self portrait, collage, self discovery, art therapy, upcycle

This is the first collage I ever created. It was made in a 1-day collage workshop in Colville about 10 years ago. At the time I was getting over a relationship break-up. The workshop was a random form of self-care during a difficult and emotional time. As you might know,  I caught the bug and haven’t stopped collaging since then. I started with cutting up old magazines and glueing them onto cardboard but very quickly I got into my collection of art books and glued them onto wood panels. I received lots of encouragement and support from the community around me ( Coromandel you are forever in my heart ! ). A decade later, I’m running collage workshops for a living. I get a real kick watching other people collaging. Each of us is so unique,  and so are the collages we make. The more I do this, the more I discover how powerful and versatile collage is.

I am all fired up for two unique collage workshops that are coming up in August: One is 4 weekly sessions at @studioone.toitu, starting on Wednesday 11th of August. We will enjoy different ways with collage, each week collaging something different. The other workshop is a collaboration with photographer Abhi Chinniah from @ramiistudio. It will take place at @depotartspace on Saturday 21st August alongside Abhi’s photographic exhibition: ‘A Migrant’s Path’. Participants will have a rare opportunity to work with photographs from Abhi’s personal collection. Here are a few examples from Abhi’s stunning work. Enrolments are still open for both workshops. Contact @studioone.toitu for enrolment for the 4-week collage adventure. For A Migrant’s Path workshop enrolment click here

I am stoked to announce a collaboration with the gifted Abhi Chinniah from Ramii Studio. Abhi is a portrait photographer, podcaster, and writer. Her debut photographic series Light Skin Dark Skin used portraits of Kiwi women to explore the journeys people have to take as a result of the colour of their skin. She started her podcast Her Skin in June 2020, connecting with minority groups around the world. Her ongoing work celebrates the diverse cultures existing in Aotearoa. Drawing from her lived experiences, Abhi uses portraiture to elevate marginalized voices, women of colour, migrant communities, explore colorism and everything in between.
Abhi’s brilliant photographic exhibition, ‘A Migrant’s Path’ will be presented at Depot Artspace, Devenport, from 12 August to 1 September. The opening is on Saturday 14 August 2-4pm and Artist on site: Sunday 22 August 11-3pm. I highly recommend coming along and experiencing in real-life size these powerful portraits. I will be running a collage workshop in conjunction with the exhibition. Using portraits from Abhi’s own personal collection, you will experiment with collage and have a stunning piece of art to take home with you.
All materials are provided.
There are limited spots available, so be quick!
Depot Artspace Devenport | Saturday 21st August | 2pm – 5pm

 

Super excited about this! As part of the Studio One Toi Tū term 3 program, I’ll be running a weekly collage class, over 4 weeks. This course is kindly subsidized and is at a low cost. I’m looking forward to diving deeper into collaging; we will explore different techniques and applications every week.

Taking time to be creative is a form of self-care. Come join me for a day of relaxing creativity. I’ve got tons of cool magazines and fantastic books to cut up. No experience needed – it all about quieting the mind and surrendering to the creative flow. This workshop is suitable for all ages, bring your kids/parents/aunty along for some quality fam-time. Message me below for details (please let me know if you’re unwaged or struggling financially- those are not reasons to miss out ! )

This week’s workshop at Studio One Toi Tu is fully booked now.

Watch this space for upcoming workshops’ dates and details or even better; sign up for my newsletter if you’d like to stay in the loop for all my events, workshops, and special offers here

Here is the Titirangi Community Collage , created by lots of people on World Collage Day at the Titirangi Community House. I am so proud of the outcome and of each and every piece of paper on this. Each piece has a human and a story behind it. Some are random and fun, some are deep, personal, and emotional. Some pieces really represent this special place we live in. I could talk about it for hours but I reckon you should come and check it out for yourself. It will be displayed at the Titirangi Community House foyer, pop in when you’re in the hood, there is so much detail that does not show well on a small screen, you know. This has been such a success; I am keen to facilitate more group collages in the future, this is only the beginning yo.

Thank you all that participated in our Community Collage event last weekend at the Titirangi Community House. Just as I hoped for, we had young children through to the older of us. families, couples, and lots of artists. So much talent! Spending the day collaging with all of you has reminded me how much I love my local community (westside!🤙🏽). I had the pleasure to meet so many friendly new faces while feeling the love from old-time friends who came to support. Loved seeing the ones who have been doing collage workshops with me before, just killing it with skill, creativity, and confidence. The collage is not quite finished; I am going to take it to a couple of locals who are bedridden to finish it off. Once it’s done, I will post a photo here and it will also be up on the wall at the community house foyer. Thank you for the incredible support: Denise from the Titirangi Community House and Sammy from The Upstairs Gallery.

 

http://www.titirangihouse.co.nz/

You are invited to take part in a community collage event.
Pop into the Titirangi Community House anytime between 10 am and 4 pm on Saturday 8th May,  and leave your mark by taking part in the creation of a collaborative collage.
All ages are warmly welcome!
It only takes a few minutes to leave your mark.

You will be asked to choose an image of your liking, cut it out to shape if necessary, and glue it onto the board- that’s all that it takes. 

There will be lots of printed material for you to choose from or you can bring your image from home.

It can be anything printed on paper; a photo, newspaper/magazine cutout, a flyer, old maps, drawings, paintings, postcards, letters, documents, bills, recipes, lists, music notes, poetry (as long as it’s not offensive material), anything goes. 

Free event