Ōtautahi Studios

In this episode I have a wonderful conversation with the immensely talented Floristry Artist Katherine English. We learn of her love of objects and flowers, something that has been with her since childhood. How she went from a 9-5 admin role which she bravely gave up in order to take on study and change direction later in life. Through her passion for creating beauty and her artistic floristry, she has established a full time practice around her creative pursuit and teaching.

In episode you get to hear a conversation I had with the wondrous multidisciplinary Artist Henry Turner back in January. Henry was home from his art study in Frankfurt, Germany. I think Henry is creative talent personified, his work is a dive into his imaginative and beautiful world, always with depth and great thought behind it. We talk about his steady passage to his practice and how a creative never stops working, it’s a continuous ongoing dialogue with oneself. Enjoy!

In Episode 7 I catch up with the very clever Louann Sidon, Ōtautahi based painter. We learn about her childhood growing up in Australia where she was immersed in creativity through her parents pursuits, her move across the ditch attending high school at Rudolf Steiner here in Ōtautahi, how the convenience of the creating at kitchen table lead her to her main discipline, painting. She speaks of her favourite subject matter, animals and how life changes lead to her current painting style. She also shares her ideas behind her latest body of work, Phantasm.

In episode 6 I have a soulful kōrero with the very talented multidisciplinary Artist Brooke Georgia. We sit in her light studio in Waltham talking about her diverse practice, how her sustainable clothing label emerged from her desire to spend her time in the studio, about keeping your creative path alive during challenging circumstances and we get to hear about her latest solo exhibition ’Bleikr’ that is currently showing at ‘The National’

In episode 5 I have a heartfelt kōrero with the immensely talented multidisciplinary artist Lucy Dolan Kang. We talk about her path to becoming the artist she is today, about how her ethics has changed her approach to making art and we delve into her thoughts about identity, how her art communicates a sense of belonging and deep appreciation of our land. She speaks of her inspiration and intention behind her solo exhibition named ’She’ honouring the feminine showing at the Kakanui Church.

In episode 4 I have a kōrero with the wondrous Lily Wenmoth,

BA student majoring in Philosophy and Economics turned Jeweller. We learn about her journey from academia into the world of gemstones and precious metals, establishing a sought after jewellery range. We talk about existential matters that inspired her to organise three art fundraisers for Palestine with number three being only weeks away. Lily shares where she seeks inspiration, how she has ended up teaching the craft

of Jewellery making and how she had an exhibition with her creative whānau and another in the pipeline.

In this episode I have a conversation with the Inimitable Nichola Shanley. Nicholas career spans over decades and crosses over several mediums, clay being her main focus for the past 10 years. Her work is outer worldly and tells stories from other times. We find out how she acquired a Sea captain’s abode in Lyttelton, why she keeps on returning to Florence and who inspired her latest body of work ‘The Agnes Dei Collection’ that is currently showing at Object Space here in Ōtautahi.

In this episode I have a conversation with painter Rebecca Smallridge. Rebecca creates ethereal work that is closely connected to our natural world, blurring the lines between the real and surreal. Rebecca speaks about her practice, the ups and downs, how she has recently shifted her approach to painting, and she reveals her artistic superpower. She also has a great book recommendation and a tip for keeping yourself connected to your creative pursuit.

In this first episode of Ōtautahi Studios we get to know the host Tamara Rookes. She speaks of her upbringing

in Sweden and how she came to live in Aotearoa, Ōtautahi.

She speaks about her creative practice and how she went from fashion school to working with clay.

We get to know about the ideas behind the show and what's

to come.