Before I post anything else I think it’s really important to say some thank yous.

So thank you to

• Helen, Nicola, Nathan and Feigh for reading and proof reading
• John for photographs
• Craig for preparing and donating materials
• Sheldon for his patience
• Marty for being Marty … and agreeing to participate
• Kevin for taking a punt

So … this is Marty!

Marty Vreede and Ako Marama 2011

Marty is the Senior lecturer in Printmaking at the Quay School of the Arts in Whanganui, New Zealand.  He is also a practicing artist and tireless promoter of printmaking in New Zealand.

In 2010 Marty was awarded a Tertiary Teaching Excellence Award for Sustained Excellence and was the winner of the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award by Ako Aotearoa – the National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence.( View Marty’s Ako Aotearoa Teaching Profile)  To enrich his teaching and print practice Marty undertakes research into printing and papermaking processes.  Many students and the wider community have benefitted hugely from his enthusiasm for the history and sociology of printing.  In 2009 Marty was awarded a Fullbright Award that he used to visit the Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts in Pendleton, Oregon.  In 1995 (when I was a student at the Quay School of the Arts) he was a Nuffield foundation scholar.  This enabled him to travel to the United Kingdom to research paper making in the United Kingdom.  These findings were developed and tested at length to perfect paper production techniques for harakeke (flax) paper.  In the first semester of 2012 Marty will be on leave from the Quay School for the Arts as he is now undertaking research regarding type-setting. Marty is researching the casting of type in order to create type  that can be used to typeset and print in Te Reo Maori (the Maori language) using macron and vowel combinations.

Marty and his wife Marilyn have an ongoing relationship with Pomapllier house where in 2006 they produced a limited edition book and set of prints.  The book was an illustrated, type-set version of the hymn ‘Mo Maria’ that aimed to weave together the connections between Bishop Pomapallier, who composed the hymn, Mother Suzanne Aubert who was brought out to New Zealand by Pompallier, the dynamic history of printing at Pompallier house in the 1800s and life of the hymn itself.

In 2007 Marty was the inaugural artist in residence at the University of Hawaii (Manoa) print workshop in 2007 and is expected to return for a second residency.

Some of Marty’s prints can be viewed here at Solander Gallery’s website

A few months after receiving the necklace Marty sent me a letter to tell me what he had named the necklace and the project as a whole.  This is what he said:

The kaupapa [topic or proposal] of this project is a beautiful one.  It will be a pleasure to participate in it.

When you teach something that you are passionate about, the teaching transcends just information exchange.  When trust, acceptance and grace are present in the learning environment, something special happens.  The kaupapa and the intent of this project tell me of your ability to trust and accept, projecting a possibility into the future and letting it go.

I have thought long and hard about the piece of jewellery and named it ‘Ako Marama’.  The translation for this is roughly understanding, enlightenment.  The word ako is a beautifully poetic concept that in its fullness means both teaching and learning.  Therefore Ako Marama can mean teaching understanding, or it could be about engaging in a journey of enlightenment.

This allows me to learn from you when engaging in your latest work.  Thus the dynamic of our relationship continues to evolve through collaborative practice.

How the necklace project works – guidelines 

I proposed to make a necklace that addresses the demands of everyday life in a manner that acknowledges people’s ability to positively influence each other.  I also wanted the necklace to promote awareness of others’ needs.  The necklace is a way of cherishing what has been given to us, and a reminder to value our influences and act upon them.

• I made a necklace and gave it to my tertiary printmaking tutor Marty Vreede.  Marty will keep the necklace for as long as he likes.
• When Marty is ready to pass the necklace on he can keep as many of the original beads that make up the necklace as he likes and he can add or replace as many beads as he wishes.
• Any new beads should be handmade, found and/or made with the help or guidance of others.  (All of the original beads are made from recycled, found or gifted materials.)
• Marty will then pass the necklace on to someone he would like to thank who is important to him.  I know that his choice of recipient, whoever it is, will be the right one.
• I also asked Marty to name the necklace (or the project).  Taonga (treasures) were often named as they can mark important occasions, were usually made for significant people, were sometimes handed down from important tupuna (ancestors), were rare and made from valuable materials and were considered to have their own life force.  While I don’t consider the object I have made to be anywhere near the league of taonga tuku iho (treasured objects handed on from our ancestors) I wanted people to take the message and the intent of the object to heart.
• Subsequent recipients will follow the same guidelines that are set out here. It is completely up to them to decide who they will share the necklace with.  The only stipulation is that they use it to show gratitude to somebody significant to them.   This process will continue until all the original beads have been replaced.
• When the necklace changes hands the person who is gifting the necklace will email me as much of the following information as they are comfortable sharing:

Who is the new recipient? (A photo would be good to share but not essential).

Why were they chosen?  What do you wish to thank them for?

If beads were added, what do they look like?  (Photos would be good but not essential)

Any comments, information or stories –did people wear the necklace? Did they let other people wear it? Was it hung on the wall? Did people carry it in their pocket or handbag?

• I will document this information to share the story and the idea of the necklace with as many people as possible.