Sculptress Awarded Fellowship

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31199, 25 October 1966, Page 3

Sculptress Awarded Fellowship

"The Press" Special Service DUNEDIN, October 24. Tanya Ashken, an English-born sculptress and silversmith now living in Wellington, has been awarded the second Francis Hodgkins Fellowship at the University of Otago.

There were 16 applicants for the fellowship, established to aid and encourage painters and sculptors. During her fellowship year Miss Ashken, who is 27, will

receive £l6OO from a fund established by an anonymous groups of friends of the University. She will spend the terms in Dunedin, but will return to her artist husband, John Drawbridge, in Wellington. during vacations.

Mr and Mrs Drawbridge came to New Zealand in 1963. Miss Ashken began her career at the Central School of Arts and Crafts. London, winning two travelling scholarships from the Goldsmith’s Hall, and winning the Central School Diploma. She continued her studies in Paris, then began to find a sale for her work at exhibitions in London galleries, but

turned to the possibility of combining silversmithing and sculpture after being commissioned to execute crosses for two churches in England. Since coming to New Zealand, Miss Ashken has continued working in marble, wood and bronze, but has also turned to the production of jewellery. Some of her jewellery is representing New Zealand at the World Craft Council’s Exhibition in Stuttgart, Germany. In 1965 the New Zealand Economic and Goodwill Mission to Japan presented pieces of her sculpture and paua jewellery to members of the Japanese Parliament.

Miss Ashken would prefer to explore the field of silversmithing more and treat silver in a sculptural way, but the cost of silver hampers the development <rf this interest.

As well as working with her own art, she has taught sculpture, design metalwork and woodwork for two and a half years at the Design School, Wellington Polytechnic.

She will continue to follow these interests during the term of the fellowship. The first holder of the fellowship was also an English artist, the painter, Michael Illingworth.