Taranaki Arts Trail.
September 28th – November 8th 2023.
The year in review
It has been a very interesting year for the studio gallery as we gradually move our lives back into slightly more familiar patterns of functioning and the borders became incrementally more open to two way movements of people. Fortunately for us our weather has not been disastrous but just a bit wonky at this stage so our infrastructure has not been exposed to catastrophic failure. In fact I consider here in Ōpunakē we have been very very lucky!
We are very excited to have received this award again. Hopefully it will spread the word about the work we are doing to grow the ecosystem of fibre art in New Zealand. Now our borders are reopened and people are braving the world of air travel again we are starting to see focus travel happening, including that of fibreaholics – our favourites!!!!
As is our tradition, for the fourth year in this incarnation as ‘from out of the blue studio gallery’ Viv will have her annual Solo Exhibition over the time around the Taranaki Arts Trail and the multiple Garden Festivals. Two highlights this year – it is the 10th anniversary of TAT and it is the first year the gardens supporting Viv’s practice @Viv’s garden will be part of The Sustainable Backyard Trail !!
We are realising a long time dream this Spring by opening up the studio gardens as part of The Sustainable Backyards Trail. This garden supports so much of what happens here in our studio gallery. Our dye plants and paper fibres are increasingly being produced from here alongside our fruit and veg. Basketry and cordage materials are nurtured and harvested here. But of course it is also most importantly for the gallery community where our Artist Residency is and where we hold our workshops. By opening on The Trail this year we are hoping to raise the awareness in the larger community of what happens here, our dreams, our values and our vision. If you want to see the occasional post about the garden here is the facebook link https://www.facebook.com/taradiseopunake or here is a post about the garden https://wordpress.com/post/fromoutofthebluestudiogallery.com/7238.
It is fantastic that this year is also the 10th Anniversary of The Taranaki Arts Trail which the gallery is also part of. Two great reasons to visit us between Friday 27th October and Monday 6th November 2023.
We have been with Taranaki Arts Trail since day one and it is exciting to see how it has grown and evolved.
But though things change, some things remain the same….. Viv is still doing her slow making and gradually filling her cupboards with new works over the course of the year ready for the 2023 Cupboard Collection!!
Botanical dying, eco-printing, paper making, book making, rustic basketry, spinning, weaving, stitch work, quilting. All of these things have been ticking over in the upstairs studio space and the dye shed.
On August 1st 2022 I was so lucky to finally get my very worn right hip replaced and I was so fortunate to have wonderful support from the artist community associated with the gallery while I gradually got my drivers licence for the bionic upgrade. Lots of exercises and care has meant that now I am finally getting back to the mobility I had three years ago before the arthritis got so bad I was partially crippled. One of the worst parts of this period of my artistic practice has been the inability to work on the big looms. Those of you who have been able to visit the studio will know that they are gradually getting sorted out and are underway for working again.
The big project on the Swedish Drawloom has been converting the weight system to Lingoes. This is now completed so the final balancing and (hopefully) minor adjustments are next then I expect to have the shuttle flying again. What a long haul this has been and at times it has seemed like it will never be done, but now……. maybe the end is close.
The time has come and the pieces are framed and on the walls, photographed and labelled. It is a test of focus to get to this stage. I love that my life here working the gallery, the studio, the gardens and my home is so eclectic and rich. Everyday brings the unexpected enriching, enlightening and challenging encounters. Sometimes it is possible to enter the realm of overwhelm but then there are always the chickens to go and feed and give cuddles to. The ducks who rush up for their fresh greens every morning. The simple things that anchor me back down in case of uprooting chaos. As I have been finishing the current set of works and placing them in the gallery the weather has been fully Spring volatile. The winds have been whipping from all directions and there has been a fair range in temperature mixed in with lots of varieties of rain. My senses are all refreshed and I am reminded deeply of how important this place is to my artistic expressions and processes now. I feel I belong grounded here so I can support and nurture this place and the occupants that live here and that come to it for a variety of reasons, most of which I don’t have knowledge of.
Anyway. Here is a short view of some of the currently hanging works. As this is a cash and carry collection geared towards The Taranaki Arts Trail this Collection may well shift.
