ABOUT ME: Of Malaysian-Chinese and Pakeha descent, I grew up with shifting lenses on the world. My work invites viewers to consider ideas not in absolutes, but to approach gently and in multiple ways. My work often explores the ways in which we see, consider and connect to the natural world around us.
In 2015, I was a lawyer who didn’t know she would become an artist. When I took up linocut printmaking as a hobby in 2016, I never dreamed where it would take me. I now host workshops, have won awards, have co-founded a wonderful local artist group (the Selwyn Artists Collective) and regularly sell and exhibit my work.
I have a young family and a border-collie called Pippin. Pippin and I love going on walks through the Canterbury landscape – an endless source of inspiration.
MY PROCESS: My pieces are created by carving the image in a plate of lino, applying ink to the plate, and then burnishing the image by hand onto paper. Coloured pieces are made from a single plate, which is progressively carved away between the addition of each different layer of coloured ink. The moment when a print is peeled off the inked plate is exhilarating, and I find that people are fascinated by watching the process unfold.
Linocut printmaking appeals to me as it translates a drawn image vibrantly and vividly, presents interesting technical challenges along the way, and allows several pieces to be built off of one work. I find it both highly controlled and unpredictable, and I love that a beautiful linocut can be made by any interested person.
The most heartening reaction to my art is when people say “it just encourages me to have a go myself”.
PREVIOUS Exhibitions and KEY EVENTS:
- 2022 Awarded Malvern Business Award at Darfield Artweek
- 2022 Artist in Residence for Takahe Magazine at Word Christchurch Festival
- 2022 Exhibited at the following selected group exhibitions (1) Radical Botanical at Stoddart Cottage; (2) Te Mataaho: Viewfinder exhibition at Te Ara Atea (3) Annual West Melton art event at Nut Point; as well as other group exhibitions (4) Art at my Table event at Langdale Winery and Restaurant; (5) Selwyn Art Show at Rolleston; (6) Art and Soul exhibition at the Artist’s In;
- 2021 Key note speaker for Business After Five event hosted by Selwyn District Council
- 2021 Featured artist for the Selwyn Arts Series (providing artist talks and workshops)
- 2021 Exhibited at group exhibitions at (1) Printer, Painter, Photograph-Maker at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens (2) Stoddart Cottage in Diamond Harbour; (3) Down by the Liffey Gallery in Lincoln; (4) Te Huanui Gallery in Darfield; (5) the Annual West Melton Art Event at Nut Point; and (6) Oxford Art Gallery
- 2020 Co-founded Selwyn Artists Collective (a group for local artists that went on to win Silver at the Selwyn Awards the next year)
- 2020 Featured artist by Selwyn District Council for the Selwyn Arts Festival (artist talks and workshops)
- 2020 Exhibited at (1) Pigeon Bay Art Show and (2) Making an Impression at Te Huanui Gallery
- 2019 Awarded Premier award at Darfield Art Week
- 2018 Awarded Merit award at Darfield Art Week
Soon-Lee Spicer - Artist 