Whakapapa: Get down upon your knees.

I hope you didn't think I'd gone AWOL again and given up on blogging! My intended bloggathon was rather short and I haven't created a thing in weeks. Strangely enough I don't feel frustrated by it like a usually do. I'm still in a good space and can feel myself moving towards a big creative spurt and when it comes I will devote myself to it! Life's been busy with kids, picking an education path for next year (one child is starting college, my sons starting intermediate and my youngest is in her last year of primary) and there's been some big decisions made. Throughout the process I was aware of the 'ripple effect' I kept mentioning in my last ICE series and the whole nest concept. I guess even though I wasn't creating I was still applying an art idea to life. BTW my next ICE series is not far away! I've been ticking over ideas for it so watch this space! 

Yesterday the kids and I went to an art workshop held at the Tauranga Art Gallery and hosted by the Dyslexia Families Support Group. We really enjoyed ourselves and you can see the artworks we created below.  The exhibition the workshop focused on was Reuben Paterson's Whakapapa: get down upon your knees.

My son's artwork. We all had to combine the same sort of mixed media elements to create our own work. The colour pencils we used were just awesome, soft and chalky with the colour strength of pastel. Lovely!

My 9 year old created this work, she has talent oozing from her ears and blew everyone away with her creation.

My eldest created this piece. She has cerebral palsy and creating this by herself was a real achievement. Go kiddos!

Yes, mine. Totally out of my usual zone but fun all the same!

The cover from the exhibition booklet and a pic from the inside. This page shows the true scale of the artworks created by Reuben Paterson and the man himself. Impressive!

Reuben's work is inspired by his own Whakapapa (family) and he used his fathers ties, Kuia's (grandmothers) party dresses, wall paper and hawaiian shirts as his inspiration. Two other elements that featured strongly in his work are the Koru (from his Maori heritage) and Paisely (from his Scottish history.) I really like they way he was able to draw so much from his own ancestral lines.  In addition to this he also uses international design history in his work and lashings of...glitter! The glitter thing threw me, I didn't get it, until I read more about his work. The glitter provides more than a textural base and pretty sparkle. The artist uses them to create the association of wealth. One example of this in design history are the interiors of churches, which sparkle with luxurious panels, paintings and ornate carvings. If you want to read more about Reuben Paterson's work you can see his website here.