A different approach to art
Maggy J, the artist otherwise known as Margaret Johnston, is an evangelist for promoting so-called women’s craft to what she believes is its rightful place in the arts hierarchy.
That’s not her only cause. She’s scornful of the waste in modern society.
Hence her work in creating art from used copper wire, bottle tops, old T-shirts, silicon swim caps and any other product that’s likely to go into landfill.
Her path to art hasn’t been straight forward.
Brought up in Dunedin and then Fiji, she went to Suva Grammar and later the University of the South Pacific, followed by further study at Otago University.
She found it hard to settle on a course that suited her. Both art and science appealed, but it was hard to combine the two. She tried Home Science for a bit, then changed to education and psychology.
After a move to Christchurch she started a pottery shop called Papanui Potts.
As a stress relief, she started running.
“It took over my life,” she said. She found running in Christchurch unpleasant because of the air pollution problem in winter, so when she married a West Coaster, Robbie, they decided to settle in the Nelson Lakes area.
Together they bought the yellow house in St Arnaud, along with cabins in behind and they took on the task of renovation.
“I found the training stunning. It was like being at altitude with clean air in beautiful, if crisp, conditions.”
On Saturdays they’d drive to Nelson, where Robbie would be on the rugby field with Rival Old Boys and Maggy would touch base with coach Eddie Saxon and join in the Nelson and national running scene.
Once they had the St Arnaud property settled, they moved to Nelson, picking up the Athletic Attic running shop in Hardy St (Rod Dixon and John Walker were among the founders of the national franchise).
When Robbie passed his PPL flying license, he would take Maggy and other runners all over the country for competition in order to get his hours up as he worked towards his commercial license
Injury forced Maggy out of running, but she was soon on a new path, doing up an old house in Nile St, taking an international correspondence course in fashion design and fashion making and starting classes with Nelson artist Jo Tyson.
Children were in the mix and so was an artery bypass operation.
Although art had always been an activity to fit in whenever possible, it really took over in 2012, when she embarked on Master of Fine Arts study through Whitecliff College in Auckland, finishing in 2014, four days after her 60th birthday.
“It was the best thing I’ve ever done. It transformed my art from a commercial focus to something individual and specific.
“I graduated with honours and it gave me the confidence to express my feelings about our culture and where we stand in the world.
“I totally understand that trying to bring women’s crafts out of the perceived trivial into mainstream art is making it difficult for myself, but this is trending all over the world.”
In her 50s, Maggy took up ocean swimming, striving for her usual level of excellence. She recently completed a four-day swim in Queen Charlotte Sound covering nearly 40km.
She cites anthropologist and conservationist Jane Goodall in being an inspirational figure: Tipping Point, art by Maggy J, is at Wall to Wall Art on Bridge St during April, with an opening at 5.30pm tonight.