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Lizzy Dickie

lizzy-dickie-aotearoa-artistCELEBRATIONS OF LIFE

Born into a family of nine children, Lizzy Dickie has always been encouraged to pursue her creativity. Art is an important part of life and something her family celebrated. Lizzy was encouraged to go to university and study her passion, which at that time was sculpture. Having studied in the UK, achieving a BTEC Diploma pre-foundation at Mid Warwickshire College in 1996, a BTEC Diploma in art and design at St Martins College in London and finally receiving a BA Hons in Fine Art from Coventry University, she travelled extensively and volunteered in various parts of the world, creating murals and teaching.

She settled in Auckland and worked as the lead mural artist on ‘Storyfest’ for the Waitakere City Council for several years. “This gave me the confidence to create work for others, but honestly, Instagram has given me a real outlet to share my more personal work and to meet other creatives who inspire me daily. Instagram gives me the freedom to create what I want and gives me the confidence to call myself an artist.”

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Heather Leonard

EXPRESSIONS

Having always done well with art subjects in secondary school, Heather Leonard returned to school as an adult to complete her sixth form certificate in drawing and painting at Tokoroa High School in 1989, finding the teacher of that year to have made all the difference and making her realise how serious she was about painting.

“I realised that art and painting was something I wanted to do every day. As a watcher of people and having an understanding of body language, I enjoy art with an expressionist style, not wishing to paint in a realistic way, I want my own interpretation of the subject to be the art, and not to render an exact copy of what I see. My work often has a humorous aspect, as I realise most people respond to humour.”

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Jenny Geelan

INTERNAL DRIVE

Self-taught, Jenny Geelan has created all her life. “My grandmother, Mabel Drummund taught me to embroider when I was five. I clearly remember one morning at her home,  being so proud of my work. However as I lifted it up to show her, we realised I had embroidered it to the table cloth. All the teacups and saucers, plates and biscuits went flying! She was unfazed and calmly helped me clean up. She told me my work was lovely!” With encouragement like that and her Aunty Lucy who became a gentle driving force in her career, Jenny tells us a bit more:

“I have to credit my beautiful Aunty Lucy as a gentle driving force in my art career. I stayed with her on the Kapiti Coast during school holidays. She would take me on long beach walks where we would stop to look at the shapes in driftwood, pick up shells to draw or sit on the beach with a sketchbook and draw any beauty around us. She taught me to admire nature in its raw form and to see the small details that can be easily overlooked. Her loving encouragement was priceless. Aunty Lucy was the first person to call me an artist, that was an incredible thing for a small child to hear.

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David Traub

Born in New York, USA, David Traub acquired a B.A. in Ceramics and Photography from the East Texas State University (now known as Texas A&M Commerce), and an MPhil. in glass from Stourbridge College of Art and Technology in Stourbridge, England. David lives in Whanganui in New Zealand and has blessed New Zealand with his masterful work.

After graduation, David became fixated on glass making and joined a Texas craft community where he set up his first studio. That was in August 1973 which was when he taught himself how to blow glass and there he remained for the following 12 years.

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Beatrice Carlson

EVOLVING INSPIRATION

“I have ‘a genetic fashion disorder’ with a great grandmother fine linen embroiderer, two grandmother seamstresses and a French fashion design diploma.” So says Beatrice Carlson, an interdisciplinary artist with an impressive background of training.

Since 1988, Beatrice has worked and trained in French fashion design and pattern-making. She learned printmaking at Studio One in Ponsonby, mentored by Beth Serjeant in the years 2009 - 2011.
“From 2017, my art practice has evolved to Silversmith. I have been trained at the Whau Studio by the well known Ilse Marie Erl contemporary jewellery artist in Auckland. I was also selected with 12 other NZ jewellery artists to be part of the HandShake Project 2020 - Jewellery Masterclass by the international artist Iris Eichenberg.”

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Magda van der Walt

magda-van-der-walt-aotearoa-artistIRONING IT OUT

Mixed media artwork embraces so many mediums, differing creative processes and ways of getting to that all-important final result. We hear about the use of all sorts of medium and materials, however for Magda van der Walt, the word ‘wax’ changes everything.

“The moment I melted the first small block of wax on the hot travelling iron, I was hooked. It is a medium like nothing else I have ever experienced. It can fluctuate between solid and liquid within a few seconds and it dries solid in a single breath, she says. “It retains texture and reflects light in a way no other medium can. Working with it is almost meditative; definitely therapeutic.”

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Sarah Kolver

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BLUE PUDDLE REFLECTIONS

Sarah Kolver’s beginnings are like many young people who fall in love with art, wielding a paintbrush and easel after seeing, and learning in their younger years. However, her story comes forth like it came from the pages of a novel, set in the Redwoods Forest in Rotorua, nestled in a small ‘hut’ among the giant trees that guarded a secret desire to challenge one occupant…

“One summer, I think it was 2018, I was working as a barista in a little café in the Redwoods Forest. It was adjacent to the information centre and souvenir shop. I looked at the artwork and prints being sold in the shop and thought ‘hey, I could do something like this,’” she says.

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Lorraine Bailey

lorraine-bailey-aotearoa-artistHAPPY HEART, HAPPY ART

Moving from one place to the next can be a drag. Boxing up your life in the hope of finding your happy place; eventually realizing this is more than just a location it also becomes your state of mind too. For Lorraine Bailey this has happened a few times, after a stint in Auckland, she settled in a new happy place – Matamata in the Waikato – however all this came about from her beginnings in Rhodesia, Africa where her love of the environment there spurred her creative desire.

“My environment plays a pivotal role in my creativity. In fact, I can’t imagine what my art would look like without it. I believe, that it’s your surroundings that trigger all the senses to influence your heart and soul, which you then interpret onto canvas/paper. I particularly enjoy capturing that moment when light bounces or reveals something on the subject causing the viewer to pause in reflection. When I lived in Rhodesia and then in South Africa it was the wild life that influenced my work. My father was a Scoutmaster, and so from a very young age I became very aware of my natural surroundings,” she says.

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Keeley Eastwood

keeley-eastwood-aotearoa-artistEASTWOOD MYTHOLOGY

Myths, legends and the other-worldly creatures that bring them to life have long caught the attention of young and old. Authors and illustrators alike have been caught in the web of tales spun across generations. The fantasy genre is one of the key elements that sparked something in Keeley Eastwood and became one of the core inspirations behind her works.
Photos by Brad Mosen Photography

“As a child I have memories of loving illustrated children’s and young adult’s books and televised stories featuring anthropomorphic animals, fairies, mermaids and other mythological creatures,” she says. “These included the Beatrix Potter series, Wind in the Willows, tales about Greek mythology, The Dark Crystal, The Chronicles of Narnia, The NeverEnding Story, The Borrowers, Labyrinth…” Keeley also describes human emotion / states of being, animals and her love for the natural world as other major influencers.

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Judith Milner

judith-milner-aotearoa-artistCOMPOSITIONS OF LIFE

By Matt Mortimer

Many artists will shy away from portraiture. If the symmetry and, attention to detail aren’t enough, there’s also the making a likeness that is accurate to the subject. Not only does Auckland-based artist Judith Milner embrace this challenge – she excels – to the point of being commissioned to do just that.

Judith explains one such time, that was a little more special than most;  “In 2020 I was commissioned to paint portraits showcasing nine of the driving forces behind the Women’s Fund for their granting round event.  It was an honour to be able to paint these amazing women doing such important work in the charitable sector and to have my work displayed at the venue.”

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