Award-winning illustrator to visit Forrester Gallery

Award-winning Dunedin illustrator David Elliot will be at the Forrester Gallery on Friday 6 July as part of the Gallery’s current exhibition The Making of the Word Witch.

The Making of the Word Witch exhibition celebrates the poetic and creative achievements of much-loved New Zealand children’s author Margaret Mahy and is based on the book of the same name, published in 2009.

The exhibition features over 100 of Mr Elliot’s illustrations and process drawings from the book alongside some of Mahy’s early writing.

Gallery exhibition curator, Alice Lake-Hammond, said An Afternoon with David Elliot will start at 1pm on 6 July and will feature an exhibition floor talk from the artist aimed at all age groups, followed by storytelling and drawing workshops run by Elliot, the Waitaki District Library and the Forrester Gallery.

“There is no charge for attending the floor talk, storytelling or workshops and the beauty of Mahy’s huge body of work, which covers at least 40 years of published writing, is that it is accessible to all ages. We are encouraging young children and grown-up children alike to share in the magic of Mahy.”

“An Afternoon with David Elliot promises something for everyone whether you are interested in the creative characters and poetic writings, or you are intrigued by the process behind the work.”

Ms Lake-Hammond said Mr Elliot has worked with Mahy on a number of publications, and in addition to being an award-winning illustrator and illustration tutor, is an author in his own right.

“We are extremely lucky to have him share an insight into the exhibition with us, not to mention his incredible talents and imagination.”

The exhibition, toured courtesy of the Ashburton Art Gallery, has proven extremely popular, particularly with visiting school groups as part of the Gallery’s “Book a Visit” programme.

An Afternoon with David Elliot is part of a school holiday programme organised by the Forrester Gallery and the Oamaru Public Library, School Holiday Spells, which will run during the first week of the holidays.

Forrester Gallery - An Afternoon with David Elliot 6 July programme:
1pm – 2pm: Exhibition Floor Talk in Main Gallery: David Elliot talks about the book, the exhibition and his involvement - followed by a Q&A session.
2pm – 2.30pm: Break, exhibition activities and set up for workshops
2.30 – 4pm: Exhibition Workshops: Storytelling – Storytelling in the Basement Gallery for younger audiences. Drawing – A “Creative Character” drawing workshop with David Elliott in Main Gallery for older audiences. Workshop will focus on fantasy illustration and exercises for the imagination.