Whanganui artists have right yin and yang

Three Whanganui artists nailed the brief with their entries in the annual Lysaght Watt Trust Art awards this week.

Mark Rayner received the Lysaght Watt Trust Award Overall Prize for Shadow Man, Sandra Grieve won the Beccard Motors 3D Commended Award for Entwined and Leonie Sharp took out the Normanby Fibreglass People's Choice Award for Kotahitanga.

Lysaght Watt Gallery in Hawera introduced the awards in 2013 and they are open to all New Zealand artists.

Judge Greg Donson, (Sarjeant Gallery curator and public progammes manager) was impressed by the breadth of work in the show and said that the winners stood out for him as he viewed all the 51 entries.

Hawera artist Cecilia Russell won the Bussing Russell Local Artist Award for There's 2 sides to every story - except a Möbius band and the other three awards went to artists from Opunake, Tauranga and Christchurch.

Gallery trust chairwoman Lynne Walker said the standard of entries was especially good this year.

"The theme for this year was interpretations of the yin and yang symbol.

"Artists came up with a wonderful range of variations on the theme."

Mark Rayner's winning work is one of his distinctive hooked rug works with side by side self portraits.

Mark Rayner with his winning entry Shadow Man.

"One face is predominantly green while the other is red," he says.

Sandra Grieve said it was only the second time she has entered an art contest after having work accepted in the Belton, Smith and Associates Whanganui Arts Review at the Sarjeant Gallery for the first time this year.

"I was very pleased to get that affirmation of my work.

"I find that ideas for textile art pop in to my head early in the morning and the yin and yang theme rally appealed to me."

Sandra Grieve with her winning 3D entry Entwined.

People's Choice winner Leonie Sharp said she is delighted with her award for

Kotahitanga

which is part of a series of feather and board works.

"It is great when judges select your art but when your work has been chosen by the people visiting the exhibiton - that is such a wonderful endorsement."

Sharp's distinctive work always incorporates feathers which she sources from land owners who cull pest birds on their properties.

"If I want to depict feathers from native birds, I make them from wood or copper and I sometimes use gold leaf in my work."

The artist is now preparing for a joint exhibition at Potaka Gallery in Porirua named Birds of a Feather.

"I'm working on some giant knot pieces to illustrate the work that goes in to making korowai," she says.

"When people look at the cloaks, I don't think they realise how much work goes in to the intricate knots that hold the feathers in place."

The Lysaght Watt Gallery in hawera is run by a dedicated committee and volunteers.

It is supported by South Taranaki District Council sponsorship, gallery commission on sales and fundraising.