Spectrum Hand Dyed Fabrics Mieke Apps

Profile of an Artist.

Mieke Apps first became known in New Zealand as a nationally acclaimed weaver.

She was born in Hoorn, a small picturesque town in the north of Holland and was exposed to art at an early age by her father, Jacob Waterman, a well known painter, and later attended the Amsterdam School of Arts.

Fibre art became her specialty and she preferred to work in natural fibres.

As a professional weaver for 15 years, Mieke received a number of national awards and was regularly commissioned by business corporations and major architect groups specialising in premiere office and home accommodation.

Most of her weavings either grace the offices of executive suits in major corporations, or have become part of national collections of New Zealand art galleries and private collections in Australia, America, China and Europe.

As a resident in Putaruru, Mieke willingly shared her expertise with a group of young people who trained under her tutorage for four years, and they themselves also won personal awards and accolades.

In 1988, because of arthritis in her hands, Mieke changed her artistic direction and from this time, has specialised in machine pieced and machine quilted works.

To date, this new direction has been well received with several awards being presented to Mieke for her creations.Having a wonderful rapport with colour, she teaches classes in colour and design, bringing contemporary use of colour to designing in easy methods, while also bringing a weaver's perspective to patchwork, in turn offering a new dimension to this creative discipline. Mieke and New Zealand born husband Graeme, now live in Kerikeri some three hours north of Auckland, an area steeped in New Zealand history, native bush, native birds and untouched nature, all of which she says is both restful and artistically inspirational.



			Profile of an Artist. Mieke Apps first became known in New Zealand as a nationally acclaimed weaver. She was born in Hoorn, a small picturesque town in the north of Holland and was exposed to art at an early age by her father, Jacob Waterman, a well known painter, and later attended the Amsterdam School of Arts. Fibre art became her specialty and she preferred to work in natural fibres. As a professional weaver for 15 years, Mieke received a number of national awards and was regularly commissioned by business corporations and major architect groups specialising in premiere office and home accommodation. Most of her weavings either grace the offices of executive suits in major corporations, or have become part of national collections of New Zealand art galleries and private collections in Australia, America, China and Europe. As a resident in Putaruru, Mieke willingly shared her expertise with a group of young people who trained under her tutorage for four years, and they themselves also won personal awards and accolades. In 1988, because of arthritis in her hands, Mieke changed her artistic direction and from this time, has specialised in machine pieced and machine quilted works. To date, this new direction has been well received with several awards being presented to Mieke for her creations.Having a wonderful rapport with colour, she teaches classes in colour and design, bringing contemporary use of colour to designing in easy methods, while also bringing a weaver's perspective to patchwork, in turn offering a new dimension to this creative discipline. Mieke and New Zealand born husband Graeme, now live in Kerikeri some three hours north of Auckland, an area steeped in New Zealand history, native bush, native birds and untouched nature, all of which she says is both restful and artistically inspirational.









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