job in marketing for Cardrona skifield and now she is head of marketing for the local Glendene Group.
Fitting her once hobby alongside her day job has had its challenges, but she says the part-time role allows her enough time to be creative.
Her pieces have a unique look and feel to them, with sculptures emerging off plates, pots and coffee mugs.
"I sculpt a lot on to my pots. I start off with a basic vessel and sculpt on top of that and I guess I use more of an abstract kind of approach to glazing. I am not into the more traditional plain white pots and clean feel aesthetic."
"Instead I am a lot bolder and a bit more fun on it and more playful in general."
Asked how she comes up with the original sculpts, she said it was purely accidental and creative.
"It has just been me farting about and having fun more than anything."
Each piece can take up to two weeks from beginning to finish, with the pottery, then the sculpt, the glaze and the drying.
"Each piece is somewhat unique. As you get better at pottery they do all become the same, so I really like that every single piece is 100% unique in terms of glazing the shape and the actual sculpture on top of that."
"It's quite a time-consuming thing to make and there is never quite enough hours in the day to keep up with demand."
Thanking her original mentor Joy Patterson, Cardus has even started teaching pottery classes herself to pass on the craft which is growing in popularity.
She offers classes out of Patterson's Dublin Bay studio for $50 on weekends and evenings.
You can view her work and get in touch through her Instagram page "Stoneware by squid".
Be careful though, Cardus says the craft is an addictive and all-consuming love.
"I got really into the rabbit hole quite quickly and instantly enjoyed it. It is one of those things that there is so much to know about it that you never feel you have learned everything that there is."
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