KEY POINTS:
No teacup is too pretty for Auckland artist Karen Dennis. She reworks vintage china pieces, making them fresh by hand painting with cheeky words and pictures. Want a 1960s Crown Lynn floral plate painted with portraits of the Flight of the Conchords duo? Or a 1970s mustard-coloured plate printed with the phrase Westie? How about a retro teacup and saucer with the word geek emblazoned across the side? There are much naughtier plates and cups of course, but they are painted with words that can't be printed in a national paper.
Dennis, who works under the name Trixie Delicious, has been an exhibiting artist for several years and also holds a degree in sculputure - but it's her work with vintage china that is getting attention. She describes it as vandalised vintage, or "art for people with a sense of humour". Oprah Winfrey clearly has a sense of humour: Dennis' Seven Deadly Sins Crown Lynn teacups featured in the Fall issue of Oprah's magazine, O At Home, after someone at the magazine found her wares on American craft site, Etsy.com.
The magazine has given the Trixie Delicious label some much appreciated exposure. "Selling to the US at the moment, you can't help but be affected by the economic downturn, so having that exposure at this time was great timing!"
TEN FAVOURITE THINGS
1 Ask Alice record cushions
They spin me right round baby, right round! Esther Lamb's original creations - crocheted and hand-embroidered - the perfect gift for a music lover and a great personalised gift for a special birthday or even a wedding gift.
2 Niki de Saint Phalle perfume
Niki de Saint Phalle is one of my favourite painters/sculptors; she was self taught and very glamorous, a former Vogue model turned artist. The perfume is strong and musky - launched by the artist herself in 1972, it is notoriously hard to get but worth the effort.
3 A Coloring Book: Drawings by Andy Warhol
Given to my husband and me by a friend back in the 90s. We still have it in its original cover. It's far too cute to paint and colour. Unlike his pop art portraits of the famous, this book has figurines of mythical beasts and a much more playful theme. The pages were designed in 1961 by Warhol, who was working as an illustrator at that time and hadn't yet made his mark as an artist.
4 Passionate Visions of the American South: self taught artists from 1940 to the present by Alice Rae Yelen
Exciting artworks depicted in generous full colour plates, and the artists' profiles are as riveting. Many were emancipated slaves and farmhands and lived a humble life making art from whatever materials they found around them.
5 Whakapirau on the Kaipara
We own an old boat shed down by the wharf here (it was depicted in a painting by artist Dick Frizzell looking back from the Pahi side). Going up there is like stepping back in time - the perfect remedy to city life.
6 Raw Vision magazine
Raw Vision is the outsider and folk art lover's bible, and unlike fashion, film or music magazines, issues don't really date or go out of style. They're jam-packed with extraordinary examples of outsider folk and visionary art from all over the world.
7 The indie craft movement
Supporting artists and crafters is so much more rewarding than mall shopping. You get something individual, handmade with care, and the maker gets to pay their bills and live off their creations. Online, I like Toggle.co.nz, Felt.co.nz, and Etsy.com, as well as K Rd's Craftwerk, Craft 2 in Wellington, and Kraft Bomb in Grey Lynn.
8 Birdspoke cat blanket
I commissioned this from Rachelle Wood, who is famous for her polymer jewellery. Like everything she makes, this rug hasn't escaped her sense of humour, love of nature and attention to detail. It is hand-crocheted and hand-stitched, and took her many hours - yet it retains a playful folk art quality. And to top it off, it's really warm!
9 Martin Logan Vista speakers
Modern and sculptural to look at, they sound just as good as they look. Electrostatic see-through panels create a stunning visual statement as well as delivering brilliantly clear audio.
10 Old china
My material of choice. It's not what you've got, it's what you can do with it. My favourites are old English bone china and Crown Lynn of course! After dabbling with ceramics for many years, I've found the endless array of old china the most fun - plus it's recycling, so that's a bonus.
