In the studio: Grace Thresher
This New Zealand creative shares her process, inspiration, and what challenges she feels artists face today.
“All of my works are multi-layered and multi-faceted, applied with care and consideration to convey meaning in media through richness and depth.”
“As a child, I was constantly creating,” shares Grace. “Since I can remember, I would be outdoors making little rock sculptures, drawing animals I would see around me, or collecting flowers and plants to study. You could say my inspiration and passion for art started from when I could walk.”
As the Port Waikato-based artist got older, she would “make any excuse to paint, draw and create”. She then went on to study art at the Elam School of Fine Arts, graduating in 2013 after four years of learning.
“After graduating, I immediately co-founded Circle Gallery & Studio in Newmarket Station Square with a university colleague – exhibiting and hosting emerging local artists.”
Grace has also worked as the gallery coordinator at the Māngere Arts Centre Ngā Tohu o Uenuku from 2020, and coordinated and curated two other Council-owned art spaces: Te Oro in Glen Innes and Fresh Gallery Ōtara. “My next roles were marketing coordinator at Auckland Art Gallery - Toi o Tāmaki in 2021; social media and communications coordinator for Waipā District Council throughout 2021 and 2022; and more recently, the social media coordinator in the marketing team at The Poi Room in Newmarket and Ponsonby.
“Throughout this time, I have continued to produce artwork, exhibit, organise events and attend art markets. After first exhibiting at the Lake House Arts Centre in 2013 I became both organiser and participant there, in 2021 for ‘Beneath the Surface’. I have shown work at Corban Estate Arts Centre and Open Table Café in Ellerslie as well as previously exhibiting at the Upstairs Gallery first in 2021 as part of the multi-media group show, ‘6° of Separation’ and recently for my first solo exhibition ‘Focus’. I also attend Art at the Port annually and contribute to Art Weekend at Port Waikato - Open Studios, which is in its third year running in 2023.”
It’s certainly a busy agenda for Grace, with a number of commissions in the works and a body of work for a gallery (to be revealed soon!). “I am also working with a group of artists called ‘Sunset Collective’ – a group consisting of five core women, who are also part of Open Studios Port Waikato annually.”
We spoke with Grace to learn more about her creative journey…
“My aim is to express the movement and feeling of nature’s ever-evolving, breathing, changing splendour – bringing particular attention to the details, intricacies and textures within natural forms.”
How have you been able to combine your passion for art and marketing?
This has definitely been a natural progression over time and due to my past jobs. Throughout university I worked in various part-time retail jobs, which taught me a lot about marketing, fashion and especially people and how to interact with different audiences and appeal to them on different levels. Understanding the numbers behind strategic marketing, branding and product placement has always been interesting to me and I have taken that through life and my work. Also working in marketing roles and as a coordinator, organising events and exhibitions, I have learned so much. Incorporating my love for design and marketing with my art practice has always been symbiotic, as each aspect supports the other.
Nature is a big inspiration for your work. What have been some particular experiences with nature; how have they influenced and translated into your art?
My creative inspiration comes from nature and my aim with each piece is to bring out the precision and detail I see, encouraging the observer to similarly lose themselves in the viewing experience. My aim is to express the movement and feeling of nature’s ever-evolving, breathing, changing splendour – bringing particular attention to the details, intricacies and textures within natural forms. My practice is driven by a love of line, colour and texture in aquatic and terrestrial life, with more recent works particularly inspired by the sea and landscape around me at Port Waikato. The dune tussocks, flaxes, flowers, sand patterns and shells. My experience of regularly swimming in the ocean brings clarity and inspiration to my work. Living and working through the seasons on the West Coast where the Waikato’s currents mix and muddy the Tasman’s salt surf – the ocean breaks roar always on the wind. All of my works are multi-layered and multi-faceted, applied with care and consideration to convey meaning in media through richness and depth.
What media do you use and how does each piece come together?
I work with a variety of media including pen, pencil, photographic manipulation, photography, collage and paint. Beginning with an idea, I may jot down a rough sketch, take a photograph or manipulate multiple images, sample a print or cut out images to create a collage as the initial conceptual draft. Often the final piece will have taken on a life of its own and its origination in that initial conception will be as an indistinct memory long before charted. I like to create fluidly and intuitively, but I always have a fair idea of the final outcome in my mind.
When do you know a piece is ‘finished’?
It’s often just a feeling when a piece is complete, but to be sure I revisit it a number of times to make final tweaks after leaving it alone for a day or two and thinking on it. Once I am 100% satisfied, I sign the work, photograph it and then decide whether it’s up to scratch after that. I often find photographing a piece really helpful in deciding whether a work is complete, as photographs rarely lie. Another consideration is if it’s a personal project or a commission. If it is a commission, I work through a few rounds of feedback with the client to get to their desired result. My personal process is more unstructured and intuitive.
Do you have any mentors in the art space?
I work with and have worked with all sorts of different artists, talented creatives and experienced professionals over the years. At present I don’t have a mentor specifically, but it is something that I have thought about looking into. Inspirational people have found their way into my life through different situations and jobs and often support and mentorship has happened when I least expected it. I suppose these individuals were there for a reason and taught me what I most needed at the time. I often turn to my family and friends for support, especially my parents as they are both creatives in their own right. It is important to receive constructive feedback and be held accountable always.
What challenges do you find artists face today?
I find the artistic process is an emotional journey. Some days I am eager, full of ideas and the work flows. Other days I focus on something else entirely, get out into nature, refresh and get external inspiration. I also find there is a lot of creative noise, competition and external pressures, especially online. As there are so many talented artists, it’s difficult not to be constantly comparing oneself to others. I have spoken to a number of artists that have the same fears and issues. I also think art is so subjective, so it’s difficult to know what direction to go in and learn what works and what doesn’t. Artists also face financial pressures – you can make a living as a full-time artist but it’s hard work and takes time to make a name for yourself and become successful. I have always had to maintain a part time job or offer freelance work alongside my art to make a living, which is very common for most artists.
What’s been your highlight as a contemporary artist in Aotearoa?
Exhibiting solo for the first time at The Upstairs Gallery in Titirangi was a recent highlight. It was so exciting but also daunting to fill an entire space alone, as the focus was all on me and my work, when I have usually participated in group exhibitions.
I am also honoured to be asked to create commissions and sell artworks. It’s such a buzz and the highest compliment to know people love your work and want it displayed in their homes!
Port Waikato, Aotearoa New Zealand
