The first visitor to our gallery this morning was a man we met about 15 years ago, not long after we had bought the land we live on, and he came as the Taranaki representative of the QEII National Trust.

He asked us if we would consider placing the bush remnants on the property under a QE2 covenant. He explained what that meant, why that might appropriate & how the process worked should we decide to do it.

I don’t remember everything he said but I do remember his gentle manner, his passion & his enthusiasm for preservation and restoration of New Zealand native bush remnants on the Taranaki ring plain.

Long story short; there is now a covenant on our property which will stay on the title in perpetuity. With that covenant comes conditions & responsibilities of care that we are happy to undertake.

Subsequent to meeting him we have met some of the most wonderful people in our part of Taranaki - all of whom go about their lives & their conservation work in a quiet, gentle & consistent manner which is evidenced by the positive impact of what they do.

This post is about abundance & approaching life with an open heart, believing in the future.
It’s also about gratitude for those we have met along the way who have shared, unstintingly, their passion & enthusiasm for this important kaupapa.
It's about those who work quietly & consistently, encouraging & assisting others to make positive change in their small corner of their world. 
It’s about shared values.
It's about the child-like delight which comes with every discovery. 
It's about the joy of birdsong & finding seedlings of plants which are meant to be here.
It's about love & laughter & life.

My IG account is currently throwing a wobbly & every time I try to upload photos it crashes.
Such a shame -  & also mind bendingly frustrating. 
I had decided, because this is last week of our exhibition, I would post every day a little montage of the different sections.
Not earth shatteringly superb photos or any such thing, as ultimately I hope we will create a catalogue, just a few pics to give you a feel of how it looks however 

alas

​no such thing is possible !
​so I'll pop a few galleries here in the blog instead . . .

​It started with a book, which introduced an idea & bought up a series of questions which led to conversations & discussions about what it means to be connected to place; how some of us so easily carry ‘home’ in every fibre of our being (our hearts & minds) which allows us to almost always find connection & feel ok in whatever place we happen to be. 
And yet -  
There is still a place, a real place, where we feel so comfortable as to be part of the landscape. 
A place where we are able to lie down on the earth & breathe in & out in unison with the in & out breath of the Land. 
A place where we can feel the movements & hear the sighs of life within the land, of those who live on her & those who live within her embrace.

We feel this connection so deeply, so clearly, that all our senses are capable beyond their usual constraints.

We can see with our touch
We can feel with our eyes
Our sense of smell elicits emotions & memories
We can hear with our hearts

Is this what it means to be indigenous to place ? I don’t know.

I know for sure it allows us to develop a deep connection & love of place which becomes the basis for reciprocity which is mutually beneficial.
The desire to dominate Nature ceases, competition ceases, exploitation of Land ceases, Land stops being a commodity & ‘usable land’ stops being a measure of Land’s value.

Our values change. 
We slow down, we calm down, our priorities shift & serenity follows. 

A year long exploration of what it means to be connected to place has resulted in the creation of a gallery, artist residency & exhibition space for a collection of new works by Hugh, Isla & myself. 

A year to develop concepts with our own guidelines & our own deadlines has been very beneficial to each of our own creative practices. 
​We have each been able to extend & broadened our scope of practice & have created a collection of gentle works which we hope you will enjoy.

We have leased a shop at  37 Devon St East here in New Plymouth for a month.
The exhibition will hang from 2nd October to the 27th October 2019.
We will be open each week from Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm. 

It’s quite a large space & our intention is to set up the gallery/exhibition toward the front of the shop.
In the central area we will create a comfortable space for you; feel free to rest, sit if you want, contemplate - there’s no need to rush. 
In the space toward the back we'll set up an open studio where Isla, Hugh & I will be hanging out, chatting, drinking far too much tea & making various things. 
There will be seats available so you can come & sit with us, watch what we’re up to, ask questions, share with us your thoughts & your memories.

We believe the space we create will be a reflection of the kaupapa* we’ve been contemplating for much of our lives & with a singular focus this past year. 

We will surround you with a beautiful, thoughtful & harmonious collection of works, which are the result of our own individual explorations of what it means to be connected to place, how that can be expressed & the conversations which may result from this collective.  

We are absolutely looking forward to sharing this with you

​can’t wait to see you  

Sal xxx
*kaupapa : themes