Artist takes design cue from students
Bay of Islands news with Sandy Myhre
Kerikeri artist Erika Pearce is painting murals around Kerikeri Primary School. She is halfway through the process, and waiting patiently for the spring weather to behave.
She was first approached by the principal, who had seen her mural in Bluff. Another teacher had seen her artwork in Paihia, and when they realised she was a local, they made contact and proposed the undertaking. They applied for funding through Creatives in Schools and received a grant for the project.
“The brief was to create four murals that represent four significant areas around Kerikeri — Puketi Forest, Te Awa o Ngā Rangita, the Bay of Islands and Mount Pokaka,” she said.
“I then hosted a number of workshops and took the students through my entire design process, from brief, to research, to concepts and development.
“They then created their own mural design based on one of the four areas, and I created the four mural designs based on their artwork.”
She has painted several murals around Paihia, including the sea wall. In fact, her murals can be seen around New Zealand. She is in talks for
new murals around Kerikeri, and regarding that, she says: “Watch this space.”
She has been a fulltime artist for the past 10 years. Besides painting murals, she will paint commissions, and she is also a graphic designer and illustrator.
“I have loved all the interactions with the kids — it’s such a great school to work with.”
Kawakawa Theatre and Gallery back in action
After a long Covid-induced closure, Kings Theatre Creative in Kawakawa is back open as a gallery and venue for the 2022-23 summer season.
Spokesperson for the venue, Lau’rell Pratt, said they are “dusting off and getting the gallery ready, and we are slowly moving through the shapes and spaces”.
Last Thursday, they kicked off with a live music performance by Nikau Te Hiki from Raglan. His Casual Healing was a soulful two-hour set of handpicked waiata, covers, and 12 original songs from his upcoming album.
The first gallery exhibition contains artwork from Herb Foley of Kerikeri. It opened on November 26 and runs until January. It is a display of 15 of his paintings reflecting on the gardens around his home.
“It is a delicate hand in
uncertain times,” said Lau’rell, “and offers a subtle reminder of the magic in life’s simple delights and the ecosystems that embrace us, heal and hold us.”
Russell School and The Family of Light
Late in November, the entire student body of Russell School — 76 students — was involved in the play Te Whā nau Mā rama — The Family of Light.
The play was written and directed by Horrace Maunsell, who infused Mā ori legend and core spiritual values into a modern-day setting, highlighting issues but in a fun and relatable way.
For instance, in a scene
where a mother and her children are heading to the forest in a car, the “car” (a cardboard version for the stage) is a BMW. One of the children is telling her mother that she feels sorry for people who don’t have a TikTok account.
The story of Te Whanau Marama is about Tane, who kicked over a kete while he was doing a haka — that produced the Milky Way, and it goes from there. The executive producer was Joanne Higgins, although she says students gave her that title because it sounded important.
She comes from a considerable theatrical background as an actor, dancer and singer, which is likely why the principal, Melissa Jackson, asked her to take on the project.
“What I really did was to pull things together behind the scenes, co-ordinate with our talented director, find stuff, make stuff, be responsible, answer questions and help students rehearse during break times at school,” she said.
“It was great to plan an afternoon or evening props workshop where the community were invited to help, and everyone chipped in.”
Joanne has been teaching Year 7 and 8 at Russell School since the beginning of the year. She incorporated stagecraft lessons into the day’s curriculum.
“Learning was based around the production where possible. We did reviews, created bios and made some slick posters.
“For mathematics, we learned about position, scale measurement and ratios, and applied multiplication to determine seat numbers without having to set up all the seats.
“It was awesome to observe students who were at the crux of understanding concepts undertake authentic tasks.”
She credits the principal and Board of Trustees for making the show happen, and writer and director Horrace Maunsell for its success.