A Painting from Enclosure Bay, Waiheke Island, New Zealand

A Painting from Enclosure Bay

 

I made this painting during our stay at Enclosure Bay on Waiheke Island.  The central figure is a pheasant who came to visit us on several occasions,  also a preying mantis and a small butterfly which I couldn't identify.  The large leaf is a taupata and the small ones were fallen from a pohutukawa tree which grew right by the beach. 

 

 

Some flowers from the puawhanga or New Zealand clematis which was beginning to bloom in

the bush surrounding our accomodation and a piece of a low growing native shrub which is commonly used for plantings whose name I am not sure of.

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blog

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2015

 

A New Exhibition at Tivoli, Oneroa, Waiheke Island, New Zealand

Touches of Silence

The Art of Stitchery

  My new exhibition at Tivoli opens this week, if you are visiting Waiheke Island come and pay us a visit.  I have gathered together a collection of work concerned with the art of stitchery, here are a few  photographs.



Christening Gown
A watercolour of a Nineteenth Century Christening Gown from New Zealand

 Beaded Cardigan

A New Zealand made cardigan from the mid Twentieth Century

Wedding Canopy
Paintings from an Indian Wedding Canopy

I will post some more photos of the exhibition in situ.

Frances Jill Studd website
Midnight Collective Blogspot

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2015

A New Exhibition for September at Tivoli

A Preview from my New Exhibition at Tivoli

Opening at Tivoli on the 12th of September is my new exhibition Touches of Silence.

This exhibition is made up from a series of my work which is concerned with needlecraft and textiles.

This is often considered to be the work of women and is regarded as a feminine persuit and interest, but this was not always the case.  Workshops which embroidered many of the clothes worn at court during the reign of Elizabeth the First in the 16th Century were run and serviced by men who used real gold and precious stones to embellish their work.

Silk and Velvet Garden

A painting made from an ancient embroidery from either Iran or India 16th - 17th Century.

Talking Tree

The origins of talking trees are found in the tales of tree worchip from remote antiquity in India.

Yoke

A small photograph of the yoke of a New Zealand made evening gown, date unknown.

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective Blogspot

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2015

The Bumble Bee from a New Zealand Garden

The Bumble Bee

 

Even in mid Winter we have bumble bees in the garden.  Today I saw some small ones busy on a flowering jade tree.  I did this drawing in a spare moment thinking about their industrious nature and how I love to see them around.  They particularly favour the lavender and sunflowers but it is unusual to spot them at this time of year.

 

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2015

The Three Mountains, central North Island New Zealand

Mount Tongariro

 

Last Tuesday we were returning to Kapiti from Taupo, the Desert Road was closed by ice and snow and so we took a detour around the back of the Mountains and I took a few photos.

It was a beautiful clear day, but obviously a huge dump of snow had fallen on the mountains and the surrounding area on the previous day and night.  This photo shows the Mari crater on  Mt Tongariro, showing continuous wide bursts of white smoke and steam

 

 

 

 

 

This photo shows Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe with its' distinctive cone.

When we turned and looked in the other direction we could see Mt Taranaki far away on the West Coast.

 

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2015

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective

 

 



Fishing for Art around New Zealand

The Last Moki

Ko te hopu whakamutunga o te ika

 

 

Moki is a trumpeter fish which is found around the Kermadec Islands, the Three Kings Islands to Snares Islands, the Chatham Islands and Auckland Islands but rarely further North.  I have used the Moki as a token species to represent the sorry state of our fishing industry world wide.

We watch the plunder of our oceans by factory ships where waste is just part of the process and threatened species are taken alongside the commerical catch. 

Pollution is one of many other issues which I cannot hope to address with one small art work but I have made a start on it.

 

 

These fish are knitted with embroidery silk and measure up to 12cms long, I am making a large number of them.

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective blogspot

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2015

 

 

 

 

 



A Mantua from New Zealand

A Mantua from New Zealand

 

I recently made some more photographs for my Mantle series, this one I think of as being a New Zealand mantua as it shows a tropical  palm leaf on the dress.

 

 

 

 

This one shows specifically the  Pacific Ocean.

 

 

 

Frances Jill Studd website

Midnight Collective blogspot

 

All images copyright Frances Jill Studd 2015