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Carla Sclanders

carla-sclanders-aotearoa-artistBLESSED INSPIRATION

Born in South Africa and immigrating to New Zealand in 2020, Carla Sclanders is inspired by God. “He has blessed me with a gift and I am driven to portray a glimse of His Glory in all that I am able to create.”

She began with a pencil portrait of her daughter and was so pleased with the result that she began to do more family portraits. “My passion for art grew with every artwork I created especially once I started experimenting with colour pencils. Posting pictures of my artwork on Facebook lead to people contacting me for commissions and so my hobby turned into a part time job.”

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Fiona Ehm

fiona-ehn-aotearoa-artist copyINTERVIEW WITH FIONA EHM

How did you end up being an artist?

I’ve always had a deep motivation to create. Early on I pursued classical piano as my creative outlet – but found so many creative pursuits gave me joy and eventually visual arts won out as my primary form of expression.

What was your biggest motivating factor for you to pursue a career as an artist?

Creating art is deeply fulfilling. Currently, my primary career is in the Financial Services sector, however exploring my creative side remains so important to me. It keeps me balanced and grounded, and brings so much joy. There is nothing more rewarding seeing someone’s face light up when they find a piece that they connect with.

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Sheelagh McHaffie

IN FOR THE RIDE

A 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.”

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Rosemarie Murphy

aotearoa-artist-rosemarie-murphyPLAYING WITH LIGHT

As 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.

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Daniel Carter

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Oriental Dragon, 1200 x 800mm, Blowtorched on wood.

DESIRE FOR CREATION

The closest Daniel Carter came to formal art training would have been extension art classes and graphic design throughout intermediate and college years. “These classes were taken above my selected art classes, as the art teachers noticed I had an interest and above level ability for my age group. I left college at an early age to become a car painter, which ultimately led me towards the automotive artistry of airbrushing.”

The artist life started for Daniel at a very early age, “As a young child my parents encouraged my artistic abilities. By year two of primary school, my father Roger would sit with me for hours, teaching me how to draw realistic people, muscle cars, fighter planes, architectural buildings with two-point perspective etc. We didn’t have much but wherever I went I would have a small pad and pencil, taking inspiration from my surroundings, nature, birds, people, cars, buildings, that sort of thing.

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Beyond Self - Artist Diane Ammar

Diane Ammar

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I AM AN ARTIST

25 years ago Diane Ammar completed a correspondence course on learning how to draw and with the final assignment assessed, the mentor suggested she should investigate paint as a medium as they felt she had an affinity to that. Diane explains further:

“For about four years I occasionally attended short courses held by local artists on learning how to use watercolour, and discovered I loved portraiture. I had a long break from attending classes and workshops until 2021, but during those years I painted many portraits for friends and family using photographs I had taken or ones they had given me to use. These paintings are hanging in homes in Australia, New Zealand, Philippines and England.

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Monique Tichborne

ARTISTIC ESCAPE

Diagnosed in 2018 with Fibromyalgia and FND (Functional neurological disorder) Monique Tichborne bravely started to use art as a means of therapy, a distraction from the pain. She explains further . . . 

My health and requiring home based work were the motivations for me to become an artist. I gain inspiration from all around me. I don’t think my creative head ever switches off. I’m always capturing photos to add to my ideas folder. At the end of 2019 I was struggling with my drawing so to test myself I turned my page around which oddly was easier. I have been drawing all my portrait work upside down since. I have only begun painting this year. My canvas doesn’t remain stationery here either and I don’t work on an easel. Art therapy has been one consistent ‘healer’ while I manage daily pain. This year I officially classify my occupation as an artist. 

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Jordan Turner

jordan-turner-aotearoa-artistTRUE CALLING

At the age of 13, Jordan Turner’s foray into the fine art world was cut short by her family’s relocation from their home town of Cromwell to another country town. She’d only managed to have two private lessons. “My tutor handed me four pieces of paper and directed me to paint four faces without my brush leaving the paper. I feel like ever since that time, I have been mastering faces. He must have known that I was drawn to faces, as it’s exactly what I am drawn to now. The face and body and capturing the emotion, it’s just fascinating to me.” 

She claims her biggest inspiring factor to becoming an artist was when she was 16: “My Mum took my brother and I to the New Zealand Body Art Awards, in Auckland. That event left a lasting imprint and inspired me to research and then sign up and get accepted into studying makeup and film production, at the Design and Art College of New Zealand.” Jordan completed this certificate at the age of 20. From that point she furthered her skills by travelling and sketching her way around Australia and the UK, finally settling in Melbourne. “During this time I really started to focus on developing my creative craft. This involved leading various creative events, teaching workshops and displaying my artworks in galleries and art shows, throughout Melbourne.” 

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Karin McCombe Jones

 

THE ESSENCE OF COLOUR

With a plethora of training in all sorts of artistic areas including art and design, dance, physical education, and achieving a Bachelor’s Degree of Education with Honours, Karin McCombe Jones started her career teaching dance, drama and art in Engl­and. She moved to Canada and after immigrating to New Zealand, did various courses at the Learning Connexion school of art and creativity in Wellington where she now holds evening classes.

Born in Wales, Karin was a child who enjoyed drawing although her main ambition was to be an actress. “I got to teach drama, dance and art, which was close to being on stage at times, and painted sets for productions although I craved to be able to create my own work rather than simply making exemplars.”

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Adair Davis

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HOW COULD I NOT?

Born into a creative family with parents who belonged to a vibrant arts community, Adair Davis tells us that when she was born, Rita Angus, who lived with her family at the time, looked at her palm when she was born and proclaimed: “Adair will be an artist”. With this kind of background, it is not surprising that Adair has continued so successfully with her artistic journey.

Adair studied art at Whitireia New Zealand, previously called Whitireia Community Polytechnic and Parumoana Community College, in Porirua and claims her Mum was her mentor, teaching her to work in rich colour and three dimensional form. Her father was also instrumental in her influences, and actually made her an easel, which she still has and which is her favourite piece of equipment.

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