๐“๐“ฎ๐”€ ๐“’๐“ฑ๐“ช๐“น๐“ฝ๐“ฎ๐“ป๐“ผ

I have recently added new pages to my website and done a reorganise. Come on over and visit 'Adirable', the fruits of my gastronomy endeavours in 'ButterBING', my incredibly talented partner's kiwifruit creations in 'Kiwi-Kai', aaaaaand my baby-wear crocheting in 'Mademina'

I hope you enjoy and are inspired.

'ButterBING'

'ButterBING'

'Kiwi-Kai'

'Kiwi-Kai'

'Mademina'

'Mademina'

'Adirable'

'Adirable'

๐•Œ๐•ก๐••๐•’๐•ฅ๐•– - ๐•„๐•†๐•๐•€๐”ผ .:':. ๐•€.โ„•.๐”ป.๐•€.๐”ธ

It has been an exciting and demanding few weeks creating and seeking opportunities for India!

I love working with children and young ones one-on-one and sharing my passion for creativity and design. Ever since I was a child I have really enjoyed being a part of days or afternoons of artistic activity; learning new things with other people and sharing and interacting while doing so is really cool, and worthwhile. Ya see, itโ€™s not just about what you are doing, itโ€™s about what you are feeling, talking about with others, sharing and experiencing. Itโ€™s about meeting people who challenge you, itโ€™s about meeting people you admire, itโ€™s about seeing things done different ways and itโ€™s about p.l.a.y. โ€˜engaging in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purposeโ€™. Invention, ingenuity and creativity comes from doing things differently, and that doesnโ€™t come too well if itโ€™s panicked about an end game (that can tick along in the sidelines and come back in later). 

A lot of people forget how important it is to be creative. We get caught up in getting ahead and in day-to-day minutiae. But creativity is a fundamental mode of expression, as is being tenacious and standing by your own convictions and passions, even if itโ€™s not the โ€˜popularโ€™ choice.
— Tabatha Coffey

Sitting solitary at a computer or device can teach and impart many things, but it lacks a personal touch and it only gives one thing- it doesnโ€™t share on more than one platform. 

Those of you who follow my blog or writing will be well aware of my love of spectrums, juxtapositions and qualities. In this life, there are many, many ways to do the same thing, but they can be greatly varied in the beneficial attributes that each way has. I like doing things that hit many bases. I seek things that help others, help me, do things differently, have challenge, are unusual and have the capacity for exploration both mental and physical.

Hereโ€™s a relevant comparison for you of what I mean:

Learning how to paint on an IPad.

  • ease of access; linear engagement

  • no need to leave the house, no challenge to find new location

  • only buy/ collect the media for that job- no access to other materials

  • limited meetings with other people and having to interact and communicate

  • it's very stop start & interrupted making- flicking back and forth between things

  • relatively low stress/ challenge/ competition with others

  • no time limit

  • accessable 24/7 and often free

  • relatively static/ low impact physically

  • opportunity for daydream away from the topic

  • itโ€™s only one way- no group brainstorm that leads onto other things

  • there is no-one to talk to- one cook in the idea kitchen

  • less instigation of creativity sparked from peripheral situations/ exposure to additional things

  • experience isn't stored in long term memory- no โ€˜kapowโ€™ factor

  • there is no motivation to ask questions, dispute the learning method or see other ways of doing the same thing

  • there are no bloopers

  • when mistakes happen itโ€™s easy to walk away

 

Learning how to paint in a workshop over two days with other people in a different environment, culture and language.

  • all the challenges involved in travel for those attending- new culture and societal structure

  • new city to navigate and find bearings- absolutely necessary to push oneself to interact, talk with others- the journey is just (if not more) important than the course!

  • required to look after yourself and those around you in order to get where you need to go- personal challenge

  • person may be challenged to have to lead or take a role they otherwise would not do in โ€˜normalโ€™ surroundings- group challenge

  • movement

  • more high impact = less time to worry about other small things

  • sharing one personโ€™s cultural ways of doing things with anotherโ€™s

  • exposing the new culture to a different looking person and attributes

  • new communication techniques, languages and gestures- gettin creative with the basics!

  • stripping away fearโ€™s related to external appearance or impressions- people see when spending time together we are all deep down the same stuff with the same basic needs and concerns

  • individual confrontation of prejudice, fear, unfamiliarity, anxiety

  • group dynamics- helping weakest/ challenged members, supporting domineering or controlling members to be better team players

  • organically letting the development flow and introducing new concepts/ techniques in relation to this- lots of cooks in the ideaโ€™s kitchen!

  • lots of different people to talk to who share a common interest, and being made to by necessity

  • learning how do do something new, liberating and fun- instigates a higher level of creativity

  • humour, play and enjoyment

  • lets re-write that one: play and enjoyment. These are ESSENTIAL building blocks in helping someone learn, retain information long term and instigate changes for the better

  • ya canโ€™t just shimmy out and walk away as easy

  • if it โ€˜flopsโ€™ there is a person there to help

  • the feeling of belonging, being part of building something bigger than just yourself and making real friendships- this. is. huge.

  • sharing a little hope and joy to those less fortunate or being shown there is help available and other people care- that IPad doesn't hug and touch

  • create positive long-term memories for a person to draw upon- 'kapow' factor!

  • imparting passion- that feeling good and having fun lives within us and in cooperation; by reaching out a person can learn they already have all the skills within them to make things better and improve their heath and surroundings. Positive impact starts with personal responsibility.

  • con.fi.dence and increased feelings of self worth and value

  • engaged creativity- it's all the peripheral stuff that additionally feeds this machine

What we have in our heads, is far more sophisticated than anything we can can put in our hands or laps ;) 

Sooo because I love doing what I do and want to maximise every avenue available in order to share these gifts while I am away, I have done the following:

Iโ€™ve approached the Wellington India Association with the invitation to explore connecting me with their contacts in India to set up an artistic connection between Wellington and cities abroad. I offer organised workshops sharing my knowledge and artistic skills with the local community and the opportunity to be a part of my next exhibition. This will be work inspired and possibly partially created in India. 

I have introduced myself and offered my time, resources and skills to the following galleries for workshops, cultural exchange and interaction while in India:

CLICK on this map if you would like to see where I am going, and follow the updates as I add to it

CLICK on this map if you would like to see where I am going, and follow the updates as I add to it

Kiriti Gallery- Varanasi

India Art- Pune

Aakriti Art Gallery- New Delhi

I have investigated opportunities through MFAT for new business and cultural relationships between India and New Zealand and how my experience and skills could help construct a new cultural link between both nations. India is advertised as a country high on their priority list to network with and nurture new connections. 

I have personally reconnected with people who have expressed interest in this new adventure through existing contacts and by getting out there and making new ones; and have met with those who have wanted to extend their support either financially, through connections or emotionally. That last one being just as important than the first two!

Most wonderfully, I have made new friends and reconnected with people I have met previously on my travels from around the world who are interested and excited to meet up with me in India and share in the incredible things I am going to create and develop while there. These fantastic souls are musicians, entrepreneurs, people invested and working within their community, designers and artists. I am incredibly excited to have the good fortune to have people to meet while in a new country. 

But hey, lets get real nitty-gritty eh, for most people it comes down to this, โ€™whatโ€™s in it for me if I help fund your endeavour?โ€™. 

Iโ€™m going to be frank with you- people who help me do so from the goodness of their heart, and because they like what I create. What is the value of me and my skills in a world based around profit? What is the merit of a person who sees value in things that others disregard? What is the value to the people I encounter, help and spend my time with? 

If you read the post Moxie .:โ€™:. I.N.D.I.A recently (later than published) you may have seen I added in information about bigger projects I am working on which have a greater social and community impact than my creations. These trips, these adventures arenโ€™t me just doing art. India is one of the oldest civilisations on the planet and like Japan, I believe there are valuable things to learn from those who have been doing things longer than others. A culture with this much background is a wealth of ideas to draw from- their empires have been built and destroyed many times over- they have developed and gone through commercialisation many more times than the rest of the world- are they not our future? Is India not what we will be, not what we were?

'Sooo' you ask, 'you haven't answered the question, what do I get?' You get to be associated long-term to a genuine, honest, talented woman who has a bigger and better picture for how we do things and how to help keep each other healthy, and come hell or high water is going to do something about it. You get my time, you receive my respect, you have an honest friendship not built on your wallet but of a true debt that I owe you as a human- you need a hand, Iโ€™m there- you have access to a wealth of skills and knowledge- lets talk about how we can help each other; and, if you find yourself drawn to a creation of mine- a wonderful unique artwork. This isnโ€™t everyones thing- if you want a association to the 'art world', galleries and the lifestyle that entails Iโ€™m not your woman. But if you can see a bigger picture with me and are curious to seeing how Iโ€™m going to pan out and want to be part of it; if you trust me to follow through with what I say, if you see I am genuine in my activity to help others and subsequently work on the ideas I have to build & change things, then you my friend are the type of person Iโ€™d like to talk to. 

One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.
— Edward de Bono

Don't take me for granted- I'm more than what you may expect. Be creative, take a risk, look a little closer...

ใƒขใƒณใ‚นใ‚ฟใƒผ!! : MONSTAaa's in Shodoshima... & Moxham at Aratoi!

TRAVEL: Different Strokes for Different Folks- but here's how I paint my adventures. Number 1 piece of advice: Travel sloooooowwww. People ask how I get into doing the crazy cool things I see and am involved in and I reckon it's because I travel SLOW. I initially do two nights usually when I get somewhere, and I often use one spot as a base and then travel from there. I go back roads, by instinct and am not afraid to decline an option and move onto the next if it doesn't feel right. Go down alleys and get out of the 'hub'; it's a tourist trap and it's going to cost like one too.

I read the map- keep it in the back of the brain until I need it, then go where feels best... and don't pull on it until I REALLY need it. I get 'lost' all the time and love it; 'lost' is someone else's home. Be nosey- investigate; enter with a smile, apologise and withdraw politely if the line has been overstepped. Talk to people. Listen to others stories but make your own on your own terms. Go for it like you die tomorrow but try spend like you live to 120. No-one has your personal energy or way that you will deal with a situation- trust in this, it will be why your experience can and will NEVER mirror someone else's. Fuck the guidebook- don't worry about missing the bus... actually I'm encouraging you TO miss the bus. 

Worry about what YOU are doing and not others opinion of it. Buy cosmetics in squeegee bottles/ sachets (Thank you Aesop you little beauty), Get rid of anything that comes under a header of 'rigid'- that includes ideas. Pack: take out 2/3's (think you can't live off this?!) and wish 1 month later you took 1/2 less again, wear comfortable shoes and laugh. For god sakes don't forget the last one- ever.

P.S: Check out how big the collections have grown on this post! 

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Moena Moxham Art is on display and for sale at the world class ARATOI Gallery Wairarapa- YEEoow!! Bronze, glass, embossings and prints are all available to view and purchase.

ARATOI Gallery Wairarapa

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SHODOSHIMA - Bangin Art and Island Life = Purrfect

MeiPAM Gallery

MeiPAM Gallery 4- there are two levels and 6 ROOMS! ^+^

Moving on from Naoshima Islands back across to Shodoshima Island in the direction of Hijime I came across THE COOLEST collection of galleries in Tonosho, Shodo-Island. MeiPAM have four locations around the village for you to find and explore... and one is a museum dedicated completely to MOSTERS! (EEeeeeeEEEIIIIIieieiei!!-- O.M.G- soo bloody cool!)

Inrล ๅฐ็ฑ  with Netsuke ๆ นไป˜

My family collected Japanese antiques, artefacts and especially hanko stamps and Netsuke ๆ นไป˜ which are the small sculptures that hang with the Inrล ๅฐ็ฑ  (which is a small multi-layered lacquered box) off the kimono. The are fantastically intricate, made and carved out of the most beautiful materials, and often depicted nature, animals or stories and deities.

These little sculptures are the precursors to the modern danglies we see hanging off cellphones and bags everywhere :)

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Wandering around the windy streets takes you to the four locales- you have a swipe card to enter and take your time through the exhibits. This relaxed atmosphere really adds to the whole experience. I loved chilling at the one below watching the video in the rocking chair ^=^

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There is lots to do in Shodoshima, The Olive Park and Marukin Soy Sauce Museum were superb, the Onsen at the Oliven a winner overlooking the islands and beaches from the hills- the only challenge at the moment if you are not bilingual is that everything is in Japanese. SO not quite as easy to navigate as the other islands which have had more time and money invested into their infrastructure. This is changing though- I stayed with Mitsu and her boys, whose new contract is to implement just this thing... and the friendliness, relaxed atmosphere and great things to do by far outweigh this blip.

The Setouchi Art Festival (Trienniale) coming in 2016 covers all the islands in this area and from what I have seen will be a must do! This coming theme is INDIA! WOOP!

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& to knock it off, a wee bit o' Moena Moxham Poetry....

NiNi Shodoshima ^-^

EXEMPLARY: Teshima, Inujima, Naoshima and orbit changing art

The islands of Teshima, Inujima and Naoshima have changed my orbit. It's an experience that in no ways can be given justice in any other expression than just being here. Get on a plane and come; if it's the only thing you do; the only 'galleries' you ever visit.. do these- especially Teshima Art Museum.

For 16 years I have been searching for the pieces I have found here.  

The photos below are such a fraction of the happenings- the feeling, the presence and the pace can't be captured and shared, but I can enthusiastically encourage you to come by sharing some of the background on these works by clicking the pictures. Naoshima was my base and then I travelled around from there. Inujima is the lesser known of the islands, but I implore you to strike your own path and make the trip ;)

Teshima Art Museum is the creative visions of Artist Rei Naito and architect Ryue Nishizawa and has slotted in by far clearing the line as my ultimo favourite artwork and masterpiece. NUMBER 1. It is the most exquisite execution of Art...

Teshima Art Museum

"Les Archives du Cล“ur", by Christian Boltanski needs special mention as well. 'The Heart Room' is an installation of a collection of heartbeats. Boltanski has collected these from around the world. You can even add your own to the artwork. Incredibly moving, and sensationally evocative, it is situated in the most idilic of environments in a picture perfect beach and bay. 

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NAOSHIMA ISLAND

Below: Yayoi Kusama's infamous spotted pumpkins

Dormitory Kowloon, Naoshima- this accommodation is SUPERB- cheap, kitted out with the basics, but comfy and attracts a super duper cool crowd. Just head straight ahead next to the karaoke bar from the ferry terminal toooo ^^

Miyanoura Wharf, Naoshima Island

Chichu Art Museum.. and below

Chichu Art Museum.. and below

There is a wonderful page about Lee Ufan and his work at the Artsy page HERE

Benesse House Museum

Bruce Nauman, '100 Live and Die', 1984- Benesse House, Naoshima

Below: Iโ™ฅๆนฏ - Naoshima Bath, ohhh soooo gooood!

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INUJIMA

Inujima Seirensho Art Museum is a museum that preserves and reuses the remains of a copper refinery on the island. Based on the concept of using the existing to create the yet-to-be, the project brings together architecture by Hiroshi Sambuichi, which makes use of the existing smokestacks and karami bricks from the refinery and uses solar, geothermal, and other natural energies to reduce the burden on the environment, and art by Yukinori Yanagi, which uses Yukio Mishima, who sounded warnings over aspects of Japan's modernization, as a motif. The building also employs a sophisticated water purification system that makes use of the power of plants. The project truly embraces the concept of a recycling-based society as a model for a new type of regional revitalization through industrial heritage, architecture, art, and the environment.

In combination with this are other installations and Art House projects around the island.

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Check out these incredible stories (below) from other adventurous souls. A phenomenal Indian Babette surfer changing the way women are doing things in India. Creativity and how it all works though the eyes of creative people themselves, a motorcyclist and adventurer on a path to discover the new, unusual and challenging with soul and class, and just some hilarious and well funny outrageousness from the boys who brought us This Is The End and Pineapple Express.. 

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