Sandra Thomson
Drawing and Printmaking Tutor
thomsons@cpit.ac.nz
"A large part of the enjoyment of making work or teaching art and design is the evolution of an idea. By the time it's been conceptually pushed and pulled, and visually reshaped through drawing, media and compositional experiments, the outcome can be very different from what was imagined when the journey began."
After graduating with Honours in Printmaking from the Ilam School of Fine Arts at Canterbury University, Sandra travelled extensively and worked in a variety of jobs including printmaking and teaching. In 1988 she began teaching drawing and printmaking at CPIT.
In addition to teaching, Sandra aims to have a solo exhibition every two or three years. Her last two bodies of work have centred on an investigation of miracles, healing sites and religious or spiritual revelations. In developing her ideas, Sandra draws on extensive research into these topics. Drawing is also an essential part of the development.
Having trained as a printmaker and worked with woodblock printing for a number of years, more recently she has tried to move away from rectangular, two dimensional forms. Consequently her most recent exhibition titled Relics at the Centre of Contemporary Art Gallery in Christchurch included screen printed dresses and collars, plus painted relic boxes containing remnants of milk, hair and handkerchiefs.
Sandras relief printing classes create works based on sound research, conceptual development and well resolved drawing and compositional elements. They are also encouraged to explore the full range of possibilities originating from the unique cutting and printing techniques associated with this medium.
Sandra's drawing classes cover a wide range of approaches to both figure and general drawing. Using drawing as a 'thinking tool', observational and investigative studies attempt to capture the character or essence of a subject. Students experiment with a range of media and mark-making techniques to learning how to sensitively translate ideas and observations into compositional forms and a unique visual language.
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