Tell us a bit about you.
We’re Katie and Amy – two sisters, born in Britain, now Hawke’s Bay-based. We both have curly hair and both of us have a son each. We also share a love of the outdoors and Mother Nature; we’re both big kids at heart and are both passionate about art and creative education. We live family-centric lives, enjoying our sons as they progress into and through adolescence. Life is full!
Tell us a bit about your art practice.
Our creative practice has been in full swing since we were knee-high, making together as siblings around the kitchen table. The same table from our childhood sits proudly in the centre of our studio space today!
METcALfe (Metcalfe is our maiden name, and it has the word METAL within it!) is now five years old. Focused around play, sustainability and colour, we seek to continue making joyful, playful and bold artworks from repurposed 44-gallon drums.
The drums are from the food industry and, as we are based in the fruit bowl of New Zealand, our material of choice is also reflective of the place we have chosen to be our home in Hawke’s Bay. Two women welding still draws a raised eyebrow, and to be making our artworks from the humble yet strong 44-gallon drums usually gets a double take!
Tell us a bit about you.
We’re Katie and Amy – two sisters, born in Britain, now Hawke’s Bay-based. We both have curly hair and both of us have a son each. We also share a love of the outdoors and Mother Nature; we’re both big kids at heart and are both passionate about art and creative education. We live family-centric lives, enjoying our sons as they progress into and through adolescence. Life is full!
Tell us a bit about your art practice.
Our creative practice has been in full swing since we were knee-high, making together as siblings around the kitchen table. The same table from our childhood sits proudly in the centre of our studio space today!
METcALfe (Metcalfe is our maiden name, and it has the word METAL within it!) is now five years old. Focused around play, sustainability and colour, we seek to continue making joyful, playful and bold artworks from repurposed 44-gallon drums.
The drums are from the food industry and, as we are based in the fruit bowl of New Zealand, our material of choice is also reflective of the place we have chosen to be our home in Hawke’s Bay. Two women welding still draws a raised eyebrow, and to be making our artworks from the humble yet strong 44-gallon drums usually gets a double take!
How and when did you get involved with the show?
We were finalists in the 2022 RT Nelson Sculpture Awards and that was our first visit to the NZ Art Show as METcALfe.
Without giving too much away – what are you working on right now for the show? What does a typical day in the life look like for you between now and the show?
A ‘typical’ day would be awesome as that would mean we could plan really well!
Today we have been working on a Weather collection… METcALfe meets the nostalgia of 1980s weather reports on TV. We are of course playing with scale, and are having some fun with the wind that Wellington is famous for.
Today has also included welcoming customers to the gallery, a sales representative from a local supplier, having an on-site training session with our videographer, accounting, fulfilling website orders and gallery requests, cleaning, making artworks ready for forthcoming exhibitions and preparations for Mother’s Day orders, welding some of the Weather collection, plasma cutting pieces and filming. Plus all the admin to support all of the above with clear communication… and we have yet to complete the working day before changing hats and doing the after-school activities!
What are you most looking forward to about being part of this year’s show?
We’re excited to be back in the capital exhibiting alongside old friends – and we’re looking forward to meeting new ones! We love listening to visitors and their thoughts and responses to our artworks. Shows like NZ Art Show are a massive intentional learning opportunity for us to talk to past, present and future clients.
