UN Supports Recycled Glass Workshops

 The United Nations International Year of Glass (IYoG2022) has bought two Whanganui based businesses together recently to create a video tutorial for a new recycled glass art workshop. Glass Artist Carmen Simmonds is the director of Re-storyz, an art studio with an environmental focus. Re-storyz was the recipient of IYoG2022 seed funding to record an online workshop for recycled glass, enabling them to hire local cinematographer Keely Skinner of Musings Media. The Sculptbox workshop is a DIY glass casting kit enabling you to experience the art of lost wax casting from your own home. The twist is you will be able to cast the piece using a bottle of your choice - turning your empty beer or wine bottle into something unique and giving it another life.

The International Year of Glass celebrates the essential role that glass plays in society with various events held to highlight the past, present, and future of the transformative material. Sculptbox participants are treated to a bespoke wooden box containing tools, wax and mould making materials with step by step instructions, access to video tutorials and an artist on hold to answer any questions they may have along the way. “People weren’t able to get together during the pandemic lock downs and this highlighted a need to think differently. With these workshops you can experience glass casting in your own home, at your own pace, to suit your life.” The kiln firing is all done back in the studio, eliminating one of the common barriers to people casting from their own homes. Re-storyz fire, demould and then cold work your glass before sending the finished piece back to you.

Whanganui is such an important place for glass art and is considered the centre of glass for New Zealand. Whanganui has been named as NZ’s only City of Design and is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network which recognises the commitment to placing culture and creativity at the heart of the City’s development and to sharing knowledge and good practices.

Musings Media have had full books leading up to Christmas profiling artists for Artists Open Studios 2023 as well as working on videos for the Whanganui Kai Hub and Te Pūwaha, the Whanganui port revitalisation project, (in collaboration with Tukua Storytelling Studio). “I am drawn to businesses that want to look after our planet and its people, we have an abundance of that in Whanganui.” Musings Media particularly want to work with ecologically minded businesses, helping them to share their story and increase their capacity for change.

The connections don’t stop there, both Carmen and Keely have been working with Thrive’s Impact Coaches and Mentoring Programme and met through their community networks. The sound design and Audio Engineering for the videos was done by Carmen's son Ricky Simmonds and his colleague Matt Eller of studio Evoke Audio in Auckland.

“Everyone has their own unique story to tell” Carmen says she encourages people to give it a go. The ‘Recycled Glass Box’ workshop will retail for $400 and be available soon via the Re-storyz website (the traditional casting workshop ‘The Crystal Glass Box’ retails for $500 and is available now). Gift vouchers can be purchased online via www.restoryz.com and from the Sarjeant Art Gallery Shop at 38 Taupō Quay, Whanganui.

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