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CAMERAS & KILNS

SEVERAL GENERATIONS OF TWO FAMILIES — ONE JAPANESE, THE OTHER BOHEMIAN — LIVE ON IN THE WORK OF TWO ARTISTS, A COUPLE WORKING IN TĪMARU

WORDS NATHALIE BROWN P HOTOGRAPHS B R IAN H IGH

In Tīmaru, an arts and crafts couple in an Arts & Crafts house create whimsical sculptures and painterly photographs

ARTIST NACHIKO SCHOLLUM draws on the influence of her mother, Sachiko Takahashi (now 86 years old), who is proficient in many of the classic Japanese arts. Nachiko’s artist grandfather Ryuei Matsumura also painted landscapes in Europe throughout the 1930s.

The granddaughter and daughter of artists, Nachiko finds passion and self-expression in what she calls her “inner conversations”, which come to life in an array of fired clay forms.

When working on her art, she might browse illustrated books and magazines, searching for inspiration. At other times, she will spend the entire day working in clay.

“My current focus is raku pottery, sculptured character studies and glaze art,” she says. “I also combine different materials and glazes fired at varying temperatures to produce abstract pieces.”

Nachiko came to ceramics relatively late in life. “I attained a law degree in Tokyo,” she explains. “If I had stayed in Japan, I would probably have specialized in criminal law.”

When she graduated from university, her parents gave her a choice of gifts: a kimono or international travel — same cost. “I traveled around Europe and the Middle East, making my way Down Under in 1988,” she says. “I was studying English and having a working holiday. I held positions at Mount Cook Tours in Christchurch and the Japan Travel Bureau in Auckland. I also worked in Wellington.”

In Auckland, Nachiko learnt ceramic painting and how to make pots using her hands as well as a wheel at the Mairangi Bay Arts Centre. She met police officer Simon Schollum through a mutual friend in 1991 and was interested in the fact that he was using his photography talents professionally.

Even though he is 1.93 metres tall and a compulsive conversationalist and she is no more than 1.52 metres and shy, they saw themselves well matched. “We married in 1993 and moved to Tīmaru 10 years later with our then five-year-old daughter, Linden.”

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2021-07-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thisnzlife.pressreader.com/article/282686165176278

NZ Lifestyle Magazine Group