Shelley Ryde is a well known, highly respected Aotearoa art educator and artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland NZ. 

Shelley has led the visual art department and taught art at Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland, finishing this position in 2024 after 42 years of devotion, hard work, commitment and a lot of love. 

Many young art students and NZ practising artists have been taught and inspired by Shelley, including a number of guests on this podcast who speak so highly of her and her influence.

This is the first part of a 2 part series. In this episode we talk about Shelley's life as an artist and the connections with her important teaching career. She shares her childhood memories, her creative journey and her 50+ years as an artist. Part 2 will be released in the near future and is all about her experiences, reflections and philosophies as an art educator in Aotearoa.

Shelley is a beautiful storyteller. We talk about her childhood on the west coast of the south Island and her family and how those things have influenced her as an artist and a writer. She shares her experience studying at Ilam School of Art in Christchurch in the late sixties, her relationship with her lecturer Rudi Gopas, and her peers at Ilam including Phil Clairmont, Philippa Blair, Chris Booth and Sally Burton. We discuss what Shelley gained from this course and how her work evolved and her early teaching days teaching visual art with Fred Graham. Shelley shares a pivotal opportunity when she won a scholarship to a workshop in New York in 1990 which started her love of printmaking and how that influenced her own practice and her art teaching. 

It is fascinating to hear about her era studying art in the sixties, her experiences, her reflections and the evolution of her work. I know you'll really enjoy this episode as much as I enjoyed speaking to Shelley. Be sure to tune in to the second chapter of this 2 part series, coming sometime soon.

The link to Shelley's 146 slide presentation which we mention in our chat is available on her blogpost which is on our blog at creativeconnections.nz Here you can see examples of her work and her poems. Seeing this will enrich and really add to the conversation you're about to hear. I've included her retirement poem on there as well. 

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Kirsty Nixon is a contemporary New Zealand artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Her vibrant, light-filled paintings celebrate the untamed beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand — from the windswept beaches of the North Island to the soaring mountain ranges of the South.

Drawing inspiration from the land, sea, and native birdlife that surround her, Kirsty’s work invites a quiet moment of reflection — a breath of peace amidst the noise of modern life. With an instinctive eye for colour and composition, she transforms everyday encounters with nature into uplifting works of art that feel both familiar and extraordinary.

Kirsty has been a practising artist since 1997 after a career in graphic design and advertising. In this episode Kirsty talks about how working in advertising led her to having a nervous breakdown of sorts which turned out to be the catalyst for taking a break and finally choosing to become a full time artist.

We talk about:

• how art initially provided an 'out' for her socially and continues to nourish her mental health and well being
• Kirsty's positive connection with NZ artist Tim Wilson and what she gained from his influence
• How her work has evolved over the years and even gone full circle in some ways
• Her strategies for dealing with imposter syndrome and a lack of confidence at times and getting through periods where she has felt discouraged or unmotivated.

Kirsty talks us through her painting style and the different series of works she makes, from the well known NZ native flora and native bird landscape works and her 'roadie' series, to more graphic works incorporating different colour palettes and pattern. 

https://www.creativeconnections.nz/post/kirsty-nixon-contemporary-artist

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Sarah Ritchie is a New Zealand fibre artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

Sarah specialises in creating framed works in natural fibres such as New Zealand wool, bamboo and cotton, showcasing her passion for texture, colour, and non-toxic creativity - drawing inspiration from the breathtaking beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand.

In this episode Sarah unpacks her fibre art process for us: from her preferred fibres to use and the tools she uses to her technique , use of colour and the ideas behind her work.

Sarah is an absolute power house, or as she says, a “purpose-driven multi-passionate”! 

As well as being a practising artist Sarah teaches needle felting workshops; she has created a range of needle felted painting kits; she has curated a collection of merchandise and a range of prints featuring her original needle-felted fibre paintings; she has written 4 non friction books, she is a business mentor, a member of an art collective, a photographer and a facilitator; all while working full time in graphic design and advertising.

With a background in business, graphic design, advertising, and human resources Sarah has a sound understanding of what it takes for artists to run a successful, sustainable business and imparts much of her knowledge and experience in this episode. We talk about identifying your why, identifying and reaching your audience, aligning to your purpose, different ways of monetising art, creating a business plan, strategic thinking and dealing with 'failure'.

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Ceara Lile is a fibre-based mixed media artist who grew up in West Auckland. She creates abstract textile collages layered with meaning, memory, and emotion as well as eco inkless hand printed fabrics. She now lives in Keri Keri in the Far North of Aotearoa NZ with her partner Mario.

From an early age, Ceara has been captivated by textiles, drawn to their textures and versatility. Her work takes the form of abstract, collage-based fibre sketches, where these materials serve as both her medium and her tool. Caera creates layered backdrops, using these elements to build a rich foundation, then draw over them—playing with color and form to evoke places, emotions, and relationships.

 At the heart of her work is a deep fascination with the human experience, particularly the ways in which we seek connection and belonging, both in physical spaces and within society. 

I loved meeting and talking to Ceara. She shares how she got back to creating after a break away travelling after completing a fashion degree. We discuss how her love of maths and her fashion degree has informed her work, the process of abstract art and how abstract works often have a 'teenage stage' before reaching a satisfying completion and the mathematical problem solving that is often part of the abstract process. 

Ceara goes into fascinating detail about her inkless printing process, from collecting rusty iron and bark and creating pigments to how she chooses the leaves and how each leaf responds to the dying process. We also talk about her 2 other series of works, changing Landscapes and The Venn Of Us, which are fabric collages using repeated shapes and hand stitched lines.

Ceara explains the ideas and the meanings of the codes that appear on her fabric collage works, we go to the craft versus art conundrum and her shifting attitude of "it's just clothes" to seeing her work as art and herself as an artist.

https://www.creativeconnections.nz/post/ceara-lile-textile-artist

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Jane Shriffer is an abstract painter living and working in Wānaka in the south island of Aotearoa NZ. Jane paints intuitively, layering colour and texture, making her marks with a palette knife.

In this episode we have a fantastic chat about Jane's experience studying painting at Dunedin School of Art as an enthusiastic 18 year old only to leave university with her degree and not return to painting for 10 years. She shares how she got back into painting through immersing herself in lthe local art scene, the things she did to grow confidence in herself as an artist and how she managed that dreaded imposter syndrome.

We discuss how Jane's unique and highly recognisable abstract painting style came about and how her work has evolved over the years. Jane talks about her influences, her organic approach to colour and the joy colour brings, making that first mark, how she knows when a painting is finished, and a pivotal moment in her career that got her thinking more seriously about her work. 

We touch on the time she overheard someone saying "my 5 year old could paint that", how she feels about people trying to recreate her work, the different ways people respond to the colour pink, the joys of abstract making, how she comes up with the quirky titles of her paintings and what they express to her.

https://www.creativeconnections.nz/post/jane-shriffer-abstract-painter

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Katie Blundell is a contemporary New Zealand artist, living and working from her studio in Clevedon, south east of Auckland. Focusing on the human experience, her work is both personal and universal. 

Katie approaches her practice through different media depending on what ideas she is wanting to express, primarily focusing on on printmaking, painting, drawing, photography and sculpture. In this episode we talk about:

• her beautiful gallery/studio space in Clevedon where she teaches, creates, mentors and exhibits her work and how she manages the space and the variety of work she does
• her experience studying at Elam art school from the age of 18
• her unique technique of combining woodcut printmaking and painting to create what she calls relief paintings and how this developed
• The Women At Work portraiture exhibition she is working towards showcasing several Aotearoa artists Katie admires including Jacqueline Fahey, Linda Tyler and Judy Millar, which she is finding slightly terrifying but deeply gratifying
• We discuss her "In My Opinion" videos on Instagram where she expresses her ideas, opinions and vulnerabilities, and how she manages all the things she does in a week while still prioritising her art practice.

Women Art Work

October 17th 2025 opening night from 5pm, October 18th and 19th 10am - 4pm

at Katie's gallery and studio 331 North Road in Clevedon 

https://www.creativeconnections.nz/post/katie-blundell-multi-media-artist

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Lynette Fisher is a contemporary painter living in Te Puna near Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. Lynette's art practice also encompasses printmaking, drawing and assemblage.

Her work investigates themes of adoption, identity, obligation and ownership. While an underlying sense of nostalgia usually permeates her work, Lynette purposefully disrupts it to bring layered and disordered meaning to often commonplace and overlooked themes.

Lynette is such a fun person to talk to and I think you'll enjoy listening to her story and outlook on life as an artist. Lynette shares her early artistic career in graphic design, picture framing, working in an art gallery and quirky artist collaborations which led to her showing her own work after painting and drawing for most of her life. 

We talk about her challenging journey with breast cancer and how this became a catalyst to leaving her job and studying art in her early forties, and we explore why she felt she needed to study alongside her art practice and what she gained from this time.

We discuss context for an artist, how boundaries can influence work, the ideas behind her work that relate to her as an adopted person, what interests her about family and memories and artist collectives. We talk about nostalgic objects and how she has brought them together into the gallery context to produce installations or assemblages and what this communicates for her.

Lynette loves to enter art awards and has been a finalist many times in various NZ awards such as the Molly Morpeth Canaday, Parkin Drawing prize and the Adam Portrait award. She talks about why she enters these awards and what she gains from the process.

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Muse Gallery, founded by Kaye McGarva in 2017, is situated in Havelock North, in the Bay of Plenty, Aoteaora NZ.

In this episode I talk to Kaye McGarva, a professional artist herself and the owner/director of Muse Gallery. 

This bis a conversation I'm sure many artists will be intrigued to hear. Kaye shares how and why she started Muse Gallery 9 years ago and the challenges of starting a gallery with no former experience in this area and how she grew the gallery from the ground up. We explore how Muse Gallery organises their yearly exhibition programme, the current stable of artists at Muse Gallery, how/why they were selected and how connecting with more experienced established artists helped the gallery to build their good reputation.

Kaye gives some super helpful tips to artists when approaching galleries: the dos and don'ts; her preferred ways for artists to connect and share their work; how and why they choose the artists to join the gallery; what feedback or advice they may pass on to artists approaching them and what they look for in an artist beyond their work.

We talk about how the gallery deals with artists not selling work, how she feels about artists experimenting and changing styles, gallery commissions and pricing work, her view on artists selling work themselves, artist contracts, how the gallery elevates the artists and communicates the ideas behind their artists work. Kaye explains what type of gallery she sees Muse Gallery as, what if offers as a gallery, ways they make the gallery feel accessible, how the gallery operates and where this gallery fits in the NZ gallery landscape.

And so much more! This is a fascinating chat which I know you'll benefit from listening to. 

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Caitlin Johnston is a multi media artist living near the Hibiscus Coast north of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

As a Kiwi, much of Caitlin's work shows the deep connection that we have with the ocean and the land in Aotearoa. The way it makes us feel, and how we are connected to it. The sounds of the waves, the emotions we feel, the endless beauty of coastline and the nature of New Zealand inspires her work.

Caitlin uses upcycled surf boards and various other found materials as her canvas, then incorporates mixed media, acrylic paint, drawings and pure oxidized copper often sealed with a resin pour. 

2 years ago at the age of 30, Caitlin made the decision to devote herself to being a full time artist. She began by entering art shows which proved to be very successful, giving her the confidence to continue and deadlines to work towards. In this episode Caitlin talks about her love of trying out new techniques and experimenting with found materials such as discarded surfboards, old frames, mirrors and wood. We discuss her use of copper leaf, the oxidising process, her approach to painting on the back of a mirror and her love of experimentation. 

Caitlin has a very positive, reflective attitude to her growing art career. We talk about the term 'self taught artist'; how she has found her distinctive, very original style; her love of portraiture and where that is heading; what she loves about the regional NZ art shows; why she thinks she needs to "show some restraint" and the narratives and ideas behind her work. 

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Fiona Kerr Gedson is a fibre artist who has used feathers as her primary medium for more than 25 years. She works from her home near Ōpōtiki, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa NZ. 

Fiona’s meticulously crafted, intricately designed feather pieces have a calming and meditative presence. Her work reflects and honours the things most important to her – her family, her spirituality, shared experiences, life stages and a sense of kotahitanga (unity). 

Her most recent collection, Pilgrimage, is the embodiment of this. Inspired by walking the Camino de Santiago – completing 1500km over 8 1/2 weeks, this series responds to the many stained glass windows found in chapels and cathedrals on Fiona's remarkable life changing hikoi, which she undertook in 2022.

In this episode we have a beautiful conversation about walking the Camino and how this has consequently influenced her art practice. Fiona shares a personal experience of losing her precious father 3 weeks in to the pilgrimage and how she managed to process and manage her initial grief and keep walking. We discuss another influence in her practice, her work with Family Constellations (a method of family therapy or systemic therapy), and how this has also informed her practice. 

Fiona shares how she started working with feathers in her early twenties; how she sources the peacock, turkey, guinea fowl and hen feathers; her positive long term connections with galleries; her meticulous creative process; her framing approach and the meditative aspects of pattern. And so much more.

You can see the uncut video of our conversation on our You Tube channel Creative Connections Podcast. I'd love you to subscribe!

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