The third sustainability film challenge for young New Zealanders is about to be launched. The website for this year’s challenge will go live in mid-July, so keep an eye on http://theoutlookforsomeday.net for details.

As with previous years, films can be any length up to 5 minutes. They can be made individually or in teams. They can be any genre at all – drama, documentary, animation, music video, advertisement, video blog, reality tv. They can be made with any camera – film, video, stills camera, webcam, mobile phone.

This year anyone up to the age of 24 (ie anyone born in 1985 or later) can enter the challenge. There will also be special awards for winning films made by Primary / Intermediate school film-makers and Secondary school film-makers.

The deadline for entries is 18 September 2009.

Petone Winter Carnival
Sunday July 18 (or Sunday 19th if postponed due to weather)
This is a fun annual event held on the foreshore and sponsored by the Hutt City Council. We have been invited to be part of this with some Art activities. There is an 84 mtr long mural project underway! It is being planned and overseen by the very talented Dan Mills (ex TLC student) and he is needing some assistants for the day.

As this is a large project with a time constraint it would be best if you have had some experience – but give me a call and we can chat about it! There is also a small amount of remuneration for the painters involved.

Tangaroa’s Treasure Net
This is the second part of our involvement with the carnival – we will be making a large net and installing it on a wall down on the foreshore. Then we will invite the public to collect beach items shells/driftwood etc and help them assemble them into treasure for Tangaroa’s net!

If you enjoy assemblage work or making 3D then this is for you!! Seriously hands-on!

If you would like to be involved please email c.burke@tlc.ac.nz or call 0800ARTPOWER.

And remember you can use your involvement as independent study hours – or maybe as part of a creativity project.

TLC tutor and artist-in-residence, Robert Franken returned from his artist residency in China on Monday. HE’s been staying in Xiamen with another New Zealand artist, John Walsh. He says “Back in Wellington and reflecting on a journey to the Middle Kingdom. It all went pretty smoothly and the preconceived ideas one has about places were pleasantly altered . China is not a country , but a concept.”

Robert tried to keep a blog of his journey, which was hindered a bit by access to blogs and facebook being restricted. He managed to send text out by email and we’ve been posting it to his blog during his stay. Now that he’s back he’s adding in photos of the experience. It’s probably best to go and read about his journey in his own words and look at the images he’s returned with – you can view it here at www.robertsjourneys.blogspot.com

Robert plans to continue blogging about his artistic process and fabulous travels. Keep in touch with him!!!

TLC had another successful student exhibition this term, with over 250 works, ranging from sculpture, jewellery, painting, to photography and video, all areas of student achievement were on show. Opening night was filled to the brim with well over 100 people coming out on what was a dark wintry night, to view the artwork. A steady stream of day visitors followed, keeping the exhibition helpers busy all weekend. This term there was an open studio in Dan Wilkinson’s drawing class and art work up in the Stage 3 area by students who are reaching the end of their course.

Photograph by Jules Hunt

The exhibition is a great thing to participate in. Even if you are studying from a distance, getting your work out to the public is an important part of being an artist and while it might seem daunting at first, the exhibition has a long history of positive feedback and support for student work.

Helping with the exhibition is also an important part of the TLC experience. There is an enormous amount to learn about putting on a show and the organization and marketing side of art is something which all artists need to think about. Helping with the exhibition can be signed off as independent study hours for all students, or as small starts for those in stage 2. Even if you are busy, it’s worth trying to make it onsite for this part of the program, or just come in for the opening, we’d love to see you.

If you can’t just drop by you can view examples of what was on at the exhibition in our Flickr slideshow:

There were also a number of student video works this term, including some lovely animations:
Worlds apart by Christine Luiten

Bird and Worm by Asher Flatt

Guts! by A. Mackay Esq.

From the Asthma Foundation: http://www.asthmafoundation.org.nz:

Balloons. What can you do with them? You blow them up, don’t you? Well, sure you can, but there are a number of other things you can do with them. The ‘dress’ in the picture is just one example. The Foundation’s Get Creative for Asthma! competition is about raising awareness of the 1 in 4 Kiwi kids who can’t ’simply’ fill these balloons, because their asthma won’t let them.

Just do something with our red balloons, which you can order here: info@asthmafoundation.org.nz, remember to include the words ‘Get Creative’ in the subject field.

Also, make sure you send us a postal address and tell us how many balloons you want.

Next, send us a photo or video clip (You Tube, whatever) of your creation by 29 June, 2009 (to malcolm@asthmafoundation.org.nz) and we will pick the best one, which could be yours, which will mean you win a prize. Easy!

The first prize is a Dyson DC16 handheld vacuum, second prize is a low-allergy down duvet and pillows.

Unified
Mixed Media Exhibition,
Linwood Community Arts Centre

Art students from the University of Canterbury, friends of the University, students from The Learning Connexion.
Opening Night 5.30 – 7.30,
Runs June 22 – July 4.

TLC is hosting a Deaf tour this Thursday 7pm at our Taita campus.

Come and see our fantastic student exhibition, and look around the campus.

All Welcome!!

When: 7pm Thursday 18th June
Where: 182 Eastern Hutt Rd, Taita, Wellington
RSVP: a.eves@tlc.ac.nz

When am I in the right mood to create something? The answer is invariably RIGHT NOW! That’s the very moment when creativity strikes. It can be any time at all. That’s why I always carry a camera around. Never let an opportunity go by. Some of the most interesting images I’ve created were when I was feeling off colour that day or something else wasn’t going right. Creativity isn’t something you do when the world is at peace and the sun is shining. It’s not an activity that will necessarily change the world (although never doubt that it can).

I’m advocating Nowism. I’m convinced it’s all there is worth paying attention to. Nowism is not Yesterdayism. Nor is it Tomorrowism. Nowism is the new way. It’s going to get absolutely everything done from now to the end of time. Yesterdayism is what happened yesterday or the day before or the day before that. You can read about it in the newspapers and chances are somebody will have an opinion about it. But don’t let it fill your day. Yesterdayism is safe and nice and dull. Nowism is dangerous and not very easy to get hold off. The twin forces of Yesterdayism and Tomorrowism are trying to pull Nowism limb from limb. Anything to stop you getting at it and using it for yourself.

Nowism isn’t waiting around for somebody else to make it happen. Nowism is all you have. Yesterdayism is a myth. It’s gone. It’s already happened. It doesn’t exist anymore. Tomorrowism is a hoax. There isn’t anything there at all. Just what might be. Take up all your “Could’s”, “Should’s” and “maybe’s” and throw then away. Do it. “Now” happens to be one of the simplest and least complicated words in the English language. I bet you knew what “now” meant way before you knew the meaning of “yesterday” or “tomorrow”. “Now” is much easier to spell too. Babies and kittens probably can’t understand anything else. All they know is “Now” It’s all they’ve got. Adults think they’re much smarter than that. They think that because they have Yesterdayism and Tomorrowism lying around to use up that Nowism isn’t as important. So become a fan of “”Nowism”? Be a “Nowist”.

What are you doing right now?

A new exciting body of work created by Jane Blackmore will be shown starting this week at Statements Gallery in Napier. Wellington artist Jane Blackmore will be showing with renowned Glass artist Katie Brown and fellow painter Juliet Best. Jane describes her work as tumultuous and expressive with moments of quiet contemplation.

A call for work for an exhibition on Virtual Tart, September 2010 (yes, 2010, more than a year away).

If you’re interested in being part of this exhibition, contact Dale Copeland via the Virtual Tart website.

From Dale:
Theme: Portrait of the artist.
Any medium, any size.
It’s a virtual exhibition, on the Virtual Tart website. So you send only an image, not the actual work.
Send a big enough image to be used in print as well as on the Net.
Entry fee will be $15.

You can send the image by email or on a disk or as a posted photograph:
Dale Copeland
7266 Surf Highway
R D 37
Okato
New Zealand