Adrienne Rewi Online

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Billboard of the Week

And So The Madness Begins......

Another round of the annual Buskers' Festival is about to start.

Are We Ready For It?

Edible Fancies

Riccarton Market, Christchurch. Jan. 2009 Ajr

More Dainty Bites

From The Cupcake Collection

Friday, January 9, 2009

The Mona Vale Gatehouse (top image) is one of my favourite Christchurch houses. I just adore its almost storybook quality – it’s the sort of pretty little house I dreamed about as a kid. The main Mona Vale homestead, (lower image) was originally called Karewa and was built for Frederick Waymouth in 1899-1900. Designed by Christchurch architect, J.C Maddison in the Arts & Crafts style, it sold to Annie Townend in 1905. It was she who renamed it Mona Vale – after her mother’s home in Tasmania, Australia. She was also responsible for the adding the gorgeous gatehouse. The property is now owned by Christchurch City Council and, set in four hectares of pretty gardens, it is a popular spot open to the public. The gatehouse is rented out as a private home. Both homes have a Category I listing with New Zealand Historic Places Trust.

The Wild West

Punakaiki, West Coast, South Island. Dec. 2009. Ajr

Here's another view of the 'boiling' seas at Punakaiki on The West Coast. It's almost heresy to say it in these parts but I've never been a big fan of the West Coast - with the exception of the wild and rugged stretch of coast between Greymouth and Punakaiki; and then further north again, from Westport to Karamea.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Star-Gazing

Christchurch Arts Centre. Jan. 2009. Ajr

Among the many gorgeous Victorian Gothic Revival buildings of the old Canterbury College, University of New Zealand – now the Christchurch Arts Centre – the Townsend Observatory is the one that captures my imagination the most. It was designed by Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (1825-1898) and was completed in 1896. Now fully restored, the Townsend telescope is again operational and you can climb the winding staircase on clear Friday nights (early April-late September) to check out the moon, planets and stars. I must keep that in mind when I’m in the mood for a wild Friday night on the town. www.artscentre.org.nz

Petals and Stamens

Christchurch. Jan. 2009. Ajr

I LOVE my neighbour's magnolia tree - especially given that it hangs right over my side of our mutual fencline, showering my garden in white petals and a delicate lemony perfume that makes me think of exotic places.

Mood and Mist

Punakaiki, West Coast. Dec. 2008. Ajr

My imagination ran riot as I made my way through this flax forest near the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks on the West Coast. It was all mood and mist - just the sort of landscape where something prehistoric and dinosaur-like might rear up and confront you. I wouldn't have been at all surprised - but I was rather taken aback when I walked around a corner and came face-to-face with a tourist carrying a purple umbrella. Some things you just don't expect.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Small Moments of Beauty

A Tracery

Pattern and Shadow

In Glass

Shoe Shuffle

A black strappy number

by PULP

If you're a shoe fan click on SHOES in the label line below for more goodies.

StreetscapeNZ - 8

Greymouth

West Coast, South Island

Hand Me My Bag.......

Merivale, Christchurch. Jan. 2009. Ajr

I couldn't resist

the feminine loveliness

of this little rosebud-covered purse

(not to mention the shadows springing away from it)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The Spaces Between - 18

Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia. Nov. 2008. Ajr

It was 37-degrees the morning I rolled into Castlemaine, a couple of hours north of Melbourne. The sky was impossibly blue and made all the more so by its striking contrast to the many old brick buildings that give the town so much architectural character. It's a great little town but I find that searing heat hard to take. For others in this series click on Spaces Between in the label line below.

Meet the People - 32

Arts Centre Market, Christchurch. Jan. 2009. Ajr

Another in the Series Meet the People - Ordinary and Extraordinary New Zealanders Doing Interesting Things - Christchurch chef, Katey Thew-Thin became hooked on cupcakes in Melbourne, where she worked as a chef for six years before returning to New Zealand. Now she’s started her own cupcake company, Buttercups, creating hundreds of these gorgeous edible fancies a week for weddings, birthdays, corporate functions, baby showers, cafes and her regular weekend stints at both the Christchurch Arts Centre Market and the Canterbury Farmers’ Market at Riccarton House. “I stick to three basic cake recipes – orange, wildberry and vanilla – but I get really carried away with the decorating. That’s what I love about cupcakes – there are no limits and that has captured my imagination,” Katey says. Cupcakes are not new of course but ever since Magnolia Bakery in New York re-invigorated the craze in the 1990s; and then soared to fame with appearances in ‘Sex in the City’ and ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ these mouth-watering little cakes have become a worldwide phenomenon. It seems everyone loves them and if you stand at Katey’s market stall, you’ll soon see what I mean. People are drawn to the colourful Buttercups goodies – most want to taste them but just as many people just like to admire them and take photos. And their most common question? “Are they real?” The answer: definitely! They’re real AND delicious!

StreetscapeNZ - 7

Stuart Street

Dunedin

For others in this new series click on StreetscapeNZ in the label line below

Monday, January 5, 2009

A Dinosaur Named ..........

Canterbury Museum. Jan. 2009. Ajr Allosaurus

Late Jurassic period

North America

Grew up to 15 metres long

I found this beauty when I wandered through Canterbury Museum the other day. I was lost. I was actually looking for the seabirds; but this turned out to be a better find. www.canterburymuseum.com If you click on Dinosaurs in the label line below, you'll find another dinosaur - called Sue.

Billboard of the Week

Ferrymead, Christchurch. Dec. 2008 Ajr

Here's another of the Kovacs billboards I love - outside their furniture-making factory and showroom at Ferrymead. www.kovacs.co.nz

More from the Billboards....

Ferrymead, Christchurch. Dec. 2008. Ajr

And I couldn't resist snapping this one.......a rather joyful image celebrating Ferrymead's very delicious Petrini Restaurant and their spectacular delicatessan and cheese room. If you haven't already discovered it, you're missing an edible treat. www.petrini.co.nz

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Bored Stiff?

Merivale, Christchurch. Jan 2009. Ajr

Mannequins - one of my favourite subjects.

Is it my imagination, or does this one look totally bored with the whole shopping thing?

A Mysterious Visitor

Lincoln, Canterbury. Jan. 2009. Ajr

Wheat Field

With Tracks

Who drove there?

And why did they stop so abruptly?

Old Stone Beauty

It’s Sunday again so time to reflect on a little church architecture. It was a blistering 30-degree day when the caretaker let me inside St Paul’s Anglican Church at Tai Tapu the other day. The interior air was cool, the mood serene and the atmosphere rich with the aromatic scent of Christmas lilies standing in the altar vases. This gorgeous little stone church was erected by Sir Robert Heaton Rhodes in memory of his wife Jessie. (Rhodes was the original owner of Otahuna, the magnificent homestead near Tai Tapu that now operates as a luxury lodge – click Otahuna in the label line below to see one of the best homesteads in New Zealand). The foundation stone was laid in 1930 and the church – designed by Christchurch architect Cecil Wood – now has a Historic Places Trust A listing.

Standing on the banks of a quiet, tree-lined stream, the stone church is as pretty as a picture; but beyond that, it has a number of interesting historical features. For a start, the stone inset on the north wall – an acanthus leaf carving – is from one of the piers supporting the dome of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London. It formed part of the rebuilding of Saint Paul’s by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London in 1666 – and was removed in 1930. And the flintstone inset in the south wall is a fragment of stone from St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, which was erected in the 13th century.

Red Cross

Sockburn, Christchurch. Dec. 2008. Ajr

This may well be one of the ugliest churches I’ve seen in a while but I was drawn to its big red cross standing boldly etched into a bright blue sky. It’s Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church at Sockburn in Christchurch – not the prettiest architecture but it certainly stands out.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

The Collectors - 7

My Place, Christchurch. Jan 2009. Ajr

Among the many odd things I collect my Buddha statues and my Buddhist prayer beads are among my favourites. I've gathered them from far and wide in Asia - a little reward perhaps, after I've climbed over 700 stone steps up a mountain to a Japanese temple; an exquisite little treasure bargained for in a Beijing antique market; a serene carving purchased from a remote temple in the South Korean mountains. All have special meaning for me and each one comes with a special set of travel memories.

Water-Side Architecture

Ferrymead, Christchurch. Dec. 2008. Ajr

This is the controversial new apartment complex Water'sEdge - fittingly, on the water's edge at Ferrymead on the way out to Sumner. Personally I don't know what the fuss is all about. I think they look terrific. So they're a few stories high in an otherwise single-storey area - so what? It's not as if the surrounding tilt-slab architecture is of any particular merit and at least the architects of this complex - Warren and Mahoney - have put some thought into creating interesting forms for us to admire as we drive by. www.watersedgeapartments.co.nz www.warrenandmahoney.com

Visible History

Greymouth. Dec. 2008. Ajr

On a recent brief visit to Greymouth I was so taken aback by the fine weather and bright blue skies, I went slightly beserk with my little camera. It's never been my favourite place on earth but on this particular day I decided there was more of merit than I realised. I particularly liked this 'illustrated wall' at the rear of the Greymouth Evening Star building - a little potted provincial history; as quirky and idiosynchratic as much of small town New Zealand is. www.greydistrict.co.nz

Friday, January 2, 2009

Small Moments of Beauty

Bear Claw Earrings

By Auckland Jeweller

Jane Dodd

Click on Jane Dodd in the label line below to see other examples of her work

Barry's Provocative Unpublished Minutes - 41

" Inflight Information"

Once more for the printmaker!

Another inkjet print from one of our leading artists

For others in the series click on Cleavin in the label line below this post

Take A Seat

Christchurch. Dec. 2008. Ajr

I've taken to roaming around semi-industrial areas with my camera - a sign of a misspent youth perhaps? And every so often I find a little gem. Admittedly it's all in the eye of the beholder but I rather liked the juxtaposition of these two carefully arranged plastic seats under a sign that warns incoming traffic to beware of pedestrians. Mind you, any sign that warns vehicles to 'beware of pedestrians' is slightly comical when you think about it.

StreetscapeNZ - 6

Armagh Street

Christchurch

To view others in this new series click on StreetscapeNZ in the label line below this post.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Year's Eve in Lights

I'm going to usher in the New Year with a complete lack of restraint by showing of a series of photographs I took last night at (and near) SOL (South of Lichfield) - one of the city's central party scenes. From the balloons and brights lights of the party pill shop (above) to the crowds gathered in the bars at SOL, it was all go.