Pasha Clothier presents an interconnected world view, typical of Polynesia, in her art and writing. Pasha traces her whakapapa to the tiny island of Hitiaurevareva (the Tahitian traditional name), colonised as Pitcairn Island. We talk about plants, connections across time and space, the value of indigenous knowledge, whales, cosmos, and listen to some intriguing sounds.

Margaret Hands is our ART space artist for September and works in soft pastels (chalk pastel). Her art practice keeps her in a peaceful and playful space, while Taranaki beaches and bush offers a springboard for her imagination, sometimes resulting in fantastical creatures. She’s working towards self-publishing her pictorial art journey. Check out her work until end of September.

“Gardeners are the ultimate artists,” says artist Tabatha Forbes when Mikaela visits Forbes & Flay studio gallery in Ōpunake. We talk about sound art, Elam, botanical art and the workshop in botanical drawing Tabatha will hold at Puketarata in Hāwera during the Taranaki Garden Festival.

Paekākāriki artist Francis Salole has many creative strings on his bow. Mikaela caught up with Francis at From out of the blue studio gallery in Ōpunake. His exhibition “Blindspot” is a re-imagining and reassembling of his own work in cut-up and woven form. We talk about his 3 years in the company of dinosaurs, doing stop-motion clay animation for the award-winning Kiri and Lou TV-series, and why he took a break from art to train and work as a psychiatric nurse.

It’s long been a dream of 2 working mums, both dancers, to start New Plymouth’s first dance school dedicated solely to teaching popular Latino styles. Jodie Leach and Yanita Hall, co-founders of Alegria Latin Dance, talk about their passion and why dance and the power of dance to foster physical and mental well-being and social connections

This week Mikaela talks to Pip White, a keen photographer and the ART Space artist for August, and to Elaine Rollins from Govett Brewster Art Gallery about what contemporary art is, and how the community can engage and take part in this ongoing conversation.

Talented tattoo artist Kim Seng of Dark Days Tattoo talks to Mikaela about his art and passion on the Sugar Loafing Arts Cast, and all the care and thought that goes into his designs that draw inspiration from Japanese motifs. Check out his work on www.darkdays.co.nz and on Facebook and Instagram @darkdaystattoo.

Beth Pottinger-Hockings from Taranaki Creative Fibre talks about FibreEd 2022 that showcased knitting, felting, crocheting, weaving and spinning alongside work celebrating harakeke (flax). Some of the artefacts we discuss include the wall hangings ‘Basket of Skills’ by New Plymouth Creative Fibre and ‘Taranaki Coast’ by Waitara Fibre Fanatics, a harakeke cloak, some beautiful felted coats, and Beth’s felted purse.

Mikaela talks to inspirational bone carvers Mike Brown and Riki Osborne from Mokau Bone Carving about their passion for genuine, handcrafted New Zealand art. We discuss the thinking that goes into designs, and how to source and carve bone in culturally respectable ways.

Mikaela talks to Amy Houston, whose exhibition ‘Shallow Roots’ is showing in our ART Space throughout the month of July. We discuss the practicalities of being a travelling artist and Amy’s shift away from large oil pastels to a digital canvas.