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About Claudia
Testimonials
"We have two of Claudia's beehive art pieces in our home and absolutely love them. Our first piece we had commissioned for us and we loved it so much we decided to get a second piece for our new entrance way. We love the colour, texture and detail of the art. But art for us is only partially visual, there also needs to be a type of connection with the art itself. We have a strong interest in sustainability and bees, so the recycled beehives form a real tie to our family values.
Claudia is a delight to work with and we have no hesitation recommending her amazing unique artwork."
Charla
"Claudia is an amazing artist, her beehive art never ceases to amaze me. I have followed her work for sometime and the variety is endless. My piece named "Drive in" is perfect in my home! I’m always looking for a new wall so I can purchase another"!
Rochelle
"As a kiwi living in Europe, Claudia's beehive Art is the perfect reminder of home. I let her design me a piece and she really got "me", including all the colours. The Mandarin Tree is one of my first stops on any trip home and if I ever move back home I'm going to get a huge piece of Claudia's amazing art works."
Janice
"My wife and I had been admiring Claudia’s work via Instagram for a long time, we loved what she was doing up-cycling old bee hives and turning them into beautiful mosaics of colour and shape. The connection to the bees also resonated with us as the critical foundation of life and growth, without bees we would cease to exist. We made the trip down to Gordonton with the whole family and fell in love with "Carnaval".
The piece completed our wall of favourite art pieces by Fane Flaws, Tony Ogle, Bronwen Waipuka and Lei Wen, each with a story to tell".
James and Meredith Willoughby
" I am very proud to own a couple of pieces of Claudia’s work. Each artwork takes hours of precise work is unique and timeless."
Karen
"I’d had my eye on Claudia’s beehive works for a while and was thrilled when I was able to commission a work. Claudia took time to share concepts with me and encouraged my feedback. The result was "Sphere" - a moody piece which incorporated my love of text and texture.
Claudia is super easy to deal with and had it completed exactly on time. I am 100% delighted with it!"
Cate
"When I happened upon the very cute Mandarin Tree gallery in Gordonton, my eye was immediately grabbed by Claudia’s beautiful beehive artwork collection - in particular the aptly named "Epiphany" with an intriguing shape. The mesmerising symmetry combined with layers of texture are what won my heart, and after a few days of pondering I just had to make the trip back to get it!
Claudia’s warmth and charisma made the purchasing experience very joyful. Now hanging in our Auckland apartment, "Epiphany" so often becomes a point of conversation with our friends.
Really, does art come with a better story than recycled beehives"?
Matt
"When we first walked into The Mandarin Tree we were struck with the light and bright atmosphere. Having struck up a conversation with Claudia it soon became evident where the vitality for the gallery came from. Not only is Claudia’s beehive art bright and colourful but has a unique energy ready to share with the viewer. We loved Claudia’s vision to showcase NZ art and for us her enthusiasm to share her knowledge was a breath of fresh air".
Dean and Sue Buswell.
“I fell in love with a piece of Claudia’s work and just had to have it! I love how each piece has been repurposed from old beehives and yet is incredibly unique - from whites, to blues and multi-coloured works. The texture and 3D nature of the wood looks amazing hanging our our wall.”
Sara
"Being a keen art enthusiast I love finding an artist that tells a story with their work. Clever usage of discarded beehives into art that symbolises nature is a true testament of skill, passion and something we will treasure in years to come.
Thank you Claudia."
Alison
"Claudia Aalderink never ceases to amaze with the works of art she produces from discarded and recycled beehives. Each piece is so individual - capturing interesting colours, shapes, texture. They are a joy to share in any room and work alongside any décor. As her works evolve, Claudia will continue to bring a basic beehive to life."
David
“I am the lucky winner of a wonderful piece by Claudia. I have followed The Mandarin Tree on Facebook for a long time and have loved seeing the diverse range of art; best of all Claudia’s magical recycled beehive pieces, all so unique and beautiful. I was so happy when I won, winning competitions is not my strong suit. Claudia asked me about my favourite colours and the shape I would like. I also asked for the piece to have a number incorporated into it. The finished work is gorgeous, I could not be happier. I am very honoured to have Claudia’s work hanging in my home."
Sharyn Gruzelier
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