Category: Art

  • This week’s Spotify playlist

    Every week a playlist is curated on the Spotify platform for the blog. Each item references something in the blog, sometimes obviously and sometimes less so. Paying subscribers to Spotify will hear all the tracks uninterrupted while free subscriptions will have advertising breaks. Anyone else can hear short extracts from the playlist. To listen either…

  • Ainu costume

    The Ainu people of Northern Japan have a unique culture, one that was almost lost. Now mostly in Hokkaido, the Ainu once lived from Honshu to Kuril, and differ in their linguistics and culture from the Japanese, who displaced them 150 years ago from their ancestral lands. In April 2019 the Ainu people were recognised…

  • Peg Moorhouse

    The damask weaver, Peg Moorhouse, who passed away in January this year aged 106, was recognised for her contribution to the craft of weaving and for her creative experimentation. Peg Moorhouse was born near Ashburton and was raised in Christchurch Ōtautahi at the family home, Risingholme, now a Community Learning Centre, with her cousin, Elaine…

  • The colours of Aotearoa New Zealand

    The first impression of the South Island/ Te Waipounamu of Aotearoa is of endless green, but this could not be further from the truth. At this time of year with Spring in the air and lambs in the fields, it is time to go out and about, exploring the countryside and the historic sites that…

  • Update on the new studio

    The textile hub in Greymouth Māwhera is taking shape… After a few weeks the studio is now looking more like a working space. There is a large tables, standing height, to use for printing and art, a worktable and a meeting space. Shortly there will be sewing machines and, by the end of the year,…

  • Snowshill Manor

    For those who are concerned that they own too many things, here is someone who took this passion for collecting to colourful and wondrous extremes! Charles Wade, a trained architect turned artist and illustrator bought Snowshill Manor, after returning from the First World War, to house his ever-expanding collection. Over the years until he died…

  • The Spotify playlist

    Each week a curated list of audio is made on Spotify to go along with the blog entries. The playlist includes old and new music in lots of different genres, and each piece is chosen to reflect something on the blog. To listen click on the player above or search for “Music to read a…

  • Samba!

    Brazil is known for its vibrant cultures and the samba is amongst the most well-known; Samba de Roda, a festival event from Bahia, is recognised as a unique art form in UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Samba derives from the colonial period in Brazil’s history. At its foundation are the traditions and cultures of enslaved…

  • The extraordinary music from Malaita

    Disclaimer: Please be aware that some of the links in this article may show images of human remains, currently in museum collections. The people of the Southern part of Malaita, the largest land in the Solomon Islands, are called the ‘Are’are. Until an ethnomusicologist called Hugo Zemp from le Musée de l’Homme in Paris recorded…

  • Andora

    Ten years ago, an auction of Soviet space memorabilia was offered for sale by auction. The collection belonged to Andora, a German artist who, becoming fascinated by space and its exploration, completed cosmonaut training. Andora painted a Proton rocket, at the request of the Russian space agency, that was shot into space in 1992. A…