Selwyn Times: November 14, 2018
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12 Wednesday <strong>November</strong> <strong>14</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi<br />
Our People<br />
Vanessa-Amy Greenwood<br />
was named the supreme<br />
winner for her design<br />
Pteraon at the Art<br />
Couture NZ wearable arts<br />
competition last month. The<br />
Southbridge mother keeps<br />
busy with art, gardening and<br />
working at the Rakaia Island<br />
dairy farm. Emily O’Connell<br />
talks to her about her<br />
passions<br />
Can you tell me a bit about<br />
entering the wearable arts<br />
competition?<br />
I decided to enter about a<br />
week before the due date and<br />
it was more a case of why not?<br />
I had made the garments and<br />
they were just sitting in the shed<br />
collecting bird poo so I thought<br />
why not, someone might enjoy<br />
them.<br />
Had you made the garments<br />
for the competition or was<br />
there something else you had<br />
used them for as well?<br />
I had made them originally for<br />
WOW but they wouldn’t have<br />
got in WOW.<br />
You didn’t end up entering<br />
WOW?<br />
No, I wimped out.<br />
Can you tell me about the two<br />
garments you made?<br />
Elixir is the one made from<br />
Nespresso coffee capsules. It<br />
was based on one of the old<br />
World Vision advertisements<br />
where they said for $1 a day we<br />
could help save a life and each<br />
coffee capsule costs about $1.<br />
So it was a food for thought<br />
sort of concept that we have our<br />
luxuries and other people don’t.<br />
And Pteraon is made out of<br />
inner tubes and paint, she was<br />
about something from out of<br />
this world. If there was another<br />
world it’s what I would like it to<br />
look like. The wings on her are<br />
more about me and how it would<br />
be nice to be able to spread your<br />
wings and sort of step out of<br />
comfort zones.<br />
How long did you spend on<br />
both of the entries?<br />
Pteraon, from the moment<br />
I started making her, took<br />
about 12 months. Elixir took<br />
18 months but that includes<br />
CREATIVE: Vanessa-Amy Greenwood standing in front of the mural she is painting for<br />
Southbridge School.<br />
collecting all the capsules as well<br />
because I didn’t drink all that<br />
coffee.<br />
Do you think you’ll enter it<br />
again next year?<br />
Yes.<br />
How did you feel when you<br />
were announced as the supreme<br />
winner?<br />
I was shell shocked. I really<br />
was. When I saw the calibre of<br />
work that was there I was really<br />
amazed. I couldn’t quite believe<br />
that they stood up against<br />
everybody else’s work. I didn’t<br />
believe it.<br />
Have you always been into<br />
design and fashion?<br />
If you saw what I wear every<br />
day you would know I’m not<br />
into fashion at all. I am very<br />
practical with what I wear, it’s<br />
all about comfort and what I’m<br />
doing but I love art and it’s just<br />
another form of art for me. I’ve<br />
got no skills in dressmaking or<br />
anything. I had to teach myself<br />
boning while I was going, just so<br />
Vanessa-Amy Greenwood<br />
For the love of art – a Southbridge mother’s<br />
I could achieve it.<br />
How did you learn the<br />
different arts skills you have?<br />
Trial and error. I failed art at<br />
school. In some respects I feel<br />
like “yeah see, you said I couldn’t<br />
do it.” I picked up a paintbrush<br />
after my daughter Bronte was<br />
born and she is 10-yearsold<br />
now. I’ve just practised I<br />
suppose.<br />
Would you say art is your<br />
passion?<br />
Yes. It’s sort of a bit like the<br />
SELWYN TIMES<br />
air that you breathe, if I’m not<br />
doing art, I don’t really feel like<br />
I’m living.<br />
What are some of the<br />
different forms of art you do?<br />
I paint backdrops and murals,<br />
I do topiary, like my garden is<br />
all topiary, I do resin work and<br />
I do oil painting. I’m teaching<br />
myself a bit of sculpture at the<br />
moment. I haven’t really stuck to<br />
one thing.<br />
Can you tell me about the<br />
mural you’re painting for<br />
Southbridge School?<br />
Well the school has its 150th<br />
jubilee coming up so they<br />
wanted a mural to go on one of<br />
their walls outside, they wanted<br />
it to include their five values . . .<br />
I’ve had to move away from what<br />
my normal type of art is which<br />
is all very freehand and this one<br />
is very bold, bright colours but<br />
in blocks and more symbolism<br />
to go with the silhouettes of<br />
children’s face as well.<br />
How long have you lived in<br />
Southbridge?<br />
15 years.<br />
Why did you move to<br />
Southbridge? Where did you<br />
come from?<br />
I grew up at Living Springs<br />
and I changed from being a<br />
hairdresser to dairy farming and<br />
met my husband Mike who was<br />
from Sedgemere.<br />
How do you find living in<br />
Southbridge? Do you enjoy it?<br />
Yes, actually I really do.<br />
I miss the hills but living in<br />
Southbridge is such a lovely,<br />
tight-knit community. There’s<br />
also someone you can count<br />
on. It’s a safe place for children,<br />
people look out for them.<br />
Why the change from<br />
hairdressing to farming?<br />
I wanted to be outdoors. I’m<br />
not very good at being indoors.<br />
How did you find the<br />
change?<br />
It had its challenges. Like in<br />
my first week it rained and you<br />
know, I had to get wet weather<br />
gear for the first time in my life.<br />
But being able to get up and see<br />
the sunrise was probably the best<br />
thing about it, even now I still<br />
love being able to watch the sun<br />
rise.
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