Stone of the month - Aquamarine

Uncut Aquamarine

This month's birthstone is Aquamarine, from Latin meaning 'water of the sea'. It is so named because of it's sea water colour.  It's pale blue colouring is a result of the Iron content, and is a variety of  Beryl.  Aquamarine deposits are mainly found in Brazil and Russia, with the largest aquamarine found in Marambaia, Brazil, in 1910, weighing over 110 kg!

Rings by Barry Clarke featuring handcut Aquamarine, sterling silver and 18ct gold.

BC973 - Grooved Band

BC964 - Flat Band

Scott McFarlane at Whitespace

Scott McFarlane in the Weekend Herald, 17.03.12

 Scott McFarlane is currently exhibiting his paintings at Whitespace in Auckland, in a show entitled 'Fever'.  The show was featured in the Saturday New Zealand Herald on the 17th March, in which T.J McNamara had the following to say:

There are two shows at Whitespace where, in the front gallery, Scott McFarlane has paintings where multi-coloured figures and fragments of figures are brushed in strongly against a background where the mark of the brush strongly supported the dancing movement of the shapes.  A typical work is Frontier Society, where a strong horizon divides two groups of figures held together by a stomping dance rhythm.  Other work is more explicit and the lighting more dramatic.   Wings of Desire is notable for a glowing light effect and winged guide that supports a figure through dark and rocky places.  The figure is too general to be called an angel, but the effect is graceful and suggests a state of mind rather than a narrative drama.  Although the technique is similar in all except the closely worked and almost abstract Substance of Being, the states of mind suggested are varied from the ordinary life of Lipstick Index to the visionary Man with the Golden Arm. It is a lively and thoughtful show.  

Bronwynne Cornish - Consulting the Oracle

Our gallery space has been transformed by Bronwynne Cornish for her show Consulting the Oracle. The Oracles stem from a body of work that Bronwynne begun in Delhi, at an artist's residency at Sanscritti in 2006.

India has one of the highest rates of potters per capita and the majority of these are village potters, making local deities out of clay. The first Oracle was made for the show 'Lugosi's Children' at Object Space in Auckland and as I gathered more mirrors others followed.  I think of the accumulated faces behind the mirrors, all the people who have looked into them over the years. What were they looking for? What did they see? Look into the mirror and a question may come and maybe, even an answer found.  In uncertain times we pursue unusual ways.

Bronwynne Cornish
2012

Oracle with Jackal - Bronwynne Cornish

 The exhibition runs until the 17th of March, and features an 'Oracle Box', where you can consult the oracles and find answers to questions on love, fate, destiny, health, wealth or prosperity.

Baby Owl on Stump - Bronwynne Cornish