9
COROMANDEL LIFE
SUMMER 2014
Tour opens with a
Friday night artfest!
Hot Waves Café in Hot Water Beach will again
host the official opening of the Art Escape on 28
February at 5:30pm. This popular ‘launch’ party
will feature a piece of work from every Art Escape
member (including those not opening their
studios to visitors this year). Most of the artists
will attend, so it’s a great time to make personal
connections prior to the studio tour days.
Attendees are treated to fantastic food and superb
wines. The evening features live music and a talk
by Jeff Thomson, prominent New Zealand artist
known for his quirky sculptures of corrugated iron.
Stay till the end to see which art will be awarded
the ‘Artists Choice Award’, as voted on by the
artists themselves (sponsored by The Little Gallery
of Fine Arts).
The comprehensive Art Escape Showcase
exhibition can be viewed throughout March at
Hot Waves. Vote for your favourite artist for the
People’s Choice Award, to be announced the end
of March. Last year’s winner was Jacqueline Elley
for her painting “Stand of Coffee Pots”.
Meg Auth
Corrugated iron artist
JEFF THOMSON
Featured speaker at the
Friday Night Launch
28th Feb • Hot Waves Café
2014 Tour Participants
“This year, we have over 40 artists opening their
studios,” says MBAE administrator Charlotte
Giblin. “A few studios open last year will not be
on the tour this year, so be sure to check the new
guide supplement* and online for updates. While
on the tour, look for signs and large flags to find
the studios.”
Seven new artists will be opening their studios this
year. “From Tairua, see painter Julia Cameron and
printmaker/photographer Dhyana Muir. In Hahei,
visit painter Ginny Deavoll, then painter Blair
Matheson in Cooks Beach. Painter Gail Taylor will
open her Whitianga studio.”
Lutz Gaebler hosts an artists’ collaborative named
‘Try Fluke Studio’. “The space takes its name from
a historic gold mine,” explains Charlotte. “Lutz
shares it with Martin Jakowitsch and Bruno. It is
in the bush on the Kuaotunu hill just before you
descend down on ‘the flats’.”
On Otama Beach Road you’ll find the studios
of artists Michael Smither and Gian McGregor,
who will be sharing their exhibition space with
three other Art Escape members, including stone
sculptor Chris Charteris (right) and Nick Dryden,
who often works in bronze and marble.
“As with so many artist locations, tour visitors will
encounter some terrific scenery!”
NEW! Gallery ‘Hubs’ also
showcase area artists
“Artists appreciate the galleries that showcase
their works year round,” explains Charlotte. The
hub galleries will feature exhibits of nearby artists
participating in the Art Escape. The studios are
open the first two weekends of March, but the
special hub exhibits will remain for all of March, as
will the comprehensive exhibit at Hot Waves Café.
STUDIOS OPEN
MARCH 1-2 & 8-9
MERCURY BAY
ART ESCAPE
“Break of Day” showing a Hahei sunrise, is by 2013’s People’s Choice Award winner Jacqueline Elley. See this view from her studio on the tour!
*Main Guide $10. Make sure you get your free 2014 Supplement (to be used in
conjunction with the Main Guide) with essential updates for this year’s tour.
Ginney Deavoll
Wendy Walls
Ian Webster
Roland Baumgart
Christine Bannan
Rick Swain
Gail Taylor
Sculptor Chris Charteris
Anne Bowden
