Pecha Kucha Christchurch #19

Pecha Kucha Night is a terrific event where 20 speakers present 20 slides for 20 seconds each. The evening is a total blast with fast-paced, concise information/entertainment being thrown at you by a bunch of talented people. And I totally jumped at the chance to design the latest poster for Christchurch.



The theme this time is the performing arts, which for me meant painting tiny acrobats and magicians. I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Locals - get along to this! I know 6 of the speakers and I promise you, they will deliver - comedy, facts, art and glitter.

You can view previous nights from Christchurch and other cities all over the world on the Pecha Kucha website.

Community classes.

For several months I have been going to pottery classes - every monday, just after lunch, with a mixture of women, at the Risingholme Community Centre.

I think I touched clay just a handful of times while at university and have always been very nervous around it - the cracking, oh the cracking! It seemed my hands could suck the moisture out of a watermelon. But now ... ho ho! I love it.

I've even had a go on the wheel and it feels like magic.





A couple more photos on my Instagram.. *bowls, and cups.



* I now understand why there is such ugly pottery filling the secondhand shops - glazing is a mysterious, uncontrollable, full-o-surprises beast. These turned out completely different to how I intended.  Learning, learning.

looks great, smells nice

Ooh we bought some art.
The sculptor is Misato Sano, a lovely lovely girl from Sendai. Here is a translation of her fantastic artist statement:

I have used dogs in my work to express the various facets of feminity (some of them are based on female statues I personally admire). Dogs are always loyal to their masters. I make my work with the hope that they will also nuzzle up to their audience.

It's made from camphor wood so it smells amazing.

Shared Lines / Shake It Up

Well the exhibitions are up and they are breathtaking/mindblowing/poignant/funny/beautiful.
If you are in Christchurch I insist you visit one or both of the shows. They are a treat. You won't regret it.

I have included a handful of pictures in this post, but there are just so many works involved it is only a mere glimpse of what you can see.

Fumiaki Aono. Restoration of a videotape found after the earthquake in Arahama, Watari

 Misato Sano "My Favorite Shiba"

 

Both the Canterbury Museum (Shared Lines - Sendai) and University (Shake It Up) shows are on until the 31st March. But if you are someone who unfortunately lives somwhere else, have a look at our tumblr and facebook page and feast your eyes on more Art.

The show at the museum features 70 works from Christchurch and Sendai artists. Having the opportunity to view and compare so many works from two very specific places is a unique experience. It is really special.
And there is something for everyone - I defy anyone who thinks otherwise!

Beautiful etching by Shino Echigo

Ryo Kimura's pop-tastic paintings

Artist talk with Henry Sunderland - the gnome and road cone man

The Japanese artists have left now after two whirlwind weeks of installation, artist talks, eating and drinking, gallery hopping and sightseeing. This is my favourite photo from our time together..

Kaori - you are wonderful. You and this llama were great together, high fashion at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve. Also, I love your laugh to pieces. 

animal puns are terrific

Remember the Sendai/Christchurch Art Exchange? Well the second stage has swiftly arrived and to help accomodate the Japanese artists who have arrived in Christchurch we launched a new fundraising project. More giftcards, but this this time there is a special pack of three featuring my watercolours.
They are incredibly, unashamedly adorable.
Buy them, give them to anyone you are a little sweet on.

 

(for international readers, a kea is a native parrot of New Zealand - it has nothing to do with Ikea)

You can find them at my etsy shop and my felt shop!

We are hoping to turn the exchange into something more, whether it's an annual exchange or an artist residency program.
Not only will you be helping all sorts of artists, but it makes my little heart swell when people buy things I have created. My heart brims!

Chips & Whetstones

Oh woops! I was so busy making the art I forgot to tell you all about the show. 



But let me tell you, putting this show together was a delight in every way. Art making has never been so stress free and dreamy. My dear friend Annie Matchsticks and I worked on this installation together, hand-in-hand, tea for two, mornings and afternoons, chatting and collecting, dreaming and drawing.

 


 
These are the words we used that made it happen...

pioneer, whittling, crochet, sheets, candles, twigs, homesteaders, the softening, wild west, petticoats, can-can skirts, delicious, dusty, shavings, camp ovens, boots scrapin, we're ok corral, haybales, whiskey, swing door, primus, beans, tooling, heirloom, turret, crepe paper, pancakes, champagne breakfast, scaffolding, climbing, road to california, steps to the altar, lattices...





 As well as the large, quilt-like extravaganza draped over my grandmother's washing line, we installed a garden gate, golden couch, a tree stump - alive with moss, and a tv playing some carefully edited youtube videos of whittling and Azalea Trail Maids.





And to top off this unashamedly swoony work, instead of the usual gallery opening in Christchurch - evening, black, booze and cigarettes - we wanted to soften it all up and create new conversations, add a bit of whimsy to the poor old town. So on the stormiest of saturday mornings we held a breakfast with sangria, tea, coffee and pancakes. Gareth flipped 144 of them.

Thank you Dog Park for having us, it was a blast.

Magical pals

A part-time magician and a talented babe, wowing some children.

oh there is art about

Yes siree, there is some good art around this town at the moment.
A few weeks ago I went to a show at NG Gallery by local artist Scott Flanagan and I thought it was wonderful.
Do You Remember Me Like I Do?



A tumbling waterfall and a meticulously woven wishing well made from VHS tape



Books filled by various artists from around the country with scratchings, drawings, paintings, greyhounds - artistic everythings.  





I am no art writer, so if you want to read more about this exhibition and other shows in Christchurch I highly recommend visiting the website EyeContact.


And here is a habitual flower photo, instagrammed to hide it's out-of-focusness.

Sendai/Christchurch Art Exchange

For the past few months I have been working with two lovely ladies in organising an art exchange between Sendai - my home in Japan - and Christchurch.
The project has two stages at the moment. Stage one is an exhibition of works by 30 Christchurch artists in Sendai and stage two is a reciprocal show for Japanese artists in Christchurch early next year.
We have been fundraising our booties off as stage one is very quickly approaching - opening night is June 23rd.
One of our fundraising schemes is selling a pack of four greeting cards printed with our works on them. If anyone is interested in purchasing a pack for $10 comment below or email me!

And some more Mori, Onegaishimasu!

As well as the Sensing Nature exhibition, the Mori Museum also featured an interesting, but a little hokey, dinosaur show.

We liked all the snaggletoothed ones.

RAAAAAHHHH!

More Mori, Onegaishimasu!

While in Tokyo a few weeks ago we visited the Mori Art Museum in Roppongi, which is fast becoming our favourite major gallery in Japan. Our last visit (for Roppongi Crossing 2010: Can There Be Art?) was really great and this time we happened upon an incredible exhibition called Sensing Nature.

Three Japanese artists showed works intended to examine the link between man and nature in modern Japan.

"Snow" by Yoshioka Tokujin. A giant glass box filled with feathers and hidden fans that re-created the movement of a snowstorm.

Another work by Tokujin. This one is called "Waterfall".


Takashi Kuribayashi created a double layered forest, which you could walk around under and peek through like a woodland creature.

And he also contributed "Island", a solid and imposing work which sought to illustrate how much of the Earth we don't see.


Taro Shinoda, for one of his works, created a circular pool from above which droplets of water were timed to fall at exactly the same time, creating splashes that formed an image of part of the Milky Way. It was beautiful, but couldn't be captured in a photograph.

Swimming with men/sumimasen

Oh we have just been so busy!

Last friday night our friendly local gallery Birdo Flugas had a closing party for a sweet acquaintance of ours, Kaori, celebrating her first solo show.

Here she is, with a carved self-portrait. (We all got to wear the cute cheek patches too)

The bulk of the show was a collection of drawings of her family plus a very wee carving of her grandmother.

Oh and the party had such delicious food and drink! nom nom nom

Home-made vanilla and lemon ice-cream. The best I've ever had.

Little chip things shaped as ghosts.

Home-made umeshu (plum wine). This is my favourite Japanese drink. I would love to whip up my own batch but it takes at least a year to mature to its absolute deliciousness.

And what is a party without a cake!

This one was such a goody.

On saturday we scurried off to Tokyo again to met up with rad friends Gemma and Harriet, who were winging their way to Berlin.

It was really nice hanging out with them, just eating treats in the park, looking for felt pens, wandering the streets, hearing Christchurch stories, learning their interesting ways of remembering Japanese phrases (swimming with men = sumimasen) and enjoying NZ accents.

After a delightful izakaya dinner in Shimo-kitazawa, the thrill of World Cup quarter-finals lured me and Gareth into a 'British pub' till 5 in the morning. Gareth was able to enjoy his first IPA in almost a year. I managed to fall asleep in a large glass of cider.

Once the sun rose we popped across the road to sleep for three hours in an internet cafe cubicle on a surprisingly comfortably large vinyl couch.

Then it was one last meander round Harajuku with Gemma and Harriet before they flew off to Abu Dhabi and we bullet trained ourselves back to Sendai.