I was really excited to be chosen as an entry in the Cleveland National Art Awards this year. My best work so far: Secret Beach Te Puru was also one of the bigger works I have created. Then I received a phone call to say my art had won its category – here are the judges comments
Category 4: Textile/Embroidery/Stitch
Sponsored by Alex Campbell Menswear
Excellence Award: Samantha Sutherland
Secret Beach Te Puru (Textile)
Judge’s comments:
“This small, highly textured piece is alive and breathing, with a strong sense of movement. It represents a secret and special place, and the materials in this instance have been manipulated to depict a specific landscape. Thread has been treated as paint, with a focus on a direct depiction, but not disguising the fact that it is a textile creation. It has a foot in three camps – textile/ painting/ photography – and it has maximised its 3D potential without compromising its 2D brief.”
Honestly – how exciting and mind blowing that this happened to me! The art work sold the same week which made me so happy. I had a bit of drama as the courier damaged the well packaged frame so I had to get it reframed before judging by a local framer in Dunedin (shout out to Framing Factory for saving the day!)