Lara Ashley is a ceramic artist based in the Mahurangi region of Aotearoa New Zealand. Working primarily with wheel-thrown forms, her practice explores the tension between containment and release, focusing on how pressure, distortion, and subtle intervention can alter the integrity of a vessel.

Her work often begins with simple, grounded forms which are then pushed, disrupted, or partially ruptured, creating moments where the structure appears to give way. She is particularly interested in the physical behaviour of clay — how it stretches, holds, and yields — and the quiet evidence left behind by these processes.

Alongside this, Lara engages in exploratory making to test material responses across different firing methods, including raku and salt firing, using these processes to inform the development of more resolved pieces.

Lara is currently undertaking a Diploma in Arts and Design (Ceramics), where she continues to refine a practice centred on restraint, repetition, and the balance between control and unpredictability."