So, where to start? I guess at The Beginning is a good place...
Once upon a time there was a young(ish) woman who worked at an artisan co-operative gallery. The woman was very self-conscious and anxious but did her best to put a smile on her face and Be Ok. Over time, the woman started to feel a bit more confident and took on more responsibility in the gallery after being invited to become a paid employee.
There were rumours of a community project taking place at the gallery and in early 2013 this came to pass in the format of a large tapestry. The three year project was to be overseen by a small committee of dedicated supporters and weavers. Finally, in the middle of 2016 a 4.1 m high and 3.3 m wide Warp & Weft Tapestry was presented to the Whangarei District Council (WDC) by an idependent Tapestry Committee and The Bach Gallery (a little reluctantly) and everyone lived happily ever after.
Except, The Bach still needed a community project to offset it's high rent (whose landlord and Property Manager just happened to be said WDC) So the woman, who had been generously supported by the co-operative and become inspired by her involvement with the tapestry project, shared her idea about having another, Her concept? A History of The Town Basin - of where Whangarei began, first as home to a people, then a shipping port and now, a thriving tourist destination. What an exciting adventure, she thought and quietly continued her research and planning.
But she was told to hold off from getting too far ahead of herself in the middle of 2016 as it was a Council Election Year but pursued applying for council funding regardless in the hope of being awarded some money to work with once that (the elections) took place. Along with that, The Bach's main employee went on Maternity Leave at the end of August leaving a bit of a vacuum as she handled all of the business administration side of things.
Sadly, the woman's proposal was turned down - for several reasons. One being uncertainly of what would happen to it on completion (the first one ended up costing the council (a lot?) of money to display and secondly, funding is only approved for a one year project. (The woman had included future panels that would each take 8-9 months consecutively)
In the meantime, the young woman - who mostly worked with the mum-to-be, stepped in to those very big shoes in order to fulfill what she believed she'd been employed to do when she went on maternity leave. Manage the gallery in the absence of Mum-to-Be and she took great pleasure and responsibility in doing this job to the best of her ability
Christmas came and went in a flurry of sales and gift wrapping, accounts were paid, items ordered, shelves dusted, crafts replaced and replenished emails written, customers' served and phone inquiries taken. The New Year was heralded in, people went on holiday and the diligent woman continued to work away at juggling all of the above. She believed she was doing OK.
Enter - the Boss, also known as The Chair, the head person who makes decisions with the support of The Committee. The boss had just returned from a lovely three-week break away from all responsibilities (I should mention The Boss also chairs The Lions Foundation - a group of good people who do good things for the community) She wanted to know how the young woman was getting on with her proposal - that's right, the tapestry proposal.
Now, the young woman had also been diligently working on the proposal but she is trying to fit it around all of her other responsibilities. As well as working part-time, she was a part-time student, a mum of a couple of young adults still at home, plus she made soap and salves which she supplied to the gallery she was employed by. To help her manage she did so with the help of prescribed medication and counselling for anxiety that was brought on by all the stresses she was under.
With the first committee meeting of the year looming, in February the young woman nervously put together a rough visual concept as a presentation in the hope that it would be a start to what will be the new tapestry design. The floor is hers for but a fleeting moment. She shakes and trembles, sweating in the late afternoon humidity and stuffiness of a building that lacks air conditioning. Everyone is seated in a circle because it's nice and friendly like that in a meeting. But it doesn't feel friendly to the woman. It feels like she is being fed to the sharks, Each question and criticism of her work nibbles away at what confidence she has, but she holds her head up taking on board all the suggestions given. There's always room for improvement, right?
Wrong, sometimes there's not room for improvement - it's taken away from you and given to someone else. Someone that more talented and gifted...more confident and skilled. Someone who HAS an Bachelor of Fine Arts. Someone who is better than you, than the woman who pours all of her being into what she does - it's just she doesn't have all the time in the world to focus on just ONE thing. She is busy multi-tasking MANY things, as per her responsibilities. The woman has discovered she doesn't "fit in the box" but sits outside of it - sometimes on a desolate island because she feels so removed from everyone and everything else.
That "someone" is retired, no dependents and no obligations to work and plenty of time to be creative. She gets a pension and her crafts are her hobbies - a bit of fun, not work. The young woman is happy for The Boss but would like to be respected that things are different for her. . She should still be allowed the opportunity to work on her visual artwork for the tapestry - but no, it's been decided and so the young woman has decided to release that responsibility and concentrate on other things. Other things that will personally benefit her her more enjoyable and pleasurable ways. After all, doesn't she deserve that?
~The End~
Of course it's not the end - well, it could be but I think I would feel MORE shame if I pulled out now. So..
I've given it some thought and going to pursue as project manager and weaver.
In many ways the "new artist" will take a load off my shoulders and for the sake of control (and a bit of glory?) will give me the space and energy to focus on the upcoming Art and Tartan Wearable Arts Show in July - and I have LOTS to do. I'm also going to Rarotonga next month for 5 days for a wedding as companion to my friend who is Matron-of-Honour, and photographer.
THEN, in late April I'm off to Dunedin and Christchurch - first for a weekend Scrap-booking Retreat and then to visit family for a few days before returning home. So LOTS to look forward to!
Lastly,I'll share a little about my journey in designing the first panel for the project...
To embrace and respect the Maori culture (but also to provide interrelationship and continuity between the 4 panels) After researching colour swatches online, I went to the local Resene Paint Shop to purchase the test pots in the Heritage Range that reflect the traditional Maori colours. I also added the blue, green and red that are part of the heritage range but not traditionally Maori as I plan to use these colours within the other panels.
I've also spent quite a bit of time research traditional Maori icons and symbols. I want the pre-European panel to give recognition and esteem to the Maori people,
I looked for a symbol that represented family/whanau, strength and unity but also considered the use of the koru in my design as it means growth and new life, to things synonymous within a community.
A list of people to contact about the graphics (cultural sensitivity etc)
After my meeting with Mim Ringer (last year) I was very conscious of providing accurate historical information as part of the project. I plan to assemble a Story Board of information, not only to support our local history for visitors but also to explain the symbolism in the artwork.
Mt. Parihaka
takes its name from the haka, or war dance, of defiance. Parihaka was sculpted by early Māori inhabitants into a pā or great fortress and is reputedly the largest pā in all New Zealand.
The Hokianga and Dobbie Tracks have extensive remnants of Maori settlement extending along 3km of ridge and including three heavily defended pa sites. More than 100 household terraces and 300 kumara pits have been identified. The Pa complex at Parihaka was the site of a significant battle and massacre in the 1700s. For these reasons I chose to use the mountain as a main feature of the artwork.
I googled "pa's" and what they looked liked...
.to include in my artwork, adding a whare on the top.
(Detail of the fencing could come later)
In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman Marikoriko in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small wooden or stone carving in humanoid form, although this is a somewhat archaic usage in the Māori language. Carvings similar to tikis and coming to represent deified ancestors are found in most Polynesian cultures. They often serve to mark the boundaries of sacred or significant sites. {Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiki]
I also wanted to include a simplified waka
My first preliminary sketch - I wasn't sure about the tiki being outside of the boat.
After sharing my artwork with Naoko (from work)
she suggested adding "waves" (to define the water)
so using the koru symbol I sketched up these..
..by this time I'd also altered the tiki, and placed him IN the waka
plus I simplified the "waves" in shape (as weaving tight round shapes can be a little challenging!) and added a sun. It's a relatively modern tattoo design but I didn't realise that at the time. The next step was to add some colour and take it to the Bach Committee meeting for feedback (them to scrutinise!)
I will explain what happened and the outcome in the next post.
Time: 40 hours (includes research, data/materials
collecting, printing, sketching/drawing)
