Monthly Picks - October 2023

October 01, 2023

Amy Jones - Guest Curator October 2023

A regular feature of our blog is asking one of our artists or collaborators to select and share two works from our collection they would like to add to their home.

This month our guest curator is Amy Jones, the talented textile artist and illustrator behind ‘Cheese Before Bedtime’. Embracing interior trends, street fashion and kiwi culture, Amy has a passion for creating modern embroideries and quirky watercolours, with plans to blend the two soon.

Amy has shown her work with Quirky Fox previously and will be taking part in our annual mini mix and match show next month. She shares with us her picks.

Water Spirit by Debra Powell

I've been a long time admirer of Debra Powell's ceramics and I would love Santa to get the hint that I'd really like this special piece! There's a whimsy, humour and playfulness in Debra's work and this Water Spirit piece is so evocative, I could look at it for hours. It has a very quizzical face, I'm not sure if it is sad, longing or hungry? Maybe none of those, but I love art that is ambiguous and allows the viewer to interpret it in their own way. With its amazing details (love the shoulder fins!) and gorgeous colours it has certainly lured me in and I'm so curious to know more about this wee Spirits world. I am also drawn to Debra's merging of human and animal form here (a big theme in my own artistic work), of other worldliness and mystery. What a talent, and what a stunning sculpture.

Lotus by Angelika Rasmus

Straight away this piece grabbed my attention. There is something so calming about the colours and gentle gradients that draw you in, but upon closer inspection it may in fact be more sinister. There is a real story here and it is beautifully moody but soft. This piece, and many of Angelika's others remind me of Frida Kahlo's work, a beautiful kind of melancholy. I believe this piece would unravel itself further each time you look at it. Intriguing and thought-provoking art is really prominent on my walls and is what I go for over matching colours to cushions or trends. Birds are also a special symbol for me so choosing between Angelika Rasmus' bird filled prints was difficult. Perhaps I get the set?