Polly Lind's Fabric Challenges art exhibition has been based at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-po this month.
Polly Lind's Fabric Challenges art exhibition has been based at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-po this month.
Is it art ... or is it craft? That is the question pondered by viewers of the latest exhibition shown at Te Takeretanga o Kura-hau-pō this month.
Local artist Polly Lind's overall goal with her works is to get the viewer to see a painting before them, but also to realise that it is fabric and not paint.
"I want to show that fabric as an artistic medium, takes just as much skill, understanding and passion as oil painting, it takes just as much colour sense as watercolour, and just as many hours, creativity and fine motor skills, as sculpting or drawing," Lind said.
Artist Polly Lind has challenged herself over the past year to see how far she could take fabric as a fine-art medium - creating painting-like artworks.
Lind has been working with fabric art for the past 11 years, although she did start "dabbling" in this medium in 2006-07.
She didn't officially study art, instead developing her individual style by following other artists she admired and whose styles intrigued and inspired her, and using the internet to work out how to create the challenging pieces she wanted to make.
Lind's style originally lent itself to predominantly fantasy/faerie world images, and after one of her pieces was sold through a Wellington gallery, the gallery owner asked if she would consider creating a landscape piece.
Viewers need to get up close and personal with Polly Lind's artwork to realise they're looking at fabric and not an oil painting.
"My first landscape was taken from a photo of the City to Sea bridge in Wellington, but ended up being a four-piece banner ... much larger than the gallery was expecting."
Lind turned to social media to see if she could sell the piece, which she'd valued at $1600, and within a few days it was sold to an ex-Wellingtonian living overseas, who loved that the artwork was a visual of his memories of home.
This success led to Lind creating several Wellington city landscape pieces in a series she called Iconically Wellington, which was a little bit of a take on the Absolutely Positively Wellington catch-cry.
The artist's own range of art dolls, called Fetchfolk, is popular with adults, and each one comes with a certificate telling their own story.
Included in this series was a piece that depicted an image of houses in Mt Victoria that Lind named It's So Wellington, after some of her friends said exactly that when they viewed it.
Lind's intention with her artwork is to create "art for the heart" and to challenge people's idea of what art on their wall should look like.
"With indie art, buyers are making a connection with the artist ... not only supporting and investing in the artist, but bringing a piece of that person into their home," she said.
Lind points out, as an example of this, that her Cuba St bucket fountain piece is owned by an ex-Wellingtonian, now living in the Wairarapa, who sees this image as evocative of their own childhood memories.
If creating artwork with a difference appeals to you, Lind is happy to share her learnings, so check out her social media platforms and get in touch through her website:
