Sheard SHARED
South Taranaki librarian Cath Sheard has always been interested in art and, purely by chance, discovered ‘The Learning Connexion’ in 2005; four years later she graduated with an Advanced Diploma in Art & Creativity (Honours). In those four years she studied painting, drawing, sculpture and photography, and has gone on to exhibit and sell work worldwide. In 2010 Cath was one of around a dozen New Zealand artists who travelled to Cassino, Italy, to take part in the Legato exhibition which featured 37 artists in total. Those works commemorated four men who had served in WWII, including her father Mansel Barker. The works were later exhibited in New Zealand before all going to private owners.
Some examples of Cath’s amazing art.
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Cath says her work “often brings light to, and sheds light, on” difficult subjects, creating a space to talk about subjects such as addiction, sexual abuse and domestic violence. A joint exhibition in 2018 with Eltham artist Dimmie Danielewski told the stories of 7 people through mixed media, and created many conversations. A 2019 exhibition at the Lysaght Watt Gallery in Hawera focussed on mixed media works of the Hokitika Gorge, which she says were “a response to, not a representation of”
the stunning glacial waters. A new series of works, in black and white, are a response to the pancake rocks at Punakaiki, again on the West Coast of the South Island. Aside from painting, Cath works in her art journals most days – seeing them as a playground and somewhere to “download her head”, enjoys the challenges of gelli plate printing and teaches a variety of art classes.
Her work can be found at cathsheard.wordpress.com.
