Spring Newsletter
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A seriously lovely giveaway
plus the final workshops for the year!
Don’t miss out!
Hello again creative friends, and welcome to my Spring Newsletter! Thanks for following along on my, erm, artistic journey, I’ve got some lovely things in store for you:
The perfect giveaway
A ’retro’ recommendation to help you invite more creativity into your life
Workshop places open at Auckland Wintergardens
Workshop places open at Taranaki Garden Festival
WIP of the month and a free exhibition to visit
A little bit of press
The perfect giveaway - It’s a win/win!
Have you put your name in yet for a chance to win this absolutely super giveaway? The prize is a lovely archival-quality Kakabeak print, one of my most popular, plus this very nice set of handcrafted earrings made by my fab friend Isla, at Wearing Glass? The package is worth $173.00. Lordy!
As backstory, Isla and I got know each other as fellow archery mums on the sidelines watching our offspring play Robin Hood at Cornwall Park. I first got my own pair of these gorgeous earrings by swapping socks I had made for her. I l do love a creative swap! So next we hatched this collaboration. I get heaps of compliments on these earrings and they are very light and pleasant to wear. I’m really looking forward to seeing who wins!
Check it out here and get your entry in before midnight on Friday 27 September.
How to invite more creativity into your life
Not to get too ‘woo’ about it but I firmly believe creativity in our lives isn’t just confined to a specific art form or expression, it’s part of how we are and how we live, fuelled by our energy and attention. So I’m always looking for ways to improve my focus and tune up the creative frequency. One of the best ways I have found to do this, admittedly quite retro, is a programme called The Artist’s Way. If you’re not familiar, do not worry, it’s not an MLM, or a cult, It’s a book written by writer Julia Cameron way back in 1993 to help screenwriters rescue themselves from writer’s block. You can find the book for a couple of dollars at any second-hand book store or buy it new here.
Effectively it’s a 12 week programme of morning writing and weekly outings to provoke and revive your creativity. You can do it on your own or with a circle of similarly minded others. I like to write first thing in the morning before the dreams have dribbled out of my ears. Parts of the process are are quite personally challenging but I really can recommend it as a discipline and a structured approach for personal exploration.
I’m about four weeks in so far, and I have to say the results really are quite surprising. Things that seemed difficult are suddenly much easier. Boundaries with myself and others are slightly easier to keep and help has sprung up from quite unexpected people (including one of my sons beginning to clear 25 years of junk from the shed which will become my studio!). Psycho-somatic? Coincidence? Who cares? I really want that studio space!
Wintergardens workshops
It has gone so quickly - just two Wintergardens workshops left this year! One of the best things about these workshops is that we get to work with specimens which are not ordinarily available to the public. So if you have a specific interest in these types of plants it’s a great opportunity. Equally, the skills you will learn at these workshops will transfer to drawing any other subject.
Learn to draw Cacti and Succulents - Just 5 seats left for our upcoming workshop! Don't wait—snag your spot now by clicking here and unleash your inner artist!
Date: Sunday, 20 October 10am—1pm, Auckland Domain Wintergardens
Learn to draw Carnivorous Plants: if you're feeling extra lucky, there’s only 1 seat left in our exclusive Carnivorous plants workshop! If you're ready to dive in, grab that last seat here before it vanishes!
Date: Sunday, 17 November, 10am-1pm, Auckland Domain Wintergardens
I always like to check if I am on the right track, and had this really nice feedback from a recent group of workshop attendees:
“Jolly, informative, Impassioned and talented tutor”
“The best course I have found so far to teach you the basics, how to approach drawing which is the most important when you are a complete beginner”
“Lovely teaching style! Easy to follow, very fun”
“Excellent teaching, just the right amount of detail and encouragement”
Taranaki Garden Festival workshops
I‘m back at stunning Riverlea garden again this year and with luck the ladies from Little Liberty Creamery will be right beside me once more. I have to ration myself to one per day but I’m still thinking about their intense espresso flavour!
The remaining workshop tickets are:
Your grandmother’s garden – revisiting plants of our past One seat left!
Date – Fri 1 Nov, 11am- 2pm, , Riverlea Garden Bell Block, Taranaki
Capture a native forest leaf with confidence Just four seats left
Date – Sun 3 Nov, 11am – 2pm , Riverlea Garden Bell Block, Taranaki
As with all of my workshops, all materials are provided and no experience is required. All you need to do is turn up, relax and enjoy yourself.
WIP of the month and a roadie!
I was rapt to be asked to join a group of artists with Sandra Morris and the Pūkorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre to raise funds for local wetland preservation.
The painting below “Pūkorokoro Tideline” is my response to this call to action. My piece features natural objects I found along the shellbank, reflecting a scientific tideline sample and celebrating the ordinary treasures of this fragile ecosystem. Each specimen tells a part of the story, both commonplace and wonderfully unique.
The images I painted in my journal last May evoke vivid memories of hot sun-bleached shells crunching underfoot, the salty tang of mangroves, and that thrilling sense of imminent discovery I always feel along the tideline.
The original is for sale at the exhibition Wetland: Pūkorokoro runs at Miranda Gallery from September 29 to October 20, 2024. Miranda Gallery is about 10 minutes’ drive from the Shorebird Centre and you could easily pop into both on a day out and drive that beautiful winding coastline home. The Shorebird Centre is a wonderful place to drop into, with an incredible selection of books on naturalist subjects for sale. You could always pick your lunch up at Clevedon Market if you’re going for the ultimate trifecta. Otherwise fish and chips at the pink shop at Kaiaua is the traditional alternative!
FYI I’m also offering archival quality signed limited edition prints of this work, with 20% going to the wetland preservation fund. A4 prints are $75 and A3 prints are $150. Let me know if you’re interested! As well as supporting a local artist, you’d be making a contribution to wetland preservation!
A little bit of press!
And if you haven’t had enough of me talking about me (!) I was recently interviewed by Megan Lyon for Nourish Magazine for the very same Spring issue which features my fennel painting on its cover. Look out for Nourish all over the Waikato and the BOP. The recipes are absolutely reliable.
One of the best and somehow unexpected parts of this, ahem ‘mature career pivot’ into botanical art is the opportunity to meet creative people whose values and enthusiasm align really closely. So I really enjoyed the chance to spend a bit more time with Nourish Publisher Vicki Ravlich-Horan. As well as publishing Nourish Magazine and doing spontaneous photoshoots, Vicki also runs incredible foodie tours to Siciliy, Mexico and Sri Lanka. One day, I swear I’ll be eating pastry in Sicily with the rest of you!
Thanks for allowing me into your inbox
I hope there’s been something in this newsletter for you. Do send me your comments! Let me know if you have any questions at all for the next one. And as always, if it’s not for you, simply unsubscribe any time, no hard feelings.
Ngā mihi nui,
Jennifer
PS Don’t forget to enter the giveaway - you could well win! Check it out here and get your entry in before midnight on Friday 27 September.