“It was a totally serendipitous experience, I never thought it would happen.”
If you have walked through Pakūranga College’s reception in the past 16 years, you will likely have seen the large, towering artwork in the foyer. While at a glance it looks like a series of black streaks and dots, when you take a step back, you’re suddenly staring at a rock face, five metres above you.
That artwork was made by Julie Woodward, Art and Art History teacher at the college from 2002 to 2023.
The artwork was set in motion by new pay scales for teachers.
“I remember being told that all teachers should have a degree, I was feeling really nervous as I had done a diploma in the seventies, which was the standard at the time.”
In 2008, Julie decided that she would take up a degree, a Master of Fine Arts, which she studied at Whitecliffe as they allowed part-time study around her job.
“I was lucky, l was awarded 20 weeks paid study leave but Heather agreed that I could teach half time for the whole year instead. It allowed me to teach my Art History class right through the year, instead of disrupting their learning before exams.”
Julie would spend an hour painting each morning before teaching Periods 2 and 3 and then returning home to paint again in the afternoon.
Working on the pieces needed for her master’s thesis took up 60 hours a week. Julie said “I just painted all the time. I was even up at 6am on Christmas Day just to paint.”
Julie has always admired landscapes and the sublime or as Julie describes it: “the terror of nature overwhelming a person.”
She started experimenting with art materials on natural surfaces, taking rubbings of rocks at Cockle Bay. It was when exploring Whatipu Beach and discovering a sheer cliff face, she knew it would be the focus of her thesis project.
The size of the artwork is what first catches the eye and was a surprise to Julie herself once she got to work on it. It was the largest artwork from her cohort, and the largest she had ever done.
Julie utilised an overhead projector to cast photos of the cliff onto her roll of paper, unrolling the scroll only one metre at a time.
It wasn’t until the artwork was finished, that she saw the creation in full. Once the project was completed, it was displayed at a Whitecliffe seminar, but once that was finished it sat dormant.
“It’s a massive piece, it’s a real struggle to find somewhere to display it.”
In a pure coincidence, a renovation of the Pakūranga College reception revealed a tall, blank wall, which gave Julie the idea of display the artwork one more time.
“It’s not every day that you find a five-metre-tall wall,” she said.
Julie approached then-Principal Heather McRae about displaying the artwork for a week or so, which she agreed on. But Heather liked it so much, that the school decided to purchase the artwork from her.
Julie was astounded at the feedback, saying “I was impressed the artwork stayed up for a week, let alone 16 years.”
It became a full circle experience when Julie was able to bring her Art History classes to view the piece she had been working on.
“It’s been a real privilege to have it displayed,” says Julie.
Julie is pragmatic about an upcoming reception renovation, which means it’s time to find a new home for the iconic piece. “Artwork is there to be enjoyed for a period of time, and this period has been far longer than I ever anticipated.”
Header image: Julie on her last day as a teacher at the college, with husband and colleague, Frank Woodward, and other staff leavers, posing in front of her artwork.
