Bella is a Waiheke-based artist with a deep interest in the earthly and the esoteric. Since receiving her BFA from Elam School of Fine Arts in 2022, she has continued her studies in Ceramics through Otago Polytechnic, driven by the textures of New Zealand’s rugged coastlines.

Bella’s work celebrates the ephemeral and imperfect cycles of nature. Working primarily in clay and glass, she finds a profound connection to the land through the act of making by hand. By embracing fingerprints and raw textures, her pieces become a tactile dialogue between the artist and the "earth body material".

"Water is the element that best describes me... Like water, I'm interested in change, movement, and the idea that everything is linked beneath what we can see on the surface." 

– Bella Christine Hessell