Wit and whimsy at Whanganui's Red Door Gallery with Dolly Good Show

Julz Coffey's exhibition Dolly Good Show opens at the Red Door Gallery on Friday. Photo / Lewis Gardner

Whanganui artist Julz Coffey remembers her brother dismantling the walkie talkie doll she owned as a child.

"I didn't mind that much because I didn't really enjoy playing with her but I did like making things for her," Coffey says.

"She was never put back together but I did keep the head and I have collected a number of dolls' heads over the years."

Some of those small heads have been given unique bodies that combine Coffey's talents as a sculptor and painter to feature in her latest exhibition "Dolly Good Show", which opens at the Red Door Gallery in Putiki Drive this Friday.

Coffey is an environmentalist who often finds abandoned, non-biodegradable objects while walking with her dog Fritz. They are rescued and re-purposed in witty and whimsical ways.

"I love creating characters and sometimes I am inspired by the things I find immediately," she says.

"Other objects might sit on my studio shelves for a while until I find a purpose for them."

Some of the characters on show in the Dolly Good Show exhibition. Photo / Lewis Gardner

The artist has also employed her skills as a fibre artist to produce a series of fabric and peg dolls with unique characters and there is a group of "feathered friends" made with combinations of wire, plaster and felted wool.

And if dolls and birds don't appeal, there is a series of painted portraits featuring interesting women with canine companions.

The Red Door Gallery, owned by Peter and Debby Shepherd, is run by a collective of local artists and there is always a range of artworks for sale in the front gallery and large, garden art pieces in the outdoor area.

The Dolly Good Show exhibition will be showing in the guest gallery until the end of February.

The Red Door Gallery at 88 Putiki Drive is usually open from 10.30am until 4.30pm. Call 021 100 9070 to confirm.