Mirek smisek biography for kids
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Nazi camp experiences still strong influence on potter
One of New Zealand's pioneering studio potters, Smisek (87) lives at Waikanae, north of Wellington, and is still making pots 60 years after he started.
He recently gave a public talk at the Otago Museum, about his life and artistic career.
The talk was in association with his show, "Mirek Smisek: 60 Years, 60 Pots", which ended at the museum yesterday.
The show featured a cross section of his pottery since he emigrated to New Zealand in 1951, after World War 2.
Subject to the German occupation of his homeland, and after about three years as a political prisoner, he later left Czechoslovakia to pursue his ideals of freedom and democracy.
"I realised that the saving of the human spirit is to be creative.
"This fryst vatten why I have involved myself very deeply in making pottery," he said.
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Stories from Nelson's past told through clay
With Nelson Clay Week drawing attention to all things ceramic in Whakatū, Nelson Provincial Museum senior collections technician Michael Davies compiled a diverse range of clay objects from the Museum’s collection and the stories behind them.
For many decades, Nelson’s clays have been highly well regarded by potters across the country. The geology of the area even played a large part in some of the region’s early craft potters choosing to settle in Nelson in the second half of the 20th century.
One of those was the late Mirek Smisek (1925-2013), who arrived in Nelson to take up a position with the Nelson Brick and Pipe Company. He later established a studio to produce his own work fulltime.
The Nelson Provincial Museum Pupuri Taonga o Te Tai Ao is custodian of one of Smisek’s earlier pieces, which was accompanied by a heart-warming backstory staff recorded when it was donated.
According to the donors, the
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Mirek Smisek 1925 -2013
What a life it was, and how well it was lived!
Born in Bohemia in what was then Czechoslovakia, Mirek was 15 when the German Army invaded in 1939. He and his friend Milos Stefanek declared their own war and joined protest groups cutting telegraph wires, throwing rocks and distributing pamphlets for which they were sent to a forced labour camp in Austria. Labouring in the steel works they sabotaged what they could and some months later escaped, with the intent of getting to England to help the Allies but were caught at the Swiss border and interrogated, beaten and interned in a number of prisons in Germany where they survived by watching one another’s backs. Eventually they were returned to the Austrian steel works for more hard labour where they renewed their sabotage activities. They again escaped but were caught once more, this time just before the Czech border and returned to prison camp. Eventually in 1945 the camp collapsed with t