At 7 Islands we celebrate the mastery of creativity and craftsmanship while acknowledging their fundamental importance in an increasingly mechanised world, a world where many human functions will be performed by robots. There is a connection between the human hand, the brain and the heart that is essential to achieving creativity at the very highest level of excellence. That is our essence and we don’t want to lose it.

The most effective techniques for cultivating intelligence aim at uniting mind and body. We have come to trust in the spirit of play - to joyful and fearless exploration - as powerful organisers of learning and growth. The proven link between making, being and becoming, stimulates inventiveness and agility.

IF WE HAD A MANIFESTO IT WOULD SAY…

…that we don’t believe in learning without an underlying passion for expression, for connection, and for discovery, not only of skills but of being, connected to what some (and us) choose to call the self. The values that are related find expression in all cultures. And cultures develop around a keen sense of place.

Place, we discovered, is very important to us. It sparked a deliberate search for a location that epitomised our definition. Connection to our ocean environment, an expressive landscape, clear night skies to read the stars. A place where dreams might take shape and be realised. Place is strongly reflected in traditional indigenous māori cultural concepts of whanaungatanga, manaakitanga and kaitiakitanga too: relationships, caring and hospitality, responsibility in action. Understanding the deeper meaning of these concepts has in no small way shaped and guided us toward developing our optimal conditions for full immersion learning.

Our methodology reflects elements of a knowledge and skill exchange process modelled on timeless principles: in our case discovered from a study of the ethos of the indigenous Wānanga or learning centre. Some might choose to criticise it as old fashioned. We would rather call it honed and polished by centuries of understanding the conditions for satisfying the natural capacity for learning. Following this trajectory moves us away from an institutional, numbers-laden approach - what one of our friends calls ‘people-farming’ - to a more personal and direct experience that reveals methods associated with mastery. educational and training

This study of centuries-old learning philosophies also presents a fast track. You create the appetite for progress, you determine the pace. The intentional structuring of our creative environment - to stimulate multi-sensory engagement and divergent thinking - is our additional contribution, honed by some of the finest minds we know. ‘Whatever it takes’ is critical if it will foster a radical shift toward an exchange of innovative ideas and cultural perspectives that will stretch the appetite for professional development.

To be specific, our approach encourages lateral thinking beyond the confines of the 5 known senses and toward the articulation of an aho - or carefully woven fabric - of reciprocal ideas that connect us with our boundless human curiosity. Through full-immersion we experience the revitalisation of senses that might have been dulled by the confines of a linear response to the creative process. This reinforces environmental values and an appreciation of the physical qualities of diverse creative materials and processes.

That’s not to say it is a one-way exchange. Learning in a complex with its focus on a creative experience brings benefit to our own host practice - the pivotal centre of the experience - too. The equation assures us of constant stimulating activity in a framework embracing creativity, sustainable environmental principles and collaboration as its fundamental precepts.

What & where are you?

Pukeruru is a multifunctional facility with a fully equipped studio, gallery, and a variety of accommodation options set in a natural bush landscape with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean.

Up Close with Carin Wilson

Carin Wilson, studio furnituremaker, sculptor and design educator likes to push the boundaries of design and craftsmanship. 7 Islands’ backbone is a strong belief in what we can learn from Māori culture, from practices around kaitiakitanga (guarding our environment) to the proficiencies - traditional and contemporary - in art and design.