Unity selected for Molly Morpeth Canaday Awards 2010
Di Tocker's new cast glass work Unity has been selected for exhibition at the Whakatane District Museum and Gallery. This annual award has a first prize of $5000 drawing enthusiastic glass makers to enter from all over New Zealand.
The exhibition runs from the 14th of August to the 10th of September.
Gallery opening hours are 10-4.30 Monday to Friday and 11-3 weekends and public holidays.
2010 Course Dates Available
Di Tocker has announced course dates for 2010. Two Glass Casting (Lost Wax Technique) courses, will be run this year in April and August.
Di strongly suggests booking early as these are the only dates available for 2010 due to her busy production schedule.
Click here to download more info and an enrolment form.
Girls at Coca
Di Tocker's glass work Brown Girl in the Ring Tra-la-la-la-la will be on show at COCA Gallery, Christchurch in June.The group show simply titled Verre is curated by Rachael Slade and includes work from Lee Brogan, Leanne Williams and Jim Dennison, Colleen Ryan-Priest and Rachel Ravenscroft.
The six glass artists in Verre boldly embrace the beauty of glass, remaining uncompromised by its conventional fragility or rigidity. Function is dismissed or questioned and attention is focused drawn towards composition, scale and the substance of glass as pure sculptural form.
The glass works can be seen in the front gallery at COCA from the 9th to the 28th of June.
Course dates available for 2009
Due to demand, Di Tocker has created space in her hectic glass studio schedule to run 2 Glass Casting Workshops in 2009. There will be courses available in August and October.
Each course is limited to only 8 spaces - so book quickly to avoid disappointment.
Beauty to Sleep at Inspirit
Di Tocker's glass hammock 'Beauty Sleep' now has a new home at Inspirit Gallery in Pencarrow Rd, Hamilton. As a change from casting, yet still working with glass, Di Tocker originally created the full scale hammock for Re-fraction: Outdoor Glass Sculpture at Waitakaruru Sculpture Park.
'Beauty Sleep' has 12,800 faceted glass beads threaded on tiger-wire and attached to 30mm glass rods at each end. Hence the hammock is just for resting the eyes and not the whole body.
Di says "I awoke in the middle of the night with idea one night, and just couldn't let it go!" The idea was actually more exciting than the reality though, as it took 42 and a half hours just to thread the 12,800 beads. "I am in debt to my Mum who helped me with this project" Di admits.
Photo: Jenny Scown
On Show in the Garden
Di Tocker is looking forward to mixing with locals from Tauranga this month, as she show cases her glass work at the Garden &Artfest. Now living in Hamilton, Di is a full time Glass Artist and Tutor, though she still has strong connections with Tga as she has plenty of friends and family there. In fact the wonderful garden in Omokoroa where Di is showing her work is owned by her in-law's Terry and Lorraine Tocker, who have generously supported Di in this venture. Di says "Terry and Larraine have the most fabulous setting for me to show my work amongst the subtropical's - and right on the golf course with water views. It is bound to be a fun week for the family too!".
Di sell's her glass work through two Hamitlon outlets ArtsPost and Inspirit Gallery and is now thrilled to have her work in Zohar, Mt Maunganui.