Well I certainly got a Fair Go last night on TVNZ Fair Go Housing special. About three minutes into a clip, which featured fabulous designer Andrew Loader from Monochrome Inc, you got to see my torso art. There it was, a stunning, red, hand painted, torso art hanging on a white wall.
Of course - as Murphy's law would have it - I wasn't home to see it - but luckily lots of friends around NZ alerted me to it via texts, emails and facebook. It really has made my year and I feel so honoured to have one of my artworks used in one of Monochrome Incs designs!
If you want to see the segment follow this link http://tvnz.co.nz/fair-go/housing-special-4019371/video?vid=4019431 - it's about 3 minutes in on the clip about decorating.
And as my friends at pub quiz last night said - "Sophia Elise - as seen on award winning, prime time, TV show" lol ;-)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Time, time. time ....
Title: Finding Tranquility
Artist: Sophia Elise
Media: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 25cm x 25cm
SOLD
I received this via email - and wuld love you all to take a minute to read through ...
Imagine that you had won the following prize in a contest:
Each morning your bank would deposit $86,400.00 in your private account for your use.
However,this prize has rules, just as any game has certain rules.
The first set of rules would be:
Everything that you didn't spend during each day would be taken away from you.
You may not simply transfer money into some other account. You may only spend it.
Each morning upon awakening, the bank opens your account with another $86,400.00 for that day.
The second set of rules:
The bank can end the game without warning; at any time it can say, Its over,the game is over! It can close the account and you will not receive a new one.
What would you personally do?
You would buy anything and everything you wanted right? Not only for yourself, but for all people you love, right? Even for people you don't know, because you couldn't possibly spend it all on yourself, right? You would try to spend every cent, and use it all, right?
ACTUALLY This GAME is REALITY!
Each of us is in possession of such a magical bank. We just can't seem to see it.
The MAGICAL BANK is TIME!
Each morning we awaken to receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life, and when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is NOT credited to us.
What we haven't lived up that day is forever lost. Yesterday is forever gone.
Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve your account at any time....WITHOUT WARNING.
SO, what will YOU do with your 86,400 seconds?
Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars.
Think about that, and always think of this:
Enjoy every second of your life, because time races by so much quicker than you think.
So take care of yourself, be Happy, Love Deeply and enjoy life! Here's wishing you a wonderful and beautiful day. Start spending.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Inspiration and motivation for sharing ...
I have this wonderful friend that I don't see very often, however she appears in my inbox several times a week with messages of friendship and inspiration. Lesley seems to find the most amazing things and I really wanted to share this one with you - such a beautiful way to start the new year. Take a couple of minutes to listen to the music, watch the pictures and read the words ..... Thanks Lesley! xx
http://www.inspiration365movie.com/?cm_mmc=CheetahMail-_-FR-_-12.31.10-_-INSPMovie
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
http://www.inspiration365movie.com/?cm_mmc=CheetahMail-_-FR-_-12.31.10-_-INSPMovie
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Looking back ....
Alyson Standfield reminds us artists that we need to take time at the end of the year to reflect back on our achievements. As fellow artist and friend Cath Sheard says "It’s easy for achievements to sort of slide on by barely noticed. Knowing what we have done, and where we’ve been, helps map the road forward"
I know that I am guilty of focusing the majority of time on where I'm going and not taking time to really celebrate where I've been. Where we come from and our past experiences shape who we are today and need to be acknowledged and embraced as an important part of our journey and personal growth.
So today I'm celebrating 2010 - looking back on the highlights - I am truly grateful for so many wonderful experiences that I've had this year - not just the positive ones - but the negative ones too - for in adversity we grow the most. There are just too many wonderful moments that I have shared with my children, partner, family and friends to mention them here. Those are the moments of laughter, tears, happiness, sadness, excitement, anticipation, frustration, love - the whole range of emotions that make up the daily tapestry of our lives.
The focus of these highlights are art related ...
1) January - being selected as one of 7 feature Artists by Bajidoo Bangles - a fabulous American based jewellery company. Having a feature article in the local paper with one of the other artists who were selected - Lauryne Hart. Having hip surgery and employing a contractor to look after the NZ Art Guild so I could recuperate.
2) February - HER Business Magazine writing a Feature Article about me and my art - huge honour.
3) March - Getting engaged to my wonderful man, John Boylan!! Completed my first artwork on a torso incorporating my journey of life series - this has developed into a completely new series which has been really exciting for me. Completed my first book review for an American Publisher - the book was called Alpahtudes and was a life changing book to read.
4) April - My involvement with the Legato exhibition made the news with two articles, a radio interview and a segment on TV3 news. A small group of artists who were involved with the exhibition did a preshowing of artworks at Howick RSA where one of the artists gifted a very personal artwork to Battle of Cassino Vet Watty McEwen. It was a very humbling experience. I also had a feature piece written in Urban Living Magazine by Virin Gomber (an amazing writer) which included one of my artworks. One of my artworks sold to a well known art collector in Auckland.
5) May - Met two wonderful facebook friends (Mike and Andrew) at our exhibition opening - they now own 3 of my artworks which is really humbling given that Mike is an Artist and Andrew and Interior Designer. And then we were off to Italy with a group of amazing NZ Artists to exhibit at the Legato Exhibition. Spending 3 weeks exploring Italy with my wonderful man and friends was definitely a highlight this year. Donated an artwork to a fundraiser for Galmorgan Primary school and Coordinated several other donations. Our wonderful Auctioneer, Tony Loughrin, who does all our charity auctions for us was organising this event for his son and it was great to finally be able to give back to him!
6) June - I was a finalist in the Her Businesswoman of the Year Awards for Outstanding Business Citizenship - Huge honour!
7) July - The 5th NZ Art Guild Collaborative Artwork was unveiled!! I was awarded a place on the ART Venture Programme. An intensive year long accelerator programme for Auckland Creative Entrepreneurs. Only 13 people were selected from an application pool of 55. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and is very exciting! Visited The Learning Connection and NZ Academy of Fine Arts both of which are in Wellington. Was fantastic to meet with the staff and see around both facilities. I also met up with my cousin, Shirley, who I have only seen once in 30 years. She is such an inspiring person and I can't wait to see her again!
8) August - I created a new website so that I could sell prints and greeting cards of my artworks - www.sophia-elise.artistwebsites.com Having fun with the kids and my man - dying everyones hair in a way that expressed their creativity - my son had blond highlights, my man ended up with an assortment of colours including ginger, my daughter had pink, purple and blue hair!
9) September - I donated another artwork for The Women's Art Exhibition and Charity Auction to raise funds for the North Shore Women's Centre. This was one of my event highlights this year. The North Shore Women's Centre have the most amazing staff and provide much needed quality, low cost services to women in the community. It really was my privilege to work with them and two of the team I have kept in regular contact with. I helped out at my daughters school art day and it gave me a renewed appreciation of teachers!
10) October - One of my artworks was in the House and Garden Magazine as part of a feature story about my favourite Interior designer - Monochrome Inc. The NZ Art Guild was a finalist in two categories for The David Awards for Small Businesses - Most Community Minded Business and Most Inspired Use of Marketing! yay! And a business I've been mentoring this year - Home Brew West which is owned by an incredible young man, Allister Van Mil was a finalist in Outstanding Lifestyle Business!!
11) November - I was invited to have a two week art residency in India in February which unfortunately coincided with my sisters wedding so I turned it down - however it was a huge honour to be asked! Applied to do my post graduate diploma in Counselling and made the short list straight away. Yay! Restructured the NZ Art Guild and have a permanent part time contractor, Tanya Dann, who is amazing! Kumeu Art in the Garden saw a 50% increase in art sales this year which was brilliant!
12) December - Got funding through the ART Venture Programme to create the NZ Art Guild into a Charitable Trust which will enable us to become a sustainable organisation. Finalised the 2011 exhibition calender for the NZ Art Guild which includes exhibitions at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts!
This year I personally exhibited in 16 exhibitions - which was fantastic - I sold artworks in many of these events and in fact had my best sales year in the last few years. I donated several artworks to a variety of charity fundraisers including - school, churches, sporting teams, national charities, local charities etc - I swapped artworks with fabulous artists, gifted artworks to others, received gifts of art myself.
Through my work with the NZ Art Guild we helped raise over $20,000 for charities this year. My wonderful supporters in the NZ Art Guild - the members - my friends - and the volunteers - Rachael Inch, Sharlene Schmidt, Christine Dempster and Tanya Dann - have made it possible and have enabled us to reach out and help so many people in a variety of ways. I'm very lucky that the management team are also my nearest and dearest friends despite living in different cities and islands even.
I owe are huge dept of gratitude to The ART Venture programme with the most incredible participants, facilitators and advisers who have given me such knowledge, insight, skills and been huge supporters of the work I do. I am so privileged to be in this programme.
The wonderful mentors I have met along the way who have helped me in many ways - but esp to Pam Martin who is such an inspiration!!
And a huge thank you has to go to my long suffering man - who is always at my side for every event - helping with hanging, take down, opening nights, co-ordinating events, packing artworks, buying supplies - surprising me by tidying my office and doing the filing when it has got completely away on me - being on call 24/7 for babysitting duty, picking up the slack with household chores and always always supporting me unconditionally in whatever I do.
And my Children who are so incredibly wonderful in every way. They teach me so much - I admire them hugely - they have such incredible qualities that some adults don't even have yet - they pitch in and help if they know something needs doing - are always so supportive of my own art (always nice to have fans even of the ones you want to throw in the bin!! lol)
This year has been incredible in so many ways - and I want to thank everyone who has been involved in making it fantastic! Whether it was through text, email, phone, facebook, in person - you are all amazing!! Thank you!!
I know that I am guilty of focusing the majority of time on where I'm going and not taking time to really celebrate where I've been. Where we come from and our past experiences shape who we are today and need to be acknowledged and embraced as an important part of our journey and personal growth.
So today I'm celebrating 2010 - looking back on the highlights - I am truly grateful for so many wonderful experiences that I've had this year - not just the positive ones - but the negative ones too - for in adversity we grow the most. There are just too many wonderful moments that I have shared with my children, partner, family and friends to mention them here. Those are the moments of laughter, tears, happiness, sadness, excitement, anticipation, frustration, love - the whole range of emotions that make up the daily tapestry of our lives.
The focus of these highlights are art related ...
1) January - being selected as one of 7 feature Artists by Bajidoo Bangles - a fabulous American based jewellery company. Having a feature article in the local paper with one of the other artists who were selected - Lauryne Hart. Having hip surgery and employing a contractor to look after the NZ Art Guild so I could recuperate.
2) February - HER Business Magazine writing a Feature Article about me and my art - huge honour.
3) March - Getting engaged to my wonderful man, John Boylan!! Completed my first artwork on a torso incorporating my journey of life series - this has developed into a completely new series which has been really exciting for me. Completed my first book review for an American Publisher - the book was called Alpahtudes and was a life changing book to read.
4) April - My involvement with the Legato exhibition made the news with two articles, a radio interview and a segment on TV3 news. A small group of artists who were involved with the exhibition did a preshowing of artworks at Howick RSA where one of the artists gifted a very personal artwork to Battle of Cassino Vet Watty McEwen. It was a very humbling experience. I also had a feature piece written in Urban Living Magazine by Virin Gomber (an amazing writer) which included one of my artworks. One of my artworks sold to a well known art collector in Auckland.
5) May - Met two wonderful facebook friends (Mike and Andrew) at our exhibition opening - they now own 3 of my artworks which is really humbling given that Mike is an Artist and Andrew and Interior Designer. And then we were off to Italy with a group of amazing NZ Artists to exhibit at the Legato Exhibition. Spending 3 weeks exploring Italy with my wonderful man and friends was definitely a highlight this year. Donated an artwork to a fundraiser for Galmorgan Primary school and Coordinated several other donations. Our wonderful Auctioneer, Tony Loughrin, who does all our charity auctions for us was organising this event for his son and it was great to finally be able to give back to him!
6) June - I was a finalist in the Her Businesswoman of the Year Awards for Outstanding Business Citizenship - Huge honour!
7) July - The 5th NZ Art Guild Collaborative Artwork was unveiled!! I was awarded a place on the ART Venture Programme. An intensive year long accelerator programme for Auckland Creative Entrepreneurs. Only 13 people were selected from an application pool of 55. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and is very exciting! Visited The Learning Connection and NZ Academy of Fine Arts both of which are in Wellington. Was fantastic to meet with the staff and see around both facilities. I also met up with my cousin, Shirley, who I have only seen once in 30 years. She is such an inspiring person and I can't wait to see her again!
8) August - I created a new website so that I could sell prints and greeting cards of my artworks - www.sophia-elise.artistwebsites.com Having fun with the kids and my man - dying everyones hair in a way that expressed their creativity - my son had blond highlights, my man ended up with an assortment of colours including ginger, my daughter had pink, purple and blue hair!
9) September - I donated another artwork for The Women's Art Exhibition and Charity Auction to raise funds for the North Shore Women's Centre. This was one of my event highlights this year. The North Shore Women's Centre have the most amazing staff and provide much needed quality, low cost services to women in the community. It really was my privilege to work with them and two of the team I have kept in regular contact with. I helped out at my daughters school art day and it gave me a renewed appreciation of teachers!
10) October - One of my artworks was in the House and Garden Magazine as part of a feature story about my favourite Interior designer - Monochrome Inc. The NZ Art Guild was a finalist in two categories for The David Awards for Small Businesses - Most Community Minded Business and Most Inspired Use of Marketing! yay! And a business I've been mentoring this year - Home Brew West which is owned by an incredible young man, Allister Van Mil was a finalist in Outstanding Lifestyle Business!!
11) November - I was invited to have a two week art residency in India in February which unfortunately coincided with my sisters wedding so I turned it down - however it was a huge honour to be asked! Applied to do my post graduate diploma in Counselling and made the short list straight away. Yay! Restructured the NZ Art Guild and have a permanent part time contractor, Tanya Dann, who is amazing! Kumeu Art in the Garden saw a 50% increase in art sales this year which was brilliant!
12) December - Got funding through the ART Venture Programme to create the NZ Art Guild into a Charitable Trust which will enable us to become a sustainable organisation. Finalised the 2011 exhibition calender for the NZ Art Guild which includes exhibitions at the NZ Academy of Fine Arts!
This year I personally exhibited in 16 exhibitions - which was fantastic - I sold artworks in many of these events and in fact had my best sales year in the last few years. I donated several artworks to a variety of charity fundraisers including - school, churches, sporting teams, national charities, local charities etc - I swapped artworks with fabulous artists, gifted artworks to others, received gifts of art myself.
Through my work with the NZ Art Guild we helped raise over $20,000 for charities this year. My wonderful supporters in the NZ Art Guild - the members - my friends - and the volunteers - Rachael Inch, Sharlene Schmidt, Christine Dempster and Tanya Dann - have made it possible and have enabled us to reach out and help so many people in a variety of ways. I'm very lucky that the management team are also my nearest and dearest friends despite living in different cities and islands even.
I owe are huge dept of gratitude to The ART Venture programme with the most incredible participants, facilitators and advisers who have given me such knowledge, insight, skills and been huge supporters of the work I do. I am so privileged to be in this programme.
The wonderful mentors I have met along the way who have helped me in many ways - but esp to Pam Martin who is such an inspiration!!
And a huge thank you has to go to my long suffering man - who is always at my side for every event - helping with hanging, take down, opening nights, co-ordinating events, packing artworks, buying supplies - surprising me by tidying my office and doing the filing when it has got completely away on me - being on call 24/7 for babysitting duty, picking up the slack with household chores and always always supporting me unconditionally in whatever I do.
And my Children who are so incredibly wonderful in every way. They teach me so much - I admire them hugely - they have such incredible qualities that some adults don't even have yet - they pitch in and help if they know something needs doing - are always so supportive of my own art (always nice to have fans even of the ones you want to throw in the bin!! lol)
This year has been incredible in so many ways - and I want to thank everyone who has been involved in making it fantastic! Whether it was through text, email, phone, facebook, in person - you are all amazing!! Thank you!!
Friday, December 31, 2010
An absolute must for everyone .....
It's something that seems so simple - some people take them for granted - others long for them - others never make time to have them - what are they? Holidays!!
Now I'm not talking about the type of holidays which involve masses of running around, sightseeing, rushing from place to place - I'm talking about the chill out at home - away from work - doing the things that you love in a relaxed way.
This year is the first time, in several years, that I have had a "real" holiday. I am self employed - which anyone who is self employed will be able to identify with - taking a holiday is often logistically impossible (who will take over), it can be financially difficult (not bringing in any income) and for me personally - I feel guilt ridden.
What?? you may ask - why would you feel guilty? I have this problem. I constantly think about work 24/7 - I wake up thinking about work, I go to bed thinking about work, I dream about work - I strategise, plan, write, organise all the time. I feel that if I'm not working then I'm letting people down in some way ..... But in actual fact by living like this I am letting myself down.
The NZ Art Guild has only ever closed over the Christmas/New Year period for the statutory holidays. This year we (my good friend and colleague Tanya Dann) made the decision to close. As two workaholics, we actually agreed that the world would not stop spinning if we both had a true break from work for 11 days!! And wow!! Guess what - the world kept on spinning - nothing drastic happened and I feel great!!!
It's been really hard to ignore the guilt, to ignore the work emails, ignore the work thoughts and consciously push them aside every time they creep in. But it has been soooooo worth it. I've taken time to sit and chat with friends and family, to have a drink on the deck with my man, enjoy the holidays with my kids, go to bed early, sleep in (have 10 hours of sleep a night rather than 6!) watch dvd's, read and write my first blog post for 3 months!! Sheer bliss!!
For the first time in several months I feel the creative spark coming back into my life - I have cooked gourmet food, spent 3 days gardening (after 4 years of none at all!) and have started 3 artworks - with so many wonderful ideas flooding in. I have missed this wonderful feeling - it almost feels like a lifetime ago that I felt this good - and now I'm wondering why on earth I never allowed myself this time in order to receive this gift of feeling this wonderful.
In fact I'm enjoying my break so much that I have extended it for another week - and I will not feel guilty! I will enjoy it, embrace it and know that I will be able to give so much more when I do go back to work.
Now I need to make sure that I actually allow myself down time through out the year so that I can keep that creative spark alive - give myself time to write, paint, cook, garden - share my time with family and friends and actually have a more balanced life! ...... oh and catch up on my blog posts!! ;-)
Now I'm not talking about the type of holidays which involve masses of running around, sightseeing, rushing from place to place - I'm talking about the chill out at home - away from work - doing the things that you love in a relaxed way.
This year is the first time, in several years, that I have had a "real" holiday. I am self employed - which anyone who is self employed will be able to identify with - taking a holiday is often logistically impossible (who will take over), it can be financially difficult (not bringing in any income) and for me personally - I feel guilt ridden.
What?? you may ask - why would you feel guilty? I have this problem. I constantly think about work 24/7 - I wake up thinking about work, I go to bed thinking about work, I dream about work - I strategise, plan, write, organise all the time. I feel that if I'm not working then I'm letting people down in some way ..... But in actual fact by living like this I am letting myself down.
The NZ Art Guild has only ever closed over the Christmas/New Year period for the statutory holidays. This year we (my good friend and colleague Tanya Dann) made the decision to close. As two workaholics, we actually agreed that the world would not stop spinning if we both had a true break from work for 11 days!! And wow!! Guess what - the world kept on spinning - nothing drastic happened and I feel great!!!
It's been really hard to ignore the guilt, to ignore the work emails, ignore the work thoughts and consciously push them aside every time they creep in. But it has been soooooo worth it. I've taken time to sit and chat with friends and family, to have a drink on the deck with my man, enjoy the holidays with my kids, go to bed early, sleep in (have 10 hours of sleep a night rather than 6!) watch dvd's, read and write my first blog post for 3 months!! Sheer bliss!!
For the first time in several months I feel the creative spark coming back into my life - I have cooked gourmet food, spent 3 days gardening (after 4 years of none at all!) and have started 3 artworks - with so many wonderful ideas flooding in. I have missed this wonderful feeling - it almost feels like a lifetime ago that I felt this good - and now I'm wondering why on earth I never allowed myself this time in order to receive this gift of feeling this wonderful.
In fact I'm enjoying my break so much that I have extended it for another week - and I will not feel guilty! I will enjoy it, embrace it and know that I will be able to give so much more when I do go back to work.
Now I need to make sure that I actually allow myself down time through out the year so that I can keep that creative spark alive - give myself time to write, paint, cook, garden - share my time with family and friends and actually have a more balanced life! ...... oh and catch up on my blog posts!! ;-)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Monochrome Inc in NZ House and Garden
My favourite interior designer (and lovely friend) Andrew Loader has been featured in this months NZ House and Garden. Monochrome Inc is a fabulous interior design business based in Auckland.
I was lucky enough to have one of my artworks in the photos (above - caption reads - Called Wahine Toa, this red torso by artist Sophia Elise features a Maori koru pattern rendered in dots). Andrew and Mike bought my torso as a feature artwork for their bedroom a few months ago and I was stoked that it was photgraphed and included inthis feature - what a huge honour!
The rest of the beautiful artwork you see in this article is done by Mike Galvin (another wonderful friend!)
The rest of the beautiful artwork you see in this article is done by Mike Galvin (another wonderful friend!)
To read the full article go and grab a copy today! :-)
Thursday, September 9, 2010
School Art Day
A few weeks ago my daughter (year 4) asked me if I could come to school and teach art for the day. Apparently she had told her class I'm a "famous" artist because I'm on google - and of course I run this "huge" art organisation across NZ. Wow - after that kind of lead up how could I say no. lol
I have to say the thought of teaching groups of children art for a whole day terrified me - trying to think of an activity they could complete in an hour - and of course having never taught children art in my life! arghhh! What was I going to do - aside form freak out and have anxiety attacks?
Anyway - once the panic subsided I thought about the things my kids liked doing - and one was when we did a mini collaborative project artwork like the NZ Art Guild does each year. Perfect - that's what I was going to do. Only thing was I didn't want to use paints (my medium) because of the mess and time constraints. So I decided a dry medium would be better.
I nearly died when they sent home the form telling the kids I was teaching drawing skills - what the ...? Anyone who know me and my art knows that I do abstract - drawing is well and truly out of my sphere of things I do. And as my kids put it - "mum does abstract cos she can't draw real stuff" Thanks guys! lol
The day was a great success - the kids were an absolute delight - and I have a renewed admiration for teachers - man what an exhausting day - I really don't know how they do it - thank you to all the wonderful teachers out there!!
All the children had the same image and colours to work with and were given the same set of instruction s and theme to create to. I really wanted to see how they all interpreted it and I wasn't disappointed with the results - they let their creativity and imaginations go.
Many of you have asked what the finished artworks were like so I have added them here. The best thing about it was hearing them go "wow, awesome, amazing etc" once they saw it all put together. They really were gobsmacked at what they had all managed to achieve together.
I have to say the thought of teaching groups of children art for a whole day terrified me - trying to think of an activity they could complete in an hour - and of course having never taught children art in my life! arghhh! What was I going to do - aside form freak out and have anxiety attacks?
Anyway - once the panic subsided I thought about the things my kids liked doing - and one was when we did a mini collaborative project artwork like the NZ Art Guild does each year. Perfect - that's what I was going to do. Only thing was I didn't want to use paints (my medium) because of the mess and time constraints. So I decided a dry medium would be better.
I nearly died when they sent home the form telling the kids I was teaching drawing skills - what the ...? Anyone who know me and my art knows that I do abstract - drawing is well and truly out of my sphere of things I do. And as my kids put it - "mum does abstract cos she can't draw real stuff" Thanks guys! lol
The day was a great success - the kids were an absolute delight - and I have a renewed admiration for teachers - man what an exhausting day - I really don't know how they do it - thank you to all the wonderful teachers out there!!
All the children had the same image and colours to work with and were given the same set of instruction s and theme to create to. I really wanted to see how they all interpreted it and I wasn't disappointed with the results - they let their creativity and imaginations go.
Many of you have asked what the finished artworks were like so I have added them here. The best thing about it was hearing them go "wow, awesome, amazing etc" once they saw it all put together. They really were gobsmacked at what they had all managed to achieve together.
Pink and Blue hair
no ... not me before you all panic. Several weeks ago my daughter asked if we could dye her hair - she really wanted to have blue and pink streaks in it. I agreed that we could - but suggested that we only dye the bottom few inches just in case she hated it - that way we could easily cut it off and it would be back to normal.
I asked my friend Helen how she had done her daughters hair (which looked AMAZING! Totally rainbow colours - very funky!) And bought some dye from her.
So off we set on this adventure - my very scared as I'm no hairdresser. Anyway - we had to bleach it to start with- and while the bleach was out my son and fiance both decided that they wanted to join in with the hair dying - so they had blond streaks through the top of their hair.
Hey - who am I to judge - I've been dying my hair since I was 16! And after all - it's only hair - and it's their hair - their choice - it will grow back - and I really think we have more important things to worry about with our kids like, drugs, teen pregnancy, suicide, binge drinking etc than what colour our children want their hair. Anyway - I'm sure most of us would have loved to have had pink and blue hair when we were 9 too - after all by the time we were old enough to do that it wasn't the done thing.
So we finished the dying and the next day my daughter decided she wanted more done - yes she loved it that much. So out with the hair dye again (no bleach this time) and we dyed it again - she didn't want to go all the way to the roots - so we had about 6 inches of natural hair and 10 inches of multicolour streaks.
It's been amazing how positive everyone has been about it - including the school Principal who loved it - in fact we have only heard of three people who haven't liked it - and hey that's their choice to make. So for all the people that asked for photos - I have the stage one's here. Unfortunately I didn't take any of stage two dye and as we didn't bleach it first it has washed out really quickly (mainly because her fathers girlfriend, unfortunately, really hates it and has made her wash her hair heaps when she is with them in order to get the dye out as quickly as possible) Never mind we still have heaps of dye left to do it again and I will be sure to take photos after :-)
I think the best thing about this was seeing how happy my kids were - my son saying he felt and looked like a rock star - my daughter feeling so beautiful and being able to express her creative side through her hair - and seeing the increased confidence in them both. Amazing how a simple thing like allowing them the freedom to decide what they do with their hair can have such a positive impact on their self esteem.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
RAK Day! ( Random Act of Kindness )
Today is officially RAK ( Random Act of Kindness Day ) - So I would love to hear all your stories about the RAK that you receive and that you give. Of course RAK don't have to be limited to today - they can be any day of the year - and every day if you feel like it. They don't have to be big - they can be as simple as giving someone a hug who needs it ....
Today 15 artists are doing a RAK - they have donated artworks to be auctioned to raise funds for the North Shore Women's Centre. (See event details below for "Inner Strength" What a perfect day to have this event too! And of course as with many events it's reliant on volunteers so they are all performing RAK's today too ...
Already heard one lovely story today from a friend who's 11 year old did an RAK for her ... yay!!!
To read more about RAK day - www.rak.co.nz
Today 15 artists are doing a RAK - they have donated artworks to be auctioned to raise funds for the North Shore Women's Centre. (See event details below for "Inner Strength" What a perfect day to have this event too! And of course as with many events it's reliant on volunteers so they are all performing RAK's today too ...
Already heard one lovely story today from a friend who's 11 year old did an RAK for her ... yay!!!
To read more about RAK day - www.rak.co.nz
Your invitation to Inner Strength - Charity Art Auction and Exhibition
The NZ Art Guild and North Shore Womens Centre (NSWC) are proud to join together to raise funds and awareness for the NSWC with the Inner Strength Charity Art Auction and Exhibition.
The NSWC are the only holistic service for women, by women on the North Shore. The funds raised from the charity auction will assist in the administration of their core services: low-cost counseling, family support service, free legal clinic, clothing exchange, low-cost courses and support groups and the Go Girl Youth programme. Donations enable NSWC to continue to offer their services at little or no cost to women.
Please join us on September 2nd 6:30pm at the Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna Auckland where the month long exhibition "Inner Strength" will open with a fantastic charity art auction. Our guest speaker is Catherine Livingstone who has inspired many women over the years and was recently the last woman standing in the NZ Apprentice
Top NZ artists - Jess Foote, Lisz Bodsworth, Angela Laby, Sophia Elise, Rachel Olsen, Sharlene Scmidt, Nancy Frazer, Michele Courage, Merle Bishop, Lorraine Beattie, Liz de King, Lauryne Hart, Jane Santos, Beate Minderjahn, and Amy Walker have also generously donated artworks to be auctioned on the night. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to NSWC.
The theme of this exhibition is "Celebrating and Strengthening Women" and it brings together 33 very, talented NZ female artists from around NZ.
We would like to thank the following sponsors:
Tony Laugharn - Barfoot and Thompson
Tineswari Maruthamuthu - Graphic Designer
Kip Brook - Word of Mouth Media
For more information about the NSWC of NZ go to www.nswomenscentre.co.nz
To view the Online Auction Catalogue -
http://nzartguild.blogspot.com/2010/07/auction-catalogue-inner-strength.html
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Elffolk and the Crystal Caves of Atlantis by Tina McFadden
Tina McFadden is launching her new children’s book today. I am always looking for interesting books for my kids - and especially ones with a message that inspires them. although I haven't read a copy of it yet - it certainly sounds like the perfect present for them. Read the press release below for more info ....
Get the fantasy-adventure novel that is delighting readers and reviewers everywhere with its tale of magic and mystery in legendary Atlantis - Elffolk and the Crystal Caves of Atlantis.
Elffolk takes young readers into a world of intrigue and wonder with its page-turning story and positive message. An empowering novel for children ages 7 to 10, it reveals the power of our thoughts, expectations and beliefs. A fast-paced, easy read, it tells the story of Enna and Nissa in the mysterious crystal caves of mystical Atlantis.
“Thousands of years ago, on the island of Atlantis, there were signs of a coming disaster. The very first omens were the earthquakes.... When an earthquake strikes the village of Elffolk, an elderly elf becomes trapped in the crystal caves. Two young elves, Enna and Nissa, must save her. But their rescue mission won't be easy. A dark magic lurks within the caves, stirring up danger at every turn and leaving nothing as it seems.”
Order your copy today: http://www.elffolk.com
Order today and you’ll receive FREE gifts from parenting coaches, children’s authors and more.
Get the fantasy-adventure novel that is delighting readers and reviewers everywhere with its tale of magic and mystery in legendary Atlantis - Elffolk and the Crystal Caves of Atlantis.
Elffolk takes young readers into a world of intrigue and wonder with its page-turning story and positive message. An empowering novel for children ages 7 to 10, it reveals the power of our thoughts, expectations and beliefs. A fast-paced, easy read, it tells the story of Enna and Nissa in the mysterious crystal caves of mystical Atlantis.
“Thousands of years ago, on the island of Atlantis, there were signs of a coming disaster. The very first omens were the earthquakes.... When an earthquake strikes the village of Elffolk, an elderly elf becomes trapped in the crystal caves. Two young elves, Enna and Nissa, must save her. But their rescue mission won't be easy. A dark magic lurks within the caves, stirring up danger at every turn and leaving nothing as it seems.”
Order your copy today: http://www.elffolk.com
Order today and you’ll receive FREE gifts from parenting coaches, children’s authors and more.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Prints and cards now available for sale online
You can now buy prints and greeting cards of Sophia Elise original artworks online at my new website www.sophia-elise.artistwebsites.com
Prints
The prints come in a variety of sizes and start from as low as $19 They are available in stretched canvas, framed or standard (unframed) If you want them framed you get to select the mat colour, style and frame. Lots of fun playing around on the site with this to get just the right look.
Cards - Greeting cards
The cards can be bought as single cards or in multiple packs. They are priced from $4.95 - the more you buy the cheaper they get. The cards are great because you can even choose to have a personalised message inside not to mention you can also select how large you want the image to be on the front of the card.
Original Art For Purchase
All the artwork on this site is organised into galleries - certain series of artworks and a special gallery of art currently available for purchase - more to be added as soon as I get some time to paint!
If there is an artwork of mine that you really love but isn't listed on my print and greeting card pages please let me know and I will add it just for you sophia@sophiaelise.co.nz
If your a member of facebook - friend me - and you will also be able to purchase art, cards and prints via my Facebook shop
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Boy for Sale...bonus girl may be included!
This morning I received this email from my wonderful cousin Gretchen Andersen - great mum - all round lovely person and very talented writer - just had to share - I'm sure there are plenty of mums (and dads) out there who can identify with this and will enjoy the chuckle ... Thanks Cuz for brightening up my day and letting me share this with others ... don't worry I won't tell CYFS ;-)
Boy for sale, any reasonable offer considered!
He's got LOTS of energy, and would make a great guard boy...could easily scare off any child-unfriendly visitors you may have, along with birds, mice or other small animals. Eats almost anything you put in front of him, especially if it's previously been refused and is deemed destined for the rubbish bin. Doesn't need much sleep. Good at making train tracks, mud pies, noise and messes. Doesn't need minor accessories like tissues, as has developed an effective "self- cleaning" method (a.k.a. "sharing the slime"). Great at waking babies, cats, neighbours or the dead.
Only minor functional defects, in that the "off" button is missing and the volume control seems stuck on "loud". But I'm sure these could be easily remedied with lots of open space, or alternatively, rubber walls and/or soundproofing. Patience and caregiver-energy might also work, but I haven't got any of that to try at present and the local hardware store seems to have run out.
PLUS, if you get in fast I'll also throw in a bonus Girl for no extra cost! She's great for self-esteem, as she is always in the mood for cuddles and being carried - doubles as a great workout partner, and will tone and strengthen arms, back and stomach if used correctly. Presently also has a self-lubricating face for those extra sloppy kisses. Has an infectious laugh, but the snot isn't similarly contagious. Runs almost entirely on mother's milk still, but is happy to supplement her diet with paper, books, shoes and cat fur so weaning probably wouldn't be a problem if the right foods are chosen. Good at waking those late night partying neighbours early the next morning. Also doesn't need much sleep.
If full-time child(ren) purchase isn't possible for you, I am willing to negotiate part-time or job-share opportunities.
Free shipping available!
Please contact the manager if you'd like to arrange a viewing or trial period.
Boy for sale, any reasonable offer considered!
He's got LOTS of energy, and would make a great guard boy...could easily scare off any child-unfriendly visitors you may have, along with birds, mice or other small animals. Eats almost anything you put in front of him, especially if it's previously been refused and is deemed destined for the rubbish bin. Doesn't need much sleep. Good at making train tracks, mud pies, noise and messes. Doesn't need minor accessories like tissues, as has developed an effective "self- cleaning" method (a.k.a. "sharing the slime"). Great at waking babies, cats, neighbours or the dead.
Only minor functional defects, in that the "off" button is missing and the volume control seems stuck on "loud". But I'm sure these could be easily remedied with lots of open space, or alternatively, rubber walls and/or soundproofing. Patience and caregiver-energy might also work, but I haven't got any of that to try at present and the local hardware store seems to have run out.
PLUS, if you get in fast I'll also throw in a bonus Girl for no extra cost! She's great for self-esteem, as she is always in the mood for cuddles and being carried - doubles as a great workout partner, and will tone and strengthen arms, back and stomach if used correctly. Presently also has a self-lubricating face for those extra sloppy kisses. Has an infectious laugh, but the snot isn't similarly contagious. Runs almost entirely on mother's milk still, but is happy to supplement her diet with paper, books, shoes and cat fur so weaning probably wouldn't be a problem if the right foods are chosen. Good at waking those late night partying neighbours early the next morning. Also doesn't need much sleep.
If full-time child(ren) purchase isn't possible for you, I am willing to negotiate part-time or job-share opportunities.
Free shipping available!
Please contact the manager if you'd like to arrange a viewing or trial period.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Continuing saga of worthwhile art ...
Artist: Sophia EliseMedia: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 25cm x 25cm
For Sale: contact sophia@sophiaelise.co.nz
Following on from my post yesterday about "what is worthwhile art?" - I started this same conversation on my facebook wall (by the way if you haven't connected with me on facebook already please do! :-))
I really wanted to share some of the thoughts that came through - some from artists - some from art admirers - some very interesting thoughts and some wise words ...
Pamela - "I don't think anyone has the right to sit on a pedestal and judge other peoples artwork. Because we may not like or value or have some kind of prejudice over a particular style or person does not mean the piece of work itself is not worthwhile. I think there are too many people out there who value their own opinions. I think we seek way to much validation for our art externally instead of believing in our own talent and skill and its easy to lose sight of ones path, and get caught up in what you think you should be doing rather than what you want to do."
Bernice - "Opinion is the worst yardstick one can react to in a creative endeavour. Along those lines ..... Does not having a fine arts degree make one less of an artist or an artist of note? This has been a... continuous struggle I have faced in my art career. Could I get an art degree... Yes. Do I want to... No. Am I an artist.... Yes. Do I create worthwhile art.... Yes. For many years now I have refused to placate certain factions of the 'art community' who have repeatedly recommended I do the degree in order to prove my artistic worth. It makes it harder to be taken seriously, for sure (in my experience), but i will keep on doing what I do, regardless of whether other's view my work as worthwhile or not. I have a voice. You have a voice. Every single creative person has a voice. It won't be silenced by anything as linear as an opinion."
Denita - "passion, talent, and love makes worthwhile art and art worthwhile"
Ross - "I'm always asked this by my school students. We live in an age of Post Modernist who's-to-say mentality. They are always trying to pin it down to $ signs. Like "what's the most you've sold a work for sir?". That's because they have been taught that this is a way to value stuff (we are now doing that more and more in dear old NZ. I reckon there are a whole host of questions like - Is there an honest voice there? Is there some good mark making going on? (I mean that in a 3d and 2d sense) Is the person demonstrating some sort of control of their media? In contrast to these and there are heaps more, that we could go on about, we have unmade beds, beer crates, piles of rubbish, all winning prizes. So the ideas (and some of them are quite clever, whilst others are plain grandstanding like Damien Hurst's over hyped, over priced nonsense. I reckon the best guy to read on the subject is Robert Hughes. "Shock of the New" is a goody but it's a bit old. I would love to know what sort of spirit Bazaleel and Aholiab had in the Old Testament"
John - "Many things in this world are subjective. Movies, books, music, art, likes, dislikes etc. It is a combination of ignorance and arrogance for one person (often from their own perception of academic superiority) to suggest one thing is worthwhile and suggest that your particular taste is not. All these subjective likes and dislikes come from the heart, they can't be and shouldn't be found in books, internet or otherwise."
Brian - "Good art in my opinion elicits an emotional response in the viewer"
Colin - "If the artist likes it, its worthwhile to them, if the viewer likes it, then its worthwhile to that person and if your lucky both artist and viewer like it therefore making it worthwhile to both. In some cases the artist will not be happy with the finished article and few viewers like it making it worthwhile to few. A piece of arts worth both monetary and visually is a very individual thing....Some people see arts worth in relation to monetary value (So IS a factor to them), others see art purely for the aesthetic value i.e. like the look of it, or sound of it, feel of it (Myself) and others for some perceived meaning behind it all. No one motivation or trigger for an individuals impression of a given piece or form of art is any more valid than another. With art there are no more rules to the appreciation of art than there are to the creation of it or form it should take."
Stan - "who is this person to cast a judgement on the marks of a fellow artist? Certainly no one with any academic background in the profession. From the first crude paleolithic markings on the walls of caves until the present, art is a reflection of human labour and a catharsis of the imagination. To attempt to discredit one artists work as not worthwhile is to deny individualistic creative processes."
Ross - "Again though, we're coming back to the very thing that prompts this debate. There is an opinion that if something provokes emotion then if it good. I don't think it's that simple. Like a Swastika for many people would provoke and emotion, but it is not art it is an offensive icon. So there has to be some sort of conceptual underpinning. Oh for the days when we were told what was good and what was rubbish! (that's tongue in cheek). It's not just technical ability either is it? Think about the beautifully produced kitch sold all over the world."
Leo - "it took me the standard 4 years plus a post graduate year, but that did NOT make my work art, nor did it make me an artist. That came later. What it did - and that made it worthwhile after all - was break down all my pre-conceived ideas, thanks to excellent tutors, and give me a lot of useful technical knowledge. But that was all it did. There are countless great artists who never had any formal training. And Sophia, thanks for starting this discussion!"
I think my favourite quote from all the posts though is Colins - "With art there are no more rules to the appreciation of art, than there are to the creation of it or to the form it should take."
Thanks to everyone for joining in this discussion - sharing your thoughts and feeling - opinions and insights - to follow this more go to my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/sophiaelise.artist
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
What is worthwhile art?
Artist: Sophia EliseMedia: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 25cm x 25cm
SOLD
Today I'm pondering the question - "What is worthwhile art?" This question was provoked by an email I received today. Not an email directed at my art - but a general comment about worthwhile art having a specific voice and means to be heard.
I had never thought of art being classified as "worthwhile" before - well more precisely that some art wouldn't be considered worthwhile in some peoples eyes. Ok, admittedly, some art is not be to my taste - or maybe it doesn't have the technical finesse of other artworks - but I never thought about it not being worthwhile. At the very core of it - at the very least - it is a worthwhile artwork for the person who has created it surely. It is something they have enjoyed, felt compelled to do, have expressed an emotion or shared a scene - to them it was worthwhile.
To me - It is worthwhile if that artwork has helped someone in some way - be it the creator or the viewer. If it has put a smile on someones face - made them feel something within - evoked a conversation - created a connection - then that is worthwhile to me. A child's artwork is worthwhile to the parent who receives it and the child who has created it with love. The artwork that we see as a "mistake" is worthwhile to that child that loves it and retrieves it from the junk pile to hang in their room. Or the artwork that is donated to charity to raise funds for a cause. Or simply the one that is beautiful - which of course is in the eye of the beholder.
Perhaps my art may not be termed worthwhile by academic circles but to the hundreds of people that have purchased my art and who enjoy hanging it on their walls it's worthwhile. It was worthwhile to me to be able to create it and share part of my spirit on canvas. It was worthwhile to my children who hang it on their walls and proudly tell their classmates that their mum is an artist on google (how cute is that! lol) It was worthwhile to the artists I have swapped artworks with. It is worthwhile to the charities that have benefited from the artwork donations I've made.
So - Who is the judge of what is worthwhile? What is the criteria? Is there criteria? Is it arrogance to state some art is worthwhile and other art isn't? Is it an intellectulisation born out of academia? Or is it a real life issue? What are your thoughts?
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Glass Balls
30 Second Speech by Bryan Dyson Former CEO of Coca Cola
"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, Friends and spirit and you're keeping all of these in the Air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.
But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it.
Work efficiently during office hours and leave on time. Give the required time to your family and friends and have a proper rest
Value has a value only if its value is valued"
We all need to be reminded of this from time to time - I am probably one of the worst people at this - I am a self confessed workaholic - if I'm not working I feel guilty - I feel lazy - like I haven't accomplished anything - I feel that all my time needs to be production - but how do we define productive?
I need to remember that rest, and time spent with family and friends is productive time too. The weekend just been we caught up with friends for a birthday - we went to bed before 11 for the first time in several months - we slept in - went to an art exhibition opening - visited the in laws - visited my family - went to dinner - to a show - bought some books - did some painting - finished a commission - had friends around for drinks. What soul food that was!! It was the best thing I could have done - I now feel more energised and ready to take on the busy week again - I need to remind myself of how important down time is - and the flow on benefits it has.
Are there any other self confessed workaholics out there who suffer from guilt when they are not working? Where does it come from? How do you deal with it?
"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, Friends and spirit and you're keeping all of these in the Air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.
But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it.
Work efficiently during office hours and leave on time. Give the required time to your family and friends and have a proper rest
Value has a value only if its value is valued"
We all need to be reminded of this from time to time - I am probably one of the worst people at this - I am a self confessed workaholic - if I'm not working I feel guilty - I feel lazy - like I haven't accomplished anything - I feel that all my time needs to be production - but how do we define productive?
I need to remember that rest, and time spent with family and friends is productive time too. The weekend just been we caught up with friends for a birthday - we went to bed before 11 for the first time in several months - we slept in - went to an art exhibition opening - visited the in laws - visited my family - went to dinner - to a show - bought some books - did some painting - finished a commission - had friends around for drinks. What soul food that was!! It was the best thing I could have done - I now feel more energised and ready to take on the busy week again - I need to remind myself of how important down time is - and the flow on benefits it has.
Are there any other self confessed workaholics out there who suffer from guilt when they are not working? Where does it come from? How do you deal with it?
Monday, July 12, 2010
What makes people get involved?
We had a couple of friends around last night and the conversation turned to what makes people get involved in other peoples fights - ie. standing up for someone that you think is being treated unfairly.
There was a lot of discussion around this as I'm one of those people that can't stand to see any kind of injustice - I want life to be fair - ok we all get told early on that it isn't - but it doesn't stop me being idealistic or trying to help if I can. But at what point is that considered interfering - or even damaging to the person you are standing up for? My friend raised that point that by standing up for someone - fighting their battle that you can actually be dis-empowering and not allowing them personal growth. A very good point - and I hadn't looked at it that way.
But then what if that person doesn't have the knowledge or ability and you can help them learn - we all need guidance and support at various times of our lives -and how can someone who has never stood up for themselves int he past learn how to do it if no one will help them?
What about the people that take not getting involved to the extreme - their reasoning isn't like my friends - they just believe that it's none of their business and it doesn't affect their life in any way. They stay out of potential conflict at all costs - they are the ones that would walk past a women getting hit by her husband - or a child left unattended in a car crying - or stand by while someones character gets unfairly maligned.
Personally I find this level of apathy frustrating - and I actually don't think it is coming form a place of good - but a place of selfishness. Maybe I'm wrong - but it's the way I feel. I believe that if I can help then I should - and to ignore anything like that wouldn't sit right with me - I couldn't sleep at night.
My friend asked where this need of mine came from - I had never analysed it - it has always been innate within me and I accepted it as part of who I am. But this morning I had a light bulb moment and I know where it comes from. It is a core value that was instilled in me from a very young age was "protect and help those who are weaker than yourself"
I suppose at no time have I stopped to consider that I am using my subjective judgement to determine whether a person fits in this category - and what I see as someone needing help - will not bee seen that way by another - they can be seen as interfering. More food for thought.
So why is it that some people feel passionately about helping others - and others feel just as passionately that it's wrong to get involved because it's nothing to do with them - and others feel that you are robbing that person of the personal growth and life experiences?
What category do you fall into? What is your reasoning? And is there a right or wrong in this case?
There was a lot of discussion around this as I'm one of those people that can't stand to see any kind of injustice - I want life to be fair - ok we all get told early on that it isn't - but it doesn't stop me being idealistic or trying to help if I can. But at what point is that considered interfering - or even damaging to the person you are standing up for? My friend raised that point that by standing up for someone - fighting their battle that you can actually be dis-empowering and not allowing them personal growth. A very good point - and I hadn't looked at it that way.
But then what if that person doesn't have the knowledge or ability and you can help them learn - we all need guidance and support at various times of our lives -and how can someone who has never stood up for themselves int he past learn how to do it if no one will help them?
What about the people that take not getting involved to the extreme - their reasoning isn't like my friends - they just believe that it's none of their business and it doesn't affect their life in any way. They stay out of potential conflict at all costs - they are the ones that would walk past a women getting hit by her husband - or a child left unattended in a car crying - or stand by while someones character gets unfairly maligned.
Personally I find this level of apathy frustrating - and I actually don't think it is coming form a place of good - but a place of selfishness. Maybe I'm wrong - but it's the way I feel. I believe that if I can help then I should - and to ignore anything like that wouldn't sit right with me - I couldn't sleep at night.
My friend asked where this need of mine came from - I had never analysed it - it has always been innate within me and I accepted it as part of who I am. But this morning I had a light bulb moment and I know where it comes from. It is a core value that was instilled in me from a very young age was "protect and help those who are weaker than yourself"
I suppose at no time have I stopped to consider that I am using my subjective judgement to determine whether a person fits in this category - and what I see as someone needing help - will not bee seen that way by another - they can be seen as interfering. More food for thought.
So why is it that some people feel passionately about helping others - and others feel just as passionately that it's wrong to get involved because it's nothing to do with them - and others feel that you are robbing that person of the personal growth and life experiences?
What category do you fall into? What is your reasoning? And is there a right or wrong in this case?
Sunday, July 11, 2010
What makes someone inspirational?
Just lately I've been thinking about this a lot - what is it that makes someone inspirational?
I admire people for many different reason - the lady who adopted 4 girls with Downs Syndrome - She's inspirational to me because I don't think I could ever have done that - that takes a huge amount of dedication, love and sacrifice.
The man who was on Gladiator today with a prosthetic leg who not only competed but also completed the whole course - I couldn't even do that as an able body person so to me he is inspirational.
The man on Good Sorts segment last week who fought to save lives with a new system for organ donations - and then to be the first one to actually have his body used for organ donation under the new system.
So many people giving selflessly of their time with various charities - looking after others - making peoples lives better each day.
Listening to Ray Avery talk on Thursday - that man is amazing - from simple ideas he has managed to change millions of peoples lives all over the world. Incredible to think it came out of his garage in Mt Eden - from a desire to help people.
So many different people that I find inspiring and just as many reasons - my list could go on forever. It does includes personal attributes - usually some quality that I don't see in myself and a quality that I would like to have. Seeing what these people achieve makes you want to be a better person - to give more - do more and be more grateful.
I have been told an a few occasions that I'm an inspiration to someone - and I always feels a bit gobsmacked - flattered naturally - but I do ask why? I honestly don't see myself any differently from the people that have said this to me. In fact they have sometimes even been an inspiration to me! Therefore to find out that I have in some way inspired them is very humbling.
I feel grateful that we are not only surrounded by many wonderful role models - but people who inspire us in every day lives - and they aren't necessarily the richest or most famous - they are our mums, dads, friends, children, friends, colleagues etc
I would love to hear who inspires you? Or just even what characteristics you find inspirational?
I admire people for many different reason - the lady who adopted 4 girls with Downs Syndrome - She's inspirational to me because I don't think I could ever have done that - that takes a huge amount of dedication, love and sacrifice.
The man who was on Gladiator today with a prosthetic leg who not only competed but also completed the whole course - I couldn't even do that as an able body person so to me he is inspirational.
The man on Good Sorts segment last week who fought to save lives with a new system for organ donations - and then to be the first one to actually have his body used for organ donation under the new system.
So many people giving selflessly of their time with various charities - looking after others - making peoples lives better each day.
Listening to Ray Avery talk on Thursday - that man is amazing - from simple ideas he has managed to change millions of peoples lives all over the world. Incredible to think it came out of his garage in Mt Eden - from a desire to help people.
So many different people that I find inspiring and just as many reasons - my list could go on forever. It does includes personal attributes - usually some quality that I don't see in myself and a quality that I would like to have. Seeing what these people achieve makes you want to be a better person - to give more - do more and be more grateful.
I have been told an a few occasions that I'm an inspiration to someone - and I always feels a bit gobsmacked - flattered naturally - but I do ask why? I honestly don't see myself any differently from the people that have said this to me. In fact they have sometimes even been an inspiration to me! Therefore to find out that I have in some way inspired them is very humbling.
I feel grateful that we are not only surrounded by many wonderful role models - but people who inspire us in every day lives - and they aren't necessarily the richest or most famous - they are our mums, dads, friends, children, friends, colleagues etc
I would love to hear who inspires you? Or just even what characteristics you find inspirational?
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
I'm excited to be involved with this fabulous exhibition - and very lucky to have such an amazing person organising it in Dunedin - Tanya Dann. Without her vision, dedication and hardwork this just wouldn't be possible.
If you are in the area it would be great to see you at the opening of "Pocket Rockets" exhibition at ROCDA Gallery in Dunedin.
Over 40 NZ artists bring you an amazing array of artworks including, paintings, jewellery, sculpture, glass art, textile and much more!
The exhibition is for one week only - so make sure you mark it in your diary today so you don't miss out!
Where: ROCDA Gallery, 73 Princes Street, Dunedin
Opening: Monday 2nd August, 5:30pm - 8pm
Exhibition Open: Mon - Fri 11am - 6pm and Sat 11am - 3pm
PARTICIPATING NZ ART GUILD ARTISTS
Tanya Dann
Sophia Elise
Tash Shackleton
Mike Greenwood
Amy Walker
Lei Wen
LisaSarah
Lorraine Beattie
Melodie Joseph
Chris Cruickshank
Amanda Cass
Peter Augustin
Sofia Spirtova
Sue McPhee
Suzanne Carter
Marimba Powley
Stan Blanch
Ron Esplin
Pam Tapp
Jac Connelly
Tama Florentina
Amahlia Wolf
Pam Tapp
Cath Sheard
Michele Courage
PARTICIPATING NON NZ ART GUILD ARTISTS
Collette Fergus
Irene Joseph
Sandra Adams
Soo Lee
Ryan van Heerden
Peter Viesnik
Bobby Shen
Jill Shackleton
Diane Schnarr
Virginia O'Dear
Barbara Bullock
Jane Sussmilch
Lisa-Jane Harvey
Holly Budge
Sudhir Duppati Kumar
Isla Osborne
Bloom revealed ...
MEDIA: Mixed media - wood frame.
SIZE: The finished artwork is 1.3m x 1.3m
(List of participating artists below)
On Friday 2nd July the NZ Art Guild unveiled their 2010 Collaborative Artwork "Bloom"
"Bloom" is a unique artwork which comprises of 64 individual artworks by 62 artists from all over NZ. The theme of this artwork is New Beginnings and Growth.
To view this stunning artwork in person visit the Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna, Auckland. Open Mon - Fri 9 - 5 or Sat 10 - 4. It will be exhibited there until July 30th.
This artwork will be auctioned on Trademe (www.trademe.co.nz) from July 17th with 100% of the proceeds donated to the Mental Health Foundation of NZ. (When you login to Trademe search for NZ Art Guild).
LIMITED EDITION PRINTS AVAILABLE
- Print run limited to 100 prints - all prints are numbered
- Printed on archival art paper by specialist fine art printers
- Comes un-mounted so you can select your framing
(We recommend Lesley's Picture Framing - email: lpfg@xtra.co.nz)
- Size: 410 mm x 410mm. (unframed)
- Delivery will be approx 2 weeks from the date of order.
- $5 from every print sale is donated to the Mental Health Foundation of NZ
Prices:
Bloom Limited Edition Print $79.00
Postage - North Island $8.00 Postage - South Island $12.00 Postage - Rural $15.00
How to order your print:
via the NZ Art Guild website http://www.nzartguild.co.nz/edit.asp?PageNo=240
or by email admin@nzartguild.co.nz
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS (from left to right)
Row 1:
1) Ana ter Huurne
2) Melissa Muirhead
3) Amanda Hook
4) Chelsea Davies
5) Michelle Whitehouse
6) Jacqueline Runham
7) Caroline Viesnik
8) Sophia Elise
Row 2:
9) Marilyn Andrews
10) Bill Rutledge
11) Wendy Matthews
12) Cath Sheard
13) Silver Dunlop
14) Angela Laby
15) Sheryl Eustace
16) Neala Glass
Row 3:
17) Nancy Frazer
18) Natasha Wheeler
19) Gail Boyle
20) Melissa Muirhead
21) Anni Morris
22) Tracy MacDonald
23) Chris Cruickshank
24) Melodie Joseph
Row 4:
25) Tessa Birks
26) Julie Sills
27) Sally Blyth
28) Beate Minderjahn
29) Sandra Toornstra
30) Michelle Whitehouse
31) Rochelle van der Werff
32) Amy Mackiewicz
Row 5:
33) Chavah Kinloch
34) Sharlene Schmidt
35) Jane Bold
36) Helen Sherrock
37) Ronda Turk
38) Theresa Rodger
39) Christine Dempster
40) Paulette Shepherd
Row 6:
41) Lei Wen
42) Victoria Anderson
43) Jo Mallinger
44) Cheryl Irwin
45) Lyn Hurring
46) Linda Paul
47) Stan Blanch
48) Shaun Hedley
Row 7:
49) Dennis Clark
50) Michele Courage
51) Shelly van Soest
52) Marimba Powley
53) Tineswari Maruthamuthu
54) Fiona Woods
55) Michelle Thorby
56) Helen McNamara
Row 8:
57) Pam Tapp
58) Ron Esplin
59) Natalie Makeef
60) Rachael Inch
61) Tanya Dann
62) Pam Buffery
63) Sofia Spirtova
64) Tama Florentina
HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
Allan McIntosh - Buildology - the Art of Design and Build
Mike Thornton - Giclee Print Limited
Michael Woods - Photographer
Brendon and Lesley - Lesley's Picture Framing
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