Working with glass, metal, and fibre, the work explores constructed botanicals that sit somewhere between natural form and object. Each piece is shaped slowly by hand, with a focus on balance, tension, and gesture.
Each piece draws closely from botanical structures, but is not intended as a direct replica. Instead, they exist as interpretations, built through material and process rather than observation alone.
Hark Handmade is the studio practice of Artist Hollie Ryan, based in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Process
Each piece begins with a simple wire structure.
From there, it is gradually built into form through repeated wrapping, threading, and adjustment. The process is slow and accumulative, with each decision affecting the overall balance and movement of the piece.
There is no fixed outcome at the start. Forms emerge through making, shifting slightly as they are handled, until they reach a point of resolution.
Some pieces come together quickly, while others are reworked multiple times before settling. This variability is an inherent part of the practice.
Materials
Botanicals are constructed using glass beads, steel and copper wire, along with cotton and paper-based tapes.
Each material plays a distinct role. Wire provides structure and tension, glass introduces light and delicacy, and fibre elements soften and bind the form.
These materials are not traditionally used together, and their combination creates a quiet tension between strength and fragility.
Over time, pieces may shift subtly in shape. They are designed to be gently adjusted and lived with, rather than remaining completely fixed. Open them towards the sun, or fold them downwards - styling is up to the collector.
On Form
The work sits in a space between natural and constructed.
Forms reference stems, petals, and growth patterns, but are guided just as much by material behaviour as by botanical observation. Slight irregularities, asymmetry, and variation are not corrected, but retained as part of the piece.
Each work holds a sense of movement, even when still.
Studio Rhythm
The studio operates on a small scale.
Work is produced in limited quantities, with pieces released periodically as they are completed. Alongside larger, more sculptural works, an ongoing series of smaller pieces, Studio Stems, allows for a more regular rhythm of making and release.
Nothing is mass produced. Each piece moves through the studio slowly, shaped by hand and by process.
From Hollie
I used to buy flowers like crazy. I wanted them in vases all around me all the time – admiring them for their colour, their form, their meanings and stories. They reminded me of my grandmother who shamelessly picked flowers from other peoples gardens in broad daylight. She kept scissors in her car just in case. But I bought fewer and fewer flowers over time because I couldn’t bear when the petals would fall. I didn’t want constant reminders that everything dies eventually. That probably says a lot about my level of resilience, but the minute I started sculpting everlasting blooms it was a relief. Now, just before the stems brown and the petals wilt I pull each flower to pieces to study the shape and contours of every part and model them to keep.
My work is an examination of how to preserve temporary pleasures. How hard materials like unyielding glass and spiked metal wire can convey delicate emphemeral structures. It considers the gentle sentimentality we attach to flowers and plants and challenges the fragility and fleetingness of nature. I also draw deep inspiration from historical beaded funerary ornaments from 19th Century France, Germany and Italy.
-
The name Hark carries over from a previous 5 year jewellery making project and from my time as a tutor at Studio One Toi Tū in Ponsonby. Hark was suggested to me by an almost mute man at a BBQ in Havelock North. It’s a long story considering he didn’t have much to say.
Hollie Ryan (she/her) | hollie@harkhandmade.com | Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), Aotearoa (New Zealand).
What Sets Us Apart
People-First Approach
Everything we do is built around understanding your needs and helping you succeed—because when you thrive, so do we.
Long-Term Relationships
We’re not just here for the now. We love creating lasting relationships with our clients and growing with them over time.
Proven Process, Flexible Execution
We bring structure where it counts and adaptability where it matters. Our methods are clear, but always responsive.