Artist and daughter works for centenary

Professional glass artist Katie Brown has hand-blown hearts of glass for the Solway College centenary. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

A Solway College old girl and renowned watercolorist is returning this weekend to help celebrate the school centenary with her artist daughter, who has created hand-blown hearts of glass especially for the event.

Judy Siers, event organiser and college old girl, said Whanganui-based mother Mandy Brown (nee Harris) had been a student at the school in the 1950s and was today known throughout New Zealand for her work in watercolours, rendering images of birds.

Mrs Siers said Mrs Brown will also bring her daughter Katie, an artist in her own right, and both women will offer their work for sale at the Solway College Bazaar that will run as a centenary event during tomorrow afternoon.

Mrs Harris had printed some of her works on to greeting cards for sale at the bazaar and her daughter had hand-blown a stock of glass hearts for sale as well.

"Katie has followed in the artistic footsteps of her mum and has forged a career in glass blowing," Mrs Siers said.

"For the centennial she created a number of blown glass hearts.

"They are coloured dark green with a silver tone to match the college colours and really are small treasures."

Ms Brown had graduated from the Wanganui Glass School in 1999 and founded the Chronicle Glass Studio in Whanganui, Mrs Siers said, selling her work worldwide under the brand Katie Brown Glass.

Mrs Siers said the bazaar was a traditional event at each reunion since about 1930 and would be open to the 300 centenary registrants and to the public.

Veteran singer-songwriter Andrew London will be the headline act during the weekend and alongside his band, The London Derrieres, will entertain at the Solway College Centennial Dinner and Dance on Saturday night.

Other centenary events will include a re-enactment, based on a surviving photograph, of the 1916 opening ceremony of the school.