Arts And Crafts At Home

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 34, 4 November 1937, Page 5

Arts And Crafts At Home

What Some City Women Do With Their Spare Time

2\Ol many city women have the time or the inclination to develop home-crafts in their leisure-hours. Some take up hobbies of one kind or another, but few make their hobbies their “job.” The women on this page have raised their spare-time occupations above the level of hobbies, to the standard of crafts. Some spend their leisure hours developing their craftsmanship, and for others it is their sole occupation.

MISS BRENDA BOYES is one of those whose craft is her only occupation. She was well known in Wellington for the concrete garden ornaments she made before she went to England, but since her return she has specialised in water-colour and oil painting, modelling, pewter and brasswork. Her studio is hung with pictures of her trip abroad, and here there are pictures of little Cornish fishing villages, hills in Devon, and many pictures of London. There is also one of the Swiss Alps that was painted under difficulties for the water in the jar kept freezing. She has two impressions of the Coronation painted during the procession. Miss Boyes encountered difficulties when she took her paint brushes to the Isle of Wight. It rained nearly all the time, and she found it almost impossible to complete a picture before the rain made the colours run. For her pewter and brass work Miss Boyes uses a few very simple tools with which to work up the intricate designs on the metal. These she utilises on trinket boxes, trays and similar subjects. She is also enthusiastic about Maori designs, which she makes use of in her work. MRS. T. H. D. ELLIS, Kelburn, fills in her leisure hours by modelling in , plaster of paris., Treated with ochre, wax, and french chalk, the finished j model has the appearance of stone. Mrs. Ellis also does modelling “in relief.” This is done by the same process, but the finished model is flat and hangs on the wall. A fascinating study of a Valkyrie riding through space with a poised spear, hangs in her own hall. Mrs. Ellis has also modelled lampstands., With specially-imported clay, she has made a square lamp base designed with tikis that has eyes of paua shell. It has the appearance of Maori carving, but the clay does not wear very well, and Mrs. Ellis is now making lamp-stands with pewter designs hammered on to ■wooden bases. Her designs are fascinating, and often very intricate. She is enthusiastic about anything that is typical of New Zealand, and many of her designs have been inspired by Maori carving. She recently drew a design of native flowers for a cross-stitch stool. But all Mrs. Ellis's designs are not intricate. She has made a play-box for her small son that has a row of white ducks marching round its blue | sides, and on the lid Little Boy Blue is sleeping under his hay-cock, and Little Miss Muffett is poised in astonishment at the approach of the spider. MRS. SAMPSON, SEATOUN, is a keen student of Egyptian and Maori art. Her home she designed on Egyptian lines, and hours of painstaking work have been put into the handpainting of friezes, the carving of wall panels, chair backs, settees, and wooden chests. All the rich colour and form of the Egyptian designs have a special significance for this crafts-

woman, and as a result of her studies and work she lias.created a home with an atmosphere wholly ‘■different” and fascinating because of the symbolical meaning attached to everything in it. At her Silverstream home, Mrs. Sampson is utilising the most beautiful. forms of Maori design for decoration. She has made a study of native ferns and trees and uses these as well for her designs. She is compiling a book on the ferns of New Zealand with the illustrations taken from the original lino cuts.

Mrs. Sampson is engaged at present on the carving of two lizards which are to form the arms of a chair.

MRS. EDITH MORRIS specialises in jewellery and metalwork, spending all her spare time at her fully-equip-ped workshop at her Day’s Bay home. The nature of metal demands good craftsmanship, even if simple, and Mrs. Morris has produced some lovely pieces of work. Cutlery, trays, trinkets and rings are her strong points, but her rings are of unusual interest because on them she uses the signs of the Zodiac. She is keen on astrology, and uses this as a means of interpretation, the symbology lending itself particularly well to ornament. MISS ERICA ADMORE, LOWER HUTT, is probably the only person in Wellington with enough 'enthusiasm for weaving to have a large foot-power hand-loom, specially made for her, installed in her own home. On it she weaves her own tweed skirt materials, a s well as shawls, scarves, and linen, all in a variety of patterns. The principle of. the loom is the same as that of all looms used in the manufacture of materials, and great accuracy is necessary, as the slightest mistake throws the whole pattern out. The shuttle is thrown back and forth, while the treadles are lifted or lowered accordingly. This is a craft requiring more accuracy and patience than skill. Onee the loom is threaded up. the weaving is something which can be left or continued at will whenever time permits, or the inclination is felt, and all kinds of material may be woven for the home in this fascinating way.

MRS E. M. PITT. ISLAND BAY. started china painting a-g a hobby 15 years ago. China painting and pottery are her main interests, but she does beautiful marquetry, leather painting and pewter work, also enamelling on brass. She has her own kiln, and has produced from, it some exquisite examples of hand-painted china. She uses plain white china, and the paints are dry powders which she mixes with special oils. Enamelling on china amd lustre painting is also part of her work, and this is very effective, giving an embossed surface. Her pottery work is a more recent interest, and a'kiln of her own is very useful.