New Zealand: Te Puia

On July 28, I visited a Maori center called Te Puia in Rotorua, on the North Island of New Zealand. This might have been my favorite attraction I visited in New Zealand, because it was a great combination of natural beauty, geothermal features, and Maori culture.

The beautiful entrance, Te Heketanga-a-Rangi, is made up of twelve contemporary carvings. Each carving represents a celestial guardian in Te Arawa culture. 

Above the traditional wood carvings are beautiful contemporary ones done in metal; they form a circle: 

The first thing that hits you when you get near Rotorua is the strong smell of sulfur, like rotten eggs. The geothermal features in the area are the source. At Te Puia, there are gray, murky ponds with ghostly reflections:

 

Hot pools colored teal and aqua by minerals:

Bubbling mud ponds that burp and belch:

Geysers, including the largest, Pohuto Geyser (it means “big splash” in Maori):

And everywhere, steam, steam, steam:

At this gate to the the wharenui (sacred meeting house) called Rotowhio Marae, we were met by a Maori guide:

Before we were able to enter the wharenui, we had to nominate a chief. My friend Alison’s husband Rob was chosen, but had doubts when our Maori guide told him that if he was rejected by the Maori leader, he would be decapitated immediately. Here you can see him in negotiations:

The Maori leader challenged him in a ceremony called the poshiri:

 and then decided he was an okay guy, and let us come inside:

We were treated to traditional songs and dances:

My favorite, the haka, is a dance the Maori did to frighten enemies. I got some of it on video:

Te Puia has national schools dedicated to teaching the Maori arts of carving and weaving:

Front of Maori boat

Carvings inside Maori boat

Carving inset with paua (a type of abalone shell)

Instructor at the wood carving school

Feathers embellish a woven item

Skirt is made of harakeke (flax)

There is also a recreation of a pre-European village. This ornate structure was a storage building for food:

Some food was prepared in a pit lined with hot stones; meat and vegetables were wrapped in leaves and cloth and put on top, then covered up so that the food steamed:

This is a huge chunk of what is called “greenstone” in New Zealand. It is a type of jade highly prized by Maori … and tourists! It is polished and carved into pendants and sculptures:

Te Puia had a stuffed kiwi on display. I saw live kiwi earlier in my trip, including a rare white one, but since they are nocturnal birds, they were in dark exhibition areas, and you could only see them with the help of red lights, which did not make for very good photographic conditions. Look at how huge their eggs are in relation to their body size!

I’ll be posting more about my New Zealand adventures in the next week or so!

I'm in the German magazine, Patchwork Professional!

The current issue of the German quilting magazine Patchwork Professional features my work (“Up and Away!”) on the cover; and inside has an interview, photos of more of my work, and information about how I created “Bonnie & Clyde” (below). It is such a thrill to be featured, and even more special to have been chosen to go on the cover!
 

I’m in American Quilter Magazine!

“Fall Color” by Susan Brubaker Knapp (2013)

My work, “Fall Color,” is featured in the September 2013 issue of Amerian Quilter magazine! The article explains how I made the piece, with a focus on my thought process, and how I worked through some technical and artistic issues as I created the piece. A line drawing pattern is included if you want to make your own version.

It is made with fusible applique and a lot of thread sketching.

The piece is based on a photo I took several years ago of some beautiful maple leaves on the street in front of my house. I loved the photo for its beautiful, strong, clear color, and detail:

Here are some detail shots of the finished piece:

The magazine is available in the United States on newsstands and at quilt shops and many craft stores. To find out more, or to subscribe, visit www.americanquilter.com/publications/

P.S. I just got home this morning from New Zealand. I didn’t have much time, or good internet connections, when I was there, so I only blogged once, but there is a lot more coming later this week. I had a fabulous time!

Taupo Symposium, Part 1

I left home on Monday afternoon, and got to Taupo on Wednesday morning (a 5-hour flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles, a 13-hour flight to Auckland, and a 45-minute flight to Taupo, with some layovers in between).

The flight into Taupo (pronounced like "toe paw") was beautiful; I could see the volcanic mountains on the edge of Lake Taupo rising through the clouds as we got closer.

NOTE: for a clearer view, just click on the photos.)




It's was a tiny airplane, and I think everyone on it was headed for the convention. It was a bit bumpy at times, but luckily, no one need the cleverly decorated barf bags.


These mountains were shot for The Lord of the Rings movies. The Maori consider Mt. Ruapehu, Ngauruhue and Tongariro to be sacred.



Our hotel is right on the edge of the lake, which is huge (25 miles long by 18 miles wide). It was formed when a volcano erupted and formed a giant crater.


The trout fishing in this area is excellent.


Today, the organizers of the conference treated us to a fabulous bus trip to see some attractions in the area.


Huka Falls gushes through a stone canyon at 300,000 liters per second. A lot of hydroelectric and geothermal energy is harnessed in this area.









Cabbage tree:


We had lunch at Cafe L'Arte and watched a demonstration on glass blowing:











Then we headed for the Aratiatia Rapids. The water is dammed here, but it is released several times daily so tourists can experience the power and beauty of the river rushing through the canyon. It is something else to watch the calm pool quickly fill up and the water rushing through. Here is the canyon before the water was released:






The water coming in:






And the water almost all the way up:









Here is some pumice from an ancient volcanic eruption:




Giant eucalyptus:



A view of the mountains in the clouds:


A visit to a place with great outdoor art:























Classes start tomorrow at Taupo-nui-a- Tia College!

Location:Taupo, New Zealand

Thread Sketching 101 articles now available as eBook

Interweave is now offering my six articles from the 2010 issues of Quilting Arts on thread sketching as an eBook called Thread Sketching 101 with Susan Brubaker Knapp. 

You can download it on the Interweave website for $9.95.

The eBook includes tips, articles and exercises to help you learn how to add color, line, texture, dimension, pattern, and movement to the surface of your art quilts.

If you already have my DVD on thread sketching, and want to learn more, you will find this eBook to be a good addition. Some of the content is the same as in my DVD, but the articles go much more into depth about my thought process and techniques. I find that some people are very visual learners, and like to learn by watching (either DVDs, or by taking a class, where I demonstrate). Others learn more, understand more, by reading. If you are one of those people, the eBook will be great for you.

For each of the six articles I wrote for Quilting Arts in 2010, I focused on a different aspect of thread sketching (adding line, for example) and then did two new pieces to demonstrate. In the articles included in the e-book, I wrote about how I made each piece, and how I approached the technical aspects and challenges of each one. 

Headed for New Zealand soon!

I am headed for New Zealand on Monday. I will be in the center of the North Island, teaching at the Taupo Symposim. New Zealand will be the 20th country I’ve lived in or visited:

Andorra
Austria
Australia
Bermuda
Brazil
The Bahamas
Canada
France
United Kingdom
Italy
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Monaco
Mexico
New Zealand 
Netherlands
Senegal
South Africa
Switzerland
USA 

I still have a lot of places still to visit! If I can get to Asia and Antarctica, I will have been on all seven continents.

Right now, my biggest concern is whether everything will fit in my two suitcases: a large one that has to hold all my class supplies and clothing (and remember, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, so I have to pack some bulky stuff!), and a small carry-on that will hold my quilts (I’m only taking my small quilts, but I’m taking a good number of them).

I’ll try to blog from New Zealand and include information about the Symposium, and my adventures traveling for a few days afterward, so stay tuned!