Fiona Garlick – Sculptor
Sometimes it takes a global pandemic to shift your thinking.
Covid-19 and the visceral fear of the unknown that ensued in the early days of New Zealand’s lockdown took sculptor Fiona Garlick right back to her previous career as a documentary film maker, and a film about the Black Death that swept through medieval Europe. With no orthodox medicine or doctors to speak of, people were superstitious, full of fear, and relied on talismans, incantations and lucky charms to ward off illness.
Naga Tsutsumi
By Carly Thomas
Naga Tsutsumi works from a small studio in front of his suburban Palmerston North house. Just down the road the Manawatū river flows and beyond that is a stand of totara trees that he walks through regularly.
Naga has lived here for 14 years but still he says, within his work his Japan-ness murmurs. This intrigues him - this otherness and a new series of work is an exploration of identity and what it means to be ‘NZ made’.
Sheelagh McHaffie
IN FOR THE RIDE
IN FOR THE RIDEA self taught artist, as her mother was, Sheelagh McHaffie has embraced her self discovery to art as a blessing, considering it a unique way to approach her passion.
Sheelagh was always drawn to the arts. As an only child in a pre-digital world, she would often just sit, observe her surroundings and draw. Having had a hiatus from her artwork for 20 years, after losing her mother and raising a daughter with ASD she found there were too many pressures to continue. “At the beginning of 2019 I was officially homeless. I had separated from my husband who was living in Australia, and had not enough means to support myself. I returned to NZ with my two children, aged 4 and 18, and the bags on our back. My mother passed away in 2005, so I was very much on my own. I had to overcome my own fear, guilt and judgement from others, and truly trust that I knew what was best for me. Starting over forced me to evaluate my life, I had finally been brave enough to put myself first but there was a huge hill to climb.”
Rosemarie Murphy
PLAYING WITH LIGHT
PLAYING WITH LIGHTAs a child Rosemarie Murphy always loved drawing and spent most of her pocket money on art materials, but it wasn’t until she was in her thirties that she started to try other media and materials. “I have dabbled in acrylics, watercolour, pottery (hand-work mostly) and silk dyeing, but pastel is the one that I have worked at the longest. I was introduced to pastel by Maxine Thompson, Master Pastelist in New Zealand. My sister, Raewyn, invited me to one of Maxine’s workshops and like so many of Maxine’s pupils I was hooked.
Having had no formal training, Rosemarie learned by attending many workshops - some in watercolour and acrylics, but mostly in pastel. For a long time family and milking cows stopped her from making art full time and she would attend a workshop and then put her work away until the next one. “This is NOT the way to improve,” she states adamantly.
Kristin Kay
CLAY GIRL
CLAY GIRLIn her childhood, Kristin Kay’s eldest sister Simone, eight years older than her and very creative herself, would often make games to use their imagination. “She would also make me and my other sister Ruth monthly magazines, hand drawn women's fashion pages, puzzle pages, baking recipes, facts about animals, anything.
A magical childhood was had by us girls. Unfortunately, just after her 19th birthday, when she had become a young adult down in Christchurch, her driver crashed the car at quite a speed. No one survived. But I always remember her instilling her creativity in me, her drawings, how she could make something out of nothing. It just stuck - she is still a big part of me.”
Kristin Hyde
DREAM BIG, AIM HIGH
DREAM BIG, AIM HIGHHaving been a Flight Attendant for 32 years, and after taking a month's holiday with her eldest son in the Bahamas, the night Kristin Hyde flew out of Houston to come home was the night the world started closing its borders and unbeknown to her at the time, she had already crewed her last duty. They say ‘When life gives you Lemons, make lemonade’ ... so I did. I took the leap, and at 60 years old in a pandemic, I became a full-time artist.” Kristin tells us her story:
“I am mainly self-taught, having taken the odd class over the years, both online and in person. I have always been a bit of a closet creative. I would scrimp and save and spend my money on art or craft supplies. When my children were little, I started painting on terracotta pots for friends. They quickly became sought after and so I created ‘Pots for Tots.’ From there I have always dabbled over the years in many different artistic endeavours from mosaics and water colours, screen printing to beading then jewellery making, eco printing and felting. I was always eager to try new things, but painting has become the dominant leader.
Julia Sternkopf
THE GIFT OF TIME
THE GIFT OF TIMEJulia Sternkopf is a self-taught artist, originally from Germany. She loved to draw and paint as a child and in high school, she drew people’s portraits for $20 a shot, although her real interest at that time was music. She moved to New Zealand in 2018 and is happily ensconced in Lake Hawea where she gains much inspiration from the scenery surrounding her.
Always having been told that being an artist is not a good career choice, Julia was disappointed with her art education at school. “We never even looked at the Old Masters and were solely focussed on Modern Art – I didn’t enjoy that very much.”
Guy duToit
JOYOUS ARTISAN
JOYOUS ARTISANBorn in South Africa and now a proud New Zealand citizen, Gideon (Guy) du Toit tried woodturning as a hobby and discovered a real passion and natural talent for it. He took his passion to France, where he studied at Ecole Escoulen, a woodturning school that was created in 2012 on the will of the municipality of Aiguines to promote the unique know-how of woodturners, knowledge which is deeply embedded in the cultural heritage of the territory. Guy qualified from here as a professional production and artistic woodturner.
“Giving up everything to go to France to study full-time was very hard. Not being able to speak French and having to be immersed in the school and classes full-time was exceptionally hard.”
