Glory be!

I am ecstatic that 'Glory' has been shortlisted for the Esther Glen Award in 

the LIANZA Prestigious Children's Book Awards for 2010. 

Many thanks to the judges- you have made my year!

Craft 2.0

A little promo here for Craft 2.0 coming up on June 12th at The New Dowse in Lower Hutt, from 10am-3pm where I'll be selling cute plaster Cup Cakes surrounded by talented crafters with groovy things to buy. If you've never been to one of these, then GO! There are brilliant handmade, totally gorgeous and clever things there you just won't find anywhere else. You can buy real cupcakes to devour (yum!) and there is a fab cafe at the Dowse plus of course exhibitions. And something the knitters have been making is a decorated tree outside the gallery. This came from an idea mooted on the crafters' chat and has sprung up and grown just a great creative tree should!

A great day out and if you forget to take enough cash there is a clever facility called craft cash where you can eftpos say, $20 and get it as a token to spend at any of the stalls because us crafter don't all have visa card facilities and you don't always have folding stuff on you for that one last amazing retro inspired handmade card, funky baby bib or beautiful laser cut and screenprinted brooch...

See you there!

NZPost Book Awards & Magical Pens

After a miserable week where anything and everything that could go wrong did, I took myself off to the New Zealand Post children’s Book Awards in Auckland to have a free drink or three and celebrate my peer’s rise to the stage with their hard won books in hand.

At this point I have to say that my going there was in doubt; not because I didn’t get an invite- past judges get a lifetime ticket, but because this year has been fiscally tricky and I was in lockdown mode on the visa card. Scarcity does terrible things to your head and heart, but my good and talented friend Tania Roxborogh, shortlisted for YA Fiction with the fantastic exploration into Macbeths world, Banquos Son, called me and said ‘$49 fares- I’ll lend you the money if you haven’t got it and you can stay in my hotel room.’

There is nothing like the generosity of others to pull you up short and so I graciously accepted the bed and refused the loan- $100 isn’t so hard to find when you need to, and Creative New Zealand had furnished me with a book voucher for the same because I spent a bit of on-line time to help with their customer web survey (thanks CNZ!) I'm sure one equals the other.

So off I went and drank with my colleagues at the Town Hall which was beautifully  mid winter themed with giant ice crystals. On each table were a fine array of nibbles, wine and gorgeous little gingerbread Christmas trees individually boxed for each guest- oh and a clever biro that had a pull out scroll with magical storyline starters. Somehow I have ended up with three…

Miriama Kamo was the MC for the night and I have to say, she is even more elegant and lovely in real life than on the telly- plus she has great warmth and sense of humour which came into play when her husband was pulled up on stage by her as an unexpected (by him) aid to the tricky steps that Margaret Mahy and at least 3 others nearly tumbled down. Note to organisers: never clad steps in white foam with rounded edges- looks like snow, acts like ice.

And so to the awards themselves after the necessary speeches (oh …we did miss John Allen but then he’s a tough act to follow in any quarter).  By now you will have seen the full list and if not here it is.

I won’t go into each one except to say that I was personally thrilled Old Hu-hu won the Picture Book Category and indeed Book of the Year. I’m delighted because it is a great story which explains death and questions of afterlife in a unique way with Kyle Mewburn’s  excellent wordplay and timing. But even more so (sorry Kyle, but I’m an illustrator at heart) because of Rachel Driscoll’s astounding illustrations and her partner Michael Greenfield’s design work. Scholastic put some budget into the book production -hard cover, satin finish, to die for end papers… and the combination of all of these things made for a totally exquisite package, which is what excellence in this genre is all about. The best of writing, illustration, design and production.  I haven’t got there myself at all- nowhere near it, and one might think in the face of such talents, the mediocre would give up (o.k I’m not rubbish, but I’m aware that some of my stuff lacks effort…)

So it both surprised and delighted me that sitting in the airport lounge with a hangover, and using the NZPost pen, I wrote my first picture book (I either illustrate other author’s efforts or write novels). It’s just the bare bones and I have made a commitment to myself that if I ever wander into the picture book arena again, I will only produce excellence in all the above mentioned areas. I think it has potential and part of me sighs, because I know it will take months of work to get it to a standard that satisfies me let alone anyone else. But I’m inspired and excited; my cash might be scarce, but my passion is not. And that’s what the awards are for- encouragement to aim higher than you think you can and surprise yourself…

Tuesday Poem- Sinful Indulgences

Sinful Indulgences

I worry about my addictions,

(But only from time to time)

Usually when I'm skin full of gin,

Or overly wobbly with wine.

Casting away back to childhood,

I wonder, 'When did it begin?'

The weakness I have for indulgence,

Devout people label as sin.

Did I discover malt whiskey,

Along with Big Ears and Noddy,

When trying to cure my cough was I given,

Just one too many hot toddy?

But it's not only spirits and bubbly,

To which I just cannot say 'no',

By nine thirty a.m. I'm having the shakes,

For my caffeine fix; double espresso.

Still, mainlining coffee is nothing,

Compared to my worst vice of all,

It's costly to keep feeding this one,

And answer its primitive call.

I have to confess that the habit,

Has something to do with leather;

Buckles and straps (most often in black),

Not comfortable- well hardly ever.

And when I fuel my desire,

The guilt and shame scorches me through,

But it's worth all the pain and the overdraft,

To step out in a fashionable shoe.

For more Tuesday poems and my editors pick for this week click on the quill on the top right of my blog!

Tuesday Poem- all washed up

For Mothers Day...

All Washed Up

A dirty conversation between the kids

It’s your turn to do the dishes

No, I washed them all yesterday

So was that just before or after
You went to the park half the day?

It’s your turn to do the dishes

But that’s so not fair you jerk

Well I can’t be expected to do them

‘cos I’ve got my history homework.

It’s your turn to do the dishes

No way, that’s two in a row

That wasn’t double you idiot
You just did one lot twice as slow.

It’s your turn to do the dishes

Nah, those are yours from last night

But we all had pizza delivered

So these are the breakfast ones, right?

It’s your turn to do the dishes

O.K- if you wash them I’ll dry

Well hand me the scrubber…oh look
Mum’s done them already- but why?

Tuesday Poem- the book of notes

Three bites from the book of 'Notes' by Haley Parkyn

I am an ancestor of the straight-laced.
I'm going to think of dalmations
and try not to fall over in my bed.

***

Sighs form solid from
my nose and mouth.
Numb fingers and cheeks.

***

And warmth is to lay in a pool of
cotton sheets for a time and soak up the splendor
of half awakeness.

Tuesday Poem- Endeavouring

Nine years ago (can it really be that long?) in search of adventure, we packed up the house, the kids and the cat and went off to the U.K to live and work. We are all holders of British passports because it runs in the family- the majority of which are still in Britain having ventured very little further than Majorca on a summer holiday. I wrote this for my Next magazine column when trying to make travel plans to go and visit the family..

Endeavouring

I have a Cornish aunty
And she’s the perfect parody,
Of the cautious British traveller
On the road from A to B.

If you mention for a minute,
That you thought you’d go to Wales,
She’ll recount outrageous instances
Of nightmare traffic tales.

“You shouldn’t go on Friday,
Unless it’s before seven;
The M5 will be hideous
With half term down in Devon.

There’s road works in Old Sodbury,
It’ll set you back a day,
So you’d best go via Chippenham
If you want to get away.

And Monday is bank holiday
I hope you didn’t plan
On finding bed and breakfast there;
You should have booked last Jan”

Now, if in 1768
My aunt was Captain Cook,
New Zealand would now be pom free, ‘cos
She’d have never gone to look!

For more Tuesday poems visit the Tuesday Poem Blog

Pecha Kucha

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love public speaking- put a microphone in my hand and I'm away! So I was very happy to be asked to give a presentation for Pecha Kucha  at Downstage Theatre, this Monday 19th April. There's a great line up of speakers and I'm talking about 'The Birth of Velvet' my Wearable Art piece from 2008; how I came to be interested in painting on velvet and how I made the entry. Pecha Kucha (Japanese for Chit Chat) is a great idea- 14 speakers have 6 minutes and sixty seconds each to present 20 images and talk about them. So there is no possibility of being bored to death by a presenter who just won't shut up! Not that there will be any possibility of that...just look at the line up!

Peter Wilson- artistic director: Capital E National Theatre for Children www.capitale.org.nz

Fifi Colston- author, illustrator: The Birth of Velvet, a wearable art  piece http://fifisart.blogspot.com 

Spencer Levine- designer www.spencerlevine.co.nz 

Gerbrand Van Melle- media designer: intercept > decipher > participate  www.gerbrandvanmelle.com //

Roger Walker- architect,car enthusiast: dancing with the cars

Sam Trubridge- performance designer/director: Drawing: the performing page

Briar Monro- arts consultant: Connecting Creativity

Chris Moller- architect: click-weave space-time sketching http://click-raft.blogspot.com/

Tommy Honey- Director film school: Street Crime

Ravi Kambhoj- photographer: Urban Fusion www.urbanfusion.co.nz  

Richard Aindow- Fish Head Magazine: about identity and toast racks

Tom Beard- urban designer: about a sentence by Baudelaire

Eric Dorfman- eklektusinc: The Affair of the Diamond Necklace, an interactive theatre event

Marcus McShane- designer: Self-powered stuff and being good

doors open: 6.30pm

start: 7.30pm

tickets: $9 cash only

Downstage, 12 Cambridge Terrace, Wellington

Pecha Kucha-for content not profit!

Casting doubts...

I have a need to tell you a tale; of my quest for Plaster of Paris. Yes that wonderful stuff with which to make castings of anything from bear prints (if you live in Canada) to cup cakes which I am making and selling at the next Craft 2.0 at the Dowse Gallery in June.

Having used up my supply which I bought some time ago at an outrageously inflated price in Masterton (where they had me over a barrel- I was doing a residency and I needed it NOW and local hardware store sensed my desperation) I set out to buy a bigger, more cost effective lot. It makes fiscal sense not to go to a craft shop or art store for this sort of purchase where you can pay a solid $10 for a piddly 1kg bag. So off to Mitre 10 in Lyall Bay my son and I went (because it’s close to us and he loves a hardware store) But… sacré bleu! there was none to be found on the shelves of New Zealand Biggest Hardware Men (come on, sing it with me).

‘We aren’t allowed to sell it’ said the not-very-big-at-all-man at the counter ‘because of its chemical constituents.’

This was news to me and indeed to my son who is somewhat of a 19 year old chemistry expert in anything that is illegal to make from common house and garden supplies. It had him foxed and wondering what in the plethora of fireworks he’s concocted in the past, he’d missed. Perhaps people snort it I said. He shook his head, ‘no, that would jam up your nasal septum’.

Undeterred, and unbelieving, we went to Placemakers. They had 2kg bags for $12, but I want to make hundreds of cupcakes and this would barely ice them. I mentioned Mitre 10’s reluctance to stock or sell it and they were scratching their heads. My son suggested that maybe our PM. John Key had accidentally poured some plaster down his toilet, blocked his drains and decided the nation should be more careful. One of the salesman thought that maybe the Finance Minister, Bill English wanted to get rid of art; after all, we artists are hardly going to raise the tax take. The other one thought that perhaps Mitre 10 just wanted to get rid of us so they could go and have their morning tea. They couldn’t help me out with a bigger bag, so off I went to the place we all go as seekers of knowledge and truth (also lies, gossip and dissemination) Google.

I found a site for art and craft supplies that provided big bags of plaster for a reasonable cost but you had to register with them before you could order. I did that and am still waiting. People who don’t maintain their websites are as irritating as people who sign up to facebook and never use it. What’s the point? Like having a cake in your pantry and never eating it (unless it’s a plaster one like mine). I then found that the same product was available from Winstones, so off I trawled to Petone. But they couldn’t sell it direct and I had to order it through Mitre 10. Do you see my dilemma? A 5kg bag would cost me $12, the same price as a 2kg bag and only $2 more than the 1kg bag. I had a sneaking suspicion that somewhere there is a Plaster Lord making huge amounts of profit from this white powder…

Later, over a glass of wine I spilled out my casting anguish to someone (can’t remember who; it was a big glass of wine) and they said ‘Why don’t you try the Plaster Warehouse in Thorndon Quay?’ Who would have thought there was such a thing? I slurred my thanks, and in the sober light of day called them up. And they are my heroes…a whopping 20kg bag for $15! This artist will survive after all, and her cupcakes might even make a tiny and delicious profit.

So what have I learned from this plaster purchase awareness week… to shop around? Let your fingers do the walking? Spend more time on the internet?

No. I have learned that drinking wine gets you plastered, a lot cheaper.

Velvet rides again!

I'm exhibiting my Velvet Bucks at Scotty & Mals in Cuba St this coming Tuesday. Jesus and Clint sold some time ago, but these boys are up for grabs. Scott and Malcolm are a wonderful couple who run a fabulous bar with the best cocktails. I'm very thrilled to be exhibiting there. They've talked about a microphone for me on opening night- they might live to regret that! Here is their press release:

"THE VELVET TOUCH"

Our latest exhibition opens Tuesday 13th April at 6.30pm, "The Velvet Touch" is a series of gay themed portraits and tattoos, painted on velvet by the extremely talented Fifi Colston (of Good Morning fame) - this is one not to be missed, we've previewed the work and guarantee that they'll sell. Please note, they are all one of a kinds, so if you don't make it on the night, chances of purchasing may be slim! Fifi will be taking commissions, should you want a similar piece of her fabulous work. We're really excited about this one, don't miss out!

Complimentary bubbles on the night supplied by Shingle Peak (Sparkling Sauv) - a big thankyou to them! The pieces will be on display until mid May.