Artist Studio Clearout Sale!

I have been invited to take part in this awesome event: 

Less than a month away till the annual studio clearout SALE!! 

A whole bunch of arty girls get together with all their seconds and samples and fabulous bargains!! 

Pass the word on - its a great chance to shop for Christmas and birthdays and an excellent place to nail those end of year teacher/thank you gifts as well as an opportunity to pick up some great art! 

Here's just a taster of some of the work I will be including in the sale, all at marked down prices.

I'm also including some extras such as some of my crocheted Nest brooches, the remaining few Lubi Lids Hats (some of you may remember me making and selling these at the Titirangi Market while my kids were little), and perhaps even some of my little knitted kete, amongst whatever other bits and bobs I can hunt out. 

Maybe even some crocheted Nudibranchs!! 

Hope to see you there!

Psst: please pass this on to all your friends, family and work colleagues, etc. Maybe even drop some big hints for yourself for Xmas! 

Knitted kete

Nikau

In New Zealand kete are traditionally baskets woven from harakeke or flax. They are beautiful, practical and come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes to suit many different purposes. In Maori tradition they feature in the creation myths as the three baskets of knowledge retrieved by the god Tane. One interpretation of what each basket represents is the basket of light is present knowledge, the basket of darkness is things unknown, and the basket of pursuit is the knowledge humans currently seek. 

Mamaku 

When picking up the knitting needles a couple of years ago, kete seemed (to me) like the perfect choice of something to knit. 

First and foremost they are beautiful, tactile objects. They can also tell a story of place and purpose through the materials they are made from, their shape and their form, and  they can represent the holding and sharing of knowledge. 

I wanted to create a series of kete that spoke of Aotearoa (New Zealand) and my place here. I was also interested in exploring the merging of cultural traditions of European hand-crafts, as passed down to me from my Grandmother, with the traditional Maori form of kete, which I have grown up with and have always loved. The size and scale of the kete is such that they all fit into the palm of your hand. The largest, Nikau is 11 x 12 cm while the smallest, the little green "woven" one at the bottom of the page is 5 x 7 cm. 

Pohutukawa

Pohutukawa II

Paua