The owners of this new house commissioned Basia to create artwork featuring the NZ native nikau palm tree as frosted vinyl film applied to the glass wall next to the internal door entrance.
The glass wall and door are situated at the bottom of the stairwell so it was important to create a bold and graphic feature that would be seen as a visual barrier as people move up and down levels and through passage ways. 
The artwork changes with the light and transforms the space with functional and aesthetic design that reflects the history and identity of the local natural environment.

Three varied edition prints above by Basia Smolnicki are part of the annual PCANZ Small Print Exhibition touring around major NZ centres over the next 12 months. All work is A4 sized or smaller and show a wide range of printmaking techniques.
​The exhibition starts its nation wide tour at the Hastings Community Arts Centre, 106 Russell Street, Hastings 16 - 28 September 2019.

The 2019 New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Award (NZPPA) had a wonderful opening night on Thursday the 28 of February, in Wintec’s The Atrium. The weather was fine, and we received an excellent turn out of Waikato Society of Arts members, a substantial number of finalists who had travelled from far and wide to attend and several new faces. 

Sam Cunnane (representing Wintec, our major partner for the award) opened the evening before handing over to Kim Paton (our 2019 judge from Object Space in Auckland). Kim had three awards to deliver and began with the Print Award (valued at $1,000), generously sponsored by the Print Council of Aotearoa New Zealand, which was awarded to Basia Smolnicki for her work At the End of the Day. Following, Kim delivered Wintec’s Merit Award (valued also at $1,000) which went to Telly Tuita for his work Expulsion from Paradise. Finally, Kim delivered the main prize, generously sponsored once again by the Vela Family Trust. This award, valued at $20,000, went to Claudia Kogachi for her work Mom wait up. 

The Award was open to the public for three full days (from Friday through to Sunday) and included a floor talk by the judge on the Saturday morning. During this time, exhibition visitors had the opportunity to vote for their favourite work, giving the artists an additional chance to win the People’s Choice Award which was generously sponsored by Gordon Harris Art Supplies (an award to the value of $750). The Gordon Harris People’s Choice Award was taken with a very high majority, by Heather Campbell for her work Deported Mugshot, 1928, Sydney. 

Thank you once again to everyone who came along in support of the 2019 NZPPA, our judge, Kim Paton, our incredible sponsors, and of course to all of the outstanding artists who entered. 

Entries for the 2019 New Zealand Painting and Printmaking Award closed on November 23rd totalling just under 300.
40 entries have been selected by judge, Kim Paton, Director of Auckland’s Objectspace and former Wintec researcher and art tutor as finalists for the New Zealand Painting & Printmaking Award 2019.

The award announcement event will take place on Thursday 28 February within Wintec’s, The Atrium (a ticketed event). At the opening, Kim will announce the recipient of the Grand Prize who will receive an award of $20,000, generously sponsored once again by the Vela family. Alongside the Grand Prize, Kim will also be awarding two Merit Awards, one from Wintec and the other from Print Council Aotearoa New Zealand. The winner of the People’s Choice Award sponsored by Gordon Harris will be announced after the exhibition has closed. After the opening night, the exhibition will be open (free) from Friday 1 March until Sunday 3 March. A series of events are planned during this time, including a judge’s floor talk.

2019 heralds a change of venue for the NZPPA as the Waikato Society of Arts, in collaboration with our new major partner, Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec), bring the award exhibition to Hamilton’s CBD. The award exhibition will be shown at Wintec’s premier event venue, The Atrium, which is located inside one of the city’s beautifully restored historic buildings on the central city campus (Wintec House). This significant development aims to take advantage of the recently invigorated gallery scene in Hamilton’s CBD, encourage a broader audience for the exhibition and tie in with the visual arts fare on show in the Hamilton arts precinct.

Explore the exciting world of woodblock techniques and learn how to transfer your ideas into powerful and graphic relief print images. 
Basia will introduce you to a range of different woodcut methods with time to develop your individual print project to completion. Students will be instructed how to transfer drawings to woodblock, carving techniques and how to sharpen woodcutting tools. Mixing colour, rolling ink onto woodblock and using the printing press with confidence will be demonstrated and discussed.
Reduction woodcut methods, repeat pattern printing, multi-block colour and registration, combining collage with print, hand-colouring and embossing techniques will also be included.
Students are encouraged to bring reference images,drawings and any woodcutting tools they may already own. 
Most materials will be provided. 
Suitable for all levels.

When: Monday 14th - Friday 18th January 10am - 4pm  (25 hours, one hour lunch each day)
Programme: Summer School (January) 2019 
Subject: Printmaking,  
Tutor: Basia Smolnicki 
Code: 191PRI0  
Spaces left: 7
Fee: NZ $425.00 - Registration ends 9 January, 2019 11.59pm

Interested? Contact Mark at www.inverlochy.org.nz

House & Garden 2018 Woodblock with collage
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