I met Pat and Catherine some 30 odd years ago while we were all working at the Dunedin Public Library. I was pleased to meet up with them again when Pat held the writing residency at the Robert Lord Cottage.
Introducing Pat White
I am a writer and painter living on a small holding at Gladstone in Wairarapa, with my wife Catherine Day who is an artist and musician.
As a mature student I studied at Massey University to gain a Master of Fine Arts in 2008, and then an MA in Creative Writing at Victoria University in 2010. In 2012 I was the Seresin/Landfall writer in residence at Waterfall Bay, and prior to that I held writing residencies at Randell Cottage in Wellington, and Robert Lord Cottage in Dunedin.
The Randell Cottage residency resulted in a collaboration with Catherine Day, where my poetry and her contact prints were used to produce the book Gnossienne, printed by Wai-te-ata Press in 2012.
Installing Sentinels, Percy Thomson Gallery, Stratford 2006
This year I am working on a life of Peter Hooper, West Coast author, conservationist and teacher, to be published by Makaro Press.
Tararua Suite, Aratoi Museum of Art & History, Masterton. 2005
Previously I have published memoir/nature essays in, How the Land Lies; of longing and belonging (VUP, 2010), a number of volumes of poetry and have combined painting with writing in the exhibition/book project, Gallipoli; in search of a family story (Red Roofs, 2005).
Totara monument, 2008. On site at Koroneiki.
A few years ago I suffered an allergic reaction to chemical substances, including oil paints, which meant giving up my painting practice. Bellamys at Five has presented me with the opportunity to start work again with water based acrylics.
Bellamys at Five 