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The recent Estuary Arts Centre annual Members Merit Awards saw the centre receive 280 artworks from 207 members. Manager Kim Boyd said it was a fantastic array and variety of art, representing most mediums.
It was no easy task for Judge Jazz Lolesio to choose from the many categories and entries.
“Being the sole judge for this year’s awards was an immense honour and a deeply humbling experience,” Jazz says. “The talent across all entries speaks to the creativity thriving in our community and artists who continue to inspire and uplift us.”
Premium winner Jane Tian only took up quilling three years ago after working in watercolours for more than 13 years.
“I was flying back to China when a video came up on one of the channels on quilling and I thought that’s kind of magic. You can take these strips of paper and make all these different things with them.”
Jane works as a tutor at the centre and says it encourages her to keep learning and making bolder works.
“I didn’t expect to win, it was a big surprise, but the team encourages me to keep learning, and it keeps me reaching for new levels.”
We are grateful for the support of our sponsors who donate prizes for this exhibition from product vouchers, specialist framing, easels, canvases and more,” Boyd says.
Premium Winner: Jane Tian – Breathless: Judged as an extremely clever and unique style combining different techniques, cultures and patterns.
Ceramic functional merit: Gail Reichert – Bowled Over: Beautifully executed, the judge said. A Unique design while clever and traditionally functional.
Ceramic sculptural merit: Sharon Clayton – Taniwha of the Moana: The judge said this piece is stunning and could sit anywhere to add culture and class to the location.
Merit Award Ceramic student – Iona Breinhorst. The judge called it a solid piece of work/art. The shape, colours and combination of ceramic and other media gives this piece its stand out status.
Merit in painting: Leda Daniel – Kotare’s Kiss: Stunning colours and composition. Very classy and high end combining different techniques and patterns.
Merit in portraiture: Fiona Ehn Happy Nonnas: A refreshing and quirky statement. Fiona used vibrant colours, a fun motive and mixed media to capture the viewers’ attention. This artwork portrays fun and happiness in an unconventional way.
Merit in Mixed Media: Tim Houghton – Into the blue reef – Samoa: The colour and composition is just superb. The different textures representing the fish, coral and facets of the Pacific Ocean are captured perfectly, as well as the deep turquoise colour of the Samoan waters.
Merit in any medium: Caitlin Johnson – You, Me and the Sea: The layers and variety of details in this piece are incredible. There are many lovely details in this painting to get lost in and discover the longer you spend spent on it.
Merit in watercolour: Patricia Holliss – Kotuku at Lake: Aotearoa flora and fauna at its finest. The seamless sense of feathers to grass, soft reflections to fine lines is superb.
Mosaic merit: Klara Rider – Tides of Time: Stunning composition shows that the artist is also a photographer. Colour mediums all beautifully composed, giving us a deep-dive into the old and current ocean tides.
EAC Student merit: David Marshall – Chaos: An interesting and modern way to portrait ‘Chaos’. Great composition, realism and combination of nature, traffic, people, work and noise.
The exhibition is on at Estuary Arts Centre until Sunday, July 27.
