News
A day in the bush
I had an adventure this weekend that's worth sharing - a small thing really, but a great mindset-reset - if the word 'greenwash' wasn't already taken, I'd use it to mean 'washing my mind and spirit in the beautiful refreshing greens of nature' 😄
I walked for a few hours in the Waitākere ranges. SO beautiful, SO many impressive native plants and trees, SO many photos taken!
Here's a copy of my little insta-reel - not sure if embedding it will work...let's see!
(I think you need to click on it to make it play)
Birds
Wait... those aren't leaves!
I got a bit sidetracked lately, drawing birds instead of leaves. I blame Jacqui from Fruitvale School for telling me about all the native bird names of their classes - such a good idea!
I guess if I stretch my imagination I can still have birds instead of plants under the umbrella of the 'leafy' part of my chosen artist name. My reasoning is that in te reo Māori - which I'm still learning, albeit slowly - rau can be used for both leaf 🌿 and feather 🪶 - nō reira, he pai pea te whakamahi o ngā kaupapa e rua - maybe it's OK to use both concepts 😁
Fcuk you, cancer
2024 was a bit of a year for me, due to a little adventure with breast cancer. The battle has been won (fingers crossed) and of course like all good artists, I used it for inspiration.
Since I was making cards anyway, I thought I'd make one that I would have found useful during the hard bits of the cancer treatment: sometimes when I didn't feel up to much I played 'the cancer card' - used it as an excuse to get out of something I didn't want to do. So I thought it would be fun to have an actual cancer card - a card to remind the owner that it's ok to take a break when you need one.
I plan to give these as gifts to anyone I know going through the rough bits of cancer treatment, so they know that I'm happy to help when they need it, and that I won't judge them if they need to let me down sometimes.
As a way of giving back, when I sell these ones I give 50c per card to the Breast Cancer Foundation or to The Cancer Society. These two organisations really made a difference during my treatment - WELL worth our support.
Drawing black and white images
I've always liked silhouettes and patterns in nature. I've had a little down-time lately, and spent it on the ipad with a stylus, attempting to draw native plants and birds.
A big problem for me has been balancing my urge to make the drawings as accurate as possible, with the need to tweak them a little to make them attractive to look at.
Another problem is that I don't know which app is most useful, so I have a few downloaded and I get mixed up between them. Each time I come back to it after a break it's like starting again - relearning the tools, and also the styles of the images seem to vary. Oh well - the awesome thing about digital work is that it's easy to re-do things and fix mistakes!
Emerging artist awards 2023
Exciting news - One of my photos has been shortlisted for the Upstairs Gallery Titirangi Emerging artist awards. The theme this year is 'Connection'.
"The data is clear: having emotional conversations, creating positive vibes, and creating shared experiences all help to enhance our mental wellbeing. People gain a sense of connection by experiencing positive emotions together. "
There will be an exhibition of the shortlisted works - this is an exciting events for me because it marks one year since I got a little bit serious about my photography. It promises to be a great show, with many different artistic styles on display.
Awards Ceremony and Opening Saturday 14 October 1pm – 3pm
On Show 14 October - 5 November
Find out more here from Upstairs Gallery.
Conservation week 2023
History: Conservation week was started in 1969 by the New Zealand Scout Association. Read more on the DOC website.
Purpose: The goal of Conservation Week is "to promote greater interest in the environment and encourage people to take practical actions to look after it".
What I hope for: You may have noticed or heard - the earth is warming, species are becoming extinct, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising. We are using non-renewable resources and plastics at a crazy rate, and living lifestyles that are increasingly out of touch with the taiao, the natural world. I want all New Zealanders to make changes - large or small, public or private - that support our natural environment and build more sustainable lifestyles. I hope that media stories and events will pop up this week to celebrate our environment, remind people about the importance of conserving native species and habitats, and equip people with skills to make this happen.
What I'm doing: I plan to run a little social media campaign this week to encourage people to use the cycle path in my neighbourhood. I have some small prints to give away Of course I wish I could do more, but if each of us works with whatever skills, resources, networks we have, we can make a difference!
Remember: Conservation and sustainable living is important ALL THE TIME - not just this week!
Join in:
Follow Rebs' Leafy Lens on social media to find out how to join in, and to keep up with future projects.
Mahi ki te hono ki te taiao - work towards a closer connection with nature!
Learning about New Zealand harakeke species
This is an ongoing project for me - knowing the name and characteristics of all the plants I come across would be awesome, but my expectations are a little more realistic - I'm just picking off a few at a time.
This month I've been reading about different species of NZ flax - phormium tenax - harakeke, as well as a little about phormium cookanium, wharariki. NZ is lucky enough to have had an amazing researcher and archivist called Rene Orchiston, who gathered local knowledge of harakeke species from throughout NZ, and preserved samples for future kaiwhatu. Read about her work here. You can visit her pā harakeke at Lincoln, and cultivars are available for weavers seeking to develop their own pā harakeke and to help preserve these taonga species.
My harakeke close-up, showing the beautiful lines and colours. Photographed in Avondale, Auckland.
Group exhibition - Vantage.
Part of the Auckland Festival of Photography. The Upstairs Art Gallery, Titirangi.
I contributed two photographs to this exhibition. It was only the second time I've contributed to an exhibition, so pretty exciting!
"As part of the Auckland Festival of Photography for 2023, we present The Upstairs Art Gallery Members Photography Exhibition ‘Vantage’.
As if to give context to our land and people, this exhibition explores our worlds through the lens of our Upstairs Art Gallery members. From emerging artists to more established practitioners, join us for visual conversation."
20230526_190756.mp4
An installation of six photos celebrating the diverse plant life along our NL2A pathway.
As a frequent-flier on our local cycle-path, I feel honoured to take part in this project, and to have this opportunity to share my work with the many other users of the path. This series of photographs celebrates the natural beauty that can be found along the NL2A Pathway. The diversity of plant types reflects the diversity in our area. The different forms, shapes, textures in our native flora is really fun to explore, photograph and celebrate. There are QR codes on each photo which will open to the plant's location along the cycle path , so keen beans can go searching for them! Read more and learn about each plant on the Whau The People website.
Hopefully people will be inspired to take a second look at the plant life they pass while zooming along on their bikes!
