"A day without Art is like a garden without flowers
--- Lori McNee ----
Timeless Treasures
13 - 19th May
10am - 4pm
Cindy has been making porcelian dolls for about 20 years and sat her apprenticeship in Antique Reproductions, which is her passion, in 2000 and then sat her masters in Melbourne.
All of their human children have grown up and moved around the globe now, so the dolly ones are now living with them!
It is a beautiful hobby with many aspects to it, pouring the liquid slip into moulds which Cindys husband does, then to the soft firing, and wet cleaning method. Once the eyes are cut out and the greenware all cleaned and smooth it is then ready to be bisque fired to become Porcelian. Once this is done they are then ready to start creating their dolly children, painting, painting and still more and they start to come alive! Cindy says that it is at this stage that they start "talking to them"!
Planing the eye colors and the hair color, and then the clothing, silk, cotton, and the laces. In the class on Mondays they all share in ideas with each other, and the skills that they all have, like smocking, knitting the socks, heirloom sewing to name a few, this is a hobby that is very rewarding as the finished product can be admired for many years and are heirlooms of the future. For all those that have treasures in bits of lace and fabric, these can all be used and even dyed to match the colors that you want, to make matching shoes and hats, and even the wigs!
Cindy is really looking forward to sharing this wonderful skill with you all at the little blue house, please do come in and admire! You never know this just might be the thing to get you going in creating a beautiful masterpiece to be admired!
From the Heart
20 - 26th May
10am - 4pm
A creative imagination is the making of a creative artist. If you can sit and find images in the lino pattern of the bathroom, find images in a bank of clouds, or love to get in real close to an object, ultimately making it abstract - then creative art could be for you.
Sharen Watson finds images in all the ways above, and more. Mainly she works simply by applying colour and texture to a surface, and letting the emerging image dictate what the final subject will be. Consequently subject matter will always be random, but hopefully exciting.
A professionally artist and art teacher, Sharen tutors mainly for larger groups of art society members.
“Mainly they are all very competent at applying paint to canvas, but often copy the traditional ways of expression.
They’re influenced by friends and family who may have a more traditional taste in art. Sometimes an artist needs to be more selfish, to paint for themselves. They need to express their vision of life, the way they feel, the colours they enjoy and most of all, feel excited about the outcome.
“Young children have such open and imaginative minds. They know the image they’ve just completed is of mum, dad and the family cat. It’s only when they receive critique about the shapes and forms that they tighten up, and start trying to paint images that are “recognizable”. It’s such a shame to see that happen. In adulthood we need to regain that childlike naivety, to paint with an open mind and imagination, and be able to forget all the known rules of “seeing” realistically.”
“Any teacher can show you how to apply the paint; books will introduce you to the colour spectrum“ said Sharen “but each individual has a unique way of looking at the world, and should have a unique way of expression. I just love to encourage them to find it.”
Pats People
27th May - 2nd June
10am - 4pm
My direction in life has been decided by CHANCE. A friend and I were choosing which night class we would enrol with. A coin was tossed and the decision was water colour painting. I loved it.
My Mother knew Joan Lushington, a leading light in early Open Air Art. Mother showed Joan a painting of mine. Joan asked me to paint a submission for the “Pioneer Kitchen “. It was accepted. I followed that by painting “The Pioneer Store’. By this time I was charmed by Katikati. Roly was also a Katikati fan so we moved here. All this started with the toss of a coin.
I have had several solo exhibitions, won awards and taught art. These seem unimportant compared to my urge to paint, and paint what I want to. I am a self confessed people watcher so the present “drive” is to paint PEOPLE.
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