050316SSBricksticks
CHARLES Bagnall with some of his Cajon drums and works in progress by Greg Betts.
PICTURE / SERENA SIEGENTHALER-BROWN
Bricksticks, the home and working gallery of Greg Betts is nestled quietly in the landscape up Bastia Hill. During the Artists Open Studios (March 12-13 and 19-20) Greg will be welcoming a selection of local and national guest artists to share the space with him. Bricksticks is a unique exhibiting
environment, housed in the historic brickworks building and featuring twin kilns. Greg has been designing and crafting bespoke furniture for more than 30 years. He is currently working on new table and chair designs.
During this year's open studios event, Greg will be hosting a variety of guest artists including Nevel Porteous - a locally born artist who has created a series of Whanganui themed tiles for the exhibition, Mere Keating - a Whanganui flax weaver and fibre artist, Enaj Lee - drawings and mixed media artist, Brian and Hene Hill - contemporary pounamu jewellery and sculpture, and Craig Winton - jeweller. There will be live music on both weekends, with David Chadwick playing the first weekend and Phillip Oxenham on the second.
Also featured at Bricksticks this year will be Charles Bagnall and wife Rahda Sahar, a musician. Charles crafts Cajon (pronounced Ca-hone) drums out of (mostly) native New Zealand timbers. Many of the timbers he uses are not available commercially because of their rarity and difficulty of milling on a commercial basis. The Cajon drum originates from the Afro-Peruvian people of coastal Peru. As slaves they were banned from practising their cultural traditions, including their music. The Afro-Peruvians began using discarded shipping crates as drums and went on to develop smaller box drums that they were able to disguise as seats or stools. As slavery restrictions diminished the box drum was developed and the Cajon became a mainstream percussive instrument.
