KENDRA  HANLEY

​

While travelling around the South Island in 2005 I stopped at a quarry and was gifted a large brick-like lump of Oamaru Stone. I looked at it with a kind of curiousness and fascination for a year or so and then one day I started chipping away, I was hooked. 

 

I majored in painting at Hungry Creek Art School but I soon realised that I was captivated by this lovely white stone. My painting days were over and sculpting had become my new passion. Being mainly self-taught, I thought the transformation of that sharp angled block into a smooth form was quite magical. A few emotional upheavals in my life poured out into my work and  was transformed into beautiful organic shapes with soothing curves and tranquil lines.

 

I prefer sculpting using the slow pace and steady method with just a hammer and chisel. It feels familiar and more intimate. I enjoy the challenges and surprises along the sculpting journey as the hidden forms start to emerge from the stone, and the light and shadows begin to play.

My art is mainly inspired by patterns found in nature, and also the interactions and feelings that are exposed within human relationships.