Vivien Atkinson
About mentee Vivien Atkinson / About mentor Benjamin Lignel
Darning in different languages
So far I’ve been using a very basic darning stitch – I have the mantra ‘over under’ constantly running through my mind as I work. But thanks to reading Tom van Deijnen’s (tomofholland) blog I’ve become aware of other darning methods, Finnish, Scottish and Swiss – all...
Summing up
Blog 27, January 20th, 2019 This iteration of the HandShake project has finished and it time to think back over the past two years and what my involvement has meant. Personally the project has stimulated an added impetus to make, a renewed energy and long hours...
Polarity
Blog 26 August 4th 2018 When did “home” become embedded in human consciousness? Is our sense of home instinctive? Are we denning animals or nest builders, or are we, at root, nomadic? For much of the earliest history of our species, home may have been nothing more...
Back to the grindstone…
Blog 25 June 25th, 2018 Some of the unresolved experiments and ideas Literally - I’m really needing to use the space between the end of the last HandShake show and the next to get on with some work long delayed by the frenetic activity of the first half of the year. ...
The Language of Things
Blog 24 April 20th Arrived back from Sydney and got stuck into some gold-leafing for a show some members of Occupation: Artist are putting on for No Filter. The group decided to support the Dowse who are putting on a fantastic Symposium on April 12-13th. We...
A busman’s holiday…Sydney
Blog 23 April 12th The trip to Sydnay marked the culmination of a work that has been in progress since December 1st 2017. The R Matrix was made in response to the theme of the current Sydney Biennale, Superposition, a complex theory drawn from quantum mechanics. The...
Artists as Collectors
Great to have Liesbeth den Besten in New Zealand again and to hear her talk about Artists as Collectors. I was especially interested in the work of one of the artists she spoke about – Hanne Darboven, a German conceptual artist who accumulated a vast collection of...
And another thing….
Blog 21 15th March Last week was busy with the installation of the show at Toi Poneke in Wellington. Gabby O’Connor played a large part in directing the alterations or perhaps interventions made to the gallery. We each ended up with a large painters dropsheet hung on...
Is that light I can see at the end of the tunnel?
Blog 20 1st March There is a tantalising thought that there is a day not so far off when I might have a day off to sleep in or just be lazy all day, but not yet – I’m thinking maybe June? Before then there are extra long days to be put in to get everything sorted for...
Multi-tasking?
Blog 19 February 15th Pile of MDF dust Is it better to claim to be multi-tasking than to admit out loud that I’ve (again) taken on too much? I did think that the move to working with the MDF would be a quick and easy project but it has not turned out that way at...
Waste not……
At the end of the Pah Homestead show I drove up to Auckland to collect work and ended bringing a load of the planks used for display back as well. They have been sitting in my studio as no one really wants them. The contrasting colours are really attractive and have...
All Change
Packing at Whitereia All change seems to be the theme of late. I’ve been at Whitereia (the institute where Peter Deckers teaches Jewellery and where I studied and have been mentoring/lecturing) helping with the sorting (30 years accumulation), packing and storing. A...
Leanings
Blog 16 November 4th, 2017 Leanings, Pah Homestead (https://tsbbankwallaceartscentre.org.nz/) The install, Pah Homestead Only one day to install and the opening in the evening. There were a lot of nerves as we gathered at 8.00 in the morning, but everything...
Another collection waiting to be cut up
Blog 15 September 20th, 2017 Another collection waiting to be cut up. Studying under Peter Deckers at Whitereia has led to being part of two amazing groups. TheSeeHere (https://www.theseehere.com/) was the brainchild of Sunni Gibson, a micro- gallery housed in a...
Radiant Pavilion
Blog 14 September 12th, 2017 Radiant Pavilion, Melbourne Gold leafed steps, graffiti and post-it notes – Sarah Read, Becky Bliss, Vivien Atkinson Binit, Becky Bliss Walking to Ballarat, 24 hours over 7 days, performance, Crossley Street, Melbourne, Vivien Atkinson...
Extracurricular
Blog 13 - August 5th, 2017 Occupation: Artist (https://occupationartist.wordpress.com/), one of the groups I’m privileged to be part of will soon be off to Melbourne for Radiant Pavilion (26th August to September 3rd). We participated in this contemporary jewellery...
Avid
Blog 12 - July 18th, 2017 Fired & Found, Avid, Wellington, July 1 - 15 From the show at Avid. My work in the foreground and Bronwyn Cornish’s wonderful ceramics (Sirenes and Harpies) in the background. On the right is Walnuhutu 1, by Lauren Lysaght...
Clearing the decks
Blog 11 - June 18th, 2017 Clearing the decks. This weekend I realised that I was losing sight of what I was doing and removed all the extraneous bits and pieces from the desk. What a difference it made – I could suddenly see there were three distinct groups of pieces...
Blog 10
Blog 10 June 14th, 2017 Punched decoration on vintage Britannia metal teapot. Punches made from silver plate scrap. Tests of punched patterns on thin aluminium. I’ve spent a few days playing with the idea of trying to recreate some of the intricate patterns punched...
Blog 9
Blog 9 May 15th, 2017 Time in the studio – in fact lots of time in the studio – I’m there five days a week and at school two days and the feeling of pressure is growing. In the research department have gone back to look again at some artists I was introduced to in...
Questions
Blog 8, April 10th, 2017 Questions After my first conversation with my mentor there was a list of questions that sent me back to reading research. In my last blog I mentioned that I was interested in trying to form some kind of hybrid using pieces of silver plate and...
Blog 7
Blog 7, April 8th, 2017 I have a number of collections but at the moment I’m focusing on two. I have been working with (and collecting) silver plate since 2013 – its perceived value, meaning and use has changed, particularly during the last half century. Developing...
Tongariro Crossing
Blog 6, April 4th 2017 March 31st - Tongariro Crossing – perfect day, stunning scenery, and inspiring friends.
PARKing DAY
Blog 5, March 15th 2017 The preparations for PARK(ing) Day served us well. We had spent a worrying week with really bad weather threatening the cancellation, but in the end the weather was similar to last year’s event – cool, calm and cloudy to start the morning and...
JEWELcamp and Masterclass
Blog 3, February 10th, 2017 With quiet excitement and some shyness we gather for the first time. Most of us meet at Tanel’s opening at Avid amid the noise and tilted plinths holding his exquisite work. The afternoon’s presentations reveal we are a diverse group with...
Viktor and Rolf at the NGV
Blog 2, January 15th, 2017 Although I knew the names of these two fashion designers I really had no idea of the scope of their innovative work. It was then a fascinating voyage of discovery wandering through the rooms of stunning and sometimes startling garments....
7.8 shock
Blog 1, January 7th, 2017 The news in November that I had been selected for HandShake 4 was rather daunting. The 7.8 earthquake had left me shaken – with a recent move into a 12th floor apartment and nothing yet secure in it’s final location – our possessions were...