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The International Dateline lets me do two posts today. I bet you’re all just squirming with delight…..

Christine Boswijk is one of New Zealand’s major artists. (They don’t hand out he New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Ceramic Art freely or frequently)

Her work has been gifted to the Taiwanese government by the New Zealand government.

It’s really cool to have her as a friend.

When you get to Nelson airport, you see this massive poster hanging from the ceiling, announcing “Before Words“, her current major exhibition at the Woolaston Winery.

I was lucky enough to get a preview of the work when I was down in November – huge shared and universal symbols in  brightly coloured fibreglass, way out of her comfort zone and a parallel universe away from her ceramic work.

Went to see it when we got to Nelson and when Christine and Patrick, her husband, came around for dinner she cornered me and asked me what I thought.

I just said “Impressive” and she said “That’s all I wanted to know”

She’s brought up 3 kids of her own, 2 younger ones from Patrick’s first marriage, is virtually self-sufficient in olive oil, veges, fruit and eggs from her garden and turns up for dinner with a decent bottle of red wine and a massive sage plant she’s just dug up from the garden.

She says things like “you’re all burps and farts” when the mobile reception’s breaking up and dresses in a flash evening dress, high heels and a black t-shirt with the arms cut off at mid-sleeve.

Just drips style.