Meet some of the artists...

With one more month to go until the Newtown Art Project is in full swing it seems timely to start introducing some of the artists who will be involved with the project; watch this space for more to come!
Fergus Collinson

Fergus Collinson is a self-styled Jazz painter, who also writes poetry and creates photo essays. He has published an artist book called “bouncing with Billie...” which features sixty of his art works. You can find out more about him and check out his work online at www.fergus-art.com

Alexander Wright
(Amongst other things,) Woodworker Alexander Douglas Wright makes free standing or fitted personal and or site specific furniture. His workshop will be open from two in the afternoon until about eight (or later if busy) in the evening on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Newtown Art Project. He will also be running two workshop tutorials on " Makin' summut out o' nowt " (to use Yorkshire parlance). Check out Alexander’s website www.wellingtonwoodworks.com

Paul Forrest
Renowned Wellington artist Paul Forrest will be opening the doors to his Riddiford Street studio and gallery to showcase his recent oil paintings.
“The paintings are what I call contemporary Icon paintings; artwork that takes the viewer into a world where they get a sense of seeing into another dimension. My intention is to create a vision that generates a mind state of stillness and reflection; a place where the eye wants to linger for an extended period of time”.
Paul has been a active member of the Wellington art scene for 20 years with his paintings being held in collections in Australia, The Netherlands, Germany, England, The United states and all over New Zealand.
His studio is located in the heart of Newtown shops at an infamous location formerly known as The Space. It has been transformed into a spacious, light filled studio where he and his partner, contemporary dancer Lyne Pringle, work and create.

Lyne Pringle
Lyne will be running a workshop on “The Art in your Body” In this workshop she will lead participants through a gentle and expressive Yoga warm-up followed by exercises to evoke a physical response to the works of art hanging in ‘The Studio’ – all to very groovy music!
It will be a fun experience designed to unlock the creative potential in our cells and is suitable for anyone of any age who has a body and loves to move. Mothers and children welcome.
Lyne Pringle has over 30 years of experience working as a dance/theatre artist in New Zealand, Australia and New York and is deeply committed to the development of New Zealand performing arts.
She has produced over 30 dance works including Kilt, Fishnet and her current production Lily which premiered in April 2009.
In 2003 she formed Bipeds Productions, which she co-directs with Kilda Northcott. www.bipeds.co.nz.
She is interested in the expressive potential of the human body and the role of art in building a sense of community.

F-stop
f/stop is a sub-group of the Wellington Photographic Society which meets once a month to discuss photos captured by members on a set theme. One of the themes in 2009 was "Newtown", and a selection of these images will be exhibited in the Newtown Community Centre during this year's Newtown Festival.
As a “hands on” activity during the Newtown Fair Day, the group will also set up a backdrop on a small section of pavement where they will invite passers-by to have their portrait photographs taken. The objective will be to collect images of men, women and children of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds represented in the Newtown community and by other visitors to the Newtown Festival and the Newtown Fair.
It is planned that the images collected will provide material for an exhibition to be held in conjunction with the 2011 Newtown Festival.
http://wps.org.nz/special_interest_groups/flashers.html

Cathy Trewby
“Cathy Trewby is a Berhampore resident who graduated stage 3 (Advanced) in June 2009 from The Learning Connexion focusing on textiles and printmaking. She also holds a Certificate of Embroidery from the Royal School of Needlework (Hampton Court London) A committed feminist since the 1970s Cathy searches for ways to link her art with her life experiences. She likes to demystify art and art practice and believes in the use of humour and exploring the obvious as a way of communicating.
She works from three small studio spaces on her property, one of which will be open on the Arts Trail. Cathy is a printmaker, abstract painter and embroiderer as well as working with textiles. She also sells a range of craft cards (Cabbage Tree Cards named for the large cabbage tree on her property) for artists to create their own works in and these will be available as well.
Cathy will also be running two workshops during the Newtown art project. One will be a printmaking technique using a gelatine plate, and the other is a design workshop.”