Instagram story viewer> @nice.assets> Posts

Nicole Gaston

@nice.assets

3.8K

followers

2263

following

coromandel 📍residency in daughterhood (or something) // pōneke studio closed atm

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 ✨

I made a bunch of new work which unfortunately I ran out of time to actually do anything with!
So these are all going into storage for the next 6 months...
and I would love nothing more than to live in a world where everyone recognises billionaires are a parasite class and we don't need to remind anyone to stop simping for billionaires!

Seems unlikely though, so these will probably be for sale (or wholesale?!) in March in Chicago.

Thanks so much to @gnarwareworkshop and @ikesugar for providing such a beautiful welcoming space to work in 🥰 by @nice.assets

97

1

9 days ago

I made a lil batch of my favourite Chicago foods when I first arrived in April. These are all meant to be salt shakers because god forbid I make something just decorative 😂 but I never got round to finding corks so I can seal them and test their functionality! But in theory they are salt & pepper shakers 🧂
We have a Chicago style hot dog
A slice of deep dish pizza
And an Italian beef complete with gardinera!!
The little sliced peppers were my favourite part to make 😂
Now I suddenly get the appeal of food sculptures!! @tinyportions goals lol by @nice.assets

44

0

11 days ago

Don't worry we have not come to the end of my summer ceramics yet and we will return to my regular posting shortly but I wanted to share some other things I've been working on.
One thing I have been into lately is going to the op shop and looking for the cheesiest, most ridiculous vessels to make into candles. I am lowkey obsessed with aromatherapy and love researching the properties of different essential oils.
There are a lot of glasses at the op shop with variations on the 'I hate my wife', or 'I'm a drunk mom' themes. Occasionally I will find a gem like this one though!
I thought what better oils than rosemary & orange to wake up your brain and focus and clear away all the mental bullshit and distractions in our life.
Thanks @wellingtonapothecary for the hot tip about trying coconut wax - it's definitely better than soy wax or beeswax for these scented candles, and much more sustainable than paraffin wax!
Now I've accumulated a lot of re-purposed vessel candles and I am not sure what to do with them when I leave... if anyone in the Chicago-area needs to clear out some bullshit in their lives HMU (but of course don't we all?)
x N by @nice.assets

22

1

14 days ago

If someone you know and love is getting top surgery obviously you have to make a hand pinched titty mug for them!!
I think a lot of people have kind of complicated relationships to breasts. I know I do! It's unfortunate that they have become so oversexualised you can't even use the word 'boobs' without being censored. Some people love them, some people hate them, however you feel about breasts most people enjoy the feeling of a handmade mug in their hands and on their mouth.
I made this guy back in June and these titties are now living their best life in New Mexico!
#ceramics #pinchpot by @nice.assets

54

3

15 days ago

some cute lil colourful pinch pots I made because we are all struggling and just hanging in there is the best we can do some days!
try turning off your phone/tv/computer and touching grass/mud/some one you love that usually helps me! by @nice.assets

54

6

18 days ago

This mug started as a rap song by my dear friend @ndrwlpz about the USA's 'permanent warfare economy' circa 2008 while we were studying to be librarians together in Montreal (or maybe even earlier, but that is when I heard it). It was brought to relevance again recently when I got a visit from lil' Seandre himself in Chicago for our first reunion in nearly 20 years! What a joy to pick up just where we had left off, talking shit stuffing dutches and and swapping cabbage recipes. Unfortunately the warfare economy persists. I misheard a quote as 'performative warfare economy' and my pal liked the ring of that even better - so this has gone off to live in New London, CT.
I even allowed myself to be dragged to a professional sporting game!
#worldpeace #fuckwar #ceramics taken in USA by @nice.assets

40

2

20 days ago

The horrors persist but so do I 🤷🏼‍♀️
Here is some work I made back in May/June here in Chicago. Lots of colour for what has been a pretty dark time. I'm only getting around to sharing now as I have had some of the worst crippling anxiety of my life the last few months! Turns out getting made redundant twice then moving countries to look after someone in a wheelchair with dementia while trying to navigate the nightmare US industrial healthcare and insurance system and being homeless is stressful as fuck!! Not to mention bearing daily witness to genocide, child slavery, murder, and environmental disasters thanks to billionaire oligarchs destroying the planet.
I am so grateful to so many people in my life. Most of these pieces have been rehomed with some of my oldest friends, others with new friends - I'll be sharing more about that shortly!
The big news is that I'm heading back to Aotearoa in a few weeks and will be based in Coromandel until March-ish. Still no idea what I am doing with my life but I am sure there will be mud involved.
Kia kaha ✊ Love you all 💖 by @nice.assets

180

32

22 days ago

It’s been one month since we said goodbye to this beautiful angel. I still can’t believe she’s gone 💔 It’s an honour that a vessel I made for her is her final resting place. My heart is broken but I know she’d want us all to keep going, keep creating, keep spreading joy and love and light in the world even when it feels so dark sometimes. 🕯️I love you Anne-Marie!
I know my whole community is mourning this loss hard and I’m sad I can’t be there but I also know AM would understand 🥰. The kindest and coolest babe in Te Whanganui a Tara! by @nice.assets

126

9

a month ago

It is great to celebrate all the MILFS and DILFS in our lives on their special days (or anytime really) but what about the non-binary parents who love to f̶u̶c̶k̶ drink tea?!
Each year the third Sunday in April marks Nonbinary Parent’s Day!! That was 19 April this year - so this post is a bit late but it was great to be able to add this design to my repertoire 🌈 hooray for all kinds of beautiful families!
Thanks heaps to @threetreehouses for their design consultation 😘
And @charlea.taylor for giving me an occasion to make some fun new work! 🥰
Bonus DILF keep cup because these vessels really should be used out in the world!!
@nonbinaryculture
#nonbinary #enbypride #parentsofinstagram #stoneware #pinchpot taken in Park Ridge, Illinois by @nice.assets

42

1

5 months ago

𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 (2026)

I made this piece as a sort of therapy to help with the rage-inducing frustration of dealing with the US healthcare system. I know that NZ healthcare is far from perfect but all one has to do is look to the USA to see an example of what profit-driven, insurance-company led ‘care’ looks like. I put care in quotes because honestly I see no care in this model - just an extractive, exploitative system designed solely with the purpose of generating wealth for insurance company shareholders rather than care for the weakest and most vulnerable in our communities. I spend hours a day fighting with a broken system, just trying to ensure my mother has some dignity in her final years. It honestly feels like some kind of dystopian satire, the absurdity of it all is enough to make me want to laugh sometimes 😂
This is what happens when you privatise healthcare!! Corporations end up dictating what kind of care we can expect. I can see how this could drive a sane person mad - I feel like I am right there with Luigi (though sadly lacking his abdominal muscles).
I didn’t intend for this to look like a womb but obviously some mother-daughter energy is infusing all of my work atm!
Thanks so much to the clay and my pals for keeping me sane throughout this process. Where would I be without my mud and my mates? I love you all so much 🥰
This piece has gone to live with @adamwg 🥳 but if you want to commission a similarly themed work hmu!! Tell me your capitalist hellscape story that could be turned into a vase… there is something quite cathartic about putting all that frustration and rage into a pot and then giving it away. Hopefully it retains good vibes only in its new home!
#ceramicsculpture #handbuilt #madeinchicago #stoneware taken in Park Ridge, Illinois by @nice.assets

258

21

5 months ago

ℕ𝔼𝕎 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝕂
It feels so good to be making again 🥰
BUT NOW in a totally different way, with all new materials, and as minimal a ‘studio’ set up as possible. I am not really sure what I am doing or where this is going but I’m excited to expand my practice in new ways.
Thanks heaps to @centeredclaycollective for firing this work. I have a few more pieces to share over the coming days!
Infinite gratitude to @kasullivan25 for giving me the space and place to live and work atm 🙏 ilysm!!
Fun fact: I just finished drinking tea out of one of these and it still had tea leaves in the bottom when I took these photos. Can you guess which one? taken in Park Ridge, Illinois by @nice.assets

111

14

5 months ago

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while.
It’s been nearly 7 weeks since the USA and Israel started a war against an Iran, a sovereign nation that did not attack either country.
This is in addition to ongoing conflict in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan, Venezuela, the list goes on.
War benefits no one but the rich.
When will the violence end?
I’m so tired of seeing daily images of children being dismembered and people living in tents starving to death because some rich cunts want to get richer! It’s traumatising not only to see the violence inflicted on fellow humans but to feel so powerless to do anything. All we can do is keep showing up with empathy and love and trying to hold our elected officials accountable.

End these wars nobody asked for already!!

How did we let a bunch of rich fuckwits end up running the world?
Stop simping for these cringe losers already.

Thanks @tuatua_cafe and everyone who bought one of these for supporting me. Thanks to my amazing community in @arovalley 💔 I love you all and miss you heaps!
#warnomore #eattherich taken in Aro Valley by @nice.assets

99

8

5 months ago