2019 Maggy Johnston utilised her time at the artist residency at Pataua to focus on sourcing and using discarded waste to create artworks some of which were part of the exhibition REMASTERED - BARBARA LAWSON & MAGGY JOHNSTON 18 October - 8 November 2019 at the Parker Gallery in Nelson. Through her art work, Maggy Johnston asks the question: "What are we doing with our planet?" There's a sense of urgency about her message and she wants to invite people on board. "We can't just say it's too hard; if we all work together it's doable," Johnston says. "By making work that is playful I want to intrigue, to delight our audience, and respectfully bring awareness." Maggy Johnston has been working on themes of transforming plastic waste into attractive sculptural works for some time now and she collects what other people have discarded from boats, from car windows, or dumped while walking. "I highlight the huge amount of plastic that is used in today's society and the fact that most of this material ends up polluting the environment or is buried in landfill sites." Johnston believes that women have traditionally been the nurturers and innovators, who care about the environment and take small steps to impact in big ways. She uses women's traditional craft techniques, such as knitting and crochet, to create art works made from discarded materials, including plastic bags, electrical cabling and rubber inner tubes. "I want to recycle, transform and re-use, so it slows that process down," Johnston says. "Hopefully it will change the way we consume and throw away." At the completion of her residency Maggy held a workshop session where she taught the participants how to crotchet with many found objects from the beach creating small decorative items.