Cast glass highly commended at NZ Sculpture Awards
Sculptural Glass Artist Di Tocker has received one of five highly commended awards on offer at the 2022 RT Nelson Awards for Sculpture with $1000 prize money. Judge Lynne Sandri decidied to give the highly commended award to Di for both her selected artworks Submerge - Ice Melt and Submerge - Purple Fall, as she did for the winning two artworks from Lissy and Rudi Robinson Cole.
88 artworks were selected as finalists from 66 artists in all sculpture mediums.
Congratulations to Auckland artists Lissy and Rudi Robinson-Cole for winning the $15,000 Premier award with their pieces Harikoa – Aroā Nukunuku and Paki – He Taonga Tuku Iho, made from hand carved wood embellished with crocheted NZ neon wool.
‘Lissy and Rudi are clever, bold, and colourful collaborators combining two traditional practices of carving and crochet into contemporary sculpture,’ says Sandri. ‘Even the range of neon colours are theirs and each colour represents a kaitiaki of their arts practice. Their works are beacons of joy and I believe will help share and connect our culture with everyone (in homes-whare and meeting houses – whare hui). These works are traffic stoppers and I can’t stop thinking about how uplifting they are. Definitely joy spreaders and I can’t think of anything more important that we all need right now.’
View the award winners and finalists here.
Testimonial for Glass Art
We were thrilled to have the opportunity to commission Di to deliver a bespoke glass artwork for us. We wanted something to represent our life journey so far and found that Di’s Navigator series symbolised our thoughts well. Di was able to deliver us a beautiful glass piece based on this theme that delivered our message and complemented our setting.
Di’s adaptability and process were inspiring and hugely rewarding to be part of. From the very first visioning stages through to wax concepts, choice of colours then receiving the finished product, Di made sure we understood the process, her artistic boundaries, technical constraints and the time involved for each step, then she kept us engaged through each development stage.
We really enjoyed working with Di, we love our artwork and expect that future generations will also treasure it for years to come. Thanks Di.
John and Lisa O’Donoghue, Hamilton
Recent Commission from Di Tocker Glass- Navigator series
What do you do when you've been gifted a nominal amount to spend on yourself?
This happened to a recent client when leaving the firm he had given many years of service to. Wanting my client to choose something special and meaningful for himself, the company suggested he go away and have a think about what he really wanted.
Discussions with his wife lead to deciding the time was right to own a select piece of Cast Glass Artwork. Having admired glass art for many years, a search on the internet lead them to choose a piece commissioned by myself.
It has been a joy to work with these clients choosing such a special keepsake that represents so much of their joint life together and the new adventures they intend to have.
Award finalists announced for RT Nelson Sculpture Prize
The list of finalists has been announced for the 2022 RT Nelson Sculpture Awards to be held in Wellington 2-5 June.
I have 2 pieces selcted for this prestigious sculpture exhibtion featuring 68 artists and 89 artworks from throughout New Zealand.
View the full list of finalists here
My two artworks are based on these two previou smaller pieces
Vouchers now available for selected Di Tocker Glass artworks
Buy your loved one a beautiful piece of art but take out the risk factor!
Di Tocker now offers vouchers for some selected artworks. This means you can purchase your loved one a special piece of art but they can choose the colour.
The glass artwork will be made after your loved one choose their favourite colour or colour mix depending on the piece. By choosing the colour your loved one gets to take part in the process and can also visit Di Tocker's glass studio in Cambridge to collect it. (delivery is also available)
Avoid a voucher with a dollar value - the voucher is specific to an artwork.
Find out more
Select from Travellers, Headspace and Team of Two.
To purchase a voucher contact Di Tocker by phone 0210384057 or email di@dicast.co.nz
Di Tocker Glass selected for 2022 Awards for Sculpture
This email was recieved 10 February confirming my place as a finalist with 2 selcted works...
Kia ora Di,
Thank you for applying for the 2022 Richard T Nelson Awards for Sculpture. We appreciate the time and effort it takes to put an application together.
We're really excited about the range of applications that came in - a mix of contemporary and traditional styles.
Congratulations: both of your works Submerge – Ice Melt and Submerge – Purple Fall have been selected as finalists to be exhibited in the RT Nelson Awards for Sculpture Exhibition at the 2022 NZ Art Show.
Judging is never an easy task but you can feel confident your entry was reviewed thoroughly and respectfully; and often a robust conversation took place. The calibre of entries was remarkable and the diversity of work put forward has left us in absolute awe of the talent in Aotearoa. Around 80 small sculptures from artists all over NZ will form this exhibition.
Your work will be considered to receive one of 6 awards:
- Premier prize –- $15,000 (1 available)
- Highly commended - $1,000 (5 available)
The Awards for Sculpture will be exhibited within the
NZ Art Show in Wellington
Thursday June 2nd (preview) to Saturday June 4th.
"I am very grateful to have this ooportunity to showcase my artwork.
Thank you to philanthropist Richard T. Nelson!"
Richard T. Nelson is an avid art collector and appreciator. Originally from the USA, Richard has called Wellington, NZ home for past 25 years
Richard’s love of sculpture started more than 50 years ago upon visiting a small gallery in Haiti. There he came across some beautiful works by a Haitian sculptor, Ludovic Booz. He purchased 3 elegant mahogany sculptures that he admires and appreciates to this day.
Degrees from Yale and Stanford Universities followed by a successful career in Investments has enabled Richard to pursue his love of art.
His collection holds contemporary pieces from around the world including Europe, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Haiti, Japan and Africa. His sculpture collection includes a considerable selection of smaller works, providing the inspiration for this award.
Richard appreciates the elegance and grace of sculpture, and wishes to reward technique and true craftsmanship through this award.
Family designs their Cambridge home to harness solar and artist energy
A ruler collection artistically assembled on the wall of a Waikato home provides visitors with a hint about the owner’s passion in life.
Di Tocker is an artist and her four-bedroom home is a mixture of creative thinking and functionality.
The wooden ruler installation in the hallway was a head turner for people visiting the house, which was one of nine on the NZ House and Garden Charity House Tour in Cambridge on Friday and Saturday.
The rulers were collected from second-hand shops during holidays around New Zealand over a couple of years.
The black walls also draw attention while a large painting in the home’s main living space is by friend and painter Jennie De Groot.
There are also many other artwork features around the house by Tocker too, who is a glass artist.
She and her husband Mike built the house in 2016 for their family, two daughters Rubie and Hazel, to move into from Ōhaupo.
The pavilion-style house is on a lane and has a quiet courtyard which leads to the front door.
The house occupies most the property's footprint but there are many small, outdoor spaces created, following the shape of the building.
There are spaces “for every season of the year”, Tocker said.
“We didn't need a lot of outdoor room because when we open the French doors, you feel like you are outside.
“The big thing for me is form and functionality, to have spaces that have dual-purpose if possible, that’s all the way through the house.”
Tocker said the family “begged and borrowed” from home designs online before they came up with a concept plan for New Image Homes in Hamilton to start work on.
“One of the things we did was to use classic 1970s brick that you might see while driving around in Dinsdale [in Hamilton].
“We didn’t want the house to be ultra-modern, to be a house stuck in one particular era.
“But we did want it to be a nod to that classic period.”
There is a swimming pool with rural views at one end of the property and at the other end, near the lane, a studio was built for Tocker to focus on her career in art.
She has worked as a fulltime artist for 18 years and been in business for herself for about 14 years.
Most of her customers are home owners and she also supplies work to five galleries around the country.
NZ House and Garden Editor Naomi Larkin said Di Tocker’s house is all about colour and artwork.
“I’ve heard people come out and talk how they can see Di’s personality in the house. It has nice artwork ideas, Di has got her own style, which people have appreciated.
“The beauty of this tour is that we have got a great range of homes, everything from a modern-day castle, a house wrapped in corten steel, a relocated church and here, an artist’s studio.”
Larkin said the tour in Cambridge was one of the first to sell out. The last time the Waipā town was part of the tour was in 2015.
There were other tours this year in Dunedin, Christchurch, Kāpiti Coast and Auckland.
“Interest has been phenomenal, we had to increase the tour from one to two days for Cambridge.
“People have this intriguing, voyeuristic interest is seeing inside other peoples’ homes and we like to say it's a chance to have a first-person look inside the pages of NZ House and Garden.”
Larkin also said it was a show of support for the tour’s charity, Breast Cancer Foundation NZ.
”The partnership we have allows these tours to provide a lot of funding each year.
”This year, it is a cash injection of $110,000 as well as a campaign public marketing package valued at around $120,000.
”The foundation is an organisation we think is really important to Aotearoa, the work they do is important to so many people and we’re really happy to partner with them.”
By Lawrence Gullery, Feb 14 2021
Stuff News
Glass Animals on show in Wellington
Steph Lusted has gathered together many talented artists and craftspeople from around New Zealand to create work to the supplied theme 'Animalia' - a group exhibition of works designed to celebrate the Animal Kingdom in all its beauty and fragility.
Executed by a collection of artists working in a diverse range of media and handcrafts this exhibiton will be sure to delight you. Please note this exhibtion will not be available online.
I have 2 works in this group exhibition - 'Intimate Infancy' and 'Blended Family' are one-off pieces and priced at NZ$2400. Please direct all enquiries to Steph Lusted
Opening - Monday 2 November 4.30 - 6.30pm
Exhibition - November 3 - December 5
Steph Lusted Jewellery & Objets d'Art
17 Whitmore St
Wellington
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Friday 10:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday 10:00am - 4:00pm
Otherwise by Appointment
Telephone: +64 (0) 4 470 7555
After Hours: +64 (0) 21 068 2631