Seal Island Continued the West Coast Tradition

I have posted a couple of blogs about Avalon Glass, the pioneering and quite individual glassworks at Fox River on the South Island West Coast. Several partnerships, both personal and artistic developed and changed there over time. 

This small jug (10cm high) is signed Braid '99 NZ

One outcome after Avalon Glass itself had closed, or was nearing its close, was the Seal Island studio established by Ross Smith and Lynda Braid. Ross Smith was one of the founders of the Avalon Studio in 1985 with Lawson Bracewell and Greg Smith, joined subsequently by Robert Reedy 6 months later and then Roger Thompson. Lynda joined Ross at Avalon in 1993, and in 1996 after Avalon closed they formed Seal Island Studio, named after a small island (uninhabited, at least by humans) just west of the mouth of the Fox River.  

Signed Seal Island 1999 Aotearoa NZ (L) Seal Island NZ 2002 (R)

Between 1993 and 1995 Ross was the owner of the Avalon works, which he leased to Greg Smith and Robert Reedy when they were working there. Greg has told me that he never worked with Lynda, so it is currently a little unclear whether Avalon and Seal Island were physically separate, or were different names for the products of the same place.

Signed Braid '99 NZ

 Signed Braid Seal Island 2000 (9 cm high)

Scent bottle by Ross Smith signed Seal Island RS '98 Aotearoa NZ

Some of the Seal Island pieces are signed with that name and some with the artist's name. After the partnership broke up, it seems that Lynda went on working at the studio on her own for a period, though it has now closed. A jug sold recently on TradeMe (594745225) signed Seal Island NZ Braid 05, so Lynda was still at Seal Island in 2005

Ann Robinson's 'BRIM' Heads in New Directions

 

I was really lucky to be in Auckland this week so I could see Ann Robinson's amazing exhibition BRIM at FHE Galleries. Ann is renowned for her exploration of the bowl form and yet here she takes it in a completely new direction. These are distinctly and recognisably Ann Robinson bowls and yet they represent a totally new body of work. She describes in the poem that accompanies the exhibition the process, intellectual, technical and physical that led to these works. 

I won't try to explain that here, that is for Ann to do, which she does most eloquently of course through the bowls themselves. This is an exhibition that you really must try to get to see for yourself. The photographs by Kieran Scott reproduced here from the FHE exhibition brochure are great, but you need to see the bowls themselves.

The exhibition is on at FHE Galleries in Kitchener Street, Auckland until 29 June 2013.

Whanganui Plans a Great Festival in September 2013

I've had a couple of pleasing responses to my blogs recently. Chuck and Indiah Simpson's daughter, Whitney-Leigh emailed, expressing appreciation of my words and photos of her parents' work from Inglewood in the 1980s. And the latest Newsletter of the Wanganui Glass Group says "Stuart’s Blog is very well researched and is a great starting point for all of us with an interest in, and appreciation for NZ Glass." It's great when those I write about are interested to read what I write!

The Newsletter also brings preliminary news of the events that are being planned for the Wanganui Festival of Glass, to be held in Whanganui from 7 - 15 September this year. Whanganui is a city that its proud of its glass artists, and the annual Festival showcases the best of their work.  The Festival provides a wide range of opportunities to see glass exhibitions, visit artists in their studios, watch visiting glass experts as they give master classes, admire the work of the up and coming among the students at the Whanganui Glass School, and, of course, to acquire glass. It looks like a very full programme, with many of the best features from past year's events as well as some new ones. I'm certainly hoping to be able to get to Whanganui during that week to take part.



The flyer for the Festival pictured at left features the distinctive work of Whanganui glass artist Carmen Simmonds. Herself a graduate of UCOL Whanganui, and a Ranamok finalist, Carmen has a studio in the countryside outside Whanganui.



The Glass Group Newsletter advises that one of David Traub's beautiful platters (at right) will feature on the poster, the billboards and the event guide for the Festival. David is a former Head of the Glass School, whose involvement in making glass goes back to 1973.

I am delighted to have in my own collection an early example of David's platters, which he made in 2002.

One Good Tamarillo...

I wrote yesterday about the wonderful tamarillos of Lou Pendergrast-Mathieson. But you can't talk about glass tamarillos and not refer to the work of Fran Anderton, who has made tamarillos very much her own fruit.  I have admired them for quite a while, and was very pleased to be able to acquire one from the Whanganui Glass Festival exhibition in October last year.

 

Fran was born in England (and nothing wrong with that, I say assertively) and moved to New Zealand as a schoolgirl.  She trained in glass design and production at UCOL Whanganui, graduating with a Diploma in 2003. She has a strong interest in the natural environment, which she attributes in part to having a plant propagator for a mother and a florist for a sister, though Fran says she is also influenced by the uniqueness of New Zealand's beautiful native bush, beaches and scenery. Avocadoes, citrus and olives have all provided inspiration for her bottles and bowls, but in my view it is her tamarillo bottles that are the most successful.  

Fran makes both cast and blown glass in her purpose built home studio in Whanganui.
Her website is at http://www.frananderton.co.nz/About.aspx

 

Tamarillos and Esther James - who was she?

In spite of the severe drought we are experiencing in Northland presently, a tree in my garden has sprouted two very fine tamarillos (aka tree tomatoes). Which is a bit surprising, since it isn't a tamarillo tree.

In fact, these tamarillos are cast glass, with stainless steel foliage and twigs. They are a collaboration between Auckland glass caster Lou Pendergrast-Mathieson and stainless steel fabricator Phillip Moodie.  I saw a 'crop' of these in another non-tamarillo tree in the exhibition Re:Fraction 2012: the Outdoor Glass Exhibition at the Sculpture Park, Waitakaruru last spring. I was struck by their simple beauty, and knew at once I could find a host tree in my own garden.

What I was less clear about (indeed, really puzzled about) was the title that Lou had given these: 'A Tribute to Esther James'. Who was Esther James? 1950s Hollywood star? 1920s Paris dancer? Both seemed vaguely possible, though why tamarillos would be a tribute was quite mysterious.

Researching Lou's glass work on the Internet told me that she and Phillip had exhibited a whole tree of fruit at the Auckland 'Sculpture on the Shore' exhibition in 2010, and had shown similar fruit at other exhibitions. Lou has since told me that they made about 42 fruit all told, tamarillos, pears, apples, plums and peaches, and they have been 'a massive hit'.  

In much of her cast glass, we are told, Lou has a passion for the Art Deco era, and her work is influenced by the glass of the 1920s and 1930s, with soft finishes and engraved surface details. The decoration often makes reference to the gardens of the time.  Lou has a continuing interest in the decorative embellishment of objects combined with a love of the New Zealand landscape.  In her work she uses New Zealand native plant specimens and nostalgic flowers from the garden as decorative elements. 

(Alexander Turnbull Library photo)

Lou's interest in things New Zealand, in art deco and in the idea of a 'Buy NZ Made' campaign led her to discover a remarkable New Zealander Esther James, who was a campaigner for 'Buy New Zealand Made'  in the 1930s. In 1932, James walked from Spirits' Bay in the Far North to Stewart Island to draw attention to the issue.

Lou says that when she read Esther James's 1965 book Jobbing Along in 2010 it made quite an impact on her and she felt compelled to celebrate the remarkable exploit and the wonderful NZ pioneer woman that Esther James was, but also to comment on the same issue some 80 years later.

Thanks to Lou, I now know who Esther James was - inventor, entrepreneur, model, author, crocodile hunter, opal miner - what a life!  I would encourage you to read about this remarkable New Zealander - her biography is on Te Ara at http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4j2/james-esther-marion-pretoria and her book is in your local library.

So now when I wander in my garden, I can admire Lou Pendergrast-Mathieson's glass, and also be reminded of the remarkable Esther James, to whom this work is a tribute. 

New Glass for Whakapara Marae

I have mentioned before my admiration of the glass of Northland artist Kathy Shaw-Urlich. Yesterday I had the privilege of visiting Kathy in her workshop and seeing the wonderful new glass windows she is designing and making for the marae of her Ngati Hau people at Whakapara, north of Whangarei. 

This is a project supported by a Te Waka Toi Creative NZ Arts Grant, which Kathy was awarded last year.  A new wharekai (dining room) Te Tawaka is to be built next year, and the project includes three windows for that, which Kathy has almost completed. Currently she is working on the three panels that will fit in the main window of the wharenui Te Ihi o Nehua, which was opened in 1998 (see http://www.naumaiplace.com/site/whakapara/home/page/147/marae-buildings/).

The designs for the windows have been developed by Kathy arising from discussions on the marae. There were also visits to places that are special to Ngati Hau such as the river and waterfall Waiariki and the maunga Huruiki. Kathy then selected and cut to shape just the right pieces of glass.  Some of them she has formed in the kiln and decorated with appropriate designs, with assistance from some of the people of the marae.

 
The wharekai windows contain themes and elements that relate to the awa (river), with tuna (eels) and fishing being depicted, and watery elements in the design.  The wharenui window relates to the sense of being on the maunga, with its wide views over the landscape. It includes on one side reference to the eponymous ancestor of Ngati Hau, Hautakowera, who is depicted by the reamy glass representing his breath (hau) and on the other side the dogskin cloak with its stylised cloakpin which represents Kahukuri, son of Hautakowera. There is also reference to the obsidian (volcanic glass) which occurs on the mountain.

 These cut pieces will be finished and leaded to form the central portion of the wharenui window

Even in the rough surroundings of the workshop, the beauty of these windows was evident - when they are finally installed in place, they will look amazing.

This project follows on from Kathy's making of the window for the adjacent St Isaac's Church at Whakapara in 1999. The window in the church (below) also contains many references to places, people and ideas important to Ngati Hau.  

When the wharekai is opened, Whakapara will have a remarkable group of buildings with wonderful stained glass by this talented artist who is one of their own. 

 

Avalon postscript - a New Zealand glass Film Star

In my last post I talked about the history of Avalon Glass, based largely on the account of it by one of the founders, Greg Smith.  Greg has provided a few corrections and clarifications of the roles of some of those involved, which is much appreciated. But he has also provided an update on what he is doing now.  Not currently making glass, he has been pursuing his career as an actor, and is about to be seen in New Zealand cinemas in the new release Mt Zion (in NZ cinemas from 6 February 2013).

Greg may be seen in the trailer which features on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0gHwasfR7g, and the screen captures shown here are drawn from there. Greg plays a promoter who auditions the wannabe Bob Marleys who are the centrepiece of the story - 'some sort of welcoming party for Captain Cook and his Endeavours' is a memorable line.

I know little about the film other than I have seen in the trailer, but you may be sure I'll be going to see it, and not just to see this early NZ glass artist in his new role - it looks like a great movie.