Continuing a family tradition Former teacher bringing her watercolour expertise to gallery workshop

Growing up in a family that boasted a floral artist, a potter, a textile artist, a photographer and an illustrator, Di Holland was destined to find her place in the creative arts.

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Put simply, it was a family tradition and next month she is bringing her skills to a workshop at the Naracoorte Regional Art Gallery.

“My mum was a floral artist, she worked with wire and plant materials, pencils and house paints,” Di said. “My eldest sister was a potter and my next eldest sister is a fibre artist, and my brother a photographer, my grandmother created pots and my grandfather created detailed drawing.

“So you can see I was surrounded by creative people.

“From my father I got my love of nature especially birds and spiders which he fostered from an early age, giving me a pair of binoculars when I was 10.”

And it is the influence of the artistic members of the family and her father’s passion for the natural world that have merged to develop Di into the artist she is today.

Born in Heywood, Di has strong family connections in Yahl and Compton and has spent most of her life either side of the border.

Take out completing her teaching degree in Melbourne and a stint in Adelaide, and Di Holland has never ventured too far from her hometown, working in Kaniva, Warrnambool and Edenhope, before heading to Keith in retirement.

Wherever she was based, though, art was front and centre.

“I studied art at school, then as part of my tertiary education and as part of my teaching career I taught art to many students, however I would have to say I am more self-taught,” Di said.

Access to education and development is always a challenge in smaller regional areas and Di is certainly envious of her sister Cherree, who living near Warrnambool was able to tap into significant educational opportunities along her artistic journey.

“This shows in her very diverse creativity and skills which I know I am lacking,” Di said.

It is why she sees exposure to art in our schools as such a key part of every student’s education.

“It fosters creativity and self expression which is an important aspect of learning,” Di said. “I have seen many children who struggle at school create amazing art works, and I have also seen children with high level of skills enjoy their art bringing another perspective to a topic or skill, thinking outside the box. It also stands them in good stead for the future.

“I found myself that when I was working in a stressful environment of our business, to have a creative outlet helped me cope with these stresses.”

Not surprisingly, that ahs seen Di surround herself with art opportunities wherever possible, including being part of the Edenhope Art Group for 25 years.

“I was exposed to some excellent tutors in watercolour and oils who fostered my ability to portray my love of nature through my art,” Di said.

Since 2018 she has been part of the Keith Art Group and that has provided am injection of enthusiasm into her art practice.

“I found a very progressive, sharing group of people,” Di said. “During the year we have various artists running workshops to increase our skills.”

Exhibiting has also been a big part of Di’s artistic history, including four joint exhibitions, titled Sistershows, with her sister - one at the Warrnambool Art Gallery, one at The F Project in Warrnambool, one in Edenhope at the Red Tailed Gallery and one at the Portland Art Gallery.

“We collaborated on the subject matter so that we had complementary pieces,” Di said. For example, Cherree made a large fibre sculpture of a possum nest so I did a painting of a possum; I painted an echidna, she made a delightful prickly basket.

“I have also exhibited as part of our Keith Art Group exhibitions each year, and at the Walkway Gallery as part of the combined Tatiara Pallete Painters and Keith Art Group SALA exhibition.”

When people think about Di’s work, thoughts tend to gravitate towards watercolour and capturing the natural world and it is her watercolour skills that Di will be sharing at the Sunday, March 5, workshop in Naracoorte.

“I like to share what watercolour skills I have with anyone who is interested or would like to learn,” Di said. “I am learning all the time new techniques and my mother always said ‘learning something new everyday, keeps your brain alive’.

“If I can give someone the confidence to try in my classes and the interest to go home and have a go, I like to think my teaching is successful.

“I think three of the most important skills to learn in watercolour are brush control, choosing the right paper and paints and colour mixing and we will be working on that in the workshop.”

Di will also be hosting a workshop in Bordertown later this year, while the rest of her time will be taken up working towards another joint exhibition with her sister, set down for 2024.

The Naracoorte workshop will run from 10am to 3pm and is a course for all abilities and ages between 16 and 100. Some materials will be supplied and there is a materials list for those that are not. Only $70 per person, place guaranteed on payment. Book at the Naracoorte Regional Art Gallery or ring (08)8762 3390, please leave a message if there is no one available to take your call and they’ll get back to you asap.