Thursday, September 8, 2011

TRUTH

This is my entry for the Whanganui National Art Exhibition.

My piece is a mixed media Cloak – It is woven from cotton with an outer skin of media pieces from local newspapers.
The inspiration came from the unbalanced coverage of Whanganui issues in the media, from the “H” issue, school bullying, the DHB sagas, murder investigations, gang patch ban and Mayor Laws’ use of the media to self promote, leading to an unbalanced, one sided, outside view.
The inner cloak is made using Maori finger weaving techniques representing the core or inner person, but the media pieces are glued and tacked on representing the more superficial and hopefully temporary perception or world view.
When Whanganui is represented negatively in the media all of us who live here have to wear it, whether it is accurate, fair and truly news worthy or not. While this cloak and the text on it are specific to Whanganui it also reflects, how I feel, Maori issues are covered in the media generally.
The quality of what is inside is obscured by what is seen from the outside. What we wear close to our hearts, although concealed, is the most important and is the truth.















Monday, August 1, 2011

Great New Zealand Art Show

Thank you to all those people who came and saw me this weekend, it was a great show and the quality improves every year. Thank you to everyone who purchased work, especially those people who come back every year, it really means alot to me.
I apologise if I gave anyone else the flu! I could hardly speak on Saturday and hope I haven't infected too many of you.
The photos here show the set up we had at the show.
Setting up the display


A sale!
New work
All dressed up and ready to go - drugs were holding off the flu at this stage!

Thanks again to every one who came I still have some pieces for sale and can be contacted on email Leonie.Sharp@gmail.com

Thursday, July 21, 2011

New Page

Hi all,
I have added a page on my latest works - sacred symbols, just follow the link.
Le

New Zealand Art Show 2011

Hi all,
I am going to be at the Art Show this weekend July 29 - 31st at the TSB Arena Wellington. I have a single artists wall and will be there all weekend. There are 100's of artists displaying their work, all works are less than $5000 and cover the whole range of visual and 3D artworks.
Hope to see you there.
Le.



Friday, May 13, 2011

Whanganui Artists Open Studios Article from the Chronicle

Complimentary: Leonie Sharp (left) and Carmen Simmonds are combining their works in one studio for this years' Artists Open Studios.

Complimentary: Leonie Sharp (left) and Carmen Simmonds are combining their works in one studio for this years' Artists Open Studios. Photo / Photo / Tracey Grant 140311wctgopen Studios02


Fellow artists, friends and collaborators Carmen Simmonds and Leonie Sharp will be showing their works off under the same roof this year.

The pair have collaborated on works in the past, including making a wearable glass, feather, wire and wood dress. With both of them having studios on the outskirts of town, it was more convenient this year to hold their open studios together, they say.

The pair will be showing their works in Simmonds' "Glencarichan Studio", on Blueskin Road.

Sharp said they loved each others' work, and it was complimentary, sharing a "colonial" theme. But their work was also very different, so they were never in competition with each other.

Simmonds said she studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Whanganui UCOL, where she got the opportunity to try a little of everything, before being "seduced" by glass.

If you have a go, you get really addicted, she said.

Simmonds said she liked to make glass that looked like fabric, using real materials as her mould.

"It's like sewing and dress making, except in glass."

Her works included the popular and collectable "lolly frocks", kewpie doll dresses, and doily dresses all made out of multicoloured glass.

She would be taking registrations of interest for a glass making class during the open studios, she said.

Sharp's work includes three different lines, her swatches, woven kites and her whakapapa series, based on traditional Maori weaving methods.

Sharp said she was lucky to learn traditional weaving from a family in Wairoa eight years ago, and had "gone off in tangents" from there.

The swatches, were a "flight of fancy", incorporating the colour and texture of feathers into a small swatch, reminiscent of traditional weaving.

She likened them to a fabric swatch a designer would show to a client. In the whakapapa series, Sharp said she was interested in the concept of lineage and the question of "how much Maori" a person was.

People weren't "just" Maori or Chinese, most people were mixed, and she wanted to show all of those parts, she said.

She was looking for mixed race Maori "muses" to create a weaving from, incorporating pieces of their lineage with iconic materials to create a picture of the layers that made up who they are. The final works would go on display at an exhibition.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Latest News

Hi all I know I am not the best at keeping this up to date but have made a resolution to try harder this year!
I have added a posting on the "Sacred Symbols" page, showing my "Toki" design.







Artists Open Studios Weekends
23-24 & 30 - 31 March 2013


Studios open from 10am to 4pm



Begin your Artists Open Studios experience at Starting Point, an exhibition of  artworks from each participating studio and gallery. The opening night is on Friday 22 March from 5.30pm. Open daily at 10am to 4pm  at the Community Arts Centre, 19 Taupo Quay, Whanganui - near the Whanganui I-Site.
During Open Studio weekends, bright yellow flags fly from each studio and gallery, making them easy to find. Artworks are for sale at all locations. All artists accept cash and cheques with ID. 
Eftpos is generally not available at studios.




The Arts Trail is linked here: http://www.openstudios.co.nz/content/5/
I will be at Black Sands Gallery and at Sandhill Gallery I hope to meet some of you there.


As always pieces are regularly displayed and sold through Real Aotearoa shops in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland.


I am also now at Artport in Auckland International Airport for those traveling overseas who need a special something! 


I also have an online presence at Artshow online: http://artshow.co.nz/gallery/search.php?for=sharp&list=all&style=&medium=

Who is watching?

Locations of visitors to this page

Thanks for checking out my web space. If you would like to get in touch to enquire about purchases or hosting an exhibition, please email me.
Leonie.Sharp@gmail.com

Followers