Pacific Curls

Friday 26th March 8pm

Tickets $20, $18 for Friends of the Gallery, $15 Seniors/Students Available from the Ashburton Art Gallery & Regent Cinema

Acclaimed Pacifika group, Pacific Curls tours the country in February combining fiddle, ukulele, taonga puoro (traditional Maori instruments) and vocals with a range of other instruments including cajons, stomp peddles, kalimba, djembe and percussion. Fresh from an appearance at the Winter Olympics in Canada, the group’s special blend of Celtic, Maori, Pacific and other influences has wowed audiences in Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and South Korea, as well as New Zealand.

The group, featuring world class fiddle player, Sarah Beattie, virtuoso ukulele player Kim Halliday, and stunning vocalist Ora Barlow, say that their unconventional collaboration comes out of a reverence for each other’s cultures.

“We explore the places where we cross over,” says Halliday.

In this latest tour, organised by Arts On Tour New Zealand, they will include 2 performances at WOMAD in New Plymouth and launch their latest CD.

Welcome to my nightmare

Iain Henderson

20th March - 25th April 2010

Opening & Artist's Talk Saturday 20th March 1.30pm

Iain Henderson has run a successful jewellery manufacturing business since the early 1980s. His jewellery designs have been purchased by clients in New Zealand and overseas. His work has appeared on the covers of magazines and he has received a number of awards nationally and internationally. In Welcome to my nightmare Henderson uses his jewellery making skills to create larger sculptural works made in sterling silver, gold and set with precious and semi precious gems. These works allow the artist to tell a more complete and personal story which expresses conflict within himself and the world he sees around him through the merging of his love of machines and organic forms. Henderson constructs works which appear alive, his statements are his own, he questions issues surrounding war, religion and the resultant tragic outcomes we are now used to seeing on a daily basis. To view more of Henderson’s work visit www.hendersonjewellery.com.

Film Society Evening

This Way of Life

Regent Cinema Wednesday 31st March 5.30pm

Join us for coffee & discussion at the Ashburton Art Gallery following This Way of Life Tickets $10 available from Regent Cinema, Ashburton

A moving and inspiring documentary about one extraordinary family and their life beyond the Ruahine ranges. The head of the family, Peter Karena, is a horse-whisperer, philosopher, hunter and builder, husband and father. Despite seemingly overwhelming challenges, Peter refuses to compromise, and the family turns hardship into a meaningful and satisfying way of life. “What do I do for a living? I live for a living.” Peter Karena

Fair Game

Ana Terry & Don Hunter

17th April - 16th May 2010

Opening & Artist's Talk Saturday 17th April 1.30pm

Don Hunter and Ana Terry present a humorous take on New Zealand’s wetland hunting culture. This includes an extraordinary chandelier comprised of over 2000 glittering acrylic white bait which, under gallery lighting, projects a shadow resembling a whitebait net onto the gallery wall. Limp bodies of long necked game birds which seem to transform into floppy guns; push along toy ducks with shotgun handles, wall shield hunting trophies and a grid map of large floor tiles inscribed with cartographic signs inspired from the view of an aeroplane window.

“Duck shooting and whitebait harvesting are fiercely territorial and even tribal activities. If you doubt this assessment, you could test this out by trying to set up a new baiting stand on the river or ‘peg down’ an apparently abandoned blind on pegging day. Chances are you’ll discover that spot has been used by the same family for years and they may not appreciate any intrusion.”

“There is an etiquette involved, and a system that works. You can be sure there is a complex hierarchy of status at work and competitive rivalry ranging from affectionate to bitter. But there is also the simple dynamic of people who enjoy doing the same thing getting together and doing it.”

“Their investigations have taken a playful approach rather than a scientific one, not looking for social documentary but taking something on of the irreverent and adventurous spirit of recreational hunting.” Extracts from catalogue by Ali Bramwell

Sweet As

Madeleine Child

1st May - 11th June 2010

Opening & Artist's Talk Saturday 1st May 1.30pm

In Sweet As, an installation featuring intensely coloured giant pieces of popcorn, Madeleine Child gained inspired while buying her children coloured popcorn. Madeleine was “...fascinated by its fleshy gorgeousness, organic fecundity and forbidden fruitiness”. The exhibition is designed to be a sensory experience offering multiple readings from childish delight to the more sickly consideration of calorie counting, globalization, food miles and corn wars – comfort food causing discomfort. Madeleine Child specialises in contemporary ceramic techniques.

Since receiving a ceramics Certificate from Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin in 1978, Madeleine has pursued the study of ceramic and glass in New York, Lisbon, and London where she received a Masters from the Royal College of Art and an Advanced Studies 3D degree from Central St Martins College of Art.

She has since returned to where she began and has lectured at Otago Polytechnic School of Design since 1997. Madeleine’s extensive training and travel can be seen technically and conceptually in her work whether reflecting the distinctive colour and vibrancy of Mexican pottery or the playfulness in faux chocolate Easter bunnies. Her work evokes a sense of sentimentality that is, at times, countered with darker intonations.

The Making of the Word Witch: the poetic & illustrative magic of Margaret Mahy & David Elliot

An Ashburton Art Gallery Touring Exhibition Curated by Kathryn Mitchell

5th December 2009 - 14th March 2010

When publisher Harper Collins agreed with me in 2007, the year after Margaret Mahy won the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Medal, that there should be a book bringing together her many achievements as a writer of verse, there was no question that first, it should be lavishly illustrated and second, that Dunedin’s David Elliot was absolutely the right artist for the task.

We were delighted when David, normally booked up by both New Zealand and international publishers for years ahead, accepted the challenge. The completed book, published in October 2009, is testament to our faith in his talent and professional skill but especially his imagination, perfectly complementing Margaret’s in its lightness of touch, originality, whimsicality, poignancy and humour. Each of the book’s sixty-six poems is illustrated, sometimes by a single telling image, other times by the storyboard approach matching the narrative of the poem. As with Margaret’s verse, the range of styles and emotions is impressive, from tender and teasing, to quirky and sometimes, quite dark.

An additional challenge was provided by the fact that many of Margaret’s verse texts, particularly the longer ones like Dashing Dog, Down the Back of the Chair and Bubble Trouble were already familiar to Mahy fans as classic children’s picture books. How would the artist find his own, different visual language for these familiar verses? How do you approach the text of award-winning picture books like A Summery Saturday Morning or 17 Kings and 42 Elephants and come up with something completely new and fresh?

This exhibition is a remarkably honest, ‘warts and all’ look at David’s path to the finished book, complete with its trials, tribulations, false starts and wrong turnings. Above all it is intended as a window into the magical world of imagination, a celebration of the creativity that, along with a good deal of hard work, lies behind a handsome book that will undoubtedly become a children’s classic. In this spirit Margaret has allowed the display of some of her earliest writings, in which the acclaimed Mahy magic is already clearly evident. The warmest thanks are due to her for this generous support. This exhibition will not only delight visitors, child and adult alike, but equally, encourage all of us to explore our own potential in images or words - or both.

Tessa Duder, Auckland, September 2009

David Elliot

The Ashburton Art Gallery supports the promotion of children’s literature in New Zealand as an integral part of educating and inspiring our youth. The core of the Ashburton Art Gallery’s collection is the work of award winning children’s book author and illustrator David Elliot. David Elliot was born and raised in Ashburton before moving to Christchurch to study a Diploma in Visual Arts at the University of Canterbury. After he graduated, David worked as a designer for a couple of years before travelling to Antarctica, through Asia and Europe, and onto Scotland where he became gatekeeper at Edinburgh Zoo. It was during this time that David became increasingly interested in writing and illustrating books for children. David has provided illustrations for numerous New Zealand children's books, including Janet Frame's only book for children, Mona Minim and the Smell of the Sun.

Margaret Mahy

Margaret Mahy is a former Children's Librarian at Christchurch City Libraries and is one of the world's best and most famous children's authors. Margaret Mahy was born in Whakatane in 1936, and wrote her first story at the age of seven. After graduating from Auckland University College and Canterbury University College, in 1955, with a BA, Margaret Mahy then attended the New Zealand Library School in Wellington, received her Librarian's diploma, and then went to work for the Petone Public Library. In 1967 she worked for the School Library Service in Christchurch. During this time she had stories published in the New Zealand School Journal. Margaret Mahy's first book to be published was A Lion in the Meadow in 1969. In 1976 Margaret Mahy was appointed Children's Librarian at Canterbury Public Library. In 1980 she became a fulltime writer and has gone on to win numerous awards for her books including The Carnegie Medal, the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Prime Minister’s Literacy Award.

The Word Witch: The Magical Verse of Margaret Mahy

Edited by Tessa Duder, illustrated by David Elliot

Finally, Margaret Mahy's much-loved poems and stories in rhyme have been collected together by her biographer, Tessa Duder, for the first time ever in this wonderful new book. With each of the 66 works accompanied by poignant illustrations by one of New Zealand's best, David Elliot, and packaged as a beautiful hardcover edition, The Word Witch is set to delight generations of readers who have grown up with Mahy and enchant newcomers to her work for many years to come. Included in the book are such classics as Bubble Trouble, Down the Back of the Chair and Dashing Dog, as well as other gems from Mahy's School Journal days and her own childhood, and some previously unpublished works.

Get your copy now!

$44.99

The Word Witch (available from the Gallery for $45.00) beautifully illustrated by Ashburton born author and illustrator David Elliot has been nominated as a Finalist in the Picture Book section of the New Zealand Post Book Awards.

The New Zealand Post Children's Book Awards are presented annually, each May, to promote excellence in children's literature and provide recognition and reward for authors and illustrators of high quality New Zealand books for children and teenagers.

The Word Witch was selected as a finalist from more than 130 children’s books published in New Zealand in 2009 and submitted for the Awards.

Mrs Tisdall, a children’s literature consultant, is joined on the judging panel by writer and reviewer Trevor Agnew, and former journalist, now children’s bookshop co-owner, Ruth McIntyre. Together they will decide which book will take the New Zealand Post Children’s Book of the Year prize and will choose winners from across the four categories: Picture Book, Non-fiction, Junior Fiction and Young Adult Fiction. Winners will be announced on Wednesday 19 May.

PICTURE BOOK FINALIST: The Word Witch Margaret Mahy, David Elliot, edited by Tessa Duder, Harper Collins Publishers. The Word Witch can lasso with a limerick, haunt with a haiku and wrap you tight in a rhyme as quick as lightning. Her cauldron is a dictionary, her wand a mighty pen, and she stirs her words at midnight, making tempting treats for children. Her name is Margaret Mahy and these are her spells.

www.davidelliot.org