Blog Posts - mskatelogan

Strange Stains in Japan

20/7/2016

I recently had the pleasure of helping a good friend Cookie, aka Strange Stains, create a video for her boosted campaign to do an artist residency in Japan.

It was a fun couple of days shooting at her studio out in Te Horo and then editing in the city at mine
– interspersed with an impromptu Kate Bush flash dance down at Waitangi park in Wellington!

You can link to the Boosted campaign here.

The Most Wuthering Heights Shambush

Click here to see a short video that was put on TVNZ of the event

Lead Type and a Hot Set

29/6/2016

The Western Bay Museum

Recently I went on a road trip back to my home town of Katikati, to antique a printers' type cabinet for the new Western Bay of Plenty Museum.

During his younger years my father, John Logan, was a ship's printer who operated an old treadle platen printing press. He has been asked to operate a similar restored machine at the new museum that aims to show students and the general public how small printed material was produced over 100 years ago.

The museum was unable to source a functional wooden type cabinet for their display, so dad asked me if I could transform this shabby, metal, 1960s-era type cabinet into a wooden-looking cabinet for them, which would have been in keeping with the age of the printing press.

Using a 100 year-old type cabinet as a guide, which the museum was unable to use functionally as it had been modified – I intricately painted the metal cabinet, detailing the fine wood grain and paneling to make it look as much like the original as possible.

I'm really pleased with the result, as was my father and the museum director. I look forward to seeing it being used in the operations of the print display.

Ghost in the Shell

For the past 8 months I have been working as a set finisher in the paint department for Ghost in the Shell, a US block buster feature film being made here in Wellington.

Myself and three other lovely folks, Lucy, Jamiesina and Hayden, became the night crew for the most part of this year so far, painting away the nights together in an assortment of strange and interesting sets.

It was an odd time, being somewhat removed from the forays of the general populous. But I enjoyed learning new skills, honing my existing ones and most of all making some good new mates.

To the right here is a design I created for our own limited edition night shift t-shirts and hoodies. It depicts the four of us in true Charlie's Angles style!

Miss you guys!

Awana Moon Yeah

26/4/2016

I recently had the pleasure of attending a fantastic party/music festival called Awana Moon Yeah on Aotea (Great Barrier) Island. A stellar selection of guests from around the country and abroad attended, and there were performances from Cecilia Sudden, Rhonda K, Onion Engine, Adam Fincher, The Biscuits and Pumice.

The event was held at Mickey's Place, a ramshackle old camping ground on the edge of the bush in Awana Bay. Scattered with deteriorating memories of the past, yet still equip with fire fuelled hot showers and all the basic amenities one could need, it was a great place to camp out for a few days, sharing food and stories with friends old and new.

Exploring the rest of the island was fun too, hanging out with dogs of friends and friends of dogs, having breakfast at stunning lookout spots, swimming in lush warm waters with perfect body surfing waves. Harataonga beach was definitely a highlight – can't wait to go back!

A Taste of Freedom

24/12/2015

Hot of the press is this dinky little cook book, compiled by Catherine Amey, designed and photographed by myself.

A perfect wee present for those who love to cook, especially those who love animals and don't like eating them!

All proceeds from this cookbook go towards the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary.

Copies can be purchased at Opportunity for Animals Opshops in Wellington, Aotearoa or online at the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary website.

The Wellington Chocolate Factory Vaka Voyage

19/9/2015

In early July I got offered an exciting opportunity to document the acquisition and transportation of cocoa beans from Bougainville to Aotearoa – in a waka. Initially I thought this sounded like a crazy idea but, after investigating what this project was all about – and the integrity of the waka, I was sold.

Within two weeks I had got together all the gear I would need to film on the high seas and was off to Fiji, where I met up with the rest of the crew from The Wellington Chocolate Factory. We interviewed a number of people in Suva about sustainable sea transportation and the re-invigoration of vaka voyaging and traditional navigation in the pacific. I realised at this point what an exciting project this was to be involved with and how many boxes it ticked for me in terms of it's social and environmental endeavors.

I had never really sailed before so, initially, I was quite apprehensive about the journey ahead. Meeting the crew and familiarising myself with the Uto ni Yalo vaka however soon put most of those concerns at bay. The first leg of the voyage from Fiji to Vanuatu was pretty rough. We were catching the tail of a cyclone to accelerate us north which involved a lot of rain, large swells and 40 knot winds most of the way. There was a lot of vomiting on my behalf as I gained my sea legs – and the added gastro bug from the kava leaving ceremony didn't help much either!

It took us about 6 days to sail to Vanuatu and, after a few days there replenishing our stocks, enjoying fresh water showers and catching up with friends, we set sail again for Bougainville. This next leg was a longer sail, taking about 9 days, but we had stunning weather with good winds and moderate swells to push us forward. I captured lots of great footage of life aboard the vaka including interviews with all the crew, some great ukulele performances and a number of fish sacrificing their still beating hearts.

Our arrival into the Autonomous Region of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea was outstanding. There was sing sing and dancing, ceremonial foot bathing and a beetle nut ritual that left my head spinning for the entire duration of the speeches!

We met a number of great people during our stay including James Rutana, who grew the cocoa beans The Wellington Chocolate Factory purchased. It was great to take a journey inland to his farm, meet his family, and interview him about the prospects of sustainable agriculture as a viable industry in Bougainville. Still recovering from a 10 year civil war, Bougainvillians are trying hard to develop an economic future that moves away from the devastating mining industries of the past.

Whilst in Tinputs I ran an impromptu art class with the kids at the local school, sharing with them the gift of creativity – art supplies courtesy of The Learning Connexion School of Art and Creativity. You can read an article about that here.

At this point of the journey my involvement in the project was suspended as I had to get back to Wellington for work. I look forward to meeting up with the Uto ni Yalo crew again in Wellington and wish them well for the rest of their journey ahead.
Vinaka Crew!

Check out The Wellington Chocolate Factory blog for more extensive coverage of the project or follow the progress of the Uto ni Yalo vaka on their facebook page.

Raku Firing

21/6/2015

Recently I have been trying my hand at ceramics which has been a really exciting delve into the world of three dimensional creativity!

Inspired by some garden sculptures I saw during my last visit to Waiheke Island, I decided I wanted to make a series of small houses to sit amongst our herb garden.

Using the Raku method of firing enabled me to explore a number of glazing and crackle options and enjoy a much a shorter firing time which was great, though making such a tall large structure certainly had it's challenges – The least of which was trying to get it to fit in the kiln!

I'm really pleased with the outcome of my houses and love different way the crackle has formed depending on the shape of the object. The smaller houses were made from the off-cuts of the large structure and as such have developed an unintentional Hobbity look. Watch this space for how they go in the garden!

NZ Art Show

19/6/2015

Went along to the NZ Art Show tonight and was delighted to discover that one of our pieces has been selected as a finalist for the Signature Piece Art Award, and that the work had sold!

The NZ Art Show is on all weekend so get along and check it out if you can, there is a great and varied lot of work on display. We'd love your vote if you like our work! TSB Arena Wellington.

To Face the Barrens – Finalist in the Signature Piece Art Award.
See more Creepy Bunny Photos here.

Horseface trots down to Made It

18/6/2015

Not one to shy away from the lime light, Horseface has trotted down to Made It on Victoria St in Wellington, where he'll be displaying his wares for the coming weeks. Check him and other great items out in store.
103 Victoria Street, Wellington. See Horseface prints here.

Grey William

18/6/2015

Had a fantastic time recently creating the sets for the short road-trip movie 'Grey WIlliam'. As we adventured through the rural vistas of the Manawatu and the wider Wellington region, I got to explore many places that I hadn't seen before.

As this this was a road movie, the main set of the film was a van – 'Grey William', which, according to the story, was named after the race horse Grey William who features proudly on the dash.

One of the other more involved sets of the shoot was the 'Short Straw Cafe'. For this we used an existing cafe in Whiteman's Valley and just tweaked it a bit to look less modern and more of a country kitchen.

I had some fun taking night shots outside the Shannon police station during the first shoot of our mission. See more images for the shoot on my flickr site.