Art
“Art and Wine Entwined”
Jun 27th
One of the most beautiful and unusual wineries I’ve ever visited is located about an hour’s drive north of Auckland, New Zealand. Richard and Christine Didsbury own Brick Bay Vineyard, establishing the vines in 1996 and producing some lovely wines strictly from their own grapes. We had met Richard earlier on the day we visited the winery, as he is one of the driving forces behind the village of Matakana and its well-known Farmers Market. The winery and its unique sculpture trail seem to be Christine’s special loves, and she was our gracious and knowledgeable hostess on our afternoon visit there.
One approaches Brick Bay’s tasting room dropping from the thoroughfare stretched along a hilly crest down over rolling pastureland which spills eventually into the bay and sea. Tucked into a fold in the hills about halfway down is The Glass House, the winery’s three-year-old tasting room, an elegant, one-story, all-glass building cantilevered over a small lake and its outflowing creek. We arrived as a light rain dimpled the waters of the lake, breaking up the colorful reflections of the autumn-tinged vines which climb a slope beyond. Geese and swans floated peacefully on the surface amid still-flowering water lilies. There was a timeless quality to the scene — vaguely recalling a Japanese garden while feeling very modern as well.
Joining the natural beauty were a number of sculptures scattered along the shore of the lake and even positioned on the water itself. These were just a few of the installations which make up the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail. Christine’s long-time passion for sculpture was the impetus for the 2-kilometer trail, which includes nearly 50 pieces of art selected by a curatorial panel. The Brick Bay Sculpture Trust administers surplus revenue from the operation of the trail, making funds available to artists who otherwise could not afford the expense of creating or installing works of a scale for such an outdoor exhibition.
Intermittent but sometimes heavy showers prevented us from being able to walk the entire trail, but quick forays in a number of directions exposed us to the variety of both the terrain the trail covers (alongside lakes, swamps, vineyards and native bush) and the mediums and forms of the pieces exhibited. I found it a brilliant and delightful venue in which the Didsburys provide invaluable exposure for New Zealand artists.
We also took time to sit down and sample a few Brick Bay wines, accompanied by vineyard platters boasting local cheeses, sausages and cured meats, fruit, vegetables,  pates and remoulades. The winery’s fairly small production means one can generally find it’s wines only at a limited number of fine restaurants in New Zealand, but tastes of the 2009 Pinot Gris and Pharos, a premium red blend from 2005, showed the artistry applied to their development.
I hope to return to New Zealand some day, and Brick Bay Vineyard is on my list of places I’d revisit. And rain or not, next time I’ll be sure to take in the entire Sculpture Trail and its lovely views — both natural and man-made.
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor
Visit with an Artist
Jun 13th
One of my favorite experiences from my trip to New Zealand in April was the chance to meet and talk with Maori artist Blaine Te Rito. As we drove to Blaine’s home-based studio in an Auckland suburb, our guide and Potiki Tours co-founder Melissa Crockett told us how she came to meet Blaine and what a great ambassador for New Zealand and traditional Maori art and culture he is . . . as we would soon see for ourselves. She also explained that Blaine has a full facial moko (tattoo) that he would be happy to explain and be photographed. And, just before we arrived at his home, Melissa explained that we would also be greeted with the hongi, a traditional Maori greeting in which two individuals press their noses together, forehead to forehead. She gave us a few pointers: no rubbing noses, just a brief touch which may be accompanied by a handshake.
Blaine is one of those people who can immediately put anyone at ease, and although he explained he had injured his back earlier and was in some pain, one wouldn’t have known it by his frequent, booming laughter and his willingness to chat with us on his deck for an hour or so. He started by explaining to us the meaning behind the hongi (it is an exchange and intermingling of the breath of life in each of us) and some of the creation stories of the Maori and Polynesian cultures.
Blaine’s primary medium is wood, and he has been carving since he received his first set of tools from his father at Christmas when he was 10. His training in traditional carving began when he was 15, but he said he really has only been supporting himself with his art full time in the past five or six years. He travels the world on behalf of the New Zealand arts board exhibiting, teaching and taking part in indigenous art workshops. He has completed commissioned pieces for private and public collections alike, and the samples of his work which he shared with us (a mask with a full moko and the prow of a war canoe) were wonderfully wrought and intricate in detail. When he creates a piece for an individual, he learns as much as he can about that person’s background and family, because the art will contain symbols and stylized designs which refer to that information. He says, “Every piece begins with a story; I always start with a story.”
Blaine shared with us a bit of his own story and how he came to have his moko. The practice had nearly died out (missionaries discouraged the practice, and because originally the designs were actually chiseled into the skin, there were problems with infections and hygiene) until a revival began over the last 20 years. Blaine explained that because the practice had been co-opted by some young men in gangs, there is still some stigma attached to the tattoos, but not just anyone can receive a moko from “the masters” — the traditional artists. Tribal elders must give their permission, and Blaine indicated that he also sought the approval of several of his family members. A proper moko is designed to “fit” the individual’s features, and the pattern is determined by one’s life story and ancestors. The left side represents one’s mother’s ancestry while the right represents the father’s, and patterns flowing from the nostrils (again, the breath of life) represent one’s children. While women may have their chins and occasionally their foreheads tattooed, only men can have the full facial tattoo.
All too soon we had to take our leave, and after once again sharing a hongi with each of us, Blaine bid us “Haere ra” (literally, “Go!”). Looking back on that afternoon, I realize that while his moko was at first very striking, my memories of Blaine are more clearly now of his wide smile, infectious laughter and generous nature. As I have found so often true of my travels, while New Zealand and Auckland were beautiful and enchanting, encounters with individuals like Blaine Te Rito will be my most treasured memories.
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editorÂ
An Insider’s Tour
Jun 12th
One of our days in Auckland was spent in the company of two bright and delightful young women, Melissa Crockett and Michelle Roberts of Potiki Tours. They create tours which provide visitors urban, cultural and active adventures through their unique perspective as Maori descendants in the modern culture. The first part of the day was spent exploring the Ponsonby Road area of the city, certainly one of the trendiest and most vibrant parts of town.
Melissa has a strong arts background, so we began with visits to a couple of the many art galleries in the area and viewed the work of contemporary New Zealand artists and some intriguing craft and design art as well. From there we began our stroll of a mile or so down Ponsonby Road. Melissa lived in the area for several years as it was morphing from a rather run-down section of town into its present-day identity as a gentrified but lively and eclectic scene. She provided us with some of the history of Auckland and this area in particular while pointing out some of the impressive historic buildings (including the Ponsonby Post Office which is now a great pub with the original architecture intact).
For shoppers, Ponsonby offers a bit of everything. From high-end boutiques featuring internationally recognized New Zealand designers to an independent record shop offering vintage vinyl and the latest CDs, from home design and cookware to bookshops and jewelry stores, one can find just about anything here to fit a broad range of budgets and interests. But this is not just some touristy shopping district or rarefied enclave. Part of the Ponsonby appeal is that it is also clearly a place where the locals live, work and shop, too. There were corner markets, delis, dry cleaners and coffee shops sprinkled all up and down the street.
And one certainly needn’t worry about going hungry here. Melissa and Bianca were constantly pointing out both the well-known and the more anonymous-but-nevertheless-great eateries on both sides of the street. I liked the fact that Burger Fuel, offering a wide range of food for every lifestyle — vegetarian, gluten-free, etc. — coexisted with Murder Burger (the name says it all — all meat, no veggie burgers here – served up with an irreverent sense of humor; check out their website!) just a few blocks up. Restaurants covered every ethnic niche imaginable; and hot nightspots, casual coffee joints, delectable bakeries and a chocolatier were pointed out to us as well. The short remainder of my stay in Auckland did not afford me the opportunity to personally check out any of those (except, of course, for Devonport Chocolates), but we did enjoy a three-course lunch specially prepared for us at Sidart. This fine-dining restaurant, which seats only about 40 diners, boasts a small balcony with a view of downtown Auckland and the Sky Tower. Chef Sid Sahrawat presented a lovely meal, and it was easy to see why he and his restaurants (he also heads the larger and highly regarded The Grove here) are thought of so well.
This insider’s tour of Ponsonby was only the first half of our time spent with Potiki Tours. Our special afternoon meeting with a Maori artist in tomorrow’s blog.
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editorÂ
Visiting Vegas
Mar 27th
My husband and I spent a few days in Las Vegas this past week, my first true visit there, although Harry has been several times. Vegas provides an easy-to-reach getaway from Medford, as Allegiant Air provides direct, one-and-a-half-hour flights to McCarran Airport several times a week. Harry chose a flight/hotel package for us that made for a fairly inexpensive spring break trip, and the weather cooperated with sunny, 70-degree days.
Our shuttle from the airport to our hotel took us down the Strip, so I was able to get a good look at all the imposing, fanciful edifaces of the various hotel-casino complexes which line it. Most impressive is the recently opened (December 2009) CityCenter complex. Composed of several gleaming glass-and-steel high rises surrounding the Crystals retail and entertainment cluster (from the street, vaguely reminiscent in form of the Experience Music Project in Seattle — though not so colorful), it represents the largest, single privately funded development in U.S. history. MGM Mirage and Dubai World partnered in building the $11 billion, 76-acre multiuse development, and all I could wonder as I listened to the number-of-room statistics our driver relayed was how many of those were going to be empty until the economy recovers.
Las Vegas has certainly taken a major hit over the last two years; I caught a bit of a news story on the TV one evening that indicated that while the numbers have slowly started to creep up in the last few months, visitors and spending are still way down. While the casinos certainly weren’t bursting with players during the day (this was, after all, mid-week), there seemed to be lots of vacationers strolling Las Vegas Boulevard during the day, and the gaming tables were livelier at night when the numerous conventioneers got out of their seminars and had the chance to kick up their heels.
Although I spent a little time at the penny slots (yep, that’s me, a real high-roller), we enjoyed more time strolling the Strip, taking a ride up the Paris’ Eiffel Tower (good for a bird’s-eye view of the area), window shopping and cruising through the various venues. I have to say that I think my favorite is the Bellagio. The property is stunning, from those dancing fountains out front to the Dale Chihuly glass art installations and the landscaped grounds (gardens will get me, every time).
More Vegas observations, tomorrow.
– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader
