About

Octoberʼs art exhibition at the Methven Heritage Centre Art Gallery is a joint exhibition by two well known local artists & teachers. Entitled "Where We Wander", the exhibition is centred around the areas in which the two women love to walk; Judith in the foothills of Mid- Canterbury and Tessa by the sea at Kaikoura. The exhibition opens on Wednesday 3rd of October with an official evening opening at 5pm on Friday the 5th October.

TESSA WATSON

After growing up in Canterbury, Tessa moved to Dunedin to study Art at Otago Polytechnic, where she majored in Painting and Digital Art. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts she moved to Wellington where she taught life drawing to night classes. A year later she moved back

to Canterbury to bring up her daughter and to complete a Diploma of Teaching. During this time Tessa again taught life drawing to community classes and exhibited in several group exhibitions at the Ashburton Art Gallery, including winning ʻBest First Time Exhibitorʼ for a ceramics exhibit and, among many other commissions, completed a 9m x2m mural. Over three years Tessa completed a series of hand-painted garments for a local fashion designer for the High St Fashion Shows, Canterbury Cup Shows and the American Express Canterbury collection. For the past six years Tessa has taught Art and Graphics at Mt Hutt College and continues to completed commissions.

Tessa explains, "'Where We Wanderʼ is a collection of paintings exploring the surfaces and moods of the landscape, by depicting the textures and tones of the sea-sculptured land. Cliffs, arches, rock pillars and wave platforms make up these coastal landscapes. Shorelines take thousand of years to form through gradual imperceptible change and so mark the passing of time. People come and go. The seascapes are without people, but they represent places people have been. I'm interested in the sculptural elements that can be created on the surface of the canvas. I aim to recreate an image that indicates what the forces of nature can achieve over thousands of years. To do this, I use texture medium to sculpt the surface of the canvas first, then I apply layers of oil paint. The Keas are some naughty locals I couldn't resist drawing."

JUDITH SOMMERVILLE

Judith has a passion for the outdoors and after retiring from teaching at Mt Hutt College at the end of 2011, she finally had the opportunity to combine her love of the outdoors with her passion for art.

She says, "Up until this year I had been busy with teaching and supporting husband Baden and my four children, which left little time to paint. I have attended a few classes over the years, but have mostly experimented myself with pastels and watercolour and have enjoyed the vibrant colours both mediums offer. All the works in this exhibition are from the many wanderings I have made into our local area this year."

The exhibition at the Methven Heritage Centre Art Gallery is open daily from 10am - 5pm from Wednesday the 3rd October.