The end of September, clocks moving forward, spring in the
air and Term 3 at an end already.
It feels as though I have only just returned from the UK,
only to find that I need to get into full swing for my next trip back. Some of
that ‘where has the time gone??’ feeling is due to the usual family life
things, including that my eldest son has just joined us in NZ permanently, so
preparing his space in the house and helping him to settle has been important. I am certainly getting more jobs done around
the house and garden which has been very welcome – we now have trees trimmed,
borders dug and plenty of vegetables planted, also being asked to make a ball
gown for my eldest daughter for her end of school ball also took time, and I
have to make a Golden Wedding present for my parents, samples for 2 new workshops in the next 2
weeks, my final book proof arrived from Search Press yesterday in glorious technicolor
for me to sign off before Wednesday (I have only noticed two errors so far).
All
of which begs the question, ‘why then am taking time to write this post??’ Well
it is a lovely sunny morning, I have the house to myself for once and a coffee
to drink, so a good time to reflect and write.
I recently had a few pieces from
my ‘Continuous Thread’ and ‘Restriction and Release’ series’ included in a show
at NorthArt which did not achieve any sales, but was seen by a great many
people and must have been well received as Wendy, the director, has invited me
to have a full exhibition in September 2014 – great! I will let you know more
when I have details.
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NorthArt Gallery |
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From the 'Continuous Thread Series' by Alysn Midgelow-Marsden |
A thank you to the members of the Auckland Quilters who were
such a delight to spend last weekend with. They were taking on board some of my
ideas and techniques for manipulating and stitching into metals and we all had
a great time.
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Meeting with Metals at the Auckland Quilters |
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Meeting with Metals at the Auckland Quilters |
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Meeting with Metals by Jean Singleton |
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Meeting with Metals at the Auckland Quilters |
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Meeting with Metals at the Auckland Quilters |
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Auckland Quilters - heads down and hard at work! |
During Term 3 I have been teaching an enthusiastic and
patient group at the Mairangi Arts Centre. The subject has been handmade books.
We touched on a few book structures which need only minimal measuring - I am not by nature a pedantic person
(unless there is great need in order to achieve the best outcome), and love
book structures which allow for some personal expression. So we started with 2
versions of ‘piano hinge’ books and included some mixed media paper decorating
techniques for the covers and leaves, then moved to a slightly more traditional
‘concertina spine’ book with a hard cover and some simple stitched signatures,
and the last week we had fun with folded books, including a ‘maze book’ and a ‘lotus
flower’ book. As I am in the UK for most
of Term 4 the course can’t continue for a while, but I have suggested lots of options for 2014 which I hope will be of interest.
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Handmade books at Mairangi Arts |
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Handmade books at Mairangi Arts |
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Handmade books at Mairangi Arts |
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Handmade books at Mairangi Arts |
The Mairangi Art Centre has hosted a couple of exhibitions
during this term, the latest of which I definitely wanted you to see. There was
such fantastic expressive work created by people who attend the ‘Spark Centre’
for creative development. The centre offers visual arts and art therapy
programmes for people living with disabilities, impairment or other social and
personal need. To find out more about the Spark Centre click here or visit
www.sparkcentre.org.nz
There were statements by each artist near their work which
explained what they loved about art and why it was important to them, but even
without the ‘back story’, seeing work by this diverse group of people was
wonderful. It was full of expression, liveliness
and energy and was a joy to view. It was also gratifying that many of the
pieces had big red sold stickers next to them. The exhibition really lived up
to their motto ‘art is for life’.
I offer apologies for the reflections and shadows in the pictures, lights and windows did not allow for perfection, and I am not sure that the work and information boards are all in the correct order, but I hope you get the idea.
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Spark Centre Exhibtion at Mairangi Bay. Looking very professional. |
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Chris Baxter |
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Work by Chris Baxter |
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Pearl Schomberg |
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Work by Pearl Schomberg |
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David Candy |
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Work by David Candy |
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Matthew Tucker |
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Work by Matthew Tucker |
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Robin Lockwood |
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Work by Robin Lockwood |
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Thiona Brooks |
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Work by Thiona Brooks |
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Salome Moeauga |
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Work by Salome Moeauga |
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Halina Janiszewska |
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Work by Halina Janiszewska |
And finally, the outdoor sculptures for the Kiapara
Sculpture Park are coming along nicely – pictures next time.