Exhibition block week for the Advanced Diploma students is not only to experience first hand what it is to present the culmination of their year’s work, but an opportunity to engage with each other and share critically what the year has meant to them.

Mentors John Cornish and Ewen Anderson enjoyed an informal and invaluable  conversation with the three students who were able to travel to Taita and participate in the block course - Rebecca Shawyer, Miriam Ruberl and Rebecca Dodds. These three also took on the responsibility of hanging their peers work.

The discussion came ostensibly from two main questions: “What have you gained from the Advanced Diploma?” and “What has this week given you?”. The group thought it might be of interest to other students to read the their responses.

MIRIAM RUBERL

What I’ve gained from this Advanced Diploma on a personal level:

Dissatisfied with the prospect of an art making future that seemed to consist largely of acquiring improved technical skills, I set out to immerse myself in a process and approach to art making that was radically different to anything I had done before, but was also associated with the work of a few of the artists I admired.  This provided me the permission, space and tools to now make art that I feel comes  truly from within me and, at the same time, can be linked to a historically traceable context of thinking and responses to life experiences that are relevant to mine.

Within that wider context, perhaps the most important things I learnt about my own art within this Diploma is that allowing a material to speak and following it where it leads me is an endless process if I let it be. I do not come to the end of a material’s potential until I decide to stop pursuing it and that working within pre-set guidelines such as the choice of material and process enhances my creative expression, rather than restricts it.

What I’ve gained from this Advanced Diploma as a member of the group:

I have been able to relax much more into being the particular human expression that my life experience has moulded me into; to enjoy the uniqueness of the others on the course, and to trust the safety of that environment.

What I’ve gained from this particular week on site:

I have been able to affirm my commitment to myself as a professional artist, to re-connect with students that I’ve formed very fond connections with over the year and to connect with the tutors and other artists on site. Just as  art work without viewers has no content, a creative life without other creators is a barren life.

Miriam Ruberls website

REBECCA DODDS

What I’ve gained from this Advanced Diploma Year:

I really enjoy the fact that I have space to work alone and not be bothered. The feedback from Ewen always benefits me and encourages me. It seems most people at TLC live and breathe art which is refreshing; everyone is always interested in what you are doing and where you are going.

Exhibition Block Week:

It is interesting to work with others (even though it has been a small group), in hanging an exhibition - good to know others’ views with that. It’s nice to hear other students’ thoughts on the course and what they have been doing over the last year.

Rebecca Dodds Website

REBECCA SHAWYER

What I’ve gained from this Advanced Diploma Year:

Initially, I resisted aspects of the Advanced Diploma Programme. Process and materiality sounded great for someone younger; new to their medium. Little was I to know it would affect my approach to my art profoundly and permanently.

Prior to the Advanced Diploma I believed I was pushing boundaries in a medium (clay), historically rooted in functional ware. The breakthrough came when I finally realised there are no boundaries in art except those we choose to erect for ourselves. This epiphany was facilitated entirely by the course content and my incredibly patient, supportive and knowledgeable mentor, John Cornish.

The result of this revelation was the unbridling of my imagination, for which Ancient Creature is just the beginning.

In a different way but of equal importance is the fact that who we are has a huge impact on our process. I had actually got to the point of not mentioning my previous career in Patisserie, as it wasn’t an ‘arts’ background. However, I now see how my process is based directly in those years. I now not only own it, but value it for what it has turned out to be – the perfect apprenticeship and an important point of difference in my work.

What I got out of being here this week:

Meeting the mentors and other artists; getting advice from tutors in other departments on techniques I want to incorporate in future work; receiving feedback and seeing people’s reactions to the different works, including my own; seeing other work from the main school exhibition; making new contacts and recognising this week as a marketing opportunity.

Rebecca Shawyers website

Staff and teachers at Hutt Valley High recognized natural artistic talent in some of their students. They doodled in their school books and tagged school property.

There was a call for TLC to provide a one day a week art class for these students. The ‘Street Art class’ was born.

This class celebrates and nurtures the natural talent and creativity of these high school students. We challenged them to design and work on individual art projects, based on each student’s interests. We inspired them through their own creative process to see what they were capable of achieving.

Our classes teach art techniques which lead to finished works ready for our end of term Exhibition. The works can be for sale or gifted to family and friends. As part of the ‘Street Art’ class, we invited practicing street artists in to talk to the students about street art. The art school environment is quite a buzz for the high school students and they commented on how welcome they felt at the Learning Connexion.

We are currently running these classes as a pilot programme and have had many enquiries from Auckland, Wellington and Wanganui since we started them one term ago.

We are really proud of the students from Hutt Valley High, for starting something new and paving the way for more students to have the same positive creative experience.
Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

TLC student Sophie Taptiklis is preparing to showcase her work at Thistle Hall in Wellington. She sent us a sneak preview of what will be on display!

“The watercolours, sketches and etchings in this exhibition grow out of an appreciation of New Zealand’s fauna, and a desire to acknowledge the tension in the ability of our birds and wildlife to survive in this modified and polluted environment we live in. Some species manage well, while the forest habitats of others are replaced by car wrecker yards (like in Lower Hutt) or endless acres of sheep and cattle. Hence one of the only place to find traces of these beautiful creations is in recollections on scrap metal.”

Non-Stick Nature
Images of the intricacies of nature by TLC student Sophie Taptiklis
Thistle Hall, 293 Cuba Street, Wellington. Opening 6-8pm Monday 12 July, then open daily 10-6 Tuesday to Sunday.

Preparations for the NZ Art Show 2010 are well underway and now we are recruiting staff to work at the event. The NZ Art Show is taking place Thurs July 29th – Sun Aug 1st.

We are seeking people who hardy, healthy and happy – is that you?

Skills and experience required:
• Excellent customer services skills – a pleasant and friendly manner is an absolute must. Put on yo’ smiley face.
• Excellent physical health – robust, strong and good stamina
• Ability to work with little supervision
• Ability to work quickly and calmly under pressure
• Ability to handle artwork with care
• Patience in quiet times
• A good curatorial eye (optional but handy)
• Experience with powertools (optional)
• Ability to work in crowded situations

For more information please contact:
Midge Murray
04 387 4370
midge@artshow.co.nz

To find out more about The NZ Art Show visit our website

By Jonathan Milne

What do you do when you think no one is interested in your art and you’ll never make a living from it? It is a crisis faced from time to time by most creative people.  It’s normal.  There are ways to cope.

The early days of TLC involved some massive wobbles.  Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s TLC was tiny and vulnerable.  I worked like a maniac to ensure that our classes happened and that they were memorably good.

The money situation was chronically fragile.  I used to jog to the post office every day and hope that new enrolments were in the mail.  I also grabbed opportunities to do other work (mostly part time teaching) to keep the cash flowing.

By far the most positive thing was the progress of students who did our courses.  It was richly exciting and positive for just about everyone who participated.  Excitement doesn’t pay the rent but it’s a signal that something good is happening.  The hunger and enthusiasm of students helped to convince me that TLC ideas were worth fighting for.

Maybe this is more important than anything else.  If you feel that your work matters, that you have something to contribute to the world, then difficulties cease being psychological burdens.  You still have to apply yourself to achieve practical results but it’s a whole lot easier to focus on action instead of being bogged down by worries.

Like most artists I’m not driven by money but I realised that it was important to deal with the financial side of the school.  I felt invigorated talking with marketers and reading books on marketing.  The underlying idea is to draw attention to things of value.

Marketers can be pathologically optimistic and it took time (and many mistakes) before I realised that there are no certainties.  Marketing, like art itself, is a conversation.  You have to discover what works.  The oddest thing I ever did was spray pamphlets with a little whiff of perfume before putting them in letter boxes.  It didn’t sell anything but it did add a new dimension to a hugely boring task.  And of course it was research.  I was learning about the way people connected (the things that don’t work are just as important as the things that do – you learn how to make the best use of your energy).

My current marketing guru is Jeffrey Gitomer (http://www.gitomer.com/).  Gitomer.com is bursting with good tactics (all free) and – hidden behind the blah – an engaging sense of life, the universe and everything.   He encourages you to be effective by being yourself – a great message for artists.

When you hit the inevitable speed wobble, take time out to consider what has worked really well.  Chances are that’s going to be the zone of the ‘real you’.  The next step is to build on what works.  For a dose of hard-headed encouragement you might like to check Gitomer.com.  Then it’s a matter of pondering your situation and figuring out what you can do to make a difference.  In the end it isn’t the wobble that matters, it’s your willingness and ability to make an effective response.

This term we have upgraded our computer suite with beautiful new imac computers, the latest versions of the Adobe Creative Suite, Final Cut Express and animation software Dragon.

We are proud to showcase some of the fabulous work that was created in our documentary class in the computer suite from last term. Here are four new documentaries from TLC Students Tony Ludlam, Adam Minter, Hayley Gastmeier and Courtney Stubbins. Enjoy!

Danger is part of human experience.  Art and creativity always have to come to terms with danger, both physical and psychological.

Evidence of danger is all around.  At airports in Europe it isn’t unusual to see soldiers carrying machine guns, all part of the continuing story of the ‘war against terrorism’.  Outside every school parents deliver and collect their children from the front gate because there is a constant sense of danger on the streets.

It isn’t new.  In southern France, at Le Cros de Caunes-Minervois, there are the remnants of a fortification that dates back nearly three thousand years.  It looks like a pile of rocks but it used to be an imposing defensive position.

Throughout France there are examples of fortifications, mostly castles, some in advanced states of decay, others preserved for tourists.  It appears that people have always had barricades as a defense against marauders.   Mostly, of course, life happened out in the open where people tended their crops, looked after animals and played.

Today the connected feelings of defense and aggression are stoked by rapid reporting of death and disaster.  It isn’t only about fighting and killing – economics and the environment have been turned into horror stories too.  Although there are some dangerous possibilities, we question whether they are worth the chronic fear which is generated by a constant diet of bad news.

The most dangerous aspect of fear is the inhibition of play.  Without play there isn’t much art and creativity.  Without creativity we’re not going to be able to respond effectively to danger.

Play is the starting point of TLC’s Diploma of Art and Creativity.  It’s a paradox.  The economy wobbling, the environment getting messed up, lots of fingers on lots of triggers, and we’re saying “hey, let’s learn how to play.”

Play opens hearts and minds.  There isn’t any single recipe.  Even a simple act of observation can be playful.  It’s as if the whole world is dancing and we are encouraging you to find a way to join in.

A beginning point of play is that it helps us get along together.  When people are getting along well they find it a lot easier to find ways to deal with the things they call ‘problems’.  It becomes easier to do science, make art and develop business.  It helps move us through protective barriers – the mental equivalents of the metal detectors and body-scanners – so that we can be ourselves.

TLC offers the play of engagement rather than the play of distraction.  Our programmes are about engagement with the world.  It’s about the audacity of fun.  If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.

Jonathan Milne (Managing Director)

Save Our Land in Time: Wellington Artists’ environmental message.

Exhibition: Our Land in Time, an exhibition of paintings from Dan Wilkinson and Sandy Rodgers at Tamarillo Gallery, 325 Lambton Quay Wellington, 4 – 26 June 2010.

Our Land in Time is a darkly beautiful exhibition from two Wellington artists: Sandy Rodgers and Dan Wilkinson.

Sandy Rodgers is a talented painter, and passionate about her country.  Her latest work: ‘Protect our forests from mining’ directly addresses the mining issues facing our National Parks and Conservation areas. Rodgers is well known for her paintings referencing the history and origins of Aotearoa, and she says the body of work on display in this exhibition encompasses the history of New Zealand, but also where we are now and where we are heading. The anti-mining painting wrestles with the here and now, Rodgers says.

“Here we are today…this is just one issue that we are currently faced with. The faded flag (ensign) representing what can happen to our nation if we let the jewel in our illustrious crown be destroyed. (Our national parks and conservation areas)”

Sandy grew up in the Hutt Valley, before moving to London and spending six years travelling the world. After years of study, work, travel and general life experience Rodgers says she realised how little she really knew of not only her own heritage but all of New Zealand’s heritage and so made it her personal goal to study, research, read, question and create as much information as possible. She now resides in Island Bay, and her perspective on her home and country is enhanced by the years of distance:

“It is these places that we are still advertising on postcards inviting people to partake in our little slice of paradise.”

Her series also includes an older work titled “Adventure in Maoriland.”  Rodgers explains that this piece is about the settlement of both Maori and Pakeha cultures here in Aotearoa. The title comes from a series of postcards printed at the beginning of the 20^th Century in Wellington by Murray Lloyd Photography. The postcards showed photographs from all over the country of wild and tame New Zealand Scenery. At that time, New Zealand was advertised as a virtual wonderland filled with romantic images of happy and peaceful people living in an idyllic setting. There is also a huia feather in the image, which Rodgers identifies as a reminder of the danger that if we become complacent and take this Eden of ours for granted it can be destroyed, never to be restored!

Rodger’s paintings will be exhibited at Tamarillo Gallery alongside long time artist colleague Dan Wilkinson, whose works explores the physical and spiritual energy of the land. Wilkinson works from a studio on Wellington’s rugged South Coast; he says this inspirational landscape is notable in his new work:  “I am interested in stripping back the land and capturing what is unseen, what makes it so powerful.” Capturing the essence of his surroundings has lead to a more specific passion for the islands of New Zealand & the stories of the land. Wilkinson says he finds Islands such as Mana, Kapiti & Matiu/Somes very special as they are places with very little pollution and contain no predators.

“These are places where trees, insects, birds and the tuatara thrive. There is maybe a hint of what it used to be like before human intrusion. Marine reserves & bird sanctuaries have been a huge step forward into returning the local environment to its most natural state; they act a bit like role models for society.”

Wilkinson’s latest works also reflect his vision for a free flowing sustainable society. He believes that the people of Aotearoa have a responsibility to take care of the land for future generations.  This includes simple things like being aware of the environmental footprints each of us leave behind, with the array of things we consume on a daily basis.

Both artists studied Art & Creativity at The Learning Connexion, where Wilkinson has taught for over 10 years. Sandy Rodgers exhibits widely across the country and you can catch Our Land in Time at Tamarillo Gallery, 325 Lambton Quay from June 4 – 26.

Arts and Marketing and Administration with Eva Yocum

Weekend Class

Start date: May 29 & 30

Eva Yocum

Creating something marvelous is very different to getting it out into the world. This is a practical class on how to go about marketing and administering your art practice. We will create some basic resources, on top of pre-made material, which I’ll be handing out and we will also look at where to find resources in your community to help you with the business side of art.

Zen and the Art of Video Editing

Tutor – Kate Logan

Weekend Class

Start date: May 29 & 30

Editing is an art of storytelling and an art that is unique to the moving image. Not merely a matter of mechanically placing one shot after another; film and video editing is often referred to as the invisible art, because when it is well practised, the viewer can become so engaged with what they are watching that they are not even aware of the editor’s work.

Stanley Kubrick was once quoted as saying: I love editing. I think I like it more that any other phase of film making.