Showcase of glass and wood

 

Visitors to Mangawhai Art Gallery at the village have been treated to another stunning array of the areas exceptional artistic talent.

A collaborative exhibit titled ‘Two Glassies and Two Woodies’ (Oct 21-31) from four local artists – Pauline Mann, Jacob Gruener [aka Zimmermann Jack], Samantha Minery and Malcolm Roberts – showcased an eclectic compilation of polished wood craft and glittering glass art.

“It was a great community exhibition,” Mann says. “Doing it with the other three was the biggest buzz.”

For this exhibit, Mann used various hues of glass to portray natural landscapes and also incorporated wood sculptures with glasswork. She says there is a therapeutic element to working with the ‘restorative energies’ of colour and light within glass.

“I have been attracted to translucent materials all my life,” she says. “After art school in the 70’s I taught myself how to put glass together… my learning was also enhanced by the last four years of an anthroposophical-based art therapy training which deepened my understanding of light, darkness and colour.”

Minery’s creations included large display bowls formed from hundreds of smashed safety glass shards fused together and delicate sea anemones, created from manipulating softened solid glass rods via flame into a variety of shapes and designs.

“The process can be very meditative,” she says. “I often zone out while working… makes my soul sing.”

Minery discovered a love for glass art while studying for a Bachelor of Visual Arts and Design at Auckland’s UNITEC.

“It just lights me up,” she says. “I love the fluidity of glass… when I use the hot torch and start molding, I don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

Retired-farmer-come-woodcraftsman, Malcolm Roberts, and Austrian-born carpenter, Gruener agree that the material often determines the artist’s end product.

“Wood often speaks to you,” Roberts says. “It defines how it wants to be created.”

Gruener says he often sees what he will build and each piece of furniture or project is a testament to the majesty of the tree from which it came.

“With each piece of timber I touch, I see the inner beauty of the wood itself revealed,” he says.

Roberts says he had harbored a passion for carpentry since his mid-teens but had to wait until his mid-50’s before having time to indulge in woodwork. Also self-taught, he uses modern machinery to cut out necessary shapes but prefers ‘old-fashioned tools’ like spokeshaves, draw knives and hand planers.

“I’ve always loved the feel of wood, the hands-on approach to the work,” he says. “Chairs are particularly of interest even though they are difficult to do. My two favourites capture what I feel Kaipara is to me. They’re made from totara fence posts and number 8 wire.”

A love for working with wood is evident in both men’s creations, showing a talent to form practical objects that are also designs of beauty.

“It is a true calling,” says Gruener. “More than just cutting wood and hammering nails – it’s an art.”

PASSION: Malcolm Roberts with his 2012 Kaipara Art Awards winning chairs.

GLASS ART: Sam Minery’s glass bowls reflect a myriad of light and colour.