Reflecting on what was 2016…

Well 2016 has been and gone and it seems timely to reflect a little on what was great about it before launching into 2017 plans and goals. So here are my top 3 highlights for 2016.

The absolute highlight of 2016 was winning the prestigious Lysaght Watt Trust Art Award for 2016 with my photograph “Daily life: Under the Eiffel Tower”. This is my absolute proudest moment as a photographer and artist.

 

 

Another highlight this year was participating in the Taranaki Arts Trail and having my gallery/studio open this year at home…with my photograph “The Rejection of Ariadne” displayed under the Taranaki Arts Trail signage at the Gallery profiling all the artists.

 

Finally my third top highlight was organising and participating in “GARDEN – An ART Exhibition” which involved over 20 distinct and talented Taranaki Artists and showcased a wide variety of artistic talent from drawing to sculpture to fibre work and pottery, all with a garden theme, and was on display during Taranaki region’s Garden Festivals in late October/November this year. I was extremely happy with my own entry  – a photograph printed on linen.. Botanical Beauty.

So, all in all a really great year. I had other goals this year…a new book, a new improved website, but they didn’t quite happen…watch out 2017! It’s going to be busy….

ps.. “The Fantail Collection” of my curated collection of original vintage NZ art and collectables is also awaiting a new separate website so I can share my love of original NZ art in its own space…2017 is going to be very busy!

So, watch this space…its going to be another busy year this year and I hope that you also have some big plans and dreams to make 2017 the best year ever!

 

The changing city skyline and lego bricks…

I watched this group of older school boys…they were completely engrossed in building a city skyline entirely from white Lego bricks –  it was part of an interactive public display at the Auckland City Art Gallery recently. The structures that had been created by others so far were striking in their elegance, complexity and intricacy creating a fantasy city skyline of magical, wonderful, imaginary towering structures. It was also temporary, as each structure could be dismantled or added to by the next person and turned into something new and different, always changing and evolving – an interesting way to consider a city…

 

Reflecting on the new and shiny….

It is certainly going to be interesting!

Reflections of the church buildings across the road… as seen on the first of many stainless steel curving panels forming the exterior of our new contemporary art gallery and Len Lye centre. It’s currently under construction in our city centre – not without controversy I might add.

Will it last? Will it stay shiny? Will it rust in our sea and salt laden air? Will it blind drivers and pedestrians? Will it get too hot? What will our high rainfall do to it over time? Who knows…certainly not me….but who cannot fall in love with the idea of a unique, original, elegant building? I personally cannot wait to see how it looks finished. There is a place in cities for protecting heritage and old buildings and there is also a place for new and innovative approaches and fresh, risk taking ideas…the best cities celebrate both!

 

Getting my images in order…

I have started work on putting my images into a better viewing system, using the blog site gallery pages. I am trying to sort my images by category so you can look more quickly for what you might be interested in. I have started with new gallery pages including the ONE Exhibition images (finally!), a gallery page of “people and animals” images, “buildings” and “landscapes”, etc…

Please have a look if you get a chance. They are a work in progress, but it feels good to have made a decent start.

A little luck is all you need…

I attended the opening last night of the North Taranaki Community Arts Council’s (NTCAC) exhibition of artists they have supported, including yours truly. Here’s a little tongue in cheek appraisal of the night, based on a book I had as a child – it’s a little like this…

• What good luck it was a lovely exhibition space (thanks Doug)  and there was lots of wonderful art on display (and lovely dancing).
• What bad luck my large photograph image was not displayed at the exhibition…
• What good luck my small image (a framed photograph) looked really lovely.
• What bad luck everyone ate my gluten-free chocolate brownies before I even got one.
• What good luck I got to meet a much admired artist (Paul Hutchinson) and tell him I was a huge fan of his work painting “everyday” items.
• What bad luck the wine ran out so quickly
• What good luck I met a very lovely artist who told me a thing or two about life and it turns out she and I had much in common despite our significant age differences.
• What bad luck the NTCAC is closing down (“being absorbed”) after 30 years of supporting artists with small grants.
• What good luck two of my dear friends came along to support me, along with my ever supportive partner and my daughter.

All, in all, a good night, great art and I will try not to be too disappointed that only one of my pieces made it up on the wall..

It’s on at The Metro Gallery, Devon Street, New Plymouth (across from Hikoi shoes/clothes) until the end of the month. Go along and support our local talent (and Doug’s inaugural Metro Gallery exhibition), if you can.

Sights and sounds in the city…

Tiffany Singh’s modern art sculpture “What is the colour of the breeze?” is a reminder that the best art is art that we like and that brings us pleasure. Art that uplifts our souls and makes us feel good is not seemingly fashionable, however. This cutting-edge concoction of sound, wind, and colour all comes together tucked away in a very small, gritty, urban, unsealed car park wedged between some buildings…and is a beauty to behold for the eyes (and also the ears). You are immediately drawn in,  to walk amongst the chimes, to run your hands over the bamboo chimes and the many coloured ribbons. And when the wind comes through they all move like one giant wind chime, all swaying in unison.

Colourful. Joyful. Harmonious. Modern art. Who would have thought? That’s inspired.

One exhibition (Part Two)

Here is Part Two of the exhibition images. If you click on any image, it opens it all into a slide show which is a nice easy way to scroll through the images.

I hope you have enjoyed the exhibition. The sense of scale is lost here of course (some of the paintings & photographs are really large, but you don’t get that sense here unfortunately…).

Everyone seemed to really love the ‘stories’ accompanying many of the images, from my blogs. “Inspiring” was a word used a lot.

Well, mission completed. Time to evaluate, reflect, report back, plan what’s next…and take a rest!

A little word of thanks…

The ONE Exhibition would not have happened without the support and assistance of the following people and organisations/businesses, that I would like to acknowledge and thank.

1. The North Taranaki Community Arts Trust for giving me a chance.
2. The Real TART Gallery staff for their advice, support, encouragement and a tremendous effort in pulling it all together on the day.
3. Roger and the team at French Photographics for my gorgeous medium and large scale photographic prints. (and for telling me to get a new camera!)
4. Anita at About Image for your assistance in making my Picture Stories come to life.
5. The Artshop for paints, some framing, and good advice.
6. Maree for her card design work – taking an image, words and a vague idea and turning it into my awesome exhibition cards.
7. My family and my friends – for all the encouragement (and brutal advice when required) and for all the other stuff (you know…) – a heartfelt thanks to each of you.
8. My blog friends – a constant source of inspiration, advice and encouragement from creative and interesting people from around the world (72 countries!!) who I am very flattered to say, have an interest in what I am doing…thank you again.
9. And GB who really said Go for it.

From me.

One Exhibition – officially open

Well, it is now official.

The opening was really great, I think there were about 40 people who came along at different times, which was really encouraging, lots of positive comments and reviews and even a few sales…thrilling! But the thing I loved most was talking to almost everyone and finding out which piece they really connected with and why. It seemed that everyone had a favourite, and everyone seemed to enjoy the stories accompanying some of the pieces, too. Here are a few more images of the exhibition – not of opening night, but from the quiet moment a few hours before.

An invitation to our first exhibition opening of the New Year.

“ONE – An Exhibition” features the work of Angela M. Sefton with an Opening night on Monday 7th January at 5.30pm.

Read more about Angela below and see what inspires this insightful artist

My name is Angela Sefton. I am a Taranaki based artist.

Photography allows me to document things I find beautiful, compelling and challenging. I love old buildings. I love their faded elegance, their stoic charm, their promise now neglected and abandoned. I wonder what stories they hold. I love trees and like to notice beauty in unlikely places.

I paint primarily abstract paintings using colour, texture, layering, mixing and scraping to make my images. I mostly use my hands rather than brushes or traditional painting tools. My paintings are always an emotional response to something and I tend to let things evolve organically, only starting with a concept, an emotion, a word, a specific colour or just an instinct or feeling.

I draw inspiration from old buildings, neglected bridges, nature, history, travel, poems and stories, city streets, beaches, patterns, symbols, a wide assortment of found papers and images, photos, books and magazines, old finds and new things, seeking beauty in the discarded and unnoticed.

I also create mixed media art pieces and enjoy journaling and writing. I write a blog (an online journal/art-space) where I share creative ideas and thoughts with 200 followers (fellow artists/bloggers) from all around the world and I have sold my work both internationally and locally. The blog is central to my art – it is my global community of supporters, peers (fellow artists) and customers .

I wanted to take the concept of a “virtual” thing like my blog and make it a “real” thing to see, enjoy and/or consider. The pieces are all connected through my blog and they all have a story. Images are varied but all share a commonality of high contrast, a sense of drama, a lot of colour and texture, use of symbols and text, and finding beauty in unexpected places. The photography is almost all taken around Taranaki and south Taranaki coast.

This is my first exhibition as a full time artist. What people can expect is a real mix of Taranaki photography, some mixed media pieces, abstract paintings and some blog entries presented (which are essentially stories with images).

Looking forward to seeing you on the 7th Jan 2013 5.30pm

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season and thank you for your support of our iconic Real Tart Gallery

This was a mail out “invitation” from the Real Tart Gallery, to friends of the Gallery, which I extend to you also.

angela sefton exhibition (2)