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I took this photo of a buttercup in the late afternoon because of how beautiful the sun looked on the field. I liked the different perspective of usually a small flower appearing bigger than the sun, and I think this can be a metaphor for the troubles we face in our lives sometimes, how something which is so small can appear bigger than life itself. Or, how small actions (with the idea of environmental issues) can create a huge collective impact in the end.

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This was such a great activity. I really enjoyed just looking around at the beach to see what was around me. There was even some art by other artists already there :)

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On a recent walk with my cousins we had a scavenger hunt, one was to find some yellow leaves. It wasn't until looking back through the photos afterwards that I saw the heart shape my cousin was holding her leaves in.

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Found some broken concrete around home, a bit short of resources unlike Chris Booth, but cam up with Dad,Mum, and baby rock.
While moving these around I thought instead of society putting this material in landfill, could the Council find a way of using it in building wave breaks out at sea to stop coastal erosion, or use it in building seawalls.

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Dead flower heads and petals off the camellias in the back yard. It is normally one of my son's jobs to rake up the dead flowers off the grass but today I did it instead. The colour of the pink petals was a nice contrast, but I like the textures and folds of the dead section much more. It was late in the afternoon when I took the photo. I thought about waiting until tomorrow to take some shots in the sun, but a Palmerston North zephyr probably would've deposited the installation in the neighbours' garden. The petal placement was tiring but not as bad as sawing off camellia branches which is what I ended up doing instead of more work on stream.

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I started with a collection of feathers all collected from various places around our place at home (from our turkeys and quail). I noticed the left and right angle of the wing features and planted them into the ground as a way of showing their natural curvature. The arching shape lent itself to completing the curved shape somehow. Though I didn't have enough wing weathers, I did manage to use other feather to complete it. What sprung to mind at this point was a flower shape. I then thought about the blight of bees and added the one blue streaked tui feather to act as guide to any bee visitors. This installation was not at all thought out and was really about sorting shapes and textures into ordered lines and playing. What grew from this was the meaning.

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This gate and pieces of wood are here in my front yard on the farm and have been randomly tossed here when building a new shed for the motorbike. Before this I never would have looked at it as art but from adding a few broken bricks and the growth of some daffodils it looks quite appealing.

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My youngest hard at work.... (not during lockdown)

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When I think of environment art, one can not go far past a “kiwi kid classic” sand castle at the beach. Especially those made right next to the water line. (With tide coming in of course). It provides an enriching experience often embedded in mahi tahi (teamwork) and collaboration among a whanau and is very hands on. It provides a visual journey of erosion which is reflected around any beach/coastline. And is all natural.  Todd.

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I can't and won't claim ownership, but love the idea enough to record it here. A local walkway by the river backs on to residential properties. Last year's lockdown inspired the neighbours to initiate a communal project, the Tree Gallery. Anyone is invited to contribute by adding to it. I'm sure they would love to see it replicated in many different places!

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I really liked the colour work by Richard Shilling (one of the artists we looked at). Using colour was my inspiration.

There are two things going on in my pic. I used the shadow of a tree to give the light/dark contrast and then the contrast of the cubes between rhododendron flowers and grass. The frame is made from tī kōuka (cabbage tree). The idea I tried to portray is there is good and bad in things but if you can find the light and keep going, it will be ok. As I constructed my frame it reminded me of a checker/chess board then made me think how life is a bit of a game at times.

When I stepped back I saw maths in my art as well (probably because we had been doing maths this morning with the kids lol).

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I took this photo this morning. West Auckland is experiencing a wet weather bomb, while we are having a dry frost. The tiny frost crystals around the still closed petals of the daisy are fragile and will vanish with the first rays of the sun. "They are not tears, just melting ice" someone once said. With Covid, lockdown, assignments and practicum I feel so tense that the slightest change would lead to - melting ice.

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I have never looked at our local beach through an artistic lens before but am so glad that I have now thanks to this activity. Today was the first time I noticed this massive tree truck in a place I visit most days. It's so beautiful and mysterious!

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If life gives you lemons, made lemonade... 

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If life gives you lemons, made lemonade... 

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I have one very fruitful lemon tree, and unfortunately they do not get used that much. When I went to my lemon tree it made me think about the shapes, tones of colours, ripe vs. unripe, the smell, and the texture. I have never seen my lemons from a visual art perspective until I looked closer and noticed differences between each lemon.

It has a parallel around today's world being in a lockdown, and made me think about the above saying.. Life does give us lemons, and it is up to us what we do with it. It also made me think how each lemon is different and unique.

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I decided to approach this assignment with a focus towards hauora - with Auckland in lockdown level 4 for the foreseeable future, anxieties around mental health, physical health, completing my practicum, work, my family, and more are high. I feel as though I have so many things swirling around in my mind that is one thing goes wrong, the whole tower will come crumbling down. I am sure many of our ākonga have their own anxieties and feel the same way. However, I also feel as though my anxieties are small in the long run, which is why I've placed my tower of worries in front of a tree, which represents all the issues in society that make my own feel insignificant. The sticks around the jenga tower represent the small things I have had to, and been able to, let go of.