ART IN THE PARK-PUKEKOHE

February Art in Parks event saw my human flower mandala transform into a one-eyed monster and a rocket-powered space ship.

Thank you Auckland City Council.

Love the random adventure of kids and community. Arohanui.

WAKA WHENUA / BOAT PEOPLE. 1.

THE MIGRATION OF DISPERSED VESSELS was born through a moment in history. It is a collaborative exhibition that explores community and our combined social response to "strangers in a strange land" and how we determine strangeness and belonging.

The initial rage that instigated a need to question our response to this global social & political history in the making, has led to us contemplating our own sense of belonging through exploration of how we view our arts practice and experimentation. 

Does our own art carry the perception and strength of one or many? How passive is the beautiful aesthetic?

By viewing each other's preferred medium as a point of reference for our own work , we hope to explore ideas and processes that will contribute a sense of "foreign". 

Three artists who work with textiles and fibre will be presenting the findings of our study in July at the Franklin Arts Centre's Steel Gallery.

AVIAN THEMES

My obsessive fascination with carnage of the beautiful continues. 

I have images of our colonial military past for the top image of the Kotare or Kingfisher bird. How blasé we humans are about roadkill of 

other species. Record, bless and bury is my modus operandi.

SLOW  LITTLE SUPRISES 

POP-UP COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS

These environmental workshops are the best thing to have come out of  my enforced move away from the loom. 

I'm not sure if I prefer the structure and precision adult participants tend to bring to the event, or the huge little surprises the kids ALWAYS bring with their lateral ideas.

Work Shops for school holidays

Fri 23 Dec Matakawau Beachfront

11-1pm

ECO DECO'S & A SILLY LITTLE TREE

Fabricate Magazine NZ

Cait from our new Fabricate Magazine has kindly let me publish pics from two articles in her new mag, one about and one by me.

This new Magazine is chock full of articles about all things textile with as few ads taking up space as possible. To order a copy do a google search for NZ Fabricate Magazine. She also has a Face Book page you can tap into. 

Making Paper Without a Deckle & Frame

So here I am in Australia with all this beautiful paper bark, knowing it will never get through customs home. What to do?

                                     






 

                                         



I bought a short length of gauze and lace net curtaining material. I then soaked the bark, some used paper towels, and some shredded paper in a container of water and household bleach. 

Then it was time for a bit of lateral thinking. Without a deckle and frame, I decided I would dollop the pulp out onto the material and roll it out as a thick sheet of card-like paper so that I could then lay it out to dry. 

Below are photos of the process I used, so I won't bore you with the details as they are fairly self explanatory.

 Below are a couple of pics of the drying paper, along with a dried sheet that I made earlier in the day, using exactly the same method.

So it does work as a make-do method, albeit a bit bulky and rough & ready. I will iron it with a hot iron and hopefully NZ Customs will be ok with me taking it through. If all pans out well, I can reconstitute the sheets once I'm back home, and re-make some finer paper for what I need.. ...Salut