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Little Lotus Project

  • About Little Lotus Project

      6 September 2010

    Little Lotus is the sister project of The Good Karma project, which saw two Wellington volunteers, Pat Shepherd and Josh Bahlman, travel to the Thai/Burma border in December 2009 to teach refugee children the joy of art and photography. Upon return, they commissioned Kiwi artists to create pieces of art based on the childrenfs work. This artwork was auctioned off at an exhibition launch, which raised over $10,000 for the refugee children For over 40 years almost unnoticed by the international community, one of the most brutal military dictatorships in the world has ruled the country of Burma. Hundreds of thousands of refugees have been forced to flee the violence and instability of their homeland to places like Thailand. Thousands of vulnerable children, some orphaned and some unaccompanied, live in refugee camps and migrant communities, facing extreme poverty and hunger. It is these children that?Children on the Edge support. In November 2010, Little Lotus returns to the same two schools The Good Karma Project visited on the Thai/Burma border, TMK School and Sky Blue School. This time, Little Lotus takes four New Zealand artists along for the ride. Tanja Jade (aka Misery), Peap Tarr, Pat Shepherd and Alex Chalmers will work alongside the children, running toy-making workshops, collaborating with the children to paint a school mural, and helping the children to create their own masquerade ball with local music and costume design workshops. Upon returning to New Zealand, Little Lotus brings Tanja together with fellow collaborator, MC Tourettes to write and illustrate a Little Lotus picture book, documenting the journey and inspired by the children. All proceeds raised from the sale of the book, art and photography will go directly to the refugee children. Photography taken during the project will be uploaded in real time and can be ordered here very soon. Along the way, this blog will feature regular photo uploads, journey updates, video diaries, the highs, the lows, the stories and mishaps, and most importantly, the hopes of the forgotten children of Burma.

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  • Pat Shepherd Profile

      6 September 2010

    Pat Shepherd is a freelance photographer and designer. He has specialised in documentary photography of the Kiwi musicscene for the past seven years and has worked closely with clients as diverse as Shapeshifter, Red Bull, TVNZ, Fly My Pretties, Radio Active, and Smokefree and has developed and produced multi-media marketing material for music clients. In 2005, he launched his own free street press publication, Exposure Lifestyles. His experience in the publishing and design world has taken him on to work as the designer of NZ Skier Magazine, book design, as well as a variety of ongoing tutoring contracts. In 2009, Pat met with the charity Children on the Edge to discuss volunteering on the Thai/Burma border to help the refugee children that Children on the Edge support. With the help of his friend Josh Bahlman, the two set off to Thailand in December 2009 as part of The Good Karma Project. The project shaped up to be an enormously successful fundraiser, and a year-long multi-media project that encompassed a documentary, social media presence, an effective pro bono PR campaign, extensive fundraising, an exhibition auction, a photography exhibition, and free childrenfs art workshops for NZ children.

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  • Tanja Jade (aka Misery) Profile

      6 September 2010

    Tanja Jade aka gMiseryh was born in Brisbane, Australia in the year of the Lord 1982. Her formative years were spent taunting crocodiles, avoiding giant falling mangos and committing the characters that inhabited her daydreams and nightmares to paper. By the age of seven she was cleaning up the competition at the annual Bracken Ridge Primary School paint off and could draw a wilder beast in five seconds flat. At the tender age of 12, Misery left home and caught a ride on a fishing boat to Tahiti. On route they encountered a terrible storm and had to dock at Auckland, New Zealand to wait for the seas to calm. Two days later the ship set sail but Tanja remained behind in what would become her new home. Being a studious young woman, Tanja decided that education was important and enrolled in Auckland Metropolitan Collage, a school where the emphasis was on lunchtime and smoking rather than education. Here her love of art was nurtured and soon her distinctive characters were gracing the streets of Auckland and gallery walls around the country. After leaving school Tanja travelled the world holding successful exhibitions in the United States and Europe and having a wonderful time in general. On her return to New Zealand she launched her clothing label and made enough money to set up a small pug dog farm in Muriwai. Her shows continued to grow in popularity regularly selling out on the opening night. Tanjafs recognition has attracted countless media attention, including a half hour award winning documentary produced by Sticky Pictures. In August 2008 Tanja held her solo art exhibith Holly Melancholy and the Night that Saved the Dayhat Aucklandfs Peter Webb Gallery. The show was yet another roaring success, selling out and cementing her place as one New Zealandfs leading young contemporary artists. Never one to rest on her laurels, Tanja has launched her new website emisery.comf, Opened Auckland based ePleased To Meet You Boutiquef with sister Meg, and continues to paint, travel and collaborate on exciting projects with inspiring and talented friends.

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  • Peap Tarr Profile

      6 September 2010

    Peap, or Samapeap Tarr originally born and based artist from Auckland New Zealand now living and creating in Phnom Penh Cambodia is a person whose cultural background has influenced him to create his signature sinister yet tranquil works of art which has caught the attention of art lovers around the world and also gained respect from many of his art peers including legendary LA Graffiti Cholo style artist Chaz Bojorquez. Known primarily for his use of bold black ink and paints on a blank white medium including canvas and walls, his art exists in a world where lightness and darkness battle, yet coexist in the same breath to balance each other and contrast against each other. It represents the ups and downs of life, the yin and the yang, the ongoing war that ends up being waged on canvas or whatever medium his work lies on. Peap over the years has received international attention via the media press including Magazines such as Hi Fructose issue 7, Computer Arts China, Faesthetic magazine issue 9 and 11, Clouded Thoughts (Australia), Acclaim Magazine, North and South (NZ current affairs magazine) and various other local magazines in New Zealand. Having exhibited in Los Angeles USA, Auckland, New Zealand and Sydney Australia Peap has now set his sights on the whole Asian region particularly the South East Asian region to really take his art and crew to new heights on grand creative level and to make new and exciting projects happen g I am always looking forward to making new and exciting projects happen on the creative level every day and to follow through with my goals and ambitions. Peep is part of Angry Woebots crew Army of Snipers which has a list of crew members around the world who travel like an army of snipers only their weapon is paintbrushes and spray paint and their mission is to bring their unique graffiti and art to the world.

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  • Alex Chalmers

      6 September 2010

    Alex Chalmers was born in Whangarei into a large family of 4 older siblings; three brothers and one sister. Alex left Whangare Boys High School after sixth form to study Painting and Sculpture at Unitec Carrington in Auckland. After studying at Unitec for two years he decided to switch to Elam School of Fine Arts and is now in his third year of study. Alex is a hybrid artist who has worked with a range of mediums such as; drawing, painting, sculpture, sewing and more recently performance art. Alex sees art as the funk of life and seeks to have fun through his practice.

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