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The annual Great Summer Art Exhibition once again promises to live up to its name.
It runs from December 30 to January 2 and has moved from its traditional home at the Mahurangi East Community Centre to a space next to Four Square Snells Beach.
Local artists of all ages and skill levels, who work in a variety of mediums from sketches and silk paintings to pottery and photography, will be displaying their works at the show.
It’s being hosted by the Mahurangi East Tennis Club for the 31st consecutive time.
All artworks are for sale, with 20 per cent of proceeds and all entry fees going to community tennis initiatives in the area – it’s also a major fundraiser for the club (MM, Nov 24).
Many of the artists involved in the exhibition are longtime contributors.
Doris Riederer, a Swiss expatriate who has lived in Snells Beach for nearly three decades and been a member of the tennis club for 27 years, says she has been submitting mixed-media pieces to the ‘cash and carry’ tables for 26 years.
“When you buy a normal painting, you have to wait until the exhibition is over before you can come and pick it up. But at the ‘cash and carry’ tables you choose an artwork, pay there and take it with you the moment you buy it,” Riederer says.
Apart from a few small pieces, the ‘cash and carry’ tables don’t sell paintings – this is where you find handmade artworks that use a wide range of materials from the conventional to the unusual.
“I make pottery, fish and birds and things like that, but it’s always combined with something that I upcycle, whether it’s an old board I found on the beach or something from the tip or an op shop,” she says
“I just see what I would like to do with it. Like if it’s a rusty piece of metal, then I think, ah, I could do this and that.
“Things that other people throw away are my go-to place for inspiration. It doesn’t cost me much to buy or to even find it for free. I just love upcycling old stuff.”
Snells Beach artists Bob and Caroline Simpson have been contributing to the exhibition for around a decade having first heard about it through a Kowhai Art and Craft (KAC) member, who belonged to the tennis club.
Caroline has an extensive artistic background that started at school and includes tailoring, pottery, oil painting and acrylics. Now, she specialises in coloured pencil drawings and will be submitting three portrait drawings to the show.
In contrast, Bob only began his artistic life in retirement and has since carved out a niche for himself making leatherwork furniture pieces.
“I was taught how to do leatherwork at KAC by Judy Chang. She mentored me. It’s a beautiful art but it’s a dying art,” Bob says.
After spending five months hand crafting a leather music stool cover for his brother, Bob accidentally left it on his car roof and drove off (MM, Sep 17).
It was later recovered, but in the meantime he had already made another.
“I ended up with an extra leather seat cover so I framed it. That’s why I’m gonna pretend this is a painting and I’m going to sneak it into the exhibition.”
The exhibition will open with a ticketed preview night on Monday, December 30. Tickets cost $20, which includes priority viewing and refreshments, and the opportunity to purchase artworks and attend the prizegiving ceremony. Tickets will be available at the door.
The show will then be open daily from 10am to 4pm until January 2, when admission will be by donation.
