Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery Christchurch’s Live Demo with 3 Local Artists

In order to have further contact with the local artists and promote art education, Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery Christchurch on 11 August held an Live Demo of Art Demonstration event with copper wire artist Leonore Ashby, scratchboard artist Esther Gane and basket weaving artist Helen Stevenson, attracting nearly a hundred art lovers to come. Works by the three passionate artists are currently on display in the art gallery and the artists hope that they can share some of their creative flow through these live demonstration sessions.

Leonore Ashby, who loves to knit, visited the art gallery a decade ago. She noticed a strand of copper wire on the roadside at that time and this gave her an idea to develop copper wire art. Her copper wire works of art are very delicate pocket-sized pieces. During the demonstration, Leonore showed us how she wove tiny strands of copper wire to create a variety of objects, from earrings and jewelry to insects, plants, fruits and so on. The audience were amazed by her fine work into making those life like pieces.

The enthusiastic audience was eager to ask questions about Leonore's creations and Leonore patiently answered all of them. Leonore also gave the audience the opportunity to experience making copper wire art themselves and this received an overwhelming response. In the process, the audience realized things were not as easy as it seems, requiring good eyesight and lots of skill and patience. They marveled at the dedication of Leonore who is now in her 70s.

Esther Gane demonstrated her scratch-board art, showing how she prints real photographs on hard board and then uses a craft knife to chisel patterns out of them. The process requires great patience just to complete one piece of work. Esther's scratch-board engravings are dominated by animals, such as cats, zebras, squirrels and birds, each one unique in itself. She also let the audience experience making of scratch-boards themselves, and they were very delighted.

Helen Stevenson has been weaving baskets for over 20 years and this artistic pursuit is her life force. She demonstrates how to make the frame of the basket, weave into the outline of the basket frame and finally presents the beautiful completed basket, a process which takes a very long time. During the demonstration, Helen told the audience that it usually takes her 20 to 30 hours to finish one basked, but no matter how long it takes, her passion for art drives her to finish one piece after another.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E43G0kCBN3U

Everyone was really amazed by the demonstrations that day, feeling as though they had just completed an expensive art course. They learned a lot from the artists' creative spirit that has a positive value on our outlook in life. They all hope to participate in a wonderful and beneficial event like this again and will invite more friends and family to participate in the future.