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.

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. 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.

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=

Latest Updates

Hi all,

It has been a busy time with shows and the creation of the next range of works.
I have a window of kites currently on display in Real Aotearoa on Grey St Wellington - they are great supporters of NZ Art and of me - thanks Jane!!!

I currently have a piece in the Whanganui National Art Award exhibition and received a merit award for "Scaori" which can be seen in the Whakapapa page of this blog or at this link:

http://whanganuinational.blogspot.com/2010/09/whanganui-national-art-award-win-to.html.

 “For Scaori we enjoyed the way Ms Sharp incorporated Maori and Scottish cultures of whakapapa and New Zealand history by Korowai and Tartan, pheasant feathers and flax”.

The exhibition runs until October 6 at the Whanganui Community Arts Centre, 19 Taupo Quay, Whanganui. 

I have a piece made in collaboration with Whanganui glass artist Carmen Simmons about to be displayed in Parliment, I will post details when I have them.

Thanks for the interest and support,

Leonie.

The NZ Art Show

I will once again have a wall at the NZ Art show, on at the Wellington Events Centre, on the 28 - 31 July.  it was great to get feedback and to meet the people who have been supporting my art making the last 3 years and I look forward to catching up again and showing my new series of work.

It is always good to catch up with so many other talented artists and I will try to create links to their websites, so you too can be awed by their talents.

I can be contacted through e mail Leonie.Sharp@gmail.com

Thanks again visitors, I'll let you know where I'll be next!

Do you wish to be part of the Whakapapa Series?

In my page about the whakapapa series I mentioned that I would look to represent individuals who have a Maori and some other ethnicity mix - Maori/Samoan, Maori/Japanese...whatever mix is out there.

If you would like to be considered as a "muse" please send some detail about yourself in the post comments box and I will see what we can do, I am looking for as many different combinations as I can find.

Leonie.

The NZ Art Show

I once again have an artists wall at the The New Zealand Art Show - (formally Affordable Art Show).

The New Zealand Art Show is a three day visual feast for art lovers and those interested in purchasing original New Zealand Art for under $5,000.

The show exhibits and sells work by hundreds of new, emerging and established artists from around New Zealand. Each year there is an enormous variety of art styles, genres and media.

Friday 30 July - Sunday 1 August 2010
TSB Bank Arena, Queens Wharf, Jervois Quay
Wellington, New Zealand

Show days are open to the public by general admission. The art displayed is constantly changing so there is always something different to see.

Opening times are 10:00am - 5:00pm daily. Adults $10 and children free.

More info is available on their website http://www.artshow.co.nz

My moment on Youtube!

New Blog Page.

Hi all,

I thought I would try this to see if it is an easier way to get my work out there and keep in touch with people who have shown an interest in purchasing or exhibiting my work. Let me know what you think.

Leonie