Erika's Move

 Since Left-Field start earlier this year Erika Wolters has made the most of the cabin, working in there from Tuesdays to Thursdays. Her provocative mixed media portraits openly accentuate today’s fascination with one’s physical appearance and the lengths women are encouraged to go to in the desire for so called beauty. Luckily, I caught up with Wolters before she moves out of Left-Fields cabin and into her new studio at home…………

 Wolters is a soft spoken woman, engagingly modest, who herself is naturally attractive, and looks after her health. She drinks herb tea and doesn’t buy any food that has more than 3 ingredients, so there are no demons knocking on her door about self-worth, Wolters just cares; she is attentive and works in a delicate, administrative, methodical manner.

Erika Wolters at her desk

 Currently she is excited about getting her website up and running and seeing her work online as well as just finishing a large Great Gatsby backdrop mural for a local ball that challenged her in terms of scale and space.

 Wolters portraits are an imperative discussion about beauty and in art beauty is a big subject that makes me think of Robert Mapplethorpe’s work and his quote,

“I am obsessed with beauty. I want everything to be perfect, and of course it isn’t. And that’s a tough place to be because you’re never satisfied.”[1]

 His photography was sophisticated and confrontationally ground breaking, showing images of people that an audience wasn’t used to seeing, his work is pivotal to the perception of beauty and what we think it is. Wolters though, is seeing through eyes that have possibly come full circle, she is looking to capture the ugliness and ridiculousness that the desire for beauty has now come to and in doing this her distorted images become caricature’s that prompt me to associate characters like Leela, of Futurama, set in portraitures of black humour. Wolters makes a mockery of the portrayed sophistication used in the advertising world that she sources her images from and manages to make appealing images out of something that theoretically she is suggesting is unappealing and sad. 

 One of Wolter’s latest paintings utilises the surface of a clock where she sees the fun in juxtaposing her imagery with the idea of time. I for one, generally, admire her provocation and would quite happily place one of her portraits next to my mirror, if only to bring me back to reality as I slowly notice the lines of age creep onto my face every time I look and wonder where the real me has gone. Of course, I am just mourning my youth. Maybe when people have children they should give them a best before date, so as young adults they have no misconceived notions of eternal youth like they seem to have when they talk and look at their parents as if they were never young. I know I looked at my parents this way! Now this starts to sound like I think there is only beauty in youth, which isn't so, really it just demonstrates the multiple complexities of beauty as subject.

1 https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/513824-i-am-obsessed-with-beauty-i-want-everything-to-be accessed 7/11/13

Text and Images S Walker-Holt 2013

Tuesdays with Lucy

Lucy has moved on in to the cabin and is hoping to be there most Tuesdays from about 10 - 3. I paid her a visit to see what she is up to.................

Lucy Pierpoint at her newly arranged Jewellery bench. 

Having a background in waste management has proven to be pivotal to Lucy’s contemporary jewellery practice. Since 2010 she has been fascinated with the use of not all waste or the understandable culprit plastic, but one genre in particular, analogue technology paraphernalia. I think we have all seen artists doing the obvious and utilising discarded out-dated circuitry boards, but Pierpoint has taken it one step back and is using materials that her generation grew up with; Floppy disc’s, type writer ribbon, cassette tape, video tape, film and TV screens are some of the materials she has utilised so far to great effect. 

And why not transfer these materials into a position of jewellery? I can’t think of anything more appropriate than giving them this elevation. Most of us are guilty of keeping up with technology and easily disregarding what has gone before, these materials are our identity, we need to show them some respect for what they have given us. Of course the material itself is not gold but by the time Pierpoint has transformed it there is definitely something a lot more precious going on and as for wearing it, I agree with Pierpoint’s insinuation that we should take ownership of it; it is our waste after all. 

Pierpoint is currently looking for new materials that she can experiment with while at the same time sourcing more film which she would still like to transform further. In previous experimentation she discovered the brilliant colours that can be brought out of it …………..

Concurrently Pierpoint has her TV screen rings on display at Debrasic, Lauren Haynes new contemporary jewellery workshop/store in Thames.

But getting back to the circuitry boards, I found some irony when I searched and found this for sale;

·         Scrap Computer Circuit Boards for Gold and Precious Metal Recovery Approx 33 #'s

·         33 pounds of scrap circuit boards for gold and other precious metal recovery. No brown low grade boards!! Pictures are actual boards you will receive.

·         Condition

·         Time left  6d 1h 20m

And…………………………….

Scrap Computer Boards for Gold/Precious Metal Recovery-5lbs 9 oz.

You are bidding on a box of misc. These boards are clean and still have the gold attached. Again, the gold fingers are still connected. There is no guarantee on ram or processors being attached.

GOLD!? WOW............

So go for gold Lucy there is definitely some there in unwanted technology…………..I will look forward to seeing what comes next.

Sarah Walker-Holt 7 Nov 2013

Cabin Date Reminder

Just reminding all members that we are nearing the end of the year.

4-24 Nov Matt (not using)

Matt has requested that his date be moved to when he is taking leave from work over Christmas so this leaves the cabin free until Toni is in on the 25th.

25-15 Dec Toni

16 Dec - Group (Matt - dates to be confirmed)

shutup and draw

http://www.susanking.co.nz/

From left; Lucy Pierpoint, Anna Scott, Sarah Walker-Holt, Petita Cole and Caroline Griffin. Photo: T Mosley

Last Sunday brought another outing for some of the Left-field group when they went to Shutup and Draw a drawing workshop hosted by Petita Cole, the sister of outsider artist Susan King.

Photo: S Walker-Holt

Drawing by Lucy Pierpoint.
Photo S Walker-Holt

Drawing by Caroline Griffin.
Photo S Walker-Holt

Petita is a teacher and artist and showed us some of her own fascinating works that varied from painting to small sculpture. Like many artists she is a collector, this was obvious by the vintage collection of objects we could see gathered in her lounge where the workshop was held. I also have to mention she is an awesome cook as she generously offered us her homemade Neenish tarts, they were delicious, Lucy luckily managing to get two to make up for missing lunch.

Petita discussing Toni's drawing with her. Photo: S Walker-Holt

I had high hopes of us all meeting Susan at Shutup and Draw but unfortunately she couldn’t be there, even so the group had a great afternoon. Petita inspired us with her enthusiasm to just get on with it and draw from the surrounding curiosity of objects, some of which she is generously lent by a local antique dealer, while also showing us examples of Susan’s drawings.

Lucy Pierpoint. Photo: Toni Mosley

Personally I found the afternoon enlightening as it encouraged me to consider drawing in my own practice. I realised a way forward is to treat drawing like I do the jewellery objects I create but instead of physically dissecting objects and reconfiguring them, do it 2 dimensionally, not in a working drawing sense but one that is more surreal and not intended to be realized in a 3 dimensional form. Susan’s drawings are quite animated and automatic like that of the surrealists. Petita told us that Susan draws purely from her memory. 

Caroline drawing. Photo: S Walker-Holt

I first became interested in Susan King 6 months ago when I saw the documentary about her called Pictures of Susan, leaving me with tears rolling down my cheeks. I immediately Googled her and became friends on Facebook which is where I discovered Petita offering her home as a venue for the Susan inspired drawing workshop.https://www.facebook.com/susantekahurangiking?fref=ts

Pictures of Susan is a biographical documentary that takes us through her life, her drawings and the plight to get Susan’s drawings seen both nationally and internationally.    

Check it out and checked out….

Fingers Annual Group Show on until 11^th November at Fingers Jewellery, 2 Kitchener St, Auckland Central

Toni, Sarah, Lucy and I visited the Annual Fingers Annual Group Show opening on Sunday and it was a humming with lots of interesting work to view in the wall cabinets and lots of mixing and mingling. No pictures sorry as we only dropped in for 20 minutes on our way to shut up and draw which is another story.

Well worth looking at and well organised fingers!

The list below is the participating artists including Sarah. Either visit the work at www.fingers.co.nz  or click on the links below to view the online catalogue

LisaWalker, Peter Deckers, Mathew McIntyre-Wilson
 Penelope Barnhill, Barry Clarke, Ann Culy, Rainer Beneke
Alan Preston, Debbie Adamson, Shelley Norton, Sarah Walker-Holt
Joanna Campbell, Tania Patterson, Tatjana Panyoczki, Sandra Bushby
 Pauline Bern, Mary Curtis, Kath Inglis, Paddy Woodman, Brian Adam
Manon van Kouswijk, Nadene Carr, Renee Bevan, Sharon Fitness
Vicki Mason, Elfi Spiewack, Jessica Winchcombe, Lynn Kelly
 Jane Dodd, Marie Erl, Lisa Higgins, Mia Straka, Rachel Bell
 Moniek Schrijer, Vanessa Arthur, Mandy Flood, Ruth Baird
 Chris Charteris, Ben Beattie, Craig McIntosh, John Edgar
Ross Malcolm, Lauren Simeoni, Melinda Young

by Caroline Griffin 23/10/13

LIFE DRAWING

te tuhi has a life drawing group that meets every 2nd Monday. Caroline and I decided we would check it out .........................

Frank by Caroline Griffin 2013

This lovely group is inviting to newcomers and Caroline and I discussed how therapeutic and meditative it is being there. After both of us initially relaxing into it and letting go of all the days hustle and bustle we both managed to produce something we were a little bit happy with, although I think this one of Caroline's is a great likeness unlike my own.

Frank by S Walker-Holt 2013

If anyone else is interested the group is self directed. It is best you have done life drawing before so you understand the etiquette and have enough confidence in your own drawing skills. There is a charge of $15 to cover the cost of the room and the model, plus they give you a cuppa and home baking half way through, it was yum. There is no commitment you just go when you can make it. 

Caroline and I highly recommend it, I haven't done any life drawing for years and it has always challenged my drawing skills so I was a little apprehensive about going but I truly enjoyed it.

The next life drawing is; 

Monday  21 Oct 

7.30 - 9pm

at te tuhi 

13 Reeves Rd 

Pakaranga

OBJECTIVE

Looking forward to seeing this show which has a new neck-piece from Left-Fields, Sarah Walker-Holt that opens tonight...........

http://sarahwalker-holt.blogspot.co.nz/