It's one of the most important but cliched phrases uttered over the last 10 years - work/life balance.

For some, it's a unicorn; sounds great, but hard to believe it actually exists.

For most artists, it's only part of the sentence..work/life/practice balance, to be specific.

Keeping a career/'day job', family and relationship time as well as the ability to devote yourself to your creative passion all on an even keel is a challenging task - but one countless artists deal with on a daily basis.

Creatives who pour countless hours, weeks and months into their entries for the World of WearableArt (WOW) awards know that conundrum all too well. 

With the WOW show now a month away (26 September - 13 October), The Big Idea hears from four of the finalists to see how they find the right equation and the feeling of knowing their efforts are rewarded. 

Christopher Davis

Christopher Davis knows the thrill of WOW like few others. He's a multi-time winner at the prestigious event, with success predominantly in the Sustainability section.

But even the veterans get that edgy feeling before getting the good news.

Davis told The Big Idea "Waiting for the result, I was checking my emails all day in anticipation. When it said my garment made it to the stage, I was filled with a sense of excitement. 

"It's a huge highlight of my year to see my garment come to life on stage, catch up with other designers - also known as the WOW family - and see the spectacle that is a WOW Show."

Sustainability isn't just part of his WOW journey - it plays a big part in his everyday life.

"I own a small gardening business, where we maintain, design and implement gardens. For both gardening and garments, I am problem-solving and have to be organised. 

"From a design perspective, I feel if you understand the basic design principles you can apply them to various mediums. Contrast, balance, emphasis, proportion, repetition, rhythm, pattern and movement can all be applied to different creative projects. 

"So even though people think the two are poles apart, to me, the two go hand in hand."

While there's a symmetry, Davis admits there is still a conflict when it comes to finding time to give both parts of his career the right amount of nurturing. "It's really difficult, juggling both a gardening business and a big creative project like WOW. 

"Time is always the most difficult factor. Some evenings I will work late, give up weekends or sacrifice long weekends to get ahead. I'm getting better at time management and planning with the hope that one day I will perfect an easy garment hand-in!"

Inspiration can come from anywhere for a creative. Davis can pinpoint his for this project - 19 June, 2021.

"A small tornado hit my local neighbourhood of Papatoetoe - homes were destroyed, exposing their structure. A neighbour standing in front of his ruined home said 'From the outside, people must think I have nothing - but I have everything - my family and I are OK.' 

"He had the realisation of what is important. The garment inspiration started from that emotional shift and the visual context of that day.

"During the tornado, a trampoline tumbled over our home, damaging our house and fence and landing in my neighbour’s driveway across the road. She was worried about how she would get rid of it and get her car out of the garage. I started to dismantle the trampoline to help her. 

"Taking away the parts I finally dragged the trampoline fabric across the lawn. My partner said 'How are we going to get rid of that?' - which sparked the idea that it could be recycled as a fabric."

Saxony McArthur

NHI specialist by day, Saxony McArthur is always looking for new ways to put her creativity to the test - which led to her finally giving WOW a crack.

Christchurch-based McArthur explains to The Big Idea "I am not satisfied in life unless I have a challenge to overcome, so I am always setting myself a hard challenge to get stuck into.  

"This had been a goal of mine since I caught a showcase of garments in Christchurch some 20-plus years ago. I was initially pleased to know the seven months I spent as a hermit had not been in vain.   

"I felt a little bit of adrenalin when I found out - I was extremely happy to tick off another dream. "

McArthur describes herself as a "daydreamer", getting most of her ideas while being out and about. "Hiking and creating are my two great personal loves.  Being out in nature and hiking for hours is an amazing space to be in, ideas easily flow and form in my mind like a sketchbook."

Making her creative ambitions fit into her work life has been seamless, as she also finds the two work hand in glove - although she admits the two worlds are very different.

"I use my analytical skills all day long in my day job, which keeps my brain activated in a problem-solving mindset, which are skills I used a lot when creating my garment.  

"I have a lot of flexibility in my job, so it was easy to be able to take leave when needed to extend my creative isolation.

"Mainly I would work every night after work and all weekend, sacrificing my social life for the love of creating. Which to be honest was not a hard choice - like any designer/artist could contest to, once you are in a creative flow, it is a joyous place to be.

"I initially began working on my garment in Napier - I was up there for work for a few months.  I didn’t have a studio obviously or any supplies, I had a small round kitchen table in a townhouse I was staying in as my working area.  There were large windows that looked out to sweeping views of an ocean inlet and lush green 'come hike me' hillsides, it was not a hard place to be inspired.  

"I was still in the initial trial and error phase of construction; regular supplies were ordered. There was nowhere to leave parcels, so I left a note for the courier that read,  'Just throw it over the gate, nothing breakable inside'.  

"Corn husks, wire and clay foam became the regulars, and all play major parts in the garment.  The corn husks and clay foam were something I had never used before.   I completed quite a bit of work up there - I had to buy another suitcase to get it all back to Christchurch."

Erna Van Der Wat

WOW is a family tradition for Erna Van Der Wat.

She's a regular finalist with her husband Karl (as they are in 2024) and was a People's Choice winner last year with her mother Joanne and mother-in-law Lena with Blooming Proof!

"It’s just the best feeling in the world!" Van Der Wat says of their selection. "We have entered a total of 14 garments into the show over the past 18 years. You would think that by now the thrill would’ve worn off - but we experience the same level of excitement if not more with every year's selection! 

"It’s such a fantastic and unique show and to be part of it is ever so rewarding and extraordinary!"

Much like they are in life and in art, Erna and Karl are partners professionally. 

"We are in the construction industry and enjoy working together, spending most of our time together on-site or in the office. 

"The past 5 years have been extremely challenging and stressful and WOW has actually been our saving grace and kept us sane throughout! Our day job involves a lot of problem-solving, engineering and construction and so does the process of creating a WOW garment but we draw inspiration - as well as practical experience - from one or the other.

"Karl is the energetic, proactive force of our team, while I keep everything organised, structured and together. We make a good team because we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses very well.

"We usually work on our WOW garments over weekends but there have also been countless nights burning the midnight oil till the early morning hours! It is a struggle or rather a juggle mostly to fit it in with a busy work life... but if you really love and enjoy what you’re doing, it just becomes part of a life well lived."

With a rich history of entering this world-renowned visual event, finding ways of raising their own bar for nearly two decades could be seen as a major mental mountain to climb.

But Van Der Wat finds that creative catalyst comes from a wide range of opportunities. 

"Inspiration, in general for us, may be ignited by either a word, sound, a movement or just a split-second thought or image. The best ideas often pop up in moments when it’s least expected and those moments are always invigorating and exciting! Usually, one idea sparks another and then it grows into a strong concept idea. 

"We feed off each other and usually as soon as I tell Karl about a crazy idea or concept he comes up with brilliant ways to actually make it happen. We feel inspiration and creativity is a presence within every human being just waiting to be explored."

That family bond that drives them has also launched their latest WOW entry.

"The inspiration behind our garment for 2024 is a delightfully unique young lady on the brink of adulthood that has recently been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). 

"To be diagnosed with ASD is terrifying in itself as well as life-changing. It takes courage to be brave; to be yourself; to let your true colours shine through like the colours of the rainbow and we hope that this garment inspires her to continue to do just that!

"While our niece continues with the daily struggle to accept and embrace her diagnosis, she braves the process of refraction - as a metaphor - and allows her beautiful true authentic identity with her unique character, personality traits and quirks to shine through like the colours of the rainbow.

"This garment has great performance and choreography potential and we cannot wait to see it move on stage. The main garment was specifically designed and constructed to act as an agamograph - an art form that uses optical illusion to change what is seen, depending on the angle of the viewer."

Joelle March

Finding the right balance has been a lesson fellow WOW finalist Joelle March has had to learn through experience.

 "My day job is as a small animal veterinarian," she tells The Big Idea. "Creativity for me is an outlet, it’s how I manage my wellbeing. 

"I love being a vet, but it does come with stress and worry for your patients. Creating helps me calm my mind. 

"I’m fortunate with respect to time, as I’m lucky to work part-time. This is after many years of working too much, I’d lost sight of the need to enjoy life so I made some changes. As a result, I’m now fortunate to have an amazing work/life balance." 

Making the cut for the WOW show is an experience March will treasure. "There are several feelings," March details. 

"Stage one, at first, it is disbelief - I had to read the email three times to make sure I got it right - followed by a euphoric sense of relief, ending with the biggest smile you could ever imagine.

"Stage two. once those initial feelings settle and you come back down to earth, you start to appreciate what an immense achievement it is to have something you’ve created in the World of WearableArt show. 

"Right now, I feel really proud - also proud to have my mother as a co-designer."

Much like with her work/life balance, March is thrilled to have found a way to share two of her leading passions with her WOW garment.

"For as long as I can remember I’ve had an interest in Japan. After many years of dreaming about a trip there, I finally made it in April 2023 and fell in love with the culture. 

"One of my many creative pursuits is paper folding. The more complicated, the better.  These two loves melded beautifully together as inspiration for the garment. 

"I found a beautiful fold that I wanted to use but couldn’t find a pattern for it, so with sheer determination it took about six hours to work it out. 

"I still have no idea how I did it, think it might have been a fluke. None the less I took it as a win and it’s been used in the garment."