Whanganui Artist Open Studios

Well, my studio isn’t actually open – it’s more that a friend has invited me to park myself and my mahi on her back deck with a view of her garden.

Last June I had an exhibition in Ōpunake. It was really bad timing as Covid was rife in Taranaki, the cost of petrol went up considerably, and it seemed as though there was a storm blasting through every other weekend. Not great for sales however I did enjoy a short residency and seeing my work out in such a lovely gallery as From Out of the Blue allowed me to gain some valuable insights. It was not only my motivation at different times, but I could see commonalities across a variety of mediums both two dimensional and 3D, and of course knowledgeable feedback from Viv Davy, the gallery owner, and others.

In December I contributed some of my work to A Gallery and now . . . Open Studios Whanganui. That led to a time of selecting work, framing, and pricing. Sales have been fair and feedback valuable – there is something really wonderful listening to people talk about how they feels about work and it’s intriguing what attracts and arouses curiosity.

As a result of having all my work out, talking to people coming through, I’m valuing and regaining interest in mediums I haven’t used in a while such as encaustic. Recently I’ve spent a good bit of time painting where once I said that I used paint but wasn’t a painter. I still don’t consider myself a painters as such, but I’m dabbling, learning, enjoying myself of a flat surface for a change . . . knows where I’ll go next.

Encaustic pod with pūkeko feather ruff. 21 x 9 cms