Fraser Coast Scene - March 2024

PAINTING WITH NATURE’S PALETTE

Nestled under the floorboards are dusty jars of butterfly wings, abandoned bird’s nests and the shells of Christmas beetles past. Among these collections, Joolie Gibbs is completely in her element. This is her art studio which she shares with the mud hornets and geckos. The gumnuts, twigs and seedpods are not only her art inspiration but may form part of her finished piece in one way or another. An accomplished artist, Joolie’s stunning work is created from layer upon layer of handmade inks poured and painted onto huge sheets of paper, some reaching nine meters long. Other pieces are made of stitched threads embellished with old clay buttons and seeds, encaustic bees wax papers burnished to shine and natural fibres collected from swamps and native bushland that surround her.

As an enthusiastic hiker and wildlife forager she gathers reeds and leaves to reduce to a pulp or liquid concentrate from which she then creates paper and inks. She experiments with di erent plants - Agave, Mistletoe, Ironbark, Eucalyptus, Pecan and Gympie Messmate - mixing them with iron water, citric acid, copper and other natural substances to create a chemical reaction. Each ink is added to journals,

pages of earthy coloured stripes record the process and the e ects of natural light and colourfastness of the natural inks. Her process is lengthy and filled with love, compassion and conservation of the environment.

Joolie is a quiet activist, an environmentalist who goes about her conservationism with gentle militance. Her beautiful paintings o en share a hint of a message for the viewer to discover amongst the subject matter, the title of the works, or perhaps the journey behind the creation that is her activism. It’s her way of saying it without actually saying it, that speaks loudly. Her current body of work entitled “If Trees Could Talk” is being created from a deep love of the coastal rainforest and treed environment of the Cooloola region. In 2023 Joolie undertook the Cooloola Great Walk with a fellow wildflower enthusiast and hiker, and for five days the two friends immersed themselves in the environment, coming out the other end exhausted and sore, disheveled and looking like part of the landscape, but with a greater appreciation for the bushland and a burning desire to protect it from destruction by development.

COVER IMAGE: Valerie McIntosh, Untitled 2024, collagraph print. Created at Gatakers Print Studio, it is one of the artist’s last works. It will form part of the Printmakers: Impressed 4 exhibition at Gatakers Artspace from 1 March – 21 April.

Fraser Coast Scene is distributed free as a marketing and engagement initiative of Fraser Coast Regional Council. It promotes Council’s programs and services by sharing stories of our arts and cultural community and their connection to Council’s spaces.

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ARTIST PROFILE: JOOLIE GIBBS

STAY INSPIRED!

This guide shares a taste of Council’s arts, culture and heritage program and was correct at time of printing. To keep up to date with the latest information visit our website or email ArtsCulture@frasercoast.qld.gov.au

www.ourfrasercoast.com.au

Joolie’s immersion into this landscape will form intricate, large scale works from handmade inks and papers will be part of a combined exhibition in 2025, funded by RADF.

It’s the process of decay that stirs Joolie and she feels comfortable knowing that her footprint on the earth will be a small one as she steps lightly amongst the environment she loves. Through the many years Joolie has been heavily involved in the art world as a commercial artist, Gallery Curator and visual artist herself, she has become aware of the lasting e ects of art on the planet, particularly acrylic paints and resins and she is comforted in her ethos that her art will one day become part of the natural landscape again, decay being a natural part of the life of her creations.

Joolie was awarded the Hervey Bay Boat Club People’s Choice Award of the 2023 Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize.

Fraser Coast Regional Council acknowledges to the east, the Butchulla (Badtjala) and to the west, the Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi) People, their connection to Country (land, sea and sky) and recognises the many places of cultural, spiritual, social and economic significance in the community. We pay respects to their Elders – past, present and emerging. We also acknowledge other First Nation Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander people, who reside in the Fraser Coast region.

www.ourfrasercoast.com.au

5 Walker Street, Maryborough 4122 6060

Box Office Open Monday to Friday: 8.30am – 4pm

Vanya- NT Live

Fri 8 Mar | 1PM

Sat 9 Mar | 7PM

Andrew Scott brings multiple characters to life in this radical new version of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya.

The World of Musicals in Concert

Thu 4 Apr | 7.30PM

The World of the Musicals is a show that is tailored for the entire family, so get ready to be enthralled and sing along to all your favourites.

Ian Moss

Rivers Run Dry Tour

Fri 22 Mar | 7.30PM

The Rivers Run Dry Tour will feature songs from Rivers Run Dry and the songs you loveBow River, Tuckers Daughter, My Baby and many more.

The Australian INXS Show

Fri 5 Apr | 7.30PM

The Australian INXS Show celebrates and honours both the memory of Michael Hutchence and the band.

La Forza Del DestinoMetropolitan Opera

Mon 25 Mar | 1PM

Verdi’s grand tale of illfated love, deadly vendetta and family strife - soprano sensation Lise Davidsen headlines as Leonora.

Robertson Brothers Variety TV Show

Sun 7 Apr | 3PM

The Robertson Brothers are thrilled to be returning with their new heart-warming and uplifting 1960’s Variety TV Show!

The Michael Jackson - HIStory Show

Sat 30 Mar | 8PM

Showtime presents this spectacular music tribute and full-scale stage production honouring the one and only King of Pop.

Spellbound - A Night of Magic & Grand Illusion

Sat 13 Apr | 7.30PM

Get ready for a spectacular night of Magic and Grand Illusion with one of Australia’s leading Illusionists, Anthony Street.

WHAT’S ON | MARCH 2024

Queensland Ballet on Tour

Wed 6 Mar | 7.30PM

Queensland Ballet presents four glittering works from the vault in a balletic feast for the senses.

FOURTEEN shake & stir theatre co

Wed 17 Jul | 11 AM & 7.30PM

The year is 1999 and Shannon has a secret.

166 Old Maryborough Rd, Hervey Bay 4197 4206

FREE ENTRY Open Tuesday to Friday: 10am - 4pm Weekends: 10am - 2pm.

EXHIBITIONS: UNTIL 21 APRIL

The Art of Grant Writing Workshop

Sat 16 Mar | 10AM

Designed for creatives, join arts consultant Olivia Everitt for a 3 hour grant writing workshop.

Wilhelmus Breikers: Eat the Moon (This is not a dystopian parable)

Local artist Wilhelmus Breikers presents a selection of works drawing upon reflective examinations of self, questions of reception and perception and interior dimensions of landscape. Eat the Moon features recent paintings accompanied by a new body of sculptural works.

Cane

Historical objects and personal accounts with contemporary artworks from local, national and international artists explore the history of indentured South Sea Islander workers in the Queensland sugarcane industry during the 19th century. Cane celebrates the enduring spirit and cultural legacy of Australian South Sea Islanders.

Film Screening: Dark Cargoes

Mon 25 Mar | 4pm

Documentary of the history of the South Sea Islanders and the Australian slaving system.

Images (from top): Leo Favell, Polson Cemetery South Sea Islander Memorial, 1972; Wilhelmus Breikers, I am optimistic sometimes 2020. Acrylic on canvas; South Sea Islanders arriving at Bundaberg, 1895, State Library Queensland.

311 Kent St, Maryborough

4190 5818

FREE ENTRY Open Tuesday to Friday: 9.30am - 3.30pm

Weekends: 9.30am - 2pm.

EXHIBITIONS: FRI 1 MAR - SUN 21 APR

Exhibition Opening Fri 1 Mar | 6PM

Zela Bissett

Behind the Shine

A collection of watercolours and gouache portrays, of places fond and familiar.

Rosemary Anderson

Sense of Place - Toogoom - Place of Rest

A response to the Toogoom area and the diversity of its beaches, creeks, bushland and lakes.

ARTIST IN CONVERSATION

Zela Bissett

Sat 2 Mar | 11 AM

Maryborough Woodturners & Woodcraftsmen Guild Inc

Timber Revelations

Showcasing a variety of timbers and handcrafted artisan wood pieces.

Printmakers

Impressed 4

Focusing on contemporary printmaking processes by local and regional printmakers.

Rosemary Anderson

Sat 9 Mar | 10AM

CREATIVE SPACE EXHIBITIONS

Marc Clark

Selected works

Fri 8 Mar - Sun 7 Apr

WORKSHOPS & ACTIVITIES

Watercolour techniques - Zela Bissett

Sat 3 Mar | 10AM - 1PM

Sense of PlaceRosemary Anderson

Sat 9 Mar | 11 AM - 1PM

Introduction to printmaking - Drypoint

Sat 9 Mar | 9.30AM - 2PM

Introduction to Monoprinting 8-15yrs

Sat 6 Apr | 9.30AM - 2PM

Images (clockwise from top le ): Zela Bissett, Homage to Kathleen-left panel; Maryborough Woodturners & Woodcra smen Guild Inc, Trevor Brennan -Timber Lidded Bowl; Marc Clark, City of Moreton Bay, Russell Shakespeare; Carol Seeger, Mangosteens with Gloriosa Lilies; Rosemary Anderson, Early Morning Beach Visitors .