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What's On in the Arts in Central Otago - April
Sewing Moonlight, by Kyle Mewburn. Many years ago, I was invited to Kyle and Marion's home to chat about a project the Arts Trust were looking at doing in the Teviot. Kyle and Marion Mewburn live in the front blocks of Millers Flat, down one of those roads where you hit gravel and wonder if you have driven too far, or if in fact you still had miles of intrepid travel to get there. Many people would relish the thought of driving into the neverland but being a townie with an impractical car (and less gas in the tank than I should have) I wondered if my journey had the potential to end badly. As it transpired, not too much further down the road I arrived safely at their home - with no flat tyre, all
pieces of the car intact, and enough gas to get me back to Roxburgh. The drive was worth it! Standing proud at the gate of the property, on the left of the pathway is a corrugated iron shed - the only original structure that remains after a fire destroyed the Wallers' homestead in the 1940's. Now, the shed is populated with Marion's funky ceramic creations. I loved that I was walking into an artist’s oasis amidst what I would expect has always been the most traditional kind of farmland. Further down the path, I recall being greeted by several chickens, and ushered by them into a grass roofed home built by Kyle. As well as creating a home filled with all things which in my mind constitute creativity, Kyle and Marion have also worked to develop their land to be productive. There are parallels in how the land was lived on historically, and what Kyle and Marion have created since
they purchased the property many years ago for only $7000. Kyles' latest novel. Sewing Moonlight is set on this property and based loosely around its history as well as events that happened in the village of Millers Flat 100 years ago. The book blurb reads as follows: It’s winter of 1928, and young German man Wilhelm Erdinger is left stranded in the remote New Zealand village of Falter’s Mill. Wilhelm purchases a piece of land capable of providing the kind of sustainable, self-sufficient life he craves, and a shack he soon begins to call home. Though he is regarded with suspicion by many in the local
community, he soon attracts a small number of friends, each outsiders in their own way. With a little help from the ecological theories of Steiner and the poetic inspirations of Goethe, Wilhelm survives, at times even flourishes, in a country rocked by the effects of war and the Depression. However, it is the arrival of a new war – coupled with the sometimes-brutal climate of Central Otago – that threatens to destroy the utopia he has created. Sewing Moonlight is a tragic tale of love, loss, and biodynamics in a challenging time. More than this, it is a story of one man’s journey from alienation to acceptance. Like the moon, which looms large over everything, each ending is also a new beginning. The novel will be released on April 8. Make sure you grab a copy and get reading! Scroll down to see exhibitions, open studios, events and opportunities, happening in the arts in Central Otago.
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What's On
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Central Stories Museum and Art Gallery - Studio 5 Art Exhibition
Tue, 19 March 2024 - Sun, 14 April 2024 @ 10am - 4pm Daily
5 talented artists from Clyde displaying their works. Ross Cowie Judy Campbell Shona Horne …
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