Life + Style - 8 November 2019

˜° August, ˜˛°˝

life+style The Weekend Sun °

Design meets family life Page 2

THE WEEKEND

Love your space

See through style

Mr G - Home

Kelcy Taratoa

Sumer Gallery

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life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°8˙ August, ˜˛°˝2019 November, ˜˛°ˆ

Their castle in Omokoroa A happily-ever-after for Classic Builders client For Rachel and BJ Ratana, their three children and dog ‘Old Boy’, their journey to get into their Classic Builders home was so good, it was better than ‘too good to be true’.

An old wives’ tale claims that pregnant women get an overwhelming urge to ‘nest’ immediately before the onset of labour.

Mother of three Rachel is not currently expecting, but her nesting ability is vehemently strong. Despite three sportsmad children, a sawdusty builder husband, and aging pooch, ‘Old Man’, her new home sparkles.

“Yep, I’ll admit I’m a little OCD - it’s always tidy! Our last home was older and no matter how much I cleaned, it never really felt clean,” she says.

“Everything we owned was either well-worn or had come to us as hand me downs. When I told my husband that I wasn’t taking anything with us when we moved, he looked a bit worried!”

But husband BJ needn’t fret. Buying new doesn’t necessarily come with a hefty price tag. Rachel’s systematically savvy approach offers a harmonious balance, between on-trend interior design and incredible comfort; combining splurge investment pieces with savvy décor items. The finished result showcases Rachels naturally creative flair and is testament to what can be achieved with a blank canvas.

Their new home sits proudly at the top end of a quiet little lane in Omokoroa’s Kaimai

Views, and it’s more than just a new home - it is their castle.

It’s the result of a lot of hard work, but Rachel and BJ are grateful to have had Classic Builders at their side.

“Throughout the process, we kept thinking it was all too easy - the progression from one stage to the next was seamless. Honestly?

We were trying to be realistic and aware that something might crop up. But it never did”.

The living room whites are dressed in soft furnishings of semi-burnt dusky yellow hues, offset perfectly with contrasting charcoals.

“It’s pretty clear that I love the colour mustard,” says Rachel, “even my wardrobe is full of it!”

Each of the children’s bedrooms has been thoughtfully put together, tailored by Mum to suit their personalities. A large mirror hangs on a feature wall in daughter Tanieka’s room and is framed by drapings of ivy – all of which came from Kmart. The boys share a sleeping area and thanks to cleverly configured storage, there’s still plenty of space for play.

The master bedroom with ensuite and walk-in wardrobe is more sanctuary than it is boudoir. Although beautifully organised and incredibly inviting, it’s not Rachel’s favourite room - that title belongs entirely to the kitchen. The culinary hub is the only spot within the home to receive tweaks in design, and the slightly altered layout creates unity between kitchen, living and dining. Metro subway tiles replace the standard splashback and offer modern, charming charisma.

“It’s something we had to spend a little more money on, but it was worth it. It works so perfectly for us this way,” she says.

With warmer months looming, the Ratana’s plan to add some final touches to the deck with outdoor furniture, large pots and citrus trees. They say a builder’s house is never finished, but husband BJ has done an outstanding job in completing the home with this alfresco gem. Shrouded in privacy by a neighbouring shelterbelt, it’s an open invitation for summer soirees.

“We are all looking forward to our first summer here, and I can already picture this as the spot where we’ll be spending a lot of quality time together,” says Rachel. “I’ll likely be in the kitchen of course, but thanks to the sliding window, I’ll still be included in the giggles happening outside.”

And as for Kaimai Views? Rachel says the neighbourly vibe is perfect for her and the family.

“We’ve already had a few street parties, themed dinner nights and barbecues,” she says. “There’s a nice feeling here - it’s safe, it’s old school, and it’s the way it should be.”

Classic Builders is preparing to release stage five of Kaimai Views to the market this

month. Whether you’re like Rachel, looking for a family home with a designer twist, or a first home buyer looking to take the first step onto the property ladder, there’s something to suit all lifestyles and budgets.

A select number of KiwiBuild homes will be available in this release for those who act fast. Call into the Kaimai Views showhome, which services the wider Bay of Plenty and Omokoroa, or phone: 0508 4 CLASSIC. Your dream home could be more realistic than you think.

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˙ November, ˜˛°ˆ

Love the space

you live in

The Design Depot’s top 10 tips to styling your home Your home should be a reflection of your personal style, and we’re here to help you achieve that. It’s important to think about not just how you want your home to look but the overall feeling you are trying to create and what that says about you.

The Design Depot has put together its top 10 tips to styling your home and making it your own.

1. Start by trying to identify your own personal style.

Choose colours and patterns that inspire you. Do you like contemporary, relaxed, or sophisticated?

It’s okay to mix your styles, as long as there is a complementary link to your eclectic pieces.

2. If you want a timeless look, use a neutral palette as your base, such as your sofa to allow you to change the look with cushions and accessories over time. If you love bold, don’t be afraid to go for it.

3. Add different textures to give depth and interest to your space.

4. Add layers and style to your space with cushions, artwork, a throw and a few loved and personal pieces.

5. Think about your lighting such as a floor lamp

or beautiful candles to create a soft ambience in the room.

6. Be aware of your environment and work with it. If you have sun streaming into the room then avoid products that will easily fade. If you have a dark room then add light and texture to cosy up the space.

7. Keep your space practical and easy for you. If you don’t like fuss then take a minimal approach.

8. Choose a hero piece in the room and make it the focal point.

9. If you fall in love with something, you will always find a place for it. We guarantee you will have ongoing enjoyment wherever it is in your home.

10. Make sure YOU love your space.

life+style The Weekend Sun ˇ

November, ˜˛°ˆ life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°8˙ August, ˜˛°˝2019

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˙ November, 8 ˜˛°ˆ ˜° August,2019 ˜˛°˝

life+style The Weekend Sun ˝

Style that you can see through

When building or renovating your home, it is imperative to work with trustworthy businesses that prioritise top-notch workmanship. That’s where Fisher Windows Bay of Plenty comes in. The business was born from the philosophy of delivering highquality results when installing windows and doors into homes across Tauranga.

Business owners Steph and Evan Thorby walk us through the steps they take to ensure each home is kitted out with the perfect windows and doors, and their top tips to help our readers to make those tricky decisions.

The first step is to figure out what people want to achieve when putting in a new door or window. Is the old window or door no longer practical for what they require? Is the joinery simply past its use-by date? Is it important to maximise the views?

Evan says he looks at each client’s house as his own, and figures out what would be best suited to the space. He focuses on the best options for the client’s desired outcome and budget.

For new builds Evan will go through and look at the position of each window and door in the floor plan. It’s important to

focus on the little things – what side the window opens from, access and positioning.

People need to decide if they want windows and doors to stand out as a feature, or blend in with the cladding. A colour consultant is advisable for those who want their windows to pop!

Glass type is the next biggie. Steph recommends Low-E glass. With different options added, it can help keep the heat out in summer and the heat inside during winter.

For those wanting tinted glass, Evan likes to find out what clients want to achieve with the tint. It won’t necessarily be the most effective way to prevent fading indoors – there are other options for that too - but it does result in increased privacy.

For those who live near the beach, make sure your windows have the right powder coat for seaside conditions.

Sliding windows are a good option for those with young children, as it prevents nasty accidents that involve a head hitting the corner of an open window.

The local business’ main focus is simple – bringing top quality joinery to any new build or renovation.

“It’s something we want to drive home – we are here to answer your questions and give you as much information as we can.”

“It’s an exciting time if you’re building or renovating, and we want to make the process as easy as we can,” says Steph.

Steph and Evan Thorby of Fisher Windows Bay of Plenty.

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Windows and doors add the wow factor to any home so we take the time to find out how the experts do it.

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November, ˜˛°ˆ life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°8˙August, ˜˛°˝ 2019

Mr G is home Hononga A son of Tauranga is bringing his greatest treasures to the Tauranga Art Gallery. The aspects of life that mean the most to Mr G will be on display over the coming months, in his first ever solo exhibition.

On the outside of the gallery, a single letter ‘G’ stands out in deep gold against a dark magenta, heralding this coming home. And, significantly, the theme of the show is simply haukainga or home.

“This about me honouring my Tauranga Moana roots,” says Graham Hoete, or as many of us know him as – ‘Mr G’.

“My mum and dad are from here. But also the exhibition specifically honours my connection to Motiti Island and Matakana Island.”

A celebration of those connections, and telling the unique stories that come from those places, is what he seeks to portray.

“It’s also an opportunity to show who I truly am as an artist and person, and what better place for me to do that than my hometown Tauranga.”

He recently painted a sign with the word ‘TowelWronger’ on it, highlighting the mispronunciation of Tauranga that he often hears. He published a video and photo of the sign to social media, but this is an opportunity for the public to see it up close.”

The sign is part of the exhibition, along with the video. There are also other strong pieces, ranging from portraits to bronze cast sculptures.

“My goal is just to be able to tell my stories honestly,

with authenticity. To highlight how we can find beauty in the simple things in life, rather than the glitzy glamorous Hollywood stuff. It’s about how we define wealth.”

He draws from close family connections to explain what that sense of true wealth feels like.

“On Motiti Island there’s no power, it’s straight roads but such an enriching place to spend time. There’s simple things like fresh food, Mum and Dad with their veggie garden, fresh kai moana, seafood.”

Wanting to draw his audience into a more multisensory experience he’s not only painted kina on toast, but also collaborated with Izakai Bar and Eatery to create three kina-based dishes.

“When I think of home, I think of kina and my upbringing on Motiti. I really wanted to make the kina a superstar in the show and celebrate it.

“The Japanese love kina too. I’ve been to Izakai where they do a fusion of Japanese and Maori food. So I asked them to come up with three signature Mr G dishes all related to kina.”

The kina dishes include a coconut infused dessert, and the Japanese version of kina on toast.

The kina taste testing experience will be happening from 11-12pm on Saturday November 9 at the gallery.

Hononga or connection is another key aspect to the show.

“I’m exploring the importance of whakapapa and genealogy to holistic and mental health. Making connections and knowing who you are brings context.

“When people introduce themselves on the Marae they stand and tell everyone where they’re from and

ˆ November, 8 ˜˛°ˇ ˜° August, 2019 ˜˛°˝

“This about me honouring my Tauranga Moana roots.

My mum and dad are from here. But also the exhibition specifically honours my connection to Motiti Island and Matakana Island”

people they are connected to. This is pepeha. One of the main pieces I’m doing is a self-portrait or a visual pepeha.”

Graham’s celebration of family connections, how precious connecting back home is, exploring one’s own whakapapa, and where we each come from, is why he has created this show.

Some of the work on display has been drawn from his own life experiences.

“Also from history. For example in the portraits of my mum and dad, it’s not just painting a beautiful picture of their faces. In the frames I tell their history and connection to where they’re from.

“With Maori carving there are a lot of symbols, patterns and motifs that have special meanings.

“It’s a visual language really, and carving was how Maori told their history back in the day.”

He’s drawn a tiny black backed gull image into his father’s eye, and referenced the Battle of Kokowai between Ngaiterangi and Ngati Ranginui iwi in his mother’s portrait frame. He plans to explain the stories behind these during a public

artist’s talk at 2pm on Saturday, November 8.

“I think it will be a good opportunity for people who want to get a bit of an intimate backdrop to who I am as an artist and a person because I’ll be talking through my works.”

Encouraging others to explore their own connections means he will be attending the opening of the show in a Scottish kilt.

“I went to Moffat in Scotland and painted a portrait of my greatgreat-great grandfather John Alfred Borrowdale Murray on a wall there in his home town.”

This drive to explore and celebrate family connections and roots wherever that may take him in the world has added to the already enriched treasure trove of his life and help created this moment where he brings it all home.

“The main thing I want to get across with this exhibition is honouring my Tauranga Moana roots and my love for this place.”

Mr G’s ‘Home’ exhibition will be on show from November 9 to February 9, at Tauranga Art Gallery.

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

life+style The Weekend Sun ˙

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November, ˜˛°ˆ life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°8˙August, ˜˛°˝ 2019

Kelcy Taratoa Painting with no boundaries

Walking into Kelcy Taratoa’s atrium installation at Tauranga Art Gallery, you realise that there really are no boundaries to art, design and colour.

On one wall, a strong kowhai yellow beckons.

Facing it are muted greys and blues, and linking both is a high wall woven with red shapes and designs bringing to mind traditional patterns I’ve seen on maraes.

The wharenui reference is by plan. Kelcy is drawing us into a communal place to meet and be, pulling us from the past and into his view of the future. And it’s light, bright and hopeful.

I had wondered who this descendent of Henare Taratoa would be, and how clouded or clear would be his eye and heart, given what I thought would be historical family suffering from the past, and the loss of leaders and ancestors from years gone by. Henare, a notable missionary, teacher and war leader of Maori descent was killed in the Battle of Te Ranga.

I expected to find strong and perhaps confronting visual statements of identity, which I would then grapple with and seek to understand. Instead I find myself immersed in an open, gracious and warm welcome.

On the walls, tukutuku patterns reveal themselves.

They traditionally make up the interior architecture of the wharenui, and are a distinctive art form and

latticework used to decorate meeting houses with woven panels. Somehow they are weaving themselves into the architecture of the gallery.

It’s a delight to meet the artist himself. There’s a clarity of eye, a soft smile, and a gentle spirit behind the man.

“I’ve been disassembling these patterns into their basic geometric shapes and reworking the patterns,” says Kelcy.

There’s an evolving thread of identity here, linking the past to the contemporary.

“I’ve been very much interested in the impact of history on the individual, on one’s social situation and how one forms an identity from this.

“Doing an important body of work on this has allowed me to go back and look at imperialism, colonialism, and the assimilation of Maori into the new culture. How that impacted on Maori who lived as a collective very much connected to the land, with towns and cities being built around them. New Zealand was transitioning into a country that was trying to find its own voice in the modern world.”

“My dad grew up in a time where Maori wasn’t spoken at school. My grandparents all spoke Maori, but to ensure that my father and his siblings could engage in the new world they focussed their attention on English. It’s created some challenges for many Maori moving forward – where do we sit? Where’s our place? In the grey space as I call it, we’re trying to straddle two worlds.”

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˙ November, ˜˛°ˆ

life+style The Weekend Sun ˆ

“Kelcy is drawing us into a communal place to meet and be, pulling us from the past and into his view of the future.

And it’s light, bright and hopeful”

The joy about viewing Kelcy’s work though is that there is a clarity and no confusion, despite trying to artistically articulate the challenges of constructing an identity out of the ruins of history.

Other bodies of his work explore the notion of the hero and the existential questions around that.

What does it mean to be? How do I know I exist?

How do I arrive at meaning for my life? How does my life mean something?

Culture can provide a role for us and give us purpose.

“If we’re culturally dislocated and alienated it poses some additional challenges, but even still, there are belief systems that people have constructed because of this challenge of arriving at meaning.”

Upstairs is a mid-career show of Kelcy’s paintings, more than 20 works on loan from NZ and overseas collectors. I find that Kelcy is curious to see how they capture moments of the past, his past.

“They take me back in time. They capture a moment of yourself and where you were at in terms of your thinking and your abilities. You realise you were quite a different person then.”

Viewing them, you’re drawn to the journey through his own heart and mind as he has explored cultural identity, drawing links from the past and weaving them with

contemporary themes.

Kelcy explains two moments he experiences during the painting process.

“One distinct moment is in the studio when you complete the work and you stand back and think about ‘is this what I envisioned?’ and ‘am I happy for it to leave the studio?’ And the next moment is the moment when it’s placed in a gallery. I ask to be alone in the space and have my final moment with it. And then it’s gone.

“It’s like being a parent. I have my time making it, with the understanding that it then has a life of its own, just like our tamariki do.”

Kelcy is looking forward to using the retrospective exhibition as a platform for education.

“My art work is in the secondary school’s art design curriculum and I’m often asked by school teachers if I have any time, could I come and do some work with the students. And of course I don’t have much time.

“I thought this type of project would be great as a resource to bring schools in to the art gallery where I can work directly with them, but also create an educational resource, a publication very much connected to the retrospective and make it available for educators to use in the classroom.”

Kelcy Taratoa’s exhibition at Tauranga Art Gallery runs until March 1, 2020.

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

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November, ˜˛°ˆ life+style The Weekend Sun ˜°8˙ August, ˜˛°˝ 2019

Sumer Gallery Performative art in Tauranga’s heart

One afternoon in late September I discovered the Sumer Gallery while walking through the Waihirere Lane, an alleyway between Wharf St and Spring St. I was taking a short cut on my way to the library.

Tauranga art lover Pete Morris had already added me to the Sumer database so I’d been receiving their gallery email updates, and had been meaning to go find it.

I couldn’t recall ever seeing a gallery tucked away down the lane, but there it was, the exterior walls featuring a wall painting by Jan van der Ploeg.

“We opened in November last year,” say Sumer directors Daniel du Bern and Courtney Lucas.

Sumer is simply a stunning commercial art gallery presenting contemporary art from established and emerging artists working both in New Zealand and internationally.

I find myself stepping into a space that is beyond exceptional. It could be Melbourne or Wellington, yet, wonderfully, it’s here.

Their September exhibition showcased works from Michael Lett, a leading gallery from Auckland, including Dan Arps, Shane Cotton, Simon Denny, Kate Newby, Michael Parekowhai, Sriwhana Spong and Peter Stichbury.

“We were looking for a space for a couple of

years, and then this place came up. We thought it was ideal,” says Daniel.

He’s right, it’s perfect.

“We wanted to do a top flight gallery here.”

It’s clear that Daniel and Courtney take themselves seriously, and are showing serious works. I love it.

Now a new show hangs at Sumer. Along the walls hang dappled and softly sensual works by Raukura Turei.

The colour palette shows a merging of subtle shades that seem to flicker as light plays across the textural pieces. A fluid vibrancy in her artworks emits life and gentle intimacy.

A protean creator, Raukura is a conversant and multi-disciplined artist, architect and designer based in NZ. She received her Master of Architecture from the University of Auckland in 2011 and registered as an architect with the NZRAB in 2015.

Her art work has been exhibited throughout New Zealand including Objectspace, Auckland and the Adam Art Gallery, Wellington and internationally at the Tokyo Art Fair, in March 2019.

In her artist statement about her series ‘Te poho o Hine-Ruhi’, on show at Sumer until midNovember, Raukura states it “concerns itself with female sexuality and body sovereignty, through the act of self-scrutiny (of my own skin); with the intention to engage and empower other women”.

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˙ November, ˜˛°ˆ

“Sumer is simply a stunning commercial art gallery presenting contemporary art from established and emerging artists working both in New Zealand and internationally”

There is movement - a dance - through the work, with tonal plays of colour expressed through large stippled patterns and softly graded glowing shadows.

The artist has used uku kahurangi or blue clay, known also as ‘aumoana’ which she has collected from the banks of a river that flows into the Hauraki Gulf.

“Working with this clay connects me to my tipuna,” says Raukura. “The whanau recount stories of their Kuia using it as a clay mask for the skin. The aumoana was coated on the bodies of the Karohiroh i— the Light Dancers — during their performances, in which they emulated the movements of atua, such as Hinete-Iwaiwa, Tane-Rore, Hine-Ruhi and others.”

Connections to traditional ways of making, in her own practice, are evident in the direct use of the hand in the making process.

After being collected, clay is soaked and rubbed to a soft sludge and an acrylic binder is added to form a pliable paint medium, which is robust and inert once dry.

The clay is applied, with either the fore finger or palm in repetitive mark making.

Several layers of clay build up a textural quality to the surface. The meditative qualities of the process are reflected in the colour fields of light and shadow which evoke landscapes, a body, skin, dappled water and the flickering

light of dawn.

“The duality of two states of being, merging at a point of transition as one bleeds into the other. I liken this state of dissolve to the works of Joseph Turner whose watercolours atomised form in a dissolve of sky and sea. The dissolve of the body into a landscape,” says Raukura.

Her soft saxe azures, salmon pinks and hushed sage greens soothe and relax the mind and draw the eyes into the deeper layers.

The quality of work that Daniel and Courtney are introducing to the Tauranga public through their gallery has been quietly growing an appreciative following amongst local art collectors.

“I was working as an art adviser for private clients here, and we decided that it would be a great opportunity to get this space. And so here we are,” says Daniel.

Courtney works as a picture framer and Daniel has an art services company which offers art advisory, installation and fragile transport.

Sumer –www.sumer.co.nz - is open Wednesday to Friday from 10am – 3pm, and Saturday from 11am – 2pm. I’ve now subscribed to their website, liked their Facebook page and found their Instagram.

Raukura Turei’s exhibition ‘Te poho o HineRuhi’ runs from October 19 to November 16, 2019.

Rosalie Liddle Crawford

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