Arts Zine Nov 2015 by Robyn Werkhoven

s t u d i o

L A

arts zine issue 13

November 2015

P R I M I T I V E

slp

studio la primitive EDITOR

Robyn Stanton Werkhoven CONTRIBUTORS

Carlos Barrios

Carlin McLellan

Piers Dudley Bateman

Brad Evans

Peter Speight

David Graham

Diana Middleby

Kathryn Wittman

Dungog by Design

Nigel Nerd

139 Gallery

Eric Werkhoven

Lorraine Fildes

Robyn Werkhoven

New Castle Printmakers

Gina McDonald

Nanshe Gallery

Index ………………

Editorial………………………… Robyn Werkhoven

SLP Antics………... ………… E&R Werkhoven

Featured Artist ………………… Carlos Barrios

Poetry…………………………… Brad Evans

20 - 23

Featured Artist Tribute………… Piers Dudley Bateman

24 - 39

Poetry…………………………… Carlin McLellan

40 - 41

Artist……………………………

Diana Middleby

42 - 53

Essay…………………………… Eric Werkhoven

54 - 55

Artist Retrospect…………………Peter Speight

56 - 67

Not News………………………

68 - 69

Nigel Nerd

Charles Rennie Mackintosh…… Lorraine Fildes

70 - 95

Poem……………………………..David Graham

96 - 97

Dungog by Design………………Kathryn Wittman

98 -109

Exhibition……………… ……… Back to Back Gallery

110 - 117

Exhibition………………………..Nanshe Gallery

118 - 119

Printmakers…………………… Gina McDonald

120 - 121

Please do not copy articles in this magazine without written permission of the Editor.

ART News……………………….

122 -131

Back Cover………………………Diana Middleby

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EDITORIAL Greetings, best wishes for the festive season and a splendid New Year 2016 to all our ARTS ZINE readers. Studio La Primitive

would like to thank all contributors to the Zine for 2015. The Zine was two years old in

October, our readership keeps growing and we can look forward to an interesting and exciting 2016. The November / December issue 13 of STUDIO LA PRIMTIVE ARTS ZINE includes interviews with nationally and internationally recognised painter Carlos Barrios and a tribute for Piers Dudley Bateman. There are interviews with artists Diana Middleby and Kathryn Wittman who talks about the Dungog by Design artisan collective opening an inspiring shop / gallery in Dungog, Hunter Valley. We also feature a retrospect on Newcastle sculptor Peter Speight.

Lorraine Fildes presents a delightful article on Charles Rennie Mackintosh architecture and interior design. Our intrepid interviewer Nigel Nerd takes on the Australian flag and the USA. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss reading our new essays, poetry, art news and information on forthcoming exhibitions. The ARTS ZINE features professional Hunter Valley, national and international visual artists poets and writers, glimpses into their world of art and their creative processes. Submissions welcomed, we would love to have your words and art works in future editions in 2015 and 2016.

Deadline for articles - 15th February for March issue14 2016. Email: werkhovenr@bigpond.com Regards - your editor Robyn Werkhoven Issue 13 - November

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Bull Rider

Bird Mask STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE - ÂŠ 2015

E&R Werkhoven collaborative paintings

www.studiolaprimitive.net Issue 13 - November

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CARLOS BARRIOS

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CARLOS BARRIOS - INTERVIEW BACKGROUND : Carlos Barrios is an Australian artist, born in 1966 in San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America. Barrios was introduced to art and ancient relics from primitive Central American cultures in early childhood by his father who was an archaeologist. Barrios first began to paint at the age of six . “I had a childhood filled with visits to magical ancient places, pyramids and temples. As a child art was an important discovery, it came to me for the first time in a stone belonging to an ancient city. I was on an excavation site wondering around amongst fragments of ceramic, obsidian and stone. I picked up one small stone, rectangular in shape, and as I looked into it I saw many figures. I kept it, and could observe it for hours, this fragment seemed to contain a film of moving and changing figures.”

The Salvadoran civil war began in 1980 and continued for over ten years. “ In this war time madness and normality coexisted. Many nights the electricity was cut and in the candle lit spaces of the house I saw creatures moving and watching us, so I would paint and draw them. As I worked I would watch my hand moving, creating the figures and creatures, I was the onlooker, the witness to this seemingly automatic unfolding of pictures, visual descriptions. “ Issue 13 - November

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Barrios was learnt the technique of oil painting and was mentored by the artist Ram贸n Merino in El Salvador. In 1990 Barrios immigrated to Australia. He attended the National Art School in Sydney. Over the recent years Barrios has be received many awards and accolades for his work.

Including twice being a Finalist for the Art Gallery of New South Wales Sulman Art Prize, in 2005 and 2006. Barrios has twice been a finalist for the Blake Prize for Religious Art, in 2006 and 2007. In 2008 his work was exhibited at the Miami Art Fair. Barrios' work was included in the 2009 "Reflections of Australia" a group exhibition in China.

He received winner of the Liverpool City Art Prize 2009 and selected as a Finalist in the 2010 and 2011 Plein Air Art Prize, held in Parliament House ACT. Barrios is a passionate and prolific artist, regularly presenting exhibitions in Australia and overseas. A solo exhibition in 2010 "memorias, pasion y lineas" (memories, passion and lines) was opened by

Australian artist John Olsen AO OBE. He regularly exhibits with Maunsell Wickes Barry Stern Galleries, Sydney and Metro Gallery, Melbourne. Barrios' studio is located in the NSW Southern Highlands town of Robertson.

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CARLOS BARRIOS INTERVIEW “Art makes me aware of different levels of existence within the universe, sometimes revealing

many questions and other times great understandings.” - Carlos Barrios

When did your artistic passion begin? “My long love for art began very early as a child. My dad used to take us to ancient sites, that somehow made

my creativity and passion for what we call art to be awakened. The imagination was enhanced and my path was clear.”

2015

‘Walking the Streets’ mixed media on linen hand made paper (meriat) 100 x 200 cm

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How would you describe your work? “My work is a mixture of emotions and visual conflicts. I mostly use the medium of drawing and painting as I have an urge to make the marks. In this kind of state I feel that something awakens.

Like a game or vortex, a mystery to me. It keeps me interested and busy. Mostly figures in different backgrounds or activities. For me the first marks are very important even some times they get covered a bit. A process of selection. Maybe some kind of magic expressionism.”

What inspires you? “Humanity and its mystery is the source of my inspiration. From the love and desire for simplicity of being.”

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What do you consider your greatest achievement? “My family. To have some moments of awareness (not too many) to be able to work in creative activities full time”.

What are you working on at present? “At the moment I am having eight paintings in a show at Metro Gallery in Melbourne. Then in November eighteen works in Paddington at Maunsell Wickes Gallery. Eighteen works for a show in the south coast in December. I am part of other group shows as well with ceramics, paintings and drawings. I have a trip to Hawaii and plan to just relax , cooking, drinking and making works on paper.”

Your future aspirations with your art? “To reach awareness, wisdom and happiness, to became a good human being and provide for my family. To have the joy of making marks and take then to the next stage”.

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www.carlosbarrios.com.au Issue 13 - November

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early riser for "Doors" (1920 - 2011) and for the memories that remain - Brad Evans she was an early riser and she began the household tasks of making the bed and getting dressed and dusting and washing and sweeping and wiping away more dustâ&#x20AC;Ś all of her morning seemed taken up by jobs which I swore half of them she'd invented just for herself: "Why don't you sit down and read a book, Nan! Relax a bit, that recliner was built just for you!" I'd watch her consider that idea all too briefly before she'd laugh a little and walk off muttering: "if only I had the time, love!" And then off she'd go to water the parsley and

And then off she'd go to water the curley-leaf parsley and mint And all the other varieties growing in abundance front and back.

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On some mornings, she'd take an early swim with a friend and come back pegging her swimsuit on the line not far from the onions hanging in the musty garden shed and I'd look at that white rubber thing that she wore over her head was it white or purple? a lot of women her age seemed to wear them whenever they went for their morning swim it didn't seem to keep the water out but it had a distinct flowery pattern on it. All in 3D.

Later on she would take a walk down the hill To buy the loaf of fresh bread (unsliced) from the baker and I still remember the date scones and pots of tea, the pikelets, the golden syrup dumplings which I'll never forget and while Nan would soak the rice for the pudding

her brothers and friends would arrive, they all seemed to be farmers or fishermen, with names like Athol and Crofton and Harold bringing in food from the land and the sea anything from fresh beans to mullet.

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And while Mum and Nan were stringing those beans before the weekend roast I would sit out on the balcony with a glass of ginger beer in my hand watching the Tamboi Queen chug across the Bay... And that was many years ago now and the house no longer stands, and all I've got left are just some memories that slip away like sand no matter how tight I hold 'em and if you're gonna scatter those ashes then do it at daybreak she was an early riser anyway and choose that time on the Bay when the air lies still over the water

and let a gentle tide take her.

- Brad Evans ÂŠ 2015

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PIERS DUDLEY BATEMAN Issue 13 - November

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TRIBUTE - PIERS DUDLEY BATEMAN As a long time friend of the Bateman family and Piers Bateman, Arts Zine is honoured to present this tribute

for Piers on his life and art work. Sadly in September 2015 we lost Piers in a tragic boating accident off the NSW coast. He has been described as a passionate artist, charismatic , fun loving and always ready for a new adventure. Piers is noted for his distinctive painting oeuvre of the Australian dessert and bush landscape, with over sixty solo shows and is represented in many corporate and public collections. In recent years 2008 - 2014 he travelled, worked and exhibited in China. Bateman’s paintings have been regularly exhibited in art galleries in Australia and overseas. Including the Red Hill Gallery in Brisbane, Eltham South Fine Art Victoria and the Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair, China. His art hangs on the walls of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Melbourne University and the conference room

in the Australian Embassy in Washington.

Opposite page:

Outback Landscape ‘Mt Conner NT’ 150 x 100cm - Piers Bateman.

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An old photograph of Piers beside an early figurative painting from 1968/69. Issue 13 - November

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BACKGROUND: Born in Perth 1947, ten years later his family moved to Eltham, the avant-garde art community in Victoria. Here he spent his younger years and later attended Eltham high school.

Many famous Australian artists have

affiliations with Eltham such as David Boyd, Arthur Boyd, John

Perceval, Albert Tucker, Neil Douglas, Matcham Skipper and Clifton Pugh. In 1966 Piers ventured to London where he began to paint seriously, studying art and mentored by Arthur and David Boyd.

On his return to Australia in 1966 he was invited to hold his first his first exhibition at the new gallery Munster Arms in Melbourne1968. Melbourne Herald art critic Allan McCulloch gave the exhibition a good review. After the successful show Piers bought a thirty acre property of bushland at St Andrews, where he built his first mud brick studio. His journey into exploring landscape painting was fueled here amid the beautiful Australian bush terrain.

Piers visited the coastal regions of Williamstown, Port Melbourne and Mornington, where he enjoyed painting the coastal scenes. It was here that his enchantment for the sea emerged. The Reserve Bank of Australia bought the painting "Scallop Boats Mornington" for its permanent collection.

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’Kimberley Gorge’ 150 x 100 cm Landscapes by Piers Dudley Bateman available at

’Manna Gums & Wattle’ 150 x100 cm

‘Murrumbidgee Flowing II ‘ 150 x100 cm

www.redhillgallery.com.au

Central Australia 150 x 100 cm

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Australian art collectors began to discover Bateman. Well established artists such as Vic O'Conner, Clifton Pugh, Lloyd Rees David Boyd and Charles Blackman encouraged and mentored Piers. “Blackman in particular helped Bateman establish connections in the Sydney art community. An invitation to participate in a survey exhibition of Australian Art at the Cremorne Gallery Sydney and a painting acquired

by the Caterpillar Foundation in Chicago further helped his growing recognition as an emerging landscape painter.” During the seventies he went on regular painting trips throughout Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. Fights over areas of western Queensland with artist Mervyn Moriarty in 1973, led Piers “to experimenting with an aerial perspective to his iconic outback paintings giving a new and evocative view of the flat landscape. “ “1980 Bateman ventured on a trans Australian painting exhibition with sculptor Marcus Skipper to Broome Western Australia via Alice Springs and the Tanami Desert returning through the Kimberley, Darwin and Cairns. Due to the adverse physical conditions of this trip he experimented with gouache and acrylic as a medium for the first time. Working on large canvases in oil back in his studio, these gouache impressions were the basis of his 'Red Desert' series which brought him wide recognition in Australia.” Piers travelled and exhibited frequently in Europe, he had ventured through all the European canals on a boat. In 1983 Piers returned to the Mediterranean, spending a year painting in the Aegean. In the winter of

1985 he set up a studio in Alicante, Spain. In November 1986, Piers returned to Australia. Issue 13 - November

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Piers Bateman beside an early painting ‘Scrubby Bush’. Issue 13 - November

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Piers Bateman beside painting - â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Flat Gets Flatterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Greg & Kirsten Norman collection. Issue 13 - November

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’The Creek’ 150x100cm Australian landscapes by Piers Dudley Bateman available at

‘Two Mile Creek’ 37x29cm

‘Blossoms & Wattle’ 150x100 cm

www.redhillgallery.com.au

‘Splash of Wattle’ 150x100cm Issue 13 - November

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1997 Bateman spent three weeks painting in Eritrea before the outbreak of civil war, with Surrealist Photographer Bill Mosley. An exhibition of paintings and photographs from this experience was shown in Melbourne and Sydney. â&#x20AC;&#x153;In 1998 Bateman was "discovered" by Andrew Peacock who at the time was fighting a close election with

Prime Minister Bob Hawke. Peacock bought a collection of his works and later encouraged Bateman to visit America when Peacock became the Australian Ambassador. The Australian Embassy subsequently commissioned two paintings, one a large (4 x 2-metre) Bush Mural for the conference room. 1998 Bateman traveled by road across America from California to Washington D.C., painting desert landscapes along Historic Route 66. The next year 1999 Bateman held a major exhibition at the Embassy of Australia Washington D.C. In the same year he was invited to be the Australian representative at the Contemporary Art Fair in Malaga, Spain. In 2007 Piers was invited to exhibit at the Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair. Prominent people in the Arts took notice of Batemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work, inviting him back to exhibit and later a position in 2009 at Shanghai Institute of Visual Art as.

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PIERS BATEMAN GOES TO CHINA In recent years Piers Bateman discovered China, where he taught as an Honorary Professor at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art under Fudan University in Shanghai, China .

â&#x20AC;&#x153;One of the highlights of my time in China was the bronze sculpture that I was commissioned to make for the University Grounds. This was a project that took two years to compete from conception to installation. I owe a debt of gratitude to John Chen and his skilled workers at his foundry for their expertise on this project.â&#x20AC;?

A selection of portrait studies - Piers Bateman. Issue 13 - November

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Girl and Bullâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; - Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, China . . It was a long process mainly due to sourcing the finance. Now it is finally installed outside the faculty of fashion and design. Issue 13 - November

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Piers Bateman and sculpture and detail of the Girl at Foundry, Shanghai China. Issue 13 - November

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The Bull at the foundry, Shanghai, China.

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“Art

is to me the most important thing after survival needs. By art I include of course

all the arts. I like to say as a definition of art. Art is the seduction of the senses. Art is to be explored, enjoyed questioned and collected.”

- Piers Dudley Bateman.

“Piers was an adventurer and great inspiration for just heading out there and doing it! We saw the Australian Desert through Piers’s paintings, our local Bush and later the works from China more recently. He made his mark as a strong and unique Australian Landscape artist and did not ever ‘sell out’ to the fashion of the day with his art.” - Jenni Mitchell - Eltham South Fine Art , Victoria.

“Piers loved the sea, books, traveling, painting, Jazz, history, British cars and his friends. He especially loved Jazz, not modern or experimental Jazz but real Jazz by all the Dukes, Earls & Counts of the early 20th Century. I often heard him make an analogy between music and painting by comparing line,

composition and colour to notes, chords, rhythm and tempo. He also believed that the best way to support the arts was to buy art. So go out and find something that will give you joy every time you walk into the room and put it on your wall.”- Conrad Batman © 2015 All content of article and photographs courtesy of Bateman family and friends © 2015 All Rights Reserved. Issue 13 - November

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‘Shanghai Jazz Party’ - Piers Bateman.

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How much do you want the things that you want?

The loudest sound I ever heard came from a place where all traces of past loves are siphoned into inestimable lakes at the bottom of which Schubert's scattered ashes muse on how unfinished his symphony actually was

- Carlin McLellan ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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DIANA MIDDLEBY Issue 13 - November

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DIANA MIDDLEBY - INTERVIEW Diana Middleby, a Newcastle professional artist and former gallery director, has had twenty three years experience in the art industry. When did your interest for art begin? “My passion for art began when I was a young child living in Newcastle and in my parent’s basement I saw for the first time my great aunt, Maud Armstrong’s, original oil paintings. They were the most beautiful, exciting images I had ever seen and at every opportunity I would go to see them. Decades later I tried to

find Maud’s paintings only to be told that they had been destroyed in a house fire!” Describe your work: “My work goes through stages, depending on experiences in life and my state of mind. At the moment I am using water colours and finding the discipline it takes to master the materials affects the subject matter of my work. Butterflies, birds, faces and botanical style flowers have emerged from the watercolours. I am also working on a few commissions of flower, bird and fruit artworks which are oil paintings on a large scale.”

Image page 34: Swimmer #3 oil on canvas

H122 x W33 cm

2015

“Poppys”( detail )

Oil on canvas H92 x W152 cm

2015

What inspires your art? “I am inspired by nature and as I live on a flower farm, I am surrounded by the diversity and beauty of the natural world. Unusual faces of characters that I may read about or meet also inspire me. Examples of strong biblical women dominated my earlier works.”

What are your greatest achievements? “My greatest achievements in art, apart from the many exhibitions of my work over the past three decades, have been the art galleries that I have created at Tighes Hill. The first one was the Tighes Hill Gallery/Bus Stop Gallery on Elizabeth Street in partnership with Robyn and Eric Werkhoven from 2003 to 2007 and then the School of Arts Gallery (SOAG) on Elizabeth Street from 2009 to 2012. In a financially difficult art climate at the time of the GFC (Global Financial Crisis) we opened the SOAG Gallery and managed to make it a successful business. I managed monthly exhibitions of Newcastle and the Hunter Valleys best and well-known artists as well as some emerging new artists. I was given great support from a range of regional and overseas art lovers and collectors and I am eternally grateful for their support.” What are your future aspirations? “My future aspirations are to explore a range of new materials in my art work I am very interested in tapestries and soft sculptures and looking at the work of Jannick Deslauriers and Grayson Perry for inspiration.”

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King Proteas #4 (detail ) Oil on canvas H64 x W50cm Diana Middleby (C( 2015

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Day Lillies (detail) Oil on canvas H91 x W60 cm Diana Middleby ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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Undecided Oil on canvas H56 x W66 cm Diana Middleby ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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Judith Holofernes (detail) Oil on canvas H169 x W78 cm Diana Middleby ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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Magnolia Grandiflora (detail) oil on canvas H183 x W198 cm Diana Middleby ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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Sunflowers Oil on canvas H44 x W35 cm Diana Middleby ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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Yellow Gum Blossoms Oil on canvas H40 x W30 cm Diana Middleby ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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For painting commissions please contact Diana Middleby Email:

soag.gallery@bigpond.com

Arum Lilies -

oil on canvas H120 x W30cm

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ESSAY - ERIC WERKHOVEN On the edge of being exhausted, needing your presence to break the cycle. In far away whispers, getting closer. You run away with my thoughts and pluck them out of thin air. Both slightly down graded, to wait for a more appropriate moment, to set a man free on crutches to set a man free with broken wings. This may well be the appropriate timing to put our dreaming back into its higher place of recognition. Find myself thinking about some of the people we meet, and linger awhile in (my) thoughts (there).

Sometimes it works wonders, but then we want more, whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s partially real, to hold the key to both our understanding, as if for one moment itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fair assumption.

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To hear the world around us, and help us joining up these links. Even the remnants of our ancient past, and these more recent events that mean so much at the time. To equip ourselves with a tenacious glue, weight bearing evidence, and actual footage in whose memory we are upheld, in the status quo of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current and vital, and perfectly suited.

You work me up in a frenzy, you fuel me with wordless longing. Less known are the things we are yet to learn about ourselves. They seem at times more like a remedy, for some of the ills we have accumulated. To be able to create a static bubbling effect, to reach the surface from deep within. Seeking a person of your calibre to have a toast with.

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PETER SPEIGHT - RETROSPECT

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PETER SPEIGHT - RETROSPECT Newcastle, Hunter Valley Sculptor. The indomitable and charismatic sculptor Peter Speight, sadly left us in 2012. Peter’s spirit lives on with family and friends’ great memories and a prolific parade of his wonderful satirical, provocative, witty and poignant sculptures epitomising the human condition. Peter was born in Maitland NSW 1965. From years 1993-99 he attended Newcastle University, B.A Visual Arts (Hons.)

His studio / home was in Newcastle, surrounded by a chaotic scene, a multitude of timber pieces , tools and wooden sculptured figures and hybrid creatures in various stages of completion. Peter sculptured and partied ‘hard’, loved the beach, psychedelic rock music, Jimi Hendrix, philosophy, reading and his dogs. Peter was a passionate artist, with a perpetual intrigue to explore the psyche of human beings in their universe. His chosen medium was recycled wood and found objects. He regularly exhibited in Newcastle galleries with sell out shows. - Robyn Werkhoven © 2015

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Peter Speight working in his studioâ&#x20AC;Ś..photo courtesy of Ian Norris . Issue 13 - November

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Tribute excerpts 2012. “Peter’s sculptural pieces were always rich satirical candour, social commentary and psychedelic undertone. The exploration of the tangible, the spiritual and hallucinatory were always subjects to Peter’s

heart and saw fruition through his art work. Peter Speight had established a significant following in Newcastle and his work will always be highly regarded and forever treasured.” - Colin Lawson, Director ArtSystemsWickham Gallery 2012.

“A sculptors life - and carving especially - is characterised by tough physical endurance and Peter pushed his bones hard, turning out countless original carvings, mixed - media assemblages, and numerous drawings. A label he sometimes personally claimed, ‘Outsider Artist’. Is not an accurate fit. While Peter chose a path beyond the pedestrian mainstream, eschewing the often gratuitous nature of the institutional and commercial art world, he remained a passionate and omnipotent part of the local arts community and a perceptive critic and mentor. Generous in heart and spirit but never false in his flattery, Peter’s instinct for language and materiality gained him wide respect amongst artists.”

- Una Rey, Art critic & writer- excerpt from Tribute ASW Gallery 2012 Issue 13 - November

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Peter in his studio Photo courtesy of Dean Beletich. Issue 13 - November

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PETER SPEIGHT - AGAINST CONVENTION Maitland Regional Art Gallery Exhibition 5 December 2015 – 7 February 2016

“Peter Speight was a Newcastle based artist who grew up in Maitland, in 2012 he died unexpectedly. This exhibition is a celebration of his unique sculptural practice that many in this region own or have seen over the past decade since he started exhibiting in the late 1990s. Speight was a prolific artist and this exhibition

is only a small representation of what he produced during his lifetime. His cheeky personality is now embedded in everything that he made, predominately known as a sculptor who used recycled wood and found objects, he was starting to exhibit drawings that reveal an artist who was only just beginning to make his mark.” - Maitland Regional Art Gallery. © 2015 Issue 13 - November

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Victory 2001

Hammerhead 2004 GALLERY:

Circus Noir 2005

Sculptures - Peter Speight ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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Sex X. X. X. 2003

King Shit 2003

Sex X. X. X. 2003

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Acrobats

Death & Taxes

Circus Noir 2005

Last Man Standing 2001

Dog Inside Your Body 2005

GALLERY: Sculptures - Peter Speight ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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Surrender 2001

SPLIT - 2011

The Oracle 2012

GALLERY: Sculptures - Peter Speight ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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Skin Head on a Pony

2000

Circus Noir 2005

Ringmaster - Circus Noir 2005

GALLERY: Sculptures Peter Speight ÂŠ 2015 Issue 13 - November

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NOT NEWS - Nigel Nerd Exciting news! ARTZINE has run a very successful artists competition worldwide to design a new national flag for Australia. The winner is Hal A. Hamburger of Crassville, U.S.A., who Nigel interviewed last week. The competition sponsor was an American philanthropist who wished to remain anonymous. In this exclusive interview Hal, an extremely patriotic American, said he did his best to extend American values worldwide and creating this new Australian ensign was a wonderful opportunity. He said his first inspiration came from the former Australian flag, which is known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;London by Nightâ&#x20AC;? in the U.S. He thought simply replacing the Union Jack with the Stars and Stripes would be fine. But fellow Americans violently opposed this - it would mean Australia would have six stars rather than just one like as all the other U.S. States. Since all Americans can carry guns (and most do), Hal, thinking of his personal safety, thought it best to drastically change his design concept. Hal said his second and winning inspiration came from China. Down at the docks one day he saw a Hong Kong flag ship flying two flags, with the Chinese national flag on top and the Hong Kong flag below. What a

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So Hal’s winning entry means that in future Australia will have two flags, with the U.S. flag flying supreme and a completely redesigned Australian flag below.

Nigel enquired about the redesigned flag.

Hal explained “It has the top half in golden yellow, bottom half in green with a grey and white shark in the middle of a central blue oval.”

“What are the particular meanings involved here?” asked Nigel. Hal replied “The gold and green colours have a deep spiritual significance for Australians. These colours represent sport, which is the dominant religion in Australia.”

The shark can be interpreted in more than one way. It mainly represents, of course, the Australian banking and finance industry. But also, being surrounded by the blue sea, it is a warning to all Australians not to venture into deep water, financial or otherwise.

Hal went on to say he was so pleased that there was bi-partisan political support for the new flags. Liberal,

National and Labor parties all agreed that the “two flag new look” reflected reality – American commercial, military, political and social dominance in Australia.

After the interview Nigel marvelled at the symbolism of the new Australian flags. Nigel also applied for a U.S. passport.

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Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Lorraine Fildes ÂŠ 2015

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Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928)

The innovative style of Charles Rennie Mackintosh is seen throughout the city of Glasgow. His architectural masterpiece, Glasgow School of Art, was voted by the Royal Institute of British Architects as the finest building designed by a British architect in the last 175 years. At 15 years of age Charles Mackintosh was an apprentice at the Architectural Glasgow Office of John

Hutchison. During his apprenticeship he supplemented practical experience in the office by attending classes at the Glasgow School of Art. He took classes in drawing, painting, modelling and design. In 1886 he completed a course in Elementary Architecture, and in 1887 he passed a course in Building Construction. On completing his apprenticeship, Mackintosh accepted an assistant’s position into the Architectural Office of John Honeyman & Keppie in 1889. They allowed Mackintosh to work on important commissions even though he was only an assistant. It was a major vote of confidence in Mackintosh’s architectural ability. Honeyman & Keppie’s Architectural Office was invited to compete for Glasgow’s new Art School. One of their entries, clearly designed by 28-year-old Mackintosh, won. The governors only had money for half, which was built over three years and opened at the end of 1899. Later money was found for the other half of the project and Mackintosh was able to complete his masterpiece. Issue 13 - November

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Mackintosh became a partner in the Architectural Office of Honeyman & Keppie in 1901. In the first few years of the new partnership Mackintosh had plenty of work and the future looked promising. The commission for The Hill House (1902–4) came to him because the client, the Glasgow publisher Walter W. Blackie, had admired his designs for the School of Art. It was the biggest domestic commission of his career. Kate Cranston also became one of Mackintosh’s most important clients. She employed Mackintosh to

design her fashionable tea rooms in Glasgow. He rebuilt 217 Sauchiehall Street as the Willow Tea Rooms (1903), giving it a startling asymmetrical façade. His last Scottish architectural undertaking was the Scotland Street School (1903–7), a major new building for the School Board of Glasgow. This was the most lucrative job he carried out at this time, combining features derived from 17th century architecture with abstract geometrical decoration outside and dramatic spatial effects within.

Reasons for Mackintosh’s initial success in his career: In the late 1880’s a new architectural philosophy concerned with creating functional and practical design was emerging throughout Europe: the so-called "modernist ideas". The main concept of the Modernist movement was to develop innovative ideas and new technology - design concerned with the present and the future, rather than with history and tradition. Heavy ornamentation and inherited styles were discarded. Mackintosh introduced art nouveau to Scotland and modified it in a much more streamlined way. He was very popular for a short time and then found it difficult to get assignments.

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Like his contemporary Frank Lloyd Wright, Mackintosh's designs often included extensive specifications for the detailing, decoration, and furnishing of his buildings. His work was shown at the Vienna Secession Exhibition in 1900. Mackintosh's architectural career was a relatively short one, but of significant quality and impact. All his major commissions were between 1896 and 1906, where he designed private homes, commercial buildings, interior renovations and churches. Despite his success in Europe and the support of clients such as Blackie and Cranston, Mackintosh’s work met with considerable indifference at home and as a result his career declined. Few private clients were sufficiently sympathetic to want his ‘total design’ of house and interior.

Changes in architectural fashion: The extreme individualism of Mackintosh's work naturally restricted the number of clients who chose him, but the main reason for the decline in his career was because the architectural tide or fashion had changed and American influence dominated world architecture from 1909.

Public enterprises wanted the new

“classicism” for their public buildings. A fundamental shift had taken place in architectural taste internationally, America being particularly important in this respect – away from eclecticism and individualism and towards a single, dominant version of classicism.

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Near the end of his life, Mackintosh abandoned architecture completely. He wrote despairingly of the influence of America, and of those who championed the new classicism that America represented. By 1914 Mackintosh had despaired of ever receiving the level of recognition in Glasgow that he felt he deserved. In an attempt to resurrect his career, Mackintosh resigned from the practice and with his wife Margaret Macdonald moved to London. This was unfortunate timing, for with the onset of the First World War all building work was severely restricted. Adventurous plans for a suite of artists’ studios and a theatre were never built. However, after making adjustments to the exterior of a mid-terraced house at 78 Derngate in Northampton (1916), the client W J Bassett-Lowke commissioned Mackintosh to redecorate a number of the building’s interiors including the Guests’ Bedroom (1919). These designs illustrate a bold new style of decoration and

construction, using primary colours and geometric motifs. It was an output of extraordinary vitality and originality but it went virtually unheeded. A move to the South of France in 1923 signalled the end of Mackintosh’s architectural career and the last years of his life were spent painting. He died in London on 10 December 1928.

lllustrations: The only Mackintosh building permitting photographs inside was 78 Derngate Northampton, and as it was the last architecture project he worked on I use it to demonstrate his ideas on interior design. The other buildings which I photographed from outside demonstrate clearly how he had moved on from the old classicism to art nouveau and then even further with his designs - even more modern than art nouveau as they are not overdone with outside decoration. Issue 13 - November

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Glasgow School of Art Issue 13 - November

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Glasgow School of Art On the 23d of May 2014 a fire damaged the Mackintosh building and (in 2015) there is no visitor access to the interiors of the Mackintosh building whilst restoration takes place. This photograph shows the impressive northern faĂ§ade of the building. All is very streamlined and the wrought iron decoration on fence and windows is very subdued â&#x20AC;&#x201C; certainly in contrast to the outrageous Art Nouveau decoration added to the buildings in Riga, Latvia. Sited at the edge of a steeply sloping south facing hill, the art

school, stretches along an entire block, facing a major street to the north. This north side presents a simple, horizontal rectangular mass with large, industrial windows which light the studios, alternating with masonry piers. This facade is set behind a stone and iron railing, interrupted at the centre with an art nouveau iron arch under which steps lead up to the asymmetric composition of the entrance. In contrast the east and west facades are narrow, tower like masonry walls above the steeply sloping streets, into which small paned metal windows recall Scottish baronial architecture. Photo: Dalhousie Street side of Glasgow School of Arts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; illustrating tower like walls and small paned metal windows. Issue 13 - November

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The Daily Record Building

The Daily Record Building was designed by Mackintosh in 1901 to house a Scottish newspaper, the Daily Record. It was built in a very narrow poorly-lit laneway. To maximize light and make the building appear brighter Mackintosh adopted a striking use of colour on the exterior, combining yellow sculpted sandstone with blue and white glazed reflective bricks. Mackintoshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s classic motifs are all here, as well as the figurative Tree of Life, created by variations in the brickwork reaching skywards. Completed in 1904, the lower floors were used for newspaper production and the upper floors for offices.

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The Hill House

Most of Mackintosh’s best known buildings are close to the Glasgow city centre. But travel 20 miles west along the Clyde and you come to a much different setting. In 1902, Walter Blackie, director of a well-known Glasgow Publishing House, commissioned Mackintosh to build a new family home, in the leafy town of Helensburgh, overlooking the Firth of Clyde. The commission extended to the gardens and much of the furniture, as well as the interior fittings and decoration. Externally, The Hill House was notable for its simple and solid massed forms with little ornamentation, yet internally the rooms exuded light and space, and the use of colour and decoration was carefully conceived. Considered to be Mackintosh’s finest domestic work, The Hill House was finished in 1904 and is now in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. Walter Blackie later wrote that, when Mackintosh handed the house over to the family, he’d said: "Here is the house. It is not an Italian Villa, or an English Mansion House, or a Swiss Chalet, or a Scottish Castle. It is a Dwelling House", which suggests the many influences which this famous architect incorporated.

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The Hill House Issue 13 - November

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The Willow Tea Rooms, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow Throughout his career Mackintosh relied on just a handful of patrons and supporters. The Glasgow businesswoman Catherine Cranston proved to be one of the most influential of these and her series of tearoom interiors (designed and furnished between 1896 -1917) provided him with a great freedom to experiment. In 1903, Kate Cranston, asked Mackintosh to design and create the Tea Room at 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. Although

Mackintosh worked in partnership with Kate Cranston on all her Tea Rooms, this was the only project in which he had complete control over every aspect of the design, including the teaspoons and waitresses' dresses. The Willow Tearooms is very much one of the main Mackintosh

features in Glasgow, attracting visitors from all over the world, with the room today still having in situ the original doors, windows and mirrors. The Willow Tea Rooms in Sauchiehall Street is one of the few buildings designed by Mackintosh still being used today for its original purpose. Issue 13 - November

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Detail: The Willow Tea Rooms, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

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The Scotland Street School

This building is of a most imaginative design which would have been ultra-modern for its day. Designed between 1903 and 1906, it was Mackintoshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s last major commission in Glasgow and displays the architectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s genius to perfection. One can stand and marvel at the impressive leaded glass towers, the magnificent tiled drill hall, the carved stonework and his mastery of the interplay of light and space. A functioning school until 1979, it now offers visitors a fascinating glimpse into education in Glasgow in the past. Mackintosh designed the school around a corridor system, allowing the rear, south facing, wall to be a bank of windows, letting maximum sunlight and solar heat into the classrooms. He included the standard school requirements of the time: separate playgrounds, outside toilets, entrances and staircases for up to 1250 girls, boys and infants, a cookery room, a drill hall and electric lighting. Glasgow's circular subway system will take you from the city centre to Scotland Street School, which is near to Shields Road station. The station itself advertises the School Museum with large representational drawings of the school on the railway platform walls.

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The Scotland Street School Issue 13 - November

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The Mackintosh House in the Hunterian Gallery The Mackintoshes lived at 78 Southpark Avenue from 1906 to 1914. The house was demolished in the early 1960s, but the original fixtures were preserved and reassembled, complete with the contents, as part of the Hunterian Art Gallery. Mackintosh made substantial alterations to the house in 1906. He re-modelled the proportions and natural lighting of the Victorian

end-of-terrace

house.

decorated the interiors in his distinctive

style,

remarkable

for

his

disciplined

austerity. When the house was rebuilt by the University the architects took pains to ensure that the sequence of rooms exactly

reflected the original.

That attention to detail even extends to the same views and effects of natural light, as 78 Southpark Avenue stood only some 100 metres away. The

interiors have been

furnished with

the

Mackintoshes' own furniture, all to

Mackintosh's design and decorated as closely as possible to the original. As there was no photography allowed

inside of the reconstructed house I have only been able to include photographs of the outside. The front door was of Mackintoshâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

geometric design. The front

door of 78 Derngate Northampton (the last

private

residence he worked on) was

much more elaborate than the one shown here.

Opposite: Detail of Doorway Issue 13 - November

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78 Derngate Northampton 78 Derngate Northampton â&#x20AC;&#x201C; completed by Mackintosh for the toy maker and arts patron W J Bassett Lowke in 1916-1919, the tiny conversion of 78 Derngate represented Mackintosh's last completed commission. At last a private dwelling house that I can photograph from the inside! As this was also one of the last buildings Mackintosh

worked on it shows some of his latest ideas in interior design

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78 Derngate Northampton - detail of doorway. Issue 13 - November

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Dramatic guest bedroom of 78 Derngate Northampton Issue 13 - November

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Dramatic guest bedroom of 78 Derngate Northampton The first thing you notice on entering the room however is the astonishing boldness of the décor and textiles. Most of the walls and ceiling were plain white, but black and

white stripes ran up behind the beds and turned a right angle at the ceiling to fill the space over them in an allusion to a canopy. By such simple means a dramatic and totally unusual effect was created. A story goes that Mrs Bassett-Lowke anxiously expressed to

Bernard Shaw who stayed here in 1919 , a hope that the décor would not disturb his sleep – to which he replied that she should not worry, he always slept with his eyes shut!

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Recess for Wash Basin In Bassett-Lowkes bedroom was a neat â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;glass porcelainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;-tiled recess with a wash basin with

integral splash-back, built into a cupboard in a manner advanced for the period. Note the rose motif around the stand and also the rose pattern reflected in the mirror.

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The Loungeroom light fitting – The overhead light came from a slightly medieval style candelabrum hanging from a strange decorative white ‘waffle’, designed to reflect light. The original ceiling fixture has been replicated.

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Stair Screen â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The stair screen Mackintosh designed is a brilliant treatment, an open wall drawing into the room the space allotted to the stairs,

while the panels of decorative leaded glass in the lower part let light through two ways. Firstly. natural light to brighten the stairs down to the kitchen during the day, secondly, electric light from the stairs illuminating glass

at night.

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Kelvin Grove Art Gallery and Museum â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Glasgowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main art gallery and museum has a good sample of work by Mackintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald. This panel shows the famous rose motif which was often used in interior designs in

Mackintoshes buildings.

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Kelvin Grove Art Gallery and Museum â&#x20AC;&#x201C; This dining setting at the Kelvin Grove Art Gallery and Museum shows the high back chairs that Mackintosh used to furnish dining rooms and tea rooms at the domestic premises he designed. Issue 13 - November

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aurora corporealis - David Graham

clipping across the northern sky an aurora corporealis called Carlin hellspont of inspiration & candid utterance between cafĂŠ coffee & hard liquor this rainbow Bukowski spews haiku while scheming collage conundrums & midnight â&#x20AC;&#x2122;zines / I have a memory from the meadow of the sleeping tram Issue 13 - November

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where the mosquitos suck on poetry all night while the summer hours cling like dew on the roof dripping and draining up to the cricket-croak moon before slipping back to the rhythms of friendly speech with him smiling mildly through the steam of green tea infused with the afternoonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s jasmine / it is warm tonight too & the bats are crying in the trees for you they want to be in a Northern sky with lights & the spectre of Carlin - David Graham ÂŠ 2015 All rights reserved. Issue 13 - November

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Original Handmade inspiring 224 Dowling Street Dungog, NSW Issue 13 - November

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DUNGOG by DESIGN - artisans collective Interview - Kathryn Wittman. “Dungog by Design members have a vast diversity of background – what links us is our current residence in the Dungog area and our need to make. Some members have worked as artists all their lives, some have studied, some have finally listened to the call to make things with their hands and have started late in life. We’re attracted by beauty, by weirdness, by the functional and wearable and by the tactile: it’s a treat for the senses to enter our shop and be inspired by what we can make. We love that we can bring ‘the world of Art’ to our small country town and be inspired by each other.”

What inspired you to open an art gallery/shop? “When Dungog by Design first met in April 2014, with nine members all heads full of dreams and possibilities, one of our first goals – and we thought it would be years and years off – was to open a gallery shop in the township of Dungog. We have been inspired by artisan’s collectives in our travels – as close by as Stroud and as far away as Scotland – and by gallery visits. Our secret motivation is to share our wares with the world, one small town at a time, starting with Dungog. “

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Jenny Trevethan

Pamela Priday

Alexandra Wade

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What style/type of exhibitions or merchandise do you have available for sale? “With 26 members, Dungog by Design has a wide range of handmade items available for sale in our Dowling Street shop. We have ceramic wares, stitched, dyed and upcycled clothing, jewellery, hand made books, paintings, prints, hanging work, timber furniture, quirky hats, vibrant fabrics, wrought iron objects, knitted clothing, functional and decorative gifts, felted work, machine-knitted whimsy, cards and bookmarks and locally made soaps. Our individual members’ range evolves with our exploration of materials and each item is unique.”

Your future aspirations for the gallery / shop? “Part of our charter points to Dungog by Design being involved in promoting our town as a destination for visitors. We want to provide a space where visitors can see the best on offer from local artists, and a selection of guest artists. We anticipate holding exhibitions in the space adjacent to the shop. Dungog by Design wants also to provide community workshops that allow us to share our skills with interested people. In the short term, we want to continue the success of our first five weeks and consolidate the work of running a shop with numerous staff, all volunteer, and many vibrant ideas.”

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Eco dyed clothing , dress by Kat Wittman.

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“Dungog by Design has 26 members who create via: painting, printmaking, felting, textile art, ceramics, jewellery, clothing design, natural and synthetic dyeing, papermaking, bookbinding and making, illustration, knit, spin, stitch, crochet, and felt, fishing-fly creation, wood carving and blacksmithing. And sometimes combinations of the above!”

Sarah Dare, bookbinder, paper artist and bookmaker – an incredible restored Victorian Bible Liz Hughes, textile artist – divine woollen and silk eco-dyed cushions Alexandra Wade, illustrator – finely painted native birds on canvas and cards Jenny Trevethan, textile artist – intricate traditional cross stitch in contemporary forms Anne Balmer, painter and textile artist – chunky children’s vests in watercolour yarns Kat Wittmann, textile artist – felted river stones with stitch detail, a tactile surprise Judy Moore, textile artist – knitted baby’s wear in stylish modern natural yarns Neil Buckman, Fly tyer – minute handmade fishing flies presented as framed artworks Simone Turner-Ryan, painter – detailed landscapes and portraits Karen Sowter, soapmaker – delightful beauty products using all natural ingredients Pamela Priday, textile artist – vibrant silk scarves with abstract illustration Dawn Thompson, textile artist, book maker – charming handmade paper concertina books Issue 13 - November

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Barbara Ramsay

Robyn Werkhoven

Hand dyed silks.

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Julie Fitzgerald, painter, textile artist – fine drawings of proud trout Gerdi Schumacher, textile artist – wondrously light felted clothing Donna Cavanough, painter – large framed ink drawings evoking flight Lisa Wiseman, textile artist – wild wearable colour in combinations of hat, scarf and hood

Robyn Werkhoven, painter – exquisite painted pendants on a colourful beaded necklace. Gaye Shield, painter – expressive oil paintings, local cows a specialty Ira Morgan, painter – observant architectural landscapes in watercolour Jane Richens, textile artist – minimalist use of subtly coloured felt and found metal

Barb Ramsay, timber jeweller – finely cut native wooden jewellery depicting flora and fauna Clare Tilyard, ceramicist – tableware and art pieces that flow with the surrounding landscape Judy Henry, painter – intriguing small abstracts of texture and colour Claire Briggs, textile artist – striking cotton shirts in bright contemporary fabrics

Ed Ramsay, wood carver – timber furniture reminiscent of the forest Nigel Stokes, blacksmith – hand wrought iron with finely designed decoration

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Clare Tilyard

Barbara Ramsay

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Original clothing by textile artist Gerdi Schumacher

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Display of beautiful handmade books by Dawn Thompson.

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Forthcoming exhibitions at the gallery? “Nothing advanced in preparation enough to share at the moment: but watch this space!”

Are you interviewing artists for forthcoming exhibitions?

“It’s likely our first artists to exhibit will be drawn from our membership. We interview for entry into Dungog by Design: potential members present their work and ideas to a jury which reports to the group with a decision. We’d love to have a local glass artist and artists who work with more natural materials would fit well with our guidelines, shop aesthetic and customer interest.”

Contact Kathryn Wittman for further information on Dungog by Design:

Email: kathryn_wittmann@hotmail.com dungogbydesign@gmail.com

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Conversations with Ghosts – homage to an artist.

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Conversations with Ghosts – homage to an artist. February 12 – 28 2016, Back to Back Galleries, Cooks Hill, Newcastle. Opening Friday 12th February 6 - 8pm.

Earlier in 2014 a group of artists met to discuss the possibilities of creating new works in response to the

title of a recent release by the Australian songwriter and musician Paul Kelly. “Artists have always had a strong connection with those who have gone before them,” muses Gina McDonald, who hoped that this suggestion would resonate with those involved.

“Of the artists participating everyone has chosen very different tacks, either extending from the work created by their “ghost” or exploring their subject matter. It is a wonderful way to engage with another artist, momentarily looking through their eyes, becoming ever more familiar with their art and gaining an insight into the impetus they had for creating their work. It kind of removes you from your own work while informing and extending your art practice at the same time”. Gina McDonald © 2015

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Sue Stewart (ceramics, installation)

My influential 'Ghost' will be Gwynn Hanssen

Piggott, who was influenced by Georgio Morandi. For this exhibition I will make a still life from a selection of thrown pots using a personal throwing style

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Sally Picker (ceramics, installation) I have long been a lace addict, using lace images in painting, printing and ceramics. I have been inspired by Peter Paul Ruben who has painted intricate lace collars and cuffs in his portrait works. The beauty of lace is a constant inspiration for me and I continue pushing the boundaries in this case with the use of clay as my medium for the

laces.

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Penny Wilson (prints, artist books, installation) My

immediate

environment

has

been

shaped by the sea and I have chosen J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) as my ghost. I am drawn to the movement and moods brought about by his use of colour and light

and by his relationship with the

sea.

Turner’s paintings showing the power and force of the sea and Man’s hopelessness against it bring to my mind the accidental travellers of today. Turner painted ships of

apparently expendable slaves or convicts going to a new world. If he painted today his lost souls would surely be our “unwanted” refugees.

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Gina McDonald (prints) Bronwyn Oliver (1959-2005) Australian sculptor is my ghost. I have always been drawn to her work for its intangible aesthetic, her incredible output of work and her relationship to the

natural world. In reimagining her sculptures as etchings I have had the privilege in drawing closer to the many layers of meaning that are held beneath their surface.

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Valé Zakarauskas (prints, artist books, installation)

“My love of colour has always drawn me to the work of Australian artist, John Coburn. He has given me inspiration over many years through his use of strong vibrant colours, spiritualism & abstraction of nature and the landscape”.

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We hope you can join us at “Conversations with Ghosts” opening on Friday 12th February at Back to Back Galleries, Cooks Hill from 6 to 8pm.

Back to Back Galleries

57 Bull Street Cooks Hill

NSW 2300 T: 49 293 677

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MAL CANNON

"Colour Rhythms" November 11 to December 5

Nanshe Gallery 148b Beaumont St Hamilton NSW Mal Cannon started painting in 1983 at Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and began to study the dynamics of form. His work is widely collected in Australia. Mal is attracted to the drama of painting, the physicality of it. His long interest in the Eastern concepts of liberation, freedom from limitations and concepts of self has yet again produced an exceptional body of work for "Colour Rhythms." "...There is a relationship between the painter and the work which demands an honesty hard to sustain and even though I have studied classical styles, this work is not limited by that structure." - Mal Cannon ÂŠ 2015

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LYDIA MILLER

"Colour Rhythms" November 11 to December 5 Nanshe Gallery 148b Beaumont St Hamilton NSW Lydia Miller has been painting professionally for over 25 years and has studied Chinese brush painting with the late Chinese Master Chen Wen Hsi. Lydia has completed portraits for several leading political and academic figures and her work is in private collections in Australia, England, China, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden and New York. Lydia, has created a lushness together with strong movement for "Colour Rhythms" and has taken the traditional depiction of flowers to another level. "I only paint when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got music in the background because it frees me up and helps connect me more quickly with my intuitive side." - Lydia Miller ÂŠ 2015

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Newcastle Printmakers Workshop Exhibition 15 - 25 January 2016.

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An Exhibition of original prints by the Newcastle Printmakers Workshop Earlier in the year twenty four artists from the Newcastle Printmakers Workshop began spending time in the vineyards of the Hunter Valley region in search of reference points to create new works with. The vineyards who agreed to have artists wander through their vines include Wollombi Wines, Undercliff Winery, Margan Estate, Macquariedale Winery, Stonehurst Wines and Peppertree Vineyard.

Printmaking involves many different processes and techniques and the diversity of the members of the workshop will be displayed in this exhibition of 50 works to be held at the

Old Fireshed Gallery in

Wollombi from Friday 15th January to Monday 25th January 2016. The official opening will be held on Saturday 16th January at 2pm.

Printmakers: Helene Leane, Ileana Clarke, Jane Collins, Therese Wilkins, Gina McDonald,

Breony Delforce,

Nicola Bolton, Shane Audrins, Alison Smith,

Paul Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien, Penny Wilson. Issue 13 - November

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A R T

N E W S

Welcome to Gallery ONE88 Fine Arts. ONE88 is a curated exhibition space that allows established and emerging Artists the opportunity to display their works in the centre of Katoomba - The City of the Arts.

186 - 188 Katoomba Street, Katoomba, NSW 2780 Blue Mountains, Australia.

Hours: Tuesday - Sunday 10:00am - 5:00pm Telephone: (+61 2) 4782 0188

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‘BLENDED NUDES’ EDMOND THOMMEN 7 - 22 November 2015

Gallery ONE88

“Edmond Thommen describes himself first and foremost, as a Photographic Artist. For him the magic starts with the camera and his photographs.”

‘A COLLECTIVE’ KATHRYN GALLAGHER 7 - 22 November 2015 Gallery ONE88 “Sydney based Pop artist Kathryn Gallagher is best known for her boldly-coloured paintings based on mash ups of comic strips,

advertisements and iconic Hollywood Celebrity.” Issue 13 - November

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FEAST

BACK TO BACK GALLERIES

October 23 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; November 8

Feast: Tableware to be used and enjoyed just as we enjoy family and festive dining Featuring ceramic works by: Anne Gazzard, Barbara Greentree, Denise Spalding, Grant Keene, Heather Campbell, Joan Robinson and Nicola Purcell

Back to Back Galleries 57 Bull Street Cooks Hill NSW 2300 T: 49 293 677 Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11am-5pm

www.newcastlepotters.org.au

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23 OCT - 8 NOV

4 - 20 DECEMBER

FEAST

Christmas Takeaway

Denise Spalding, Barbara Greentree,

NSP Members’ Exhibition

Anne Gazzard, Heather Campbell,

Work can be “taken away”

Joan Robinson, Grant Keene,

Once purchased.

Nicola Purcell (ceramics) 13 - 29 NOVEMBER CANVAS & CLAY Gary Boote (ceramics) Merran Kilgour (painting)

Back to Back Galleries 57 Bull Street Cooks Hill NSW 2300 T: 49 293 677

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STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE ARTS ZINE Celebrated 2 years old on 1st October 2015. Click on cover to view the previous issues. Issue 13 - November

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STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE ARTS ZINE Celebrated 2 years old on 1st October 2015. Click on cover to view the previous issues.

www.studiolaprimitive.net

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Laman Street Art Prize established in memory of the figs Hunter residents are invited to participate in the second bi-annual Laman Street Art Prize established to remember the Laman Street figs. Theme:

‘Celebrating Nature’

Prizes: Two Best-of-Show prizes ($2,500 each); Emerging Artist prize

($1,000); and People’s Choice prize ($1,000). Mediums that can be used: drawing, printmaking, clay,

wood, fibre, metal or a combination of these. (There is no painting or photography.) The work must not measure more than 600 x 600 x 600 mm.

Exhibition dates: 22 January to 7 February 2016. Exhibition gallery: Back to Back Galleries, Bull Street, Cooks Hill. Deadline for receipt of entry forms: Monday, 30 November 2015.

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