Bay Harbour: August 11, 2021

Bay Harbour News Wednesday August 11 2021
10
NEWS
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
Art for art’s sake – but it is also about
As the Sumner Art
Society gets ready for
its annual exhibition,
reporter Samantha
Mythen went along to
one of their weekly art
practice sessions to see
how the preparation
was going and chat
with the dedicated
artists behind it all
FIFTY-SEVEN years ago, a small
group of artists hosted an art
exhibition for the public.
The exhibition was so successful,
with almost all paintings
sold, that it has been repeated
every year since.
That small group of artists is
known as the Sumner Art Society.
The group’s current members
will host its annual exhibition
this weekend.
Rae Manson’s current focus is
creating abstract works of art.
Behind her are painted seascapes
of lighthouses floating amid
clouds.
Previously working in real
estate, Rae “had a break from art
for 33 years.” It had been something
she had practised since she
was a youngster and could grip
a pencil between small round
fingers.
“I promised myself that when I
retired I would spend more time
with my art,” she said.
Now, every Wednesday she
goes along to the-more-oftenthan-not
sunbathed Mt Pleasant
Yacht Club, perched next to the
Avon-Heathcote Estuary, to
spend her morning painting.
“In my five years of practice,
I’ve improved so much,” she said.
Kilmeny Keyse, the society’s
secretary, is working next to Rae
on a landscape.
“I often paint with oils. I like
its translucency and as it takes a
while to dry, you can manipulate
it.”
She often works with tools
such as palette knives to create
touchable patterns that literally
jump off the canvas.
Kilmeny has really only begun
to dedicate time to her art practise
since retiring.
CREATIVE RETIREMENT: Rae Manson (left) and Benita Dale McMillen are continually exploring different ways to paint
and create as part of the Sumner Art Society.
“I always wanted to go to art
school, but my parents thought
I’d end up a beatnik so sent me
off to study science.
“I love coming here now.”
Her two worlds have since
collided . . . at the yacht club she
dons a paint-splattered lab coat.
But the art society is not just
about creating and crafting. It’s
about collaboration and friendship.
“This group is a community
service. An awful lot of chat goes
on. People are not shy to give
opinions of each other’s art,”
Kilmeny said.
Rae agreed: “There’s always
someone around to ask for help
if you’re not sure.”
Just that morning Benita Dale
McMillen had been asking others
for advice on what colour to
paint a background. She asks me
too, wondering about the colour
of a window sill a cat sits on.
“White or a peachy pink?” she
asked.
She settled on a white, allowing
the eye to be drawn to
the bright colours of the scene
outside of the window.
“We have people who’ve
worked professionally as artists
as well as new beginners to the
practice. Anyone wanting to
join shouldn’t feel anxious or
worried. Everyone is welcome,”
Rae said.
“Since the earthquakes, the art
scene has lost so much,” Kilmeny
said.
“It’s why this group is so
important, and the fact it’s been
going for so long is so special.
We think it’s one of the oldest in
New Zealand.”
The art society was established
in 1959, with the first few meetups
hosted in its founder Reg
Holcroft’s home.
Classes in all matter of instrument
use were taught, from oil
painting to watercolour, pottery
to pastels, to wood carving and
china painting.
Well-known artists and art
teachers often visited to lend a
voice.
Membership was at its peak in
VARIED MEDIUMS: At the Sumner Art Society, Kilmeny Keyse (left) is working on an oil
painting, while Valerie Campbell uses watercolour to add vibrancy to hand-drawn native
birds.
the late 1990s with 200 members.
Now there are 40 members
and they come together each
week to work on their own
practice.
Daphne Russell said one of the
fun parts is that everyone comes
from a different background.
Valerie Campbell, working on
intricate hand-drawn and watercoloured
native birds, agreed.
“The club is great because of
the variety of people. They all
provide positive feedback and
can help point you in the right
direction. It’s all about the energy
here.”
You do not have to live in
Sumner to attend the group –
members come from all over
Christchurch.
Alison Lowe loves going to
take part each Wednesday.
“It’s the social side that makes
this group so good. You can
paint in your studio at home but
why would you when you can
come here every week to enjoy a
good chat,” she said.
Alison is currently following
a course by New Zealand artist
Judy Woods.
The group members are all
unique painters, influenced
by their own experiences and
desires. Walking into the yacht
club is like walking into an art
gallery, there are different styles
and different subjects.
Lend a hand at the Cass Bay planting day
Meet 10am Saturday, 14 August at Steadfast Reserve
Please park on Bayview Place, Cass Bay, and walk to Steadfast, Governors Bay Road
Join the Bay community’s planting day where we
aim to plant 3000 native seedlings, adding to the
previous year’s huge effort to reduce sediment
in Lyttelton Harbour. Stay on afterwards for
a barbecue and cuppa.
Shovels will be provided. Please bring gardening
gloves, warm clothes and boots.
RSVP: email water@ecan.govt.nz by 13 August with
your name and whether you’ll need a shovel.
Postponement date 21 August. A postponement
email will be sent on 13 August.
Important groups to acknowledge: Cass Bay
Residents Association and Cass Bay Reserves
Management Committee