It is the final few days of the most recent trip and we will be heading back to Greymouth on Monday next week.
Thank you for your patience while we have been away. I am not going to be able to write a proper blog this week but there is plenty to tell for next week. A visit to the Dowse Art Gallery near Wellington has provided plenty of inspiration for anyone who are interested in textiles and I shall write about it next week. Along the way down to Wellington from Auckland we have visited some historical sites as well as seen some great art galleries. I have found a supplier of cloths to use for a project that will see new printed scarves being made, and done some more research on the wool industry of New Zealand. There have been visits to fashion designers and makers, and there is plenty to tell about that too.
A real highlight has been the few days spent in Napier. The town boasts the largest collection of Art Deco buildings in the world because Napier suffered a massive earthquake in 1931 that destroyed much of it and, in the aftermath, the town rose again. In two years Napier was resurrected in the latest building styles. When the town suffered a decline in fortunes in the later part of the 20th Century there was not enough money to pull down the buildings and so they remained intact. Now the town trades on these iconic, beautiful buildings with an Art Deco festival amongst other celebratory events. Visiting Napier is rather like being in a stage set. Here are some pictures with more to follow next week.
Comments
2 responses to “The end of the trip”
It was good to meet you again at today’s Shetland Society of Wellington meeting. You will recall I came up to you after your talk and mentioned the weaving my wife and I purchased from you. I’ve just checked my diary and it was on 21 August 2018 that we called in at your workshop in North Yell following a recommendation from my relation Alison Priest in Norwick, Unst. We ended up buying a length of weaving that you explained was inspired by the colours of the Shetland landscape. That weaving is now displayed in our lounge over the seat back of one of our sofas.
I very much enjoyed your talk which was made even more interesting given the previous personal connection. Thank you so much.
Chris Laurenson
Hello Chris,
Many thanks for speaking to me after the talk and then for going to the trouble of checking the date you were in the Yell studio. I feel very lucky to have been asked to give a talk to the Shetland Wellington Society and to have people come up to tell me about previous encounters at the end of the event is amazing! The Shetland connections are so strong, aren’t they?
At the moment I am working on a cloth inspired by the snowy mountains and stormy seas of the West Coast. If ever you are down this way please do pop in to the studio and have a chat. In the meantime, I am gla you are enjoying your Yell fabric and I hope it continues to remind you of your trip overseas.
Regards,
Andy