ARTS FOCUS Elves on the loose at CAN Christmas Market

CAN elves Michelle and Alex restock the Makers Market.

ARTS FOCUS

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CAN general manager Lisa Feyen.

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CAN elves Michelle and Alex restock the Makers Market

by Lisa Feyen

The festive season is now on our doorstep and I love the last-minute frantic dashing around to tick off everyone on our Christmas lists. It's a little different this year, of course, with the new regulations, but all the more reason to enjoy the holidays and have the time to relax with the people you love.

At the orange setting, CAN is open to everyone, so grab some beautiful handcrafted gifts from the CAN Christmas Makers Market, which is open right until 4pm on Christmas Eve. The gallery is stuffed with stylish, affordable options to fill your stockings to the brim.

Support Hawke's Bay artists by purchasing beautiful homewares, a wide range of textiles including face masks and bags of all shapes and sizes, sweet-smelling soaps, baby gifts, jewellery, glassware, paintings and prints, candles, ceramics, Christmas decorations, glass terrariums and much more. Everything is made with love and passion for what they do, with many of our creators maintaining sustainable practices.

CAN is also fundraising with a bumper Christmas hamper raffle, drawn at 3pm on Thursday, December 23. Tickets are just $2 each or three for $5, and you never know, you could be celebrating Christmas with a few more treats than you had planned.

This week we are delighted to be hosting a week of workshops by St. Beads; it's ideal for parents and caregivers with children at the start of the school holidays. Find them upstairs on the CAN Mezzanine, where you can pay for a class beforehand via the St. Beads website, www.stbeads.co.nz. Make a beaded angel for your tree, or one of the many other cute beading options. This activity is not just for girls; boys can enjoy making keyrings, bookmarks, bag tags or a gift for Mum. This will also give you time to indulge in some Makers Market shopping while they are busy…

Other CAN exhibitions currently on show are, 'Off My Easel' by Kiri Goodspeed, 'Visual Harmony' by Pam Wildbore, and 'Through the Seasons' by Katie Whitcombe. These exhibitions all feature colourful, appealing works that are priced affordably for Christmas, ideal for the art-loving relative or those with empty walls in their home.

You may also be wondering what CAN has in store for the New Year. Don't worry, there are plenty of wonderful exhibitions in store, and for the children on their summer break we have our family-friendly drop-in activity starting on Thursday, January 6.

So, kids, get ready for the Great CAN Shoebox Slam. Build a miniature scene inside a shoebox and put it on display here at Creative Arts Napier. There will be prizes given out for the 'most imaginative entry' as well as 'people's choice'.

Build your display out of all the recycled and crafty materials that CAN has to offer. Will you create your own world or recreate a scene from this one? Perhaps your masterpiece will be set under the sea or on the moon. Pop on your builder's hat and get going. We can't wait to see what you make.

This drop-in activity will be a $5 koha for each person and will be available until Thursday, January 20.

During the summer break we are also inviting all young people to enter an exciting Art Deco competition with Deco-themed artwork, for the second annual official CAN-Do Deco Exhibition. This exhibition will be part of the 2022 Napier Art Deco Festival in February, but the time to enter is now, before school starts again. There are six 'Best in Show' awards to be won, in three age categories, so spark up your imagination, put together some ideas and get doodling.

We want to see painting, sculpture, 3D design, clay models, photography, printmaking, mixed media… in fact, any medium is OK, so if you feel like making a model of the tobacco building out of egg boxes and pipe cleaners – go for it.

You've got until Tuesday, February 9, to enter – so download the entry form and T&C from our website, www.thecan.co.nz, or pick it up from the CAN Foyer and get started.

The official CAN do Deco opening celebration is on Friday, February 19, from 4pm-5pm, where the six 'Best in Show' prizes will be announced.

If you're a grown-up artist, designer, art group or art-related business owner, please ask us about the new 2022 Hawke's Bay Art Guide when you next visit. The guide is produced annually by CAN in collaboration with Arts Inc Heretaunga, and is the region's most comprehensive guide to its creative industries.

We are distributing 15,000 copies far and wide, and offer other opportunities for individual studio artists, including a showcase mid-year exhibition, inclusion in the HB Art Trail at Labour Weekend, and access to art marketing workshops. The copy deadline is early February 2022, so don't delay. For more information, contact Ani Tylee, ani@artsinc.co.nz, phone 027 625 8679, or Michelle Ibbotson bookings@thecan.co.nz phone 06 835 9448 and check out the website https://www.hawkesbayartguide.co.nz/

We look forward to seeing you over the festive season. CAN is closed on statutory public holidays but when we are open, please scan in, socially distance and wear a mask.

We wish you all a very happy and healthy Christmas and New Year from all the team at Creative Arts Napier.

■ We look forward to welcoming you to CAN, 16 Byron St, on your next visit. Ask us about the benefits of becoming a Friend of CAN, and don't forget we are open seven days per week from Monday to Saturday, 10am-4pm and Sunday, 10am-2pm.. As CAN is a registered charity, donations are always welcome. Info: 835-9448, thecan.co.nz or Facebook.