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Michelle McIver - Contemporary Artist
Michelle McIver's is a contemporary artist who grew up in rural Otago and is now living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Her work explores the interplay of light, colour, and form through abstract compositions. Using simple geometric shapes, she layers and juxtaposes blocks and bands of colour to create depth and structure. Each painting is an exploration of how light interacts with form, evoking a sense of balance in its abstract simplicity.' Michelle and I feel like kindred spirits. I loved sitting down with her and having a good chat in my little studio. We explore how she went from figurative drawing from a young age to abstract painting later in life, her short lived experience studying art at Uni after leaving school, her experience living in Japan for 7 years and how this time has influenced her and her work. We discuss how she came to seascape and landscape painting, her connection to the sea and to land,Michelle shares her personal story of how the Christchurch earthquake disaster deeply affected her and her family, forcing a move out of the city 4 days later and a new direction.We explore a pivotal time in Michelle's practice when she studied painting at Browne School of Art in 2024, the ways her art practice evolved over this time and how the guidance from the teachers has helped her to gain confidence in her work - helping her to settle on her own ideas, talk about her work and push her thinking and techniques to finally develop her personal style. Michelle talks us through her early and current artistic practice and process, her painting techniques using glazes and acrylic paint, how she approaches scale, titling work and her connection with her 2 art galleries Turua and Gallery de Novo. And so much more!Support the showNgā mihi, thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/Learn more about Mandy and the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog
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1:52:03
Resale Royalties Aotearoa, Toi Huarau
The Resale Royalties Scheme brings New Zealand in line with global standards to ensure artists are fairly compensated when their work is resold.It means NZ art resold here and overseas will return a payment to our artists or their successors.Today I'm speaking with Chief Executive Sam Irvine. He explains everything artists, successors and art market professionals need to know about the Resale Royalty Scheme. I recommend you check out their website https://resaleroyalties.co.nz/ after listening to this episode which has all this information and more set out in a very readable, intuitive way with PDFs you can download, guidelines and helpful videos. Support the showNgā mihi, thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/Learn more about Mandy and the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog
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31:27
Isaac Weston - Copper Artist
Isaac Weston is a full-time copper artist based in Matua, Tauranga, Aotearoa NZ.Isaac’s creative process is a unique blend of artistry and alchemy, combining acids, salts, and sunlight to reveal the hidden beauty of copper. This approach allows him to bring out light, shadow, texture, and vibrant patinas, showcasing the organic elegance of the metal. From sculptures to wall art, Isaac creates high-quality gallery pieces that reflect his ongoing fascination with the ever-changing textures and colours of his materials.I loved talking to Isaac in my studio at Muriwai. We explore his past careers and how he came to be a full time artist 8 years ago in his forties. He explains how copper became his medium of choice, what inspired him in the beginning to make and what gave him the confidence and impetus to keep going in the early days. Isaac shares how he has developed his art practice to become a successful sustainable career through diversification, the creation of his own garden and art gallery with the support of his wife Lara, connecting with gallerists and community groups, building relationships and putting himself out there as much as possible. We go deep into Isaac's fascinating creative process: how he sources and reuses railway sleepers and copper, his process for creating patinas on his copper works; how he creates different patina colours and textures; his approach to scale and shape; how he comes up with designs; his cutting and connecting processes; his varnishing techniques and the development of his large range of sculptural works. He shares how he visualises work in his mind before he comes to make it (often when he should be sleeping - I can relate to that!), ways he has created tools and developed techniques over the years through perseverance, problem solving and modification. We talk about why he has decided to market his work under two brands, Isaac Weston Artist and Rework It, how he manages deadlines, how he has learnt to say no over the years, how he manages his 'show pony' and 'peacock' tendencies and we also touch on tricky topics like people copying his work and cultural appropriation. Isaac's enthusiasm and passion for what he does is infectious and his entrepreneurial approach to his work is inspiring. You're going to love this chat.Support the showNgā mihi, thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/Learn more about Mandy and the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog
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1:44:20
Sefton Rani - Parehuia Artist in Residence
Sefton Rani describes himself as a maker, who uses paint as his primary material. Based in Auckland, he is a visual DJ who mashes up industrial materials with Cook Island narratives, to create modern Pasifika art. Sefton is the current Parehuia Artist in Residence at McCahon House, which is in Titirangi West of Auckland NZ. McCahon House Artists’ Residency, named Parehuia by local kaumatua Eru Thompson in 2008, is amongst the most prestigious artists’ residencies in New Zealand. Three residencies a year, each of three months duration, are available to outstanding professional artists. Artists receiving the residency live and work in the purpose-built French Bay house with an attached studio.I met Sefton in the studio this week to have a chat about the residency, being an artist in residence, the work he is creating over this 3 month period, how he has been inspired by past events and his surroundings, his thinking and development and of course his creative process.This is the second time Sefton has been a guest on the podcast - you might like to go back to episode 73 which we recorded in March 2023 to hear more about Sefton's life and art practice.Support the showNgā mihi, thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/Learn more about Mandy and the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog
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59:38
Claudia Aalderink - Contemporary artist
Claudia Aalderink is a self-taught artist based in Kihikihi, near Hamilton in Aotearoa New Zealand. She is also the founder and director of The Mandarin Tree art gallery in Gordonton.Her works are created by meticulously fragmenting discarded beehives in a non-symbolic approach. Within a reduced visual vocabulary of circles, squares, rectangles, and lines, she explores the subtlety of colour, scale, and compositionOriginally from Holland, Claudia says her 2005 move to New Zealand has been ‘life changing’ for her family and her art. We have a beautiful chat with all the windows and doors open in the studio on a gorgeous summer's day, serenaded by cicadas (and the builders next door!). We talk about how Claudia discovered her medium of choice - beehives, how she sources and stores the boxes, her systems for selecting which parts and which colours to use, It was fascinating hearing about Claudia's creative process. Claudia likes to work with a variety of scale and shapes, combining them in different ways. She shares her approach to design, composition, colour, space and shape, the ways she incorporates different elements found on the beehives and how she comes up with the titles and what they mean to her. We explore the charring part of her process, how she embraces imperfection and unexpected elements within the boxes, the introduction of stitching and the importance of artistic collaboration.Claudia shares how she randomly discovered and fell in love with a building in Gordonton 10 years ago, previously a BP service station, which she went on to turn into her own art gallery The Mandarin Tree. We talk about some things she has learnt as a gallery owner and business woman, the challenges of juggling her business and her art practice and how the two parts of her life connect and compliment each other. Support the showNgā mihi, thanks for listening! Follow us on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/creativematterspodcast/Learn more about Mandy and the podcasthttps://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog
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1:27:33