BARBARA KER-MANN
Barbara Ker-Mann is a resident of Waitakere Gardens in Henderson,Auckland, New Zealand. She has always painted simply because her father's ability and enthusiasm inspired her. She received her first lessons by being with her dad as he painted out-of-doors in the beauty spots where they lived, Akaroa, Kaikoura, Martinborough to name but a few. From time to time she has also studied formerly as courses interested her, and when living in Japan as AAUW International Fellow, she took the opportunity of escaping the music institute to study Japanese traditional art. Sometime later she was introduced to Chigirie, the torn paper art form, and, in 1995, became a student of Mrs Akiko Otane in Yokohama and has returned to her for lessons several times. She now teaches from a syllabus she created for New Zealanders to follow, while painting torn paper pictures and exhibiting, herself.
THE LEAFGREEN MOTIF
Barbara says it like this, "The logo featured on this site was the graphic I designed for the publication of my first novel, Death of a Sparrow. That was at a time when my other main interests were as member of Solar Action and teacher of violin by the Suzuki method, in the city of Christchurch. The motif was added to with words encircled around it,'Singing, Dancing, Making Music for the Planet Earth', when my violin school and I, led a ceremony in the cathedral to mark our anti-nuclear stance, on Hiroshima Day each year. Since the 1990's this motif has stayed with me on my adventures to do with art, music and the planet.
"To discover for myself if wind generators were people-friendly as well as eco-friendly, I travelled to windfarms around the world; gave submissions to town councils about the significance of using alternative energies especially solar and wind; and produced a pamphlet called Eco-Build for the Porirua City Council. This motif is now included in my Chigirie Art School title - Leafgreen Chigirie NZ."
"To discover for myself if wind generators were people-friendly as well as eco-friendly, I travelled to windfarms around the world; gave submissions to town councils about the significance of using alternative energies especially solar and wind; and produced a pamphlet called Eco-Build for the Porirua City Council. This motif is now included in my Chigirie Art School title - Leafgreen Chigirie NZ."
VIOLIN TEACHING
The Suzuki Method of Teaching Violin is the subject of my Master's thesis and was close to my heart for many years. Studying for a year (1983-84) with Dr Shinichi under the auspices of an American Association 0f University Women Fellowship (International) was the ultimate in education in the area of teaching young children (and of all ages) to play violin by the Mother Tongue Method. I was commited to expounding the Suzuki Method when returned to New Zealand in 1984. Here is the moment of receiving the Graduation Certificate from Dr Suzuki in a private presentation at the Talent Education Institute, Matsumoto, in 1984, when I was about to leave.