By Susan Knaap

In 2008 a remarkable book about art and creativity, written by The Learning Connexion’s Founder and Director Jonathan Milne, was published. Entitled ‘Go! The Art of Change’, it is a comprehensive, practical guide to the process of creativity itself, combining philosophy and technique to inspire all those with a yearning to express their inner artist. This stunning book is given to each and every student who enrols with The Learning Connexion – it is the proverbial ‘icing on the cake’ – the surprise that awaits each student who commits to the Diploma of Art and Creativity. At least that’s the usual scenario.

For Sane-Mari Botha, it was the other way around. In 2009 Sane-Mari, an Accountant who dabbled in art, had just participated in a group exhibition that resulted in sales success for everyone but herself. Despondent and wondering whether her work was just “too different” from the norm, she ventured to the local library for inspiration and came across ‘GO! The Art of Change’. She started reading and the more she read the more excited she got. “This was exactly what I was looking for,” she says. “It was inspiring and confirmed that I have to be creative. I knew that the more I practised, the better it would work!”

Sane-Mari borrowed the book so many times that it became a permanent fixture in her home and it wasn’t long before her family got bitten by the creative bug. “My husband (Andre), son (Alexander, 7) and I are very close, probably because the rest of our family lives overseas. We tend to do a lot together,” she says. “So, it was natural that when reading ‘GO!’ I would tell my husband about it. He became so interested in the content that we decided that we would do some of the exercises together,” she adds.

Part-way into the book and inspired by the results she was achieving, Sane-Mari decided to enrol with The Learning Connexion. “I have always dreamed of doing art, but I was not fortunate enough to pursue it because of limited choices I had as a child leaving school”, she says. Half a year on, it is clear her decision was the right one. “I really like doing this programme. It gives me freedom to explore what I find interesting, but also gives me an opportunity to set tough goals through the briefs that I write. Having a tutor available to ask questions, as well as getting feedback on your work is great. It is a privilege to have such knowledgeable people on hand!”

In ‘GO! The Art of Change’ Jonathan Milne suggests that our “task is to get work that fits our passion”. Sane-Mari is taking his advice. “I want to be an art teacher,” she says. “I have always had this notion that art is not just about being able to paint, draw or reproduce. Art must mean something and therefore it has to be a creative process. We were all once children who enjoyed being creative, but the process of growing up took that uninhibited freedom of expression away from us. I want to help people (particularly those who say they are not artistic) to unlock their creativity. I want to show them the joy in being creative and to prove that you don’t need to be an ‘artist’ per se to experience this feeling,” she adds.

It’s a fair certainty that Sane-Mari will achieve her dream. She has identified her goal, researched her options and outlined a time-plan. She has even set a date to bid farewell, once and for all, to her accounting job so that she can focus on her art and teaching career full-time. But most importantly, she is driven by an inner desire to share her joy and there can be no greater motivator than that.

* If you would like to purchase a copy of Jonathan Milne’s book ‘GO! The Art of Change’, click here.

By Susan Knaap

It’s gratifying (though not surprising!) to see TLC students continuing to make an impact within the art community. To our knowledge, three of the approximately 30 artists who have been chosen to create and exhibit art to commemorate New Zealand’s involvement in the 1944 Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy have TLC connections. In a separate article, graduate student Cath Sheard tells of her own intended journey to Italy to be part of the event. And in the Horowhenua town of Levin, friends Ronda Turk (graduate student) and Sharlene Schmidt (current student) are busily making preparations for the upcoming event in May.

A call for interest from the project’s Italian based Kiwi organiser Kay de Lautour Scott through the New Zealand Art Guild prompted Ronda and Sharlene to submit portfolios of work. Preference was given to those artists who had a connection or deep interest in Cassino. For Ronda, the connection is a family one. “My grandmother’s cousin’s husband, Don Hutchins, fought in Cassino in the 25th battalion. He actually lives here in Levin, so I’ve heard lots of stories directly from him,” she says. And Sharlene is looking forward to representing a number of acquaintances. “The event being what it is and being able to attend is important for me to do for those I personally know. Most are friends’ relatives, but I have the opportunity to do this for them and for me this is an honour,” she adds.

While there is no obligation for accepted artists to make the trip to Italy, both Ronda and Sharlene have committed to doing so and, having never been to Europe, are understandably excited by the prospect. “Visiting Italy is a dream come true, the whole package – history, people, culture, food and of course the art!” says Ronda. For Sharlene, the trip will also double as a honeymoon so the impetus to make the trip a reality is strong. What they need now is funding and they’ve come up with a unique strategy – raffling a collaborative art piece in the subject of the winner’s choice.

Painting in progress

While at one level it is an exciting opportunity to travel abroad and gain artistic exposure, the hope, according to Kay de Lautour Scott, is that artists can play a vital role in recording the past in order to educate and inspire future generations to opt for peace rather than war. Ronda and Sharlene have embraced this mission statement and are working on a number of artworks related to the Battle of Monte Cassino and the war in general. Says Ronda, “My first painting is of ruins in which I have placed doves (to replace flying bullets) as a symbol of peace. My second painting is still in the development stage, but will show the Peace door at the Abbey [The Abbey of Monte Cassino was destroyed during the battle and reconstructed thereafter]. The painting is split in two time-wise – one half is the door after being rebuilt, the other half is after the bombing with the rubble encroaching over into the rebuilt side. This is to symbolise how the aftermath of war is still with us even after we have rebuilt lives and buildings.”

Sharlene will be painting three or four individual paintings. The one pictured is entitled ‘Last Post’. “I wanted to paint an emotion; a picture that would reflect the importance of remembering the devastation of the war,” says Sharlene. “I felt that the bugle call music of the ‘Last Post’ and the poppies are important international symbols that carry emotion. The resting battered bugle is to represent the end of the war and the bugle music for ‘Poppies in Monte Cassino’ is to represent the location as well as soldiers lost and returned” she adds.

Kay de Lautour Scott hopes the art exhibition will become a regular and international event. “We see ANZAC Day parades growing in strength,” she says. “I believe the time is right for artists to reinforce the peace messages coming from the soldiers who fought in this battle. To share time with veterans and have them say, often in tears, that it must never happen again and then to see what is still happening all over the world, leaves me feeling that I must try to do something, however insignificant it might seem. If we all play a tiny part in a move towards peace, we must eventually reach a tipping point where we can change nations and governments,” she adds.

Our congratulations go to the artists chosen for this assignment. It’s encouraging to see TLC students adding their voice to such a worthwhile message.

by Susan Knaap

Picture this: a parcel arrives for you in the post, wrapped just the way you imagine a present should be, bedecked in elegant wrappings complete with old fashioned gift tag and string tied in a bow. Little design accents – vintage stamps, collages, illustrations and/or text – abound. You’re smiling and you haven’t even opened it yet. And when you do you’ll discover, amidst layers of delicate tissue paper, a personalised message from the recipient hand-written on exquisite French stationery, a scroll of befitting quotes and poems and, of course, your gift – something different and unique, chosen especially for you.

How do you get to be so lucky? By being the recipient of a gift ordered through Jumping Tangents, an online gift shop that focuses on creating unique personalised parcels. Jumping Tangents is the brainchild of graduate TLC student Cathie Davis – a self-proclaimed “fossicker and finder” and a firm believer that even in this time-challenged age, gift-giving can still reflect a measure of meaningful intent. “People like convenience, yet they crave the personal,” Cathie says, “and they can end up feeling guilty for just grabbing something easy rather than making something special for their loved ones. Jumping Tangents fills a gap in the market by offering convenience along with a uniquely personal approach.”

Cathie and Tim Davis - Photo by www.picturesque.co.nz

The convenience side of the equation comes into play by doing your shopping via the Jumping Tangents website. Be warned, and this from personal experience, you may find it difficult to extricate yourself once you have entered this particular portal. Once inside, you’ll discover a plethora of enticing, unusual and often quirky gift ideas, conveniently categorized to suit every preference – from exquisite Florentine stationery direct from Il Papiro in Italy to mouth-watering New Zealand made chocolate (lime chilli chocolate anyone?), and everything in-between (there’s even invisible ink for Harry Potter devotees!). There are gifts for every sized wallet – you can get change from $10, or splash out on lavish gift parcels for special occasions.

Found the perfect gift? Now the fun really begins. You can of course, happy in the knowledge that you’ve chosen the perfect gift, have Jumping Tangents gift-wrap your present, free of charge, in their signature vintage wrap. Or you can, at an extra cost, have the parcel themed to match the recipient’s tastes, complete with all the extra touches that can’t fail to ensure your friend or loved one knows they are valued. And it is this emphasis, not only on the gift, but on the gifting process itself, that characterizes Jumping Tangent’s philosophy. “We aim to reward both the recipient and the giver and to enhance their individual relationship by letting the recipient know the unique things that the giver has noticed and appreciates about them,” Cathie explains. “And we keep the giver updated from beginning to end, giving them a full description of the parcel once it’s completed, so that they get to enjoy the good bits of gifting.”

Photo by www.larsson.co.nz

It’s a unique concept. Not surprisingly, despite “plenty of knockers” and the challenges of the current economic climate, Jumping Tangents is flourishing. “It seems to be developing its own culture and customer following which is what we have worked deliberately towards, so that is very rewarding,” says Cathie. “A large percentage of our business is repeat custom – something which defies typical online shopping trends which suggest that loyalty is not a big consideration. Our dream is to create a business model that supports creativity, personal relationships and wonderful stories and we want it to grow and remain sustainable so more people can enjoy the benefits of such a work environment,” she adds.

The idea for Jumping Tangents was conceived some three years into Cathie’s study with The Learning Connexion, after she realised that her goal to be a full-time painter did not marry up with her personality and skill set. “My particular personality profile, as I discovered, is one that does well working with other people and finding roles which require you to use your communication skills,” she says. “So while I knew I quite enjoyed the solitude of full-time painting, I missed being with people. Working through the creative process helped me to accept that I needed to establish a way of life as an artist where I could work with people, rather than be on my own.”

Needless to say, Jumping Tangents is a family affair which includes Cathie’s husband Tim and two daughters Claire and Kimberley, along with other loyal employees who are endeavouring, as expounded on their website, “to make a change in the world, however small, by enabling people to touch the lives of those they love in a small, simple, but special way. After all,” they add, “the world can never have too much love!”

Foot-note: Jumping Tangents invite you to visit their flagship store specialising in design, specialty papers and chocolate – Jumping Tangents: Little Brown House at 4 Little Street, Wanaka. For more information, visit www.jumpingtangents.co.nz.

By Susan Knaap

It’s easy, as an artist, to take the road well travelled when it comes to promoting ourselves and our work – doing the standard marketing palaver, displaying our art in artist friendly cafes, or galleries if we’re lucky. Few of us ever think outside the square or, if we do, fear tends to nip great ideas in the bud fairly early on.

Not so for TLC student Catherine Sinclair who, long ago, decided with friend and fellow student Rebecca Fordyce that they wanted to establish genuine credibility and eventually get their work seen in places like the City Gallery. Some of you may remember an article I wrote on the pair last year when they set themselves up in Civic Square for half an hour at a time over a period of seven weeks, painting each other’s portraits.

Civic Square was again the location of choice for Catherine’s latest installation ‘100% Sheep’, but in contrast to the very public nature of the last endeavour this one was covert and unsanctioned, installed in the pre-dawn darkness. 100 miniature wax cast sheep – all white, but for one black sheep, wearing red scarves (“It was cold and they looked somewhat naked and in need of warmth”) and lined up in neat, precise rows. “I thought up the idea in response to seeing Gregor Kregar’s live sheep installation on the City Gallery lawns in early 2007,” says Catherine. “I felt that the lawns just cried out for sheep.”

So why the stealth and intrigue in setting it up? “Guerrilla art is an affordable way of getting your art noticed without having to rent space from galleries,” she says. “By gate-crashing the re-opening I gained an audience without having to send a single invite. I think that art should be accessible and I adore the Civic Square space and see it as an extension of the interior space. When I knew the City Gallery was being closed (for renovations) I thought the re-opening would be the best time strategically to install my sheep. When I saw the lawn space was vacant, I knew they would get maximum exposure, although I did expect them to get moved along by security. I guess the quality of the installation meant they looked as though they were meant to be there and so they stayed until I packed them up at the end of the day.”

Catherine kept a low profile throughout the day, choosing to sit across the Square to watch the reactions to her work. “Kids were counting sheep and making the rows straighter if they were moved out of formation. Most people smiled when they saw them, especially when they noticed the one black sheep in the family!” she says. “Many people took photos. It was funny seeing well-dressed people squatting down to have their photo taken with them.” And because no-one claimed the work as their own, there was quite a buzz about who the artist might be, with plenty of amusing snippets of conversation overheard.

There was one unexpected encounter of interest on the day. A local print artist, Moira Gaerty, was doing her own creative project called ‘100 Strangers’ which required her to go up to 100 strangers, take their photo and find out something about them (all of which is being recorded on www.flickr.com/photos/moiragaerty/3994253442/). As it happened, she approached Catherine (who turned out to be her 2nd stranger), whereupon she learned about Catherine’s installation and discovered they were both working with ‘100’ themes. To cap off their encounter, Moira produced a brown plastic Canadian Moose from her handbag and placed it in front of the sheep for a photo opportunity.

By all accounts, it was a worthwhile and confidence enhancing experience. “My art looked professional and sat well within the space,” says Catherine. “There was a playful interaction between the sheep and Yayoi Kusama’s ‘Mirrored Years’ installation on the external walls of the gallery. The weather was good and there was a ton of people enjoying the activities and live music. I felt I was living the dream – ‘100% Sheep’ looked like ‘real art by a real artist’.”

While this installation was ostensibly Catherine’s project, it profited greatly from the generous help and advice of others. “Rebecca Fordyce was pivotal to the success of the project, as I was able to talk issues through with her when things went wrong and I felt like giving up,” says Catherine. “Her technical advice was very handy and her belief in the integrity of installation art was steadying when I felt like selling sheep one by one!” Rebecca also crocheted all the scarves for the sheep and Jules Hunt photographed the installation and crowd interactions. Additional helpers included Carrie Burke, Ellen Williams, Andy Catton, Holly Horrid and her son Luca (the latter two helping to reinstate a handful of sheep who suffered broken limbs, thanks to an uncontrolled toddler late in the day!).

So, where to from here for the artist who’s out to get noticed? “I have a big and very different installation planned for next year,” Catherine says, “and despite being daunted by the huge amount of work it will take, I now have greater confidence that I can translate my ideas into reality.”

It’s always interesting to hear about what leads someone to discover their ‘thing’ in life. A chance remark, a sudden insight, a growing dissatisfaction with the way things are. In Vicky Walford-Bourke’s case, it was when her two daughters asked her to make them a ragdoll, having been disappointed with their store-bought ones. Always a “crafty D-I-Y kinda girl” Vicky set to work on creating a custom-made ragdoll. Little did she know that it was just the beginning – a first step along the road to creating a company she’d name Tinkadoodle.

Previously a wool-classer by trade, Vicky damaged her spine in three places whilst managing a small wool store and was forced to give it up. She retrained into art, craft and design and spent a year completing a Foundation in Textile Design course. She subsequently got married and had two daughters. But life didn’t proceed quite as expected. “My husband decided life with me wasn’t for him after all and I found myself the sole parent of two girls under the age of three!” she says. “I needed to create an independent income.”

Creating an independent income is no mean feat when you have toddlers to care for and spinal injuries to manage. “I had mobility problems and had developed fibromyalgia – a muscle disease. Anything repetitive would cause me great pain and partial paralysis,” says Vicky. “I had to manage both my work environment and activities to allow me to enjoy a productive, active life.”

It was the personal journey, however, that proved the most challenging for Vicky. “Over the years, Tinkadoodle grew to represent my personal challenge to freely be my individual creative self,” she says. “The problem was that I lived in a society that preferred me to please others first and conform to their standards and expectations. I denied and ignored myself in order to feel like I belonged. Constantly adapting and changing myself to suit outside standards and expectations was NOT a recipe for personal happiness! It left me craving to be my own self.”

To add to the litany of personal challenges, Vicky felt a strong aversion to traditional business models. “It all felt wrong to me,” she says. “The commercial viewpoint; the manipulative techniques of selling, were all games I did not want to play. But everyone else seemed so much more confident than me, so surely they knew better than I what to do! Actually, NO, they didn’t! Few people listened to what I said I wanted. Most just twisted what I wanted to fit their commercial viewpoint and pretended they were helping me. At the time I didn’t know the difference, except that it didn’t feel right! It was not how I wanted to be ‘in’ business.”

What Vicky learned in the process, was life-changing. ”It turned out that I had all the answers to my own questions the whole time – I just didn’t trust myself enough to listen! It has taken me years to realise all I ever wanted was to live a creative life; to see that my forte is as a creative, not a manager. While I’m good at both, I’ve recently discovered that the ‘manager’ side of me is constantly trying to kill off the ‘creative’ side. Here’s why.. managers like detail and plans; creatives love nothing better than to ‘wing it’. Managers like repetition and known results; creatives love the unknown and exploring ‘what ifs’. Managers like rules and boundaries; creatives just want lotsa space to play! They are complete opposites!” she adds.

The way forward is now crystal clear for Vicky. ”I want creativity to be the dominant force in my life. My goal now is to be Tinkadoodle’s Creative Director – creating new designs and patterns which I will then hand over to someone else to produce. I have no idea what I will discover along the way and that scares the bejeepers out of me! I am having to leave behind everything that makes me feel safe and secure. But I am sure that with TLC’s help, I’ll find my way. Courage is said to be doing what you’re afraid to do; there can be no courage unless you’re scared. So I must be on the right path!”

You can find the Tinkadoodle shop and studio at 181 Adelaide Road, Newtown, Wellington. For more information, visit the website (complete with online ordering facilities) at www.tinkadoodle.co.nz.

by Susan Knaap

Paul Little is a man in love with life – it oozes from every pore and echoes throughout the growing body of photographic work that has been a major creative focus for three years. How did he stumble upon photography? “I met this rooster on the side of the road and we shared lunch and he told me to do photography… and so I did,” he says, humour duly noted.

The whimsical and the sublime seem to go hand in hand when it comes to Paul’s work – from the fanciful creatures he manufactures courtesy of Photoshop to the pure, unadulterated impressions of nature. With the latter, the sense is that it is ‘nature’ with both a small ‘n’ and a capital ‘N’ – nature as environment and Nature as the eternal creative force that underpins everything. In other words, nature is no longer something we look at, but experience ourselves as.

“It seems to me we humans have become very disconnected and removed from nature – we are no longer part of it,” says Paul. “We live in conceptual realms, ‘thought prisons’ where everything is analysed, judged, assessed and boxed. We no longer see the actual thing; only a mental abstraction. I want to bring the viewer directly into the experience of the image minus the endless judgments; to magically transport them into an actual experience of the interconnectedness of life.”

And transport us he does. The viewer is offered a new perspective of what we typically take for granted – Toi Toi transform into shimmering manes of golden thread; wet sand into a vast sheet of glass mirroring the cloudscape above; bird feathers into intricate tiers of patterned silk. This is not nature as we have come to expect it – rather, a fresh take allowing us to view the world once again through innocent eyes.

A Stage 3 student, Paul is thriving on the challenge of new perspectives and possibilities. “I mainly work with Peter (Adsett) – we do one on one Skype calls each week and it’s just worked out awesomely. I’ve learned so much – ‘thanks Peter’. During this last term I would like to move more into the intuitive, spontaneous and magical; to dance with nature and see what our dance together manifests photographically. And to allow the knowledge base I am being shown to become an intuitive aspect of my photography.”

Not surprisingly, commercial opportunities have already presented themselves. A long-time devotee of wild-life, Paul has given freely of his photography services to the Karori Sanctuary (www.sanctuary.org.nz). His work features on their website as well as on promotional posters, CDs, information boards, media releases, newspapers and pamphlets, some of which are being used by the Interislander, Tranz Scenic and the Department of Conservation – no mean feat given the latter’s already bulging database of photo archives.

Where to from here? Once he completes Stage 3 in July, Paul intends focusing a little more on the business side of art, setting up a small company and perhaps publishing one or two collections of his photographs showcasing New Zealand’s unique natural environment. Other than that, it’ll be business as usual – reading, tramping, diving, kayaking, travelling, dreaming, gardening, taking photos, “messing around on Photoshop”, listening to music, relishing silence when it happens and, last, but not least, drinking home-brew beer and hanging out with his “wild friends”. Sounds like a pretty good life.

If you’re interested in seeing more of Paul’s photography, it will feature in a slide show at TLC’s end of term exhibition (opening night) in mid-June. You can also visit his blog-site at
http://paullittlephotography.freeservers.com/index.html.

Back during the distinctly nasty winter months we’d all rather forget, students Rebecca Fordyce and Catherine Sinclair were out braving the elements in a rather unusual creative endeavour.

Inspired by a TLC course they’d taken on ‘installation performance’, the women came up with a bold goal – to one day exhibit together at the Michael Hirschfeld Gallery (at the City Gallery). In the meantime, they needed to gain some experience to strengthen their proposal, so they began brainstorming ideas for a performance work they could do in the short term. This led to the idea of painting each other’s portraits in public over a select period of time – to be, in effect, both artist and model simultaneously. The site – outside the entrance to the City Gallery – was chosen to inspire them towards their future goal.
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