Dudley Arthouse features in IHC Art Awards

9 August 2011
Vicki Dooley, a finalist in the IHC Art Awards 2011, is excited about attending the awards ceremony on 16 August at the St James Theatre Gallery in Wellington with her parents and with fellow Dudley Arthouse artist Anthony McIlroy – also a finalist.

Vicki’s entry is called Spider Webs. Placed third equal in last year’s IHC Art Awards, Vicki says of this year’s artwork:  “I thought doing spider webs would be something a bit different. I like working in tiny squares. It took me a very long time to do this and I think my art is special. I'm an artist and I like to show off my work.”

Vicki attends Dudley Arthouse every week day, where she sits with her box of felt tips and creates very detailed drawings –often of houses and churches. On Fridays, she knits at the Lower Hutt creative space.

“I like knitting as well as drawing,” she says. “At the moment, I’m knitting peggy squares. I also go to Pacific Aerobics in Naenae and do line dancing. And I like baking.”

Vicki has been coming to Dudley Arthouse and making art for a long time. She says one of her special memories is having her photo taken with Helen Clark, then Prime Minister, when she opened an Arts Access Aotearoa exhibition at Bowen House in 2007 featuring art from creative spaces.

“She was a nice lady and she looked at my work in the exhibition,” Vicki recalls.

Marise Hare, Dudley Arthouse Co-ordinator, is delighted that two of its artists have made it into the final 30 with their artwork on display at the St James Theatre Gallery until 16 August.

This year, 362 artists entered the national competition and work included a wide range of media from sculpture and fibre art, to painting and drawing.