Petra grew up in Germany in a family of artists and crafts people.  She trained as a potter at Schmidt-Tummeleys Pottery on Juist Island, in the North Sea. Then for ten years, she had her own studio in the village of Fischerhude near Bremen. A trip to England in 1979 to visit many potters inspired her to build a wood fired kiln and do salt firing.

In 1989  Petra moved to New Zealand and worked at Driving Creek Railway and Pottery in Coromandel town. There she learned how to fire with wood and felt nurtured by Barry Brickell’s belief in her. Three years later she started her own studio, Puketai Pottery, in the neighbourhood and this is where you can find her now.

Petra creates domestic ware and sculptures fired at 1300°C with reduction. The clay used is mostly stoneware clay mixed with some Coromandel clay. She uses shino and other glazes, often in layers on top of each other, dipped and poured and then decorated on top of that with the same glazes using brushes and a slip trailer.  She also use slips for decoration and especially for the salt fired pots. Her pots are thinly thrown and light. 

Some of her sculptures are terracotta and fired at 1140°C, no reduction, with red clay from Driving Creek Railway.

Puketi Pottery has no opening hours. Come and visit any time. If you wish to see Petra please ring before coming. She also sells her pots through Driving Creek Railway and Potteries 5 minutes down the road.