Blog Posts - mskatelogan

The Mischievous Goats at The Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary

8/11/2016

I have been involved with the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary since its formation back in 2007, and my role within the sanctuary group has predominantly been as the media person / designer. I’ve always enjoyed visiting the sanctuary and taking photographs of all the animals that reside there, so it was a natural progression for me as a video maker to make a documentary about the sanctuary. This video about the goats is a short except from what will eventually be a longer documentary about the sanctuary.

People always say not to make films with kids and animals, so making a documentary on an animal sanctuary definitely put that theory to the test! Between roosters crowing and goats attempting to eat the cables leading to the camera, trying to get a good interview in the can certainly had its challenges.

The goats were a mischievous bunch of characters to film – I definitely had a number of behind the scenes butt bunts to contend with. But despite their naughtiness, they were always keen to be a part of what was going on and willing to put on a show for the camera so I really enjoyed filming them.

The Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary is a safe and sustainable space to rehabilitate and re-home abused, injured, and neglected animals. Located in the Ōtaki forks, an hour’s drive north of Wellington, New Zealand, the sanctuary is home to around 200 animals as well as four live in caretakers.

I think it’s so important that places like the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary exist so that animals in need can live out their lives free from abuse and exploitation. It takes a lot of hard work and monetary input to care for all of these animals, so I hope that through promoting the great work that the sanctuary is doing, funds can be raised to keep the animal residents happy and healthy for the rest of their natural lives.

Check out The Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary website I have been updating and help support the goats at the Black Sheep Animal Sanctuary.

Creepy Bunny Calendar 2017

4/11/2016

Creepy Bunny 2017 Calendars are hot off the press and available for purchase through this website.

A few select stores around Wellington will also be selling the calendars including Madeit on Victoria street in the central city, and Baron Hasselhoffs chocolatarium in Berhampore.

Tom and I will also be having a stall at the Just Good Stuff Market in December so calendars will be available there too – if there are any left, there's limited copies so get them while they last!

Shine Your Love

15/10/2016

Had a fantastic day out in the sunshine this week with the Kaboose Media team, producing this video for Greenpeace New Zealand with Tiki Taane Tikidub Productions.

Power companies in NZ want to tax people for using solar energy harnessed from solar panels, starting in Hawkes Bay. 45,000 people have signed the petition to oppose it. Say no to the Solar Tax.

SHINE and SHARE the petition now!
http://greenpeace.nz/solarise-petition

Enjoy

A Month in Vietnam

27/8/2016

My partner and I recently had the pleasure of visiting Vietnam. We were there for one month and managed to cover a lot of ground despite trying to stay in one place for as long as possible. It was the first time I have traveled aboard for an adventure that didn't involve work, so it was interesting to be a tourist for a change and have an actual holiday.

First, we landed in Saigon where we were awed and amazed by the number of scooter commuters. Crossing the road became a fun game of trust and gradually the noise of the beeping faded into the background of our minds. We wandered around the busy streets and got ourselves lost down numerous alley ways. The cheap street side eats were fantastic as were the iced coffees and $1 beers!

We then traveled west through the Mekong Delta. A vast myriad of waterways with small villages encrusted along its edges, providing trade routes and sustenance for it's many inhabitants. One of the things that interested us about the boats on the Mekong were the eyes that featured on the front of all of them. These were traditional, apparently to ward off the crocodiles that used to live in abundance in the delta.

We went further west still to Phu Quoc island, where resort development was rampant as this once quiet fishing island geared up to become VIetnam's next big party island. For us, being there off season, it was quiet and rained a lot but was still lots of fun to explore.

Swiftly heading east, the mountain township of Da Lat was our next stop. Known as Vietnam's answer to Switzerland, Da Lat was abundant with gorgeous french colonial buildings and lots of fresh produce – that was only able to be grown there due to the cooler climate. A great opportunity to crack out the jeans, Tom and I enjoyed exploring all the creative galleries, bars and cafes on offer. The Hang Nga Crazy House was amazing. "A free-wheeling architectural exploration of surrealism". A private home built by the famous Mrs Dang Viet Nga - who had an earlier house that she built torn down because the people's committee thought it looked too anti-socialist. A maze filled bar with the same name – 100 Roofs, has been built in it's honour and was definitely our favourite place while we were there.

Next stop was the east coast city of Hue, where we visited the Imperial Enclosure and drank cold beers with ice, in an attempt to stay cool. From here we hired scooters and drove through the mountain pass, down the coast to Hoi An. It was so great to be independent, even the thunder storm and deluge en route didn't dampen out enjoyment of the trip!

Arriving into Hoi An we were delighted to see rice paddy fields flanking the road with majestic water buffalo ploughing them. Such beautiful giant beasts, they captivate me every time I see them. As night fell we were enchanted once again by the incredible lanterns that festooned the old quarter of Hoi An. All along the riverside visitors and traders bustled amidst the warm glow of the lanterns. We had a fantastic dinner made for us by a woman in a small boat and she also had chilled beers for our curbside dining pleasure!

Next stop was Hanoi, which became our base while we adventured to Halong Bay and the mountainous villages of the Sapa region. Hanoi itself was a great city, we loved how many of the streets were named after the production guilds that used to vend there and how some streets still do sell these products. My favourite street was the stationary and art supplies street. Thought the haberdashery street was also quite a treat!

Halong Bay was spectacular. A region in the north east of Vietnam that comprises of over 2000 limestone islands, spearing out of the water like the spikes of a dragons back – such as it's name suggests. From a distance it appears to be a single land mass but as we ventured in on our cruise boat/deluxe junk, we discovered that it was actually a myriad of small islands some of which contained epic cave structures with fresh water within. Halong Bay was incredible, though for me sadly dampened by the intense tourism that exists there – and the combined lack of waste management that polluted the otherwise picturesque seascape.

Final destination on our action packed holiday was Sapa. A township that exists in the northern most mountains of Vietnam, which is full of ancient rice terraces and incredibly clad women! We went on a mountain trek with a bunch of H'Mong laydees, donning such stylish outfits, and learned about the hand embroidering, hemp looming and indigo dying they do as part of their traditional craft. I really enjoyed the chunky, bold jewellery they wear too and was able to buy a few special pieces for myself while we were there. We loved Sapa, it was a great finale to our month long Vietnam trip.

Click here to see a selection of photographs I took on the trip.

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!