The Learning Connexion had an awesome day here on Saturday 6th March for our Festival, despite threatening rain clouds and a couple of early brushes with drizzle!
Joining together with practicing artists from across the Hutt Valley, we had loads of fun making, playing, looking, eating and listening to some of the fantastic acts on the day.
For me personally, watching the UV glow zone fill with fluro flowers that were made in the kidzone was delicious and a thrill for adults and kids. Likewise the meandering ‘sculpture walk’ through the forest path received raving comments and was a real tribute to the 3D staff and students who got involved.
Seeing visitors lying in the sun and enjoying the wide variety of performers on stage was great, particularly the inclusive ‘round dance’ performed by everyone and lead by the Yellowhawks! When it came to performers we really did have variety -- from Taita College Barbershop, Poppy Dust, spontaneous poetry and Foundation student Benedict Quilters Art noise rock band !
I was proud to be part of the team at TLC who helped make it happen, and we extend a huge ‘thank you’ to creative communities who helped fund the day, to all those who took part, visited or helped in some way to make the day as special as it was.

Festival of Art and Creativity -- HIGHLIGHTS

Our photo slideshow from the day:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Jim and Gabe Yellowhawk

Bronze casting -- Part 1 and 2:

Leah Wynne ice-sculpting:

Jonathan Milne welcomes everyone to the festival…

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.

Cath Sheard

by Cath Sheard

It looked interesting right from the start; the chance to exhibit in Italy in a ‘Peace and Remembrance’ exhibition at Cassino. The organiser, ex-Pat Kiwi Kay de Lautour Scott was calling for expressions of interest from people with a connection to Cassino or WWII. Should I give it a go? I didn’t want to apply until I was sure it was the right thing to do, so I waited a few days – thinking hard during the day, dreaming of Dad, war and Italy at night. Yes, I was sure I wanted to be involved, so sent off my application and some photos of my artwork. The waiting began.

Then came the email “Congratulations, you have been accepted to exhibit in May 2010 in Italy”..  and so the journey started. But first, to go back a bit, what is my connection to Cassino or WWII? My father was in the Navy; he served in the Pacific and went to Germany; my best friend’s father was in the 5^th Field Ambulance and a POW, and her uncle is buried at Rimminy, Italy. The chance to honour these three men is an incredible opportunity, especially as the exhibition also focuses on world peace, something both our fathers cared deeply about. I have since learnt of a fourth person, a sponsor’s father, and am taking his story with me as well.

The four works I am creating are deeply personal; they commemorate Alan McLeod, Roy Lehndorf, Jack Robinson and my father Mansel Barker. My process references the multi-layered and partial nature of memory, just as the images and memories I’ve gathered about these people are partial and somewhat obscured by time.

Each work is on watercolour paper loosely washed with acrylics. Copies of photos and war documents are collaged on then washed over to obscure some of the detail, in the same way that time has dulled memory and obscured details. I then work over the top in acrylics, adding layers of paint to represent stories the men told, such as the particular light in the desert of Egypt.

From there I add abstracted symbols of war and peace; the abstraction references both artistic preference and the way in which old images have often lost detail with the passage of time. Finally I add hand written text which documents their lives following the war, a tribute to the life that peace brings. Even this text is somewhat hidden, just as much of what the men went through has always been hidden from their families.

One problem remains – I can’t afford to make the trip, but don’t want my works to go without me. Once in Italy, attending artists will be taken to the Cassino Cemetery and battle sites and will have the chance to meet local veterans – all in the hope of inspiring ongoing work on the theme. The exhibition is being jointly hosted by Kay de Lautour and Cassino Comune (City Council) in the Biblioteca Comunale or city library and starts with a Gala evening hosted by the Mayor of Cassino. It just sounds too good, too inspiring, to miss.

There has to be a way for me to get there … and I think I’ve found it: I’m selling ‘shares’ in my trip. For $35 shareholders get a share certificate, a hand collaged postcard mailed back from Cassino, a full colour newsletter of the trip after the event, and a 6” x 6” original artwork commemorating the trip by December 2010. I have sold more than 30 shares so far, and hope to at least double that number. If you are interested in learning more about the exhibition, have a WWII story to tell, or would like to buy a share in my trip, contact me on cathsheard@xtra.co.nz – I’d love to hear from you.

About Cath Sheard:
I live in South Taranaki, New Zealand and have been painting seriously for the last few years. I have an Advanced Diploma of Arts & Creativity (Honours) from The Learning Connexion and am a member of the New Zealand Art Guild. As Librarian for Patea and Waverley Library Plus, I have a deep love of words; this, coupled with my interest in people and the local surrounds, all inform my work. I work mainly in watercolour and acrylic, and in a variety of styles. Much of my work leans more toward abstraction – particularly of the local landscape from which I draw much of my energy and inspiration. My artwork can be found in galleries and exhibitions throughout New Zealand and in private collections worldwide, but primarily in New Zealand and the United States.
http://www.cathsheard.com/
PS: The artwork shown is not a finished work; it is a test piece made while exploring the theme and how I wanted to tackle it.

Patea Freezing Works – On the grid

We’ve got a few videoclips below and you can see pictures on our Flickr gallery…

More videos to come….

Jim and Gabe Yellowhawk

Bronze casting – Part 1 and 2:

Leah Wynne ice-sculpting:

Jonathan Milne welcomes everyone to the festival…

You can also stay in touch with on our Twitter, Facebook and Flickr pages.

We met up with them to talk why they love to dance and have a sneak preview of their performance…

Leah is a stone carver and has bought her skills to things as varied as children’s holiday programs, community projects and stone symposiums. She’s not always just carving, often involving herself in organizing events such as The Soft as Stone Symposium which appears regularly on Wellington’s waterfront.

Leah works in Oamaru stone, mainly creating stylized and figurative forms, although she does explore animal and marine forms as well. Leah loves sculpting, it brings her a great sense of satisfaction. She prefers hand tools because they give her the time to indulge in and enjoy the process.

On Waitangi day she had the opportunity to have a go at ice-sculpting with another TLC graduate, Aaron Frater. Together they produced a double-sided fish form. Leah says that the ice was beautiful to work with, you could shave off layers to form the shape and to sand you just rubbed it with your hands. Touch is an important part of Leah’s work and many passing people were keen to put their hands on the ice sculpture. She said there was something magical about watching it slowly melt away at the end, changing shape as it disappeared.

Leah will be working on a large ice sculpture, carved from a single block of ice, throughout the Festival of Art and Creativity. She’s thinking about pursuing the fish theme and is really excited about having another adventure with this new medium. You’ll be able to see Leah carving and talk to her about her work throughout the day.

Written by Aaron Frater (TLC Tutor)

The fourth biannual ShapeShifter show held at the Civic Gardens and The NewDowse in Lower Hutt is a sculpture exhibition that runs during the New Zealand International Arts Festival. It has grown over the past 10 years to be a major visual arts event, one of the country’s premier outdoor sculpture exhibitions and an important charitable event for the Hutt Valley.

The show, which runs from Friday 26 February to Sunday 21 March 2010, features sculptures from over 60 artists including top New Zealand sculptors Para Matchitt, Don Driver, Graham Bennett, Tanya Ashken, Peter Nicholls, as well as exciting emerging artists. The sculptures are chosen by the ShapeShifter artistic director and director of The NewDowse art museum, Cam McCracken are in a wide variety of mediums and a range of scale.

After many years of putting in applications for this show, I was lucky enough to be selected for the 2010 event. So I guess I am one of the emerging sculptors. The body of work I have been creating, alongside a number of other series of works, are based around the idea of symbols and signs, using a specific material to realise them. The nature of the barrier mesh material is integral to the works. The mesh is luridly bright, bold, takes up space in a virtual kind of way, and yet is more holes than substance. This form / no-form dichotomy is a hallmark of, and something I love about this industrial product used as an art material.  The space in the mesh is an integral or even dominant part of the work.

The safety mesh is a grid, a manufactured woven pattern that is designed to warn the viewer away from dangers, yet it grabs attention and draws one in with its intense colour. A business suit is similar, a barrier. It keeps the corporate warrior safe. It can keep people out, make a statement of rank and demarcate socio economic and cultural boundaries. Are the identities these costumes confer upon human’s solid or primarily empty space? Are they just made up of socio cultural historical norms?  Is a suit perhaps like barrier mesh?  More hole than mass – like the space between protons and electrons in atoms? Physical matter in this view is more empty space than mass.

The layers of meaning in material, construction, and subject matter leave them open to interpretation. They are signs, or symbols – they are not naturalistic. The construction of these works is akin to upholstery or tailoring,  referencing form and function as such practical crafts as these do. I am neither a tailor nor a costumer. I am a sculptor versed in many forms of three dimensional arts making seeking a way to express some of what it is to be human in the 21^st century.

The opportunity to show these works in a public space as ShapeShifter allows is a great way for me to put these ideas out for many to engage with. A public show with the level of publicity of this one means many people will see them, interact with them and comment on them. This can be quite hard, opening up ones work to all comers, but its part of the art game. I find too that the growth in my work tends to come after people have seen it and given me feedback. I digest and filter it, and it informs aspects of my work. I still have to stay true to my ideas, but art is a visual communication and it is as much a dialogue as a monologue.

26 February – 21 March 2010
Open 10am-5pm daily and Thursdays 10am-8pm

NEWDOWSE LINK

An exhibition of paintings by TLC tutor, Anne-Marie Jean and also Karen Giles opened at Tamarillo Gallery in Wellington on Thursday night. Anne-Marie and Karen have worked together for many years, sharing studios and doing tramping and drawing trips into the New Zealand and Australian bush. The show was inspired by a trip they did to Stewart Island in December 2009, spending a week at Mason Bay in the Doc hut there, drawing and painting each day on the beach and sand dunes.

Other news is that TLC Tutors Anne-Marie Jean and Jane Blackmore have just opened Blackmore Jean Gallery and Studio at Shelley Bay in Wellington. The Galley/Studio will be open Tuesday to Saturday each week and it is just down the road from the Chocolate Fish Cafe.  So get down there and check it out!

Poppy Dust are heavily influenced by Prince, David Bowie, Maroon 5, Queen, Elvis, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. They describe their music as “music that sets skirts on fire from dancing too hard, men lose their voices from singing like girls, boys wish they were girls, and unlikely girls become sexy through sheer adrenalin. You want a thrill -- don’t hesitate, we’re bringing sexy music back to nz -- to spread one love.”

We caught up with Poppy Dust at a band practice and had a chat about music, being creative and of course, bringing the love…

You can find out more about Poppy Dust on their Myspace profile.