Amber Emm  is a full time artist from the North West of Auckland NZ, currently painting stunning photo realistic floral oil paintings that celebrate contrast, colour, detail and light.

Amber took up painting in 1990 purely for pleasure and became a full time artist in 1995. Then In 1998 positive feedback from a painting demonstration encouraged her to start teaching.

Her main inspiration has been boats, the seaside and the coastal fauna and flora of New Zealand. In the last 5 years she has turned her attention to the Garden and has rediscovered a driving passion to recreate the pockets of beauty which are in our own backyards. 

 Amber tells a fascinating story from her days as a sign writer after high school to becoming a well known, well respected NZ artist. She has great tips about showing work, teaching and entrepreneurship and gives us a wonderful tour through her creative process.

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See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog

Sharon is a passionate quilt pattern designer and quilt maker from Auckland NZ.  A self confessed lover of reproduction fabrics, her favourite thing to do is 'Appliqué' using pieced blocks to complete the quilt. 

"I simply love to design and make quilts, for me it has been an absolute joy to share my patterns and my fondness of vintage and reproduction fabrics. Experimenting with this range of unique fabric styles allows me to add my own historical vision into my design work."

I've learnt so much about the quilting process from talking to Sharon and even feel inspired to try working with fabric and thread myself! From a feed dog and walking foot to Baltimore and antique quilts, Sharon unpacks her process, practice and business in a way that is very inspiring. I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing her story.

You can  listen to CREATIVE MATTERS on your favourite podcast platform and subscribe  to receive our weekly episodes with other NZ artists, or go to our blog/podcast page www.creativematters.co.nz

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See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog

Emma is a writer, photographer, creative maker and meditation practitioner. Her work is all about emotion, and the life of the spirit. She brings this awareness to her work with photography, books and soul stones. Each of her pieces is designed to start a conversation with the heart of the viewer.

Emma writes her books and creates her soul stones at her studio overlooking Muriwai Beach and her writing and photography is inspired by the dynamic beauty that surrounds her. She gives thanks for the tangata whenua of Aotearoa and is grateful for the wisdom and guidance of Maoritanga in her country of birth. She draws strength from her rich Lebanese heritage as well as the Scottish determination and Celtic love for nature she inherited from her mum.

Emma is a businesswoman and author who is passionate about spreading a message of unity, empathy and understanding. Emma enjoys a good laugh, often at her own expense.

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See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog

Kiri Abraham is an artist, mother, gardener, tramper and lover of nature who has lived and worked in Helensville (North West of Auckland NZ) for the past 15 years.  She describes her art as ‘drawing’, although it includes painting, printing, stitch and more recently, cutting and burning.  

Drawing can be both a very simple process, and a complex, multi layered practise, and it is this diversity that attracts Kiri to the medium as a way of expression through mark making.  She works by building up a bigger story through repeated intricate marks, the process being as integral to the piece as the finished outcome.  Her work is slow, meditative and often physically challenging, and requires her to have a fully worked out concept before she begins a piece.

 Kiri’s work has themes of land and ecology at its core:  Human connection to place through story and materials, and the reciprocity of care and protection between humans and the earth.  

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See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog

With over thirty years’ experience in the arts, as both a practitioner and curator, Anna Hanson strives to empower artists, champion the role of art in society, and transform widely-held perceptions of textile-based projects within the art arena. 

As a practitioner, Hanson’s work embraces the codes of embroidery ,ropes and textiles. She believes in art as an essential part of a healthy community and, wherever possible, aims to remove the terms ‘traditional’, ‘craft’ and ‘female’ from the art world’s vernacular.

As a curator, Hanson sees her role as one of empowerment: providing artists with an environment and structure in which they are recognised, respected and fairly rewarded. 

Through her unwavering personal and professional focus, Hanson hopes to give both art and artists the essential platform they desire and deserve. 

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See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog

Artist Emma Springford-Gough grew up in West Auckland NZ and has lived in Huapai for the last 11 years with her husband, 3 kids, dog, cat and a handful of fish. 

Making art, drawing specifically, has always been a great part of Emma’s life. She loves drawing and finds it a raw and immediate form of expression. She uses drawing as a tool for documenting objects and interiors that surround her. Ink and brush is her fav medium, but really anything will do in her eyes.

Embroidery is another medium Emma embraces as a form of drawing. She finds working with fabric and stitched line such a raw and feminine way to explore an object or idea. 

Emma has been working on painted ship portraits for the last few years, exploring the nostalgic relationships NZers have with sailing and shipping vessels. 

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See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog

Jago Neal is a mixed media artist, illustrator and photographer originally from London. He now resides in West Auckland New Zealand. 

Jago has a small studio at home which also serves as a darkroom. He often incorporates photography into his practice or integrates it with other methods of drawing, collage or painting.

 "I draw, paint and photograph the world as a form of expression, to help make sense of it, to stay calm and to feed my imagination and my soul. The work I create and the media I use depends on my mood, my environment, my time and what I want to achieve. I try not to pigeon hole myself into a box or category as that would limit my art and my enjoyment of it."

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See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog

Amanda Jakich (Mandy) is a self taught abstract painter and the Founder and CEO of Creative Matters. She is the proud mother of 2 young adults (with a grand baby on the way) and lives with her husband George at Muriwai Beach, North West of Auckland.

Mandy's work responds to her surroundings, particularly to the seas, skies, land and nature of her home place Muriwai Beach NZ.  She is drawn to simple form and design, colour and composition and enjoys experimenting with different materials, ideas and tools.

This podcast episode sees the tables turned - Mandy is the host of the Creative Matters podcast and is the one being interviewed this time, by our very first podcast guest and good friend artist Tanya Blong. Listen to this episode to hear about Mandy's life, business and art practice and other heartfelt little moments Tanya manages to dig up! 

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Follow us on Instagram
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See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog

Marion Stutz is a painter living in Huapai, Auckland NZ. 

In the last 5 years she has gone from being a creative interested in art  with a great appreciation for all things arty and a love of making to a practising artist who already has her first solo show under her belt.

Marion's work is all about colour and form, explored through landscapes, portraiture and still life and inspired by artists such as Henri Matisse, Mark Chagall and Rita Angus.

- Join Mandy in a conversation with Marion Stutz.  See our blog for relevant links and images of Marion's work.

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Follow us on Instagram
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See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog

Catrina is an abstract painter from Muriwai Beach, North West of Auckland, with a passion for interpreting the many layers of her natural environment. 

Whenever she is outside in Muriwai she can't help but see endless paintings, endless textures, colours, lines, shapes, light and movement, and so much west coast energy.

She enjoys translating what she sees through exploring different techniques using paint, ink, dye, pastel, pen and pencil.

Support the show

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Follow us on Instagram
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Learn more about Mandy and the podcast
https://www.creativematters.co.nz/podcast

See images of each guests work and relevant links on our blog https://www.creativematters.co.nz/blog