Creative Connections with Mandy Jakich

Kirsty Nixon is a contemporary New Zealand artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Her vibrant, light-filled paintings celebrate the untamed beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand — from the windswept beaches of the North Island to the soaring mountain ranges of the South.

Drawing inspiration from the land, sea, and native birdlife that surround her, Kirsty’s work invites a quiet moment of reflection — a breath of peace amidst the noise ...

Sarah Ritchie is a New Zealand fibre artist living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

Sarah specialises in creating framed works in natural fibres such as New Zealand wool, bamboo and cotton, showcasing her passion for texture, colour, and non-toxic creativity - drawing inspiration from the breathtaking beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand.

In this episode Sarah unpacks her fibre art process for us: from her preferred fibres to use and the tool...

Ceara Lile is a fibre-based mixed media artist who grew up in West Auckland. She creates abstract textile collages layered with meaning, memory, and emotion as well as eco inkless hand printed fabrics. She now lives in Keri Keri in the Far North of Aotearoa NZ with her partner Mario.

From an early age, Ceara has been captivated by textiles, drawn to their textures and versatility. Her work takes the form of abstract, collage-based f...

Jane Shriffer is an abstract painter living and working in Wānaka in the south island of Aotearoa NZ. Jane paints intuitively, layering colour and texture, making her marks with a palette knife.

In this episode we have a fantastic chat about Jane's experience studying painting at Dunedin School of Art as an enthusiastic 18 year old only to leave university with her degree and not return to painting for 10 years. She shares how ...

Katie Blundell is a contemporary New Zealand artist, living and working from her studio in Clevedon, south east of Auckland. Focusing on the human experience, her work is both personal and universal. 

Katie approaches her practice through different media depending on what ideas she is wanting to express, primarily focusing on on printmaking, painting, drawing, photography and sculpture. In this episode we talk about:

• her beautifu...

Lynette Fisher is a contemporary painter living in Te Puna near Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. Lynette's art practice also encompasses printmaking, drawing and assemblage.

Her work investigates themes of adoption, identity, obligation and ownership. While an underlying sense of nostalgia usually permeates her work, Lynette purposefully disrupts it to bring layered and disordered meaning to often commonplace and overlooked theme...

Muse Gallery, founded by Kaye McGarva in 2017, is situated in Havelock North, in the Bay of Plenty, Aoteaora NZ.

In this episode I talk to Kaye McGarva, a professional artist herself and the owner/director of Muse Gallery. 

This bis a conversation I'm sure many artists will be intrigued to hear. Kaye shares how and why she started Muse Gallery 9 years ago and the challenges of starting a gallery with no former experience in this...

Caitlin Johnston is a multi media artist living near the Hibiscus Coast north of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

As a Kiwi, much of Caitlin's work shows the deep connection that we have with the ocean and the land in Aotearoa. The way it makes us feel, and how we are connected to it. The sounds of the waves, the emotions we feel, the endless beauty of coastline and the nature of New Zealand inspires her work.

Caitlin uses upcycled sur...

Fiona Kerr Gedson is a fibre artist who has used feathers as her primary medium for more than 25 years. She works from her home near Ōpōtiki, in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, Aotearoa NZ. 

Fiona’s meticulously crafted, intricately designed feather pieces have a calming and meditative presence. Her work reflects and honours the things most important to her – her family, her spirituality, shared experiences, life stages and a sense of ko...

Lucy Eglington is a painter originally from the UK who immigrated to Aotearoa  in 2003. She works from her home studio in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.

Working primarily in oils, Lucy’s paintings explore human states of mind: dreams, successes, losses, grief and love and the narratives we tell ourselves. She often uses animals to represent ideas and feelings and to add individual narratives to each work.

With a successful track record o...

Alexandra Tylee is a painter living in Poukawa in the Hawkes Bay. From her early twenties until her early forties Alexandra setup and ran 2 successful businesses, Fuel espresso in Wellington and Pipi Cafe in Havelock North. She has also written 3 cookbooks and an award winning children’s fiction book called If I Was A Banana.

Alexandra started painting around 5 years ago. Selling Pipi cafe in 2023 allowed her to devote herself more ...

Anna Stichbury is a contemporary New Zealand artist from Wellington whose practice spans painting and installation, distinguished by her bold use of colour, layered textures, and dynamic mark-making. 

It was a pleasure to meet and talk to Anna, an artist I have admired for a long time, and hear all about her fascinating art practice. We discuss how Anna studied design in Wellington after high school, what she gained from this course...

Sur Collective is an artist collective founded in 2021 out of a need to create a sense of place and redefine the space Latina artists use as migrant women in Aotearoa, New Zealand. 

Sur-Collective are 5 wahine from Colombia and Chile who work with different art disciplines such as sculpture, drawing, painting, textiles, ceramics, photography and embroidery.

Today I'm speaking with one of the collective artists Cat Guevara, a cer...

This episode is different to our usual format. Mandy is in the Kumeu Arts gallery at the podcast group show CONNECTION with 4 previous podcast guest artists who have work in the show. 

Contemporary Fine Artist Dita Angeles https://www.ditaangeles.com/

Abstract photographer Chris Melville http://www.chrismelville.co.nz/

Painter Yvonne Abrcrombie https://www.instagram.com/yvonneabercrombie

Contemporary painter Coral Noel Yang https://cor...

Hello and welcome to season 9 of Creative Connections. I’m so excited to be back with weekly episodes and a fantastic varied line up of artists booked in from now until mid December 2025.

This episode is a bit different. I was interviewed by artist Julie Battisti for The Creative Kind Podcast a few months ago and I thought you might be interested in listening to our conversation. 

We’re talking community. Which is very topical at the...

Janette Cervin is a contemporary painter. She lives in Warkworth, north of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, with her partner and artistic collaborator Jake Kennedy.

Jan creates beautiful large-scale paintings that offer an invitation to an immersive antipodean paradise teeming with exquisitely detailed New Zealand flora and fauna. 

A unique illusion of depth is created through the combination of traditional painting conventions and applicat...

Alice Alva is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Kirikiriroa – Hamilton, New Zealand. Her work is informed by an interest in patterns, ornamentation, architecture and craft-based processes.

In addition to her art and design work, Alice is also an art educator and a māmā to her daughter Daphne. She is an advocate for the visual arts in Aotearoa, New Zealand and is on the executive committee of ANZAAE – Aotearoa New Zealand Associat...

Michelle McIver's is a contemporary artist who grew up in rural Otago and is now living in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Her work explores the interplay of light, colour, and form through abstract compositions. Using simple geometric shapes, she layers and juxtaposes blocks and bands of colour to create depth and structure. Each painting is an exploration of how light interacts with form, evoking a sense of balance in its abstract...

The Resale Royalties Scheme brings New Zealand in line with global standards to ensure artists are fairly compensated when their work is resold.

It means NZ art resold here and overseas will return a payment to our artists or their successors.

Today I'm speaking with Chief Executive Sam Irvine. He explains everything artists, successors and art market professionals need to know about the Resale Royalty Scheme. I recommend you ch...