studio la primitive
arts zine issue 5 may 2014
slp
studio la primitive EDITOR Robyn Stanton Werkhoven CONTRIBUTORS Debra Liel-Brown
Philip Slack
Peter Griffen
David Graham
Donald Keys
Carlin McLellan
Lorraine Fildes
Glenda Smith
Fiona Wright
Eric Werkhoven
Front cover - Cessnock copyright Debra Liel-Brown 2014
Timeless Textiles
Robyn Werkhoven
Please do not copy articles in this magazine without written
Graham Murphy
Punk Rider - sculpture by Eric Werkhoven
permission of the Editor. Copyright Š 2013 Studio La Primitive, All rights reserved. Issue 5 - May
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INDEX Index……………………………………………………
3
Editorial………………………..
4
Studio La Primitive Antics…….. E&R Werkhoven
5
Featured Artist………………… Debra Liel-Brown
6 - 15
The Artist’s Husband………
Philip Slack
16 - 20
………………. Peter Griffen
22 - 31
Artist Interview
Safari Party Rhino - artist Georgia Perry - at Hyde Park South Photograph © Lorraine Fildes 2014
Robyn Werkhoven
Poem …………………………….Glenda Smith
32 - 33
Featured Artist ………………….Donald Keys
34 - 43
Essay…………………… ………Eric Werkhoven
44 - 45
Poetry ………….. ………………Carlin McLellan
46 - 49
Rhino Safari …………………… Lorraine Fildes
50 - 59
Poetry ………………………
60 - 65
David Graham
Stitching Project ……………… Fiona Wright
66 - 71
Timeless Textiles ………………Jan Clark
72 - 75
3 Village Art Festival ………… Graham Murphy
76 - 85
Art News ……………………………………………..
86 - 92
SLP would like to thank all contributors . Deadline for articles - June15th for July issue 6
Email articles to: werkhovenr@bigpond.com Issue 5 - May
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EDITORIAL Greetings to all our readers . This is the first bi-monthly and much larger edition of ARTS ZINE. The May issue features interviews with nationally recog-
nised artists Debra Liel– Brown, Peter Griffen and Donald Keys. Lorraine Fildes , travel photographer and writer joins the Zine and will feature a regular article in future issues. Don’t miss reading our new essays, poetry and art news. 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. DEADLINE FOR NEXT JULY ISSUE 6 - is JUNE 15TH Submit articles to email: werkhovenr@bigpond.com Regards - your editor Robyn Werkhoven Organic Form - Eric Werkhoven Issue 5 - May
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E &
R A
N T I C S STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE (C)2014 - ANTICS by E&R Werkhoven collaborative drawings . www.studiolaprimitive.com Issue 5 - May
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DEBRA LIEL-BROWN
Brumbies - mixed medium on paper Copyright Debra Liel-Brown 2014 Issue 5 - May
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Debra Liel-Brown Art practice and Influences I “I was born into a Sydney family of stained glass window artists going back 4 generations. They produced huge windows for churches and public buildings around Australia. The family property is made up of a large factory workshop, shop and home. It was like living in a museum stuffed to the brim with antiques, tribal and aboriginal artifacts, huge drawings of window designs, my father’s paintings in progress, vintage cars being restored, new pieces of furniture constructed from numerous antique pieces, rare and interesting glass
objects and artworks, old books, inventions and antique restorations in progress. Even as a small child, I was inspired by the mastery of craftsmanship in the antiques and artifacts. The workshop has been used for stained glass window production since the late 1800’s and still has many of the old machines from that time such as huge stone grinding wheels, a kiln / oven with multiple drawers to bake the painted images (e.g. Jesus) onto the glass, stone cauldrons to melt lead to liquid for leadlight casings. There are large windows where finished stained glass panels are displayed so that light streams through in vivid colours. The main influence of my art has been this intensity of coloured glass and the clear strong outlines of the lead casing and the baked on drawings in black. “ Issue 5 - May
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Tea Gardens - mixed medium on paper (Copyright) Debra Liel-Brown 2014 Issue 5 - May
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“When the family went on holidays we stayed at dairy farms and bush properties. In Sydney we lived near the airport, so farm life in the company of plants and animals, was a world away. Since leaving home I have mostly lived in small river-front communities that are surrounded by virgin bush, where the day to day sounds are of passing boats and the antics of birds, rather than traffic noise - even right in the middle of Sydney. Consequently, I have become a landscape painter with an addiction to painting water. Waterfront living is soft on my senses and I’ve been lucky to live in some delightful river and beach homes. On the Georges River, I lived in a boatshed cottage, built on stilts in the water. The sound of wavelets under the floorboards was soothing. The lounge room had double garage doors that opened onto a pier which went 50m into the river. On work days, men in their suits and ties, whistling and singing, would row across
to the opposite shore to catch the bus to work in the city. One of the benefits of living there is being able to have a fishing line out from the lounge room balcony while cooking dinner. I also lived at the edge of the Cronulla sandhills is a beach community of 17 fishing shacks called Boat Harbour. The shacks are built on the sand at the edge of a small protected bay with the open ocean
beyond. It is off-the-grid living - there is no electricity or drinking water although there are landline phones. The villagers use various power sources - wind and petrol generators, solar panels and gas bottles. To get home, I had to 4 wheel drive through the sandhills, but once there it was surprisingly civilized and comfortable. I had a flush toilet, bathtub, and a TV (although I often lost the end of movies due to the generator running out of petrol). “ Issue 5 - May
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Bird Watching mixed medium on paper (Copyright) Debra Liel Brown 2014
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“The upside of living there is the dramatic changes in the environment due to the weather. The site is exposed to harsh southerly winds that batter and rock the shacks about, sending sand whirling in through cracks. Then there are the perfectly still summer nights where a silvery full moon follows you as you walk up the beach. Whales can suddenly pop up only 30m offshore, but so too, the occasional drowned dead body washes up. The downside was the amount of home brew and 4 wheel drivers hooning about. I lived for 18 years in Maianbar and Bundeena, in the Royal National park between Wollongong and Sydney which has had a huge influence on my artwork. At my front door; tidal sand flats, an island, bush, beach and the Port Hacking River. At the back door; rainforest and a pristine estuary, mangroves and
beaches. Having immediate access to such environments, means I had the time to wander slowly and study the intricate details of textures, light, colour and wildlife. The artists who influenced me were Miro, Juniper, Picasso and Kitaj. Miro has had the main impact on me since I was in high school. In particular his comments about how he chose the subjects for his art - he waited for something to surprise and delight him. I like the clean honesty, joyfulness and innocence of his art.�
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Mist Rolling In - mixed medium on paper
Copyright - Debra Liel-Brown 2014 Issue 5 - May
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“Zen philosophy and meditation have been dominant factors in my art. I used the Zen philosophy of “no mind” honesty of action. I embrace accidents; I don’t concern myself with the finished result. I trust and enjoy the journey – I don’t do the painting – the painting does me. Meditation is a life resource for me, but its influence is clear in my artwork, as my paintings have a calming effect on the viewer. At first glance they appear quite busy, but then the interlocking rhythms entice the viewer to travel through the scene, picking out details, which is a process that slows down and stills the mind. My paintings are a collage of memories of my journey, through an expansive landscape. They are also about peak moments in time where the mind is fully present and calm. I stopped painting for a period of 7 years due to illness. It was an intense, tough, interesting and rewarding
experience. I dropped everything in my life that didn’t involve recovery. When the body falls apart there is only the mind to work with, so I concentrated on meditation as my ‘work’ for 7 hours a day, 6 -7 days a week, for 5 years. During the illness my life shrunk to the barest minimum as I left behind friends, a social life, old ideas and beliefs, - and my art. I stopped wearing the ‘identity’ of artist and became neutral and anonymous. It felt like a loss to begin with, but then it became an enjoyable freedom. Underneath all that worldly clutter of thought, I found clean, spacious peace that I could live in happily. When I began to paint again, it was a joyful experience. I have been lucky to have the opportunity to travel through Europe, US, Mexico and numerous trips through Asia, especially Japan and India. My travels have set my creativity on fire.”
Debra Liel-Brown(C)2014 Issue 5 - May
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Picnic - mixed medium on paper - Copyright Debra Liel-Brown 2014 Issue 5 - May
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Cessnock - mixed medium on paper Copyright Debra Liel-Brown 2014 Issue 5 - May
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The Artist’s Husband - photo Philip Slack and artist Debra Liel-Brown (C)2014 Issue 5 - May
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THE ARTIST’S HUSBAND Philip Slack is married to Debra Liel-Brown “I’m often asked by visitors to my wife’s studio gallery if I am an artist too. I have my own passionate
obsessions, but I’ve never had time to add drawing or painting into my life. Debra and I are similar in many ways and we understand each other’s need to follow our passions. We share an interest in nature, but my passion is wildlife and birdwatching especially. When we visit a national park, I’ll be listening and looking out for birds, while Debra, with her camera will be looking for subject matter like close-ups of intricate patterns and textures on tree trunks or rocks. I will often see something that I know she’ll be interested in, and I will make sure she sees it too. Debra has a large collection of such photos that she may use at some stage in her work, as well as written notes and sketches. Like any true collector, she has too much for her needs. In the end it is not about acquiring only what she needs for her work, but the simple pleasure
of observing and documenting
beautiful things. I should be grateful that her collection does not amount to a hoard of material that takes over our house, or that my own hobby of observing birds and recording sightings is not the same as collecting living birds. But when we see a true collector of objects who’s home is overflowing with precious things, we understand where they are coming from.” Issue 5 - May
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“Characteristic of Debra’s art, apart from the mastery of colour and the natural gift for drawing, are the details in rich colour and form. To many people her work seems imaginative, however you only need to see her reference photos pinned or scattered around her studio to comprehend that she is actually faithfully attempting to reproduce nature, albeit with some exaggeration to accentuate a sensory experience. For example, how can you convey how refreshed a cow feels while standing in a billabong on a hot day except by colouring them green and pink? But getting back to detail, Debra sees details and recalls colour combinations with her vivid full colour memory that most of us just overlook or just can’t retain in our memory. I understand this in my own way because I can see and hear birds that most people don’t notice. But this is true of everyone in that we all have.
Debra’s particular ability to observe nature and present it in art comes back to what the true value of art actually is. It is in the acknowledgement that we all see the world differently, and through art we can share together what we have seen, in both content and feeling. That sharing is not just about the content of the observation, but also the sharing an understanding from the artist to the viewer of the techniques and creative processes. Debra’s particular method of presenting what she has seen in her art has a seemingly impossible degree of difficulty that is immediately apparent to other artists. She creates a collage of memories of a particular place, by incorporating many details that are spread throughout an overall scene in such as way as to draw the eye gently from one detail to another. “ Issue 5 - May
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“It is meant to capture the joyful reverie of being in the landscape, and the pleasure of finding beauty. But creating the diverse details while retaining an elegant overall composition, perspective and harmony of colours requires great skill and patience. As a result, it takes around six weeks full time to complete one painting because there is a constant revision and re-editing of her paintings. I get to see this process over the weeks and am taken by her state of mind which allows her to purge or alter large parts of the work. She may have completed a perfect detail, but stepping back it makes the overall perspective flat, so she may well paint over that detail and start again, or adjust some other part of the painting to restore the perspective. And so the process goes on until the completed work reveals itself, a mixture of deliberate refinements and happy accidents. The landscapes captured often incorporate the outlines of figures. Knowing her long family background in stained glass window art, where strong drawn outlines frame vivid colours, it is actually a natural progression. It also reflects her love of drawing. Seeing her talk rapturously with other artists about the feeling of having drawn the perfect line is always interesting, as I know that I can only get an inkling of what they mean when a line comes to life. Debra and I share an interest in peace and joy, and these are the themes of Debra’s art. Her unique style is equally amenable to other themes, and I have been to the home of a collector who purchased an entire exhibition of Debra’s on the moving theme of infidelity and rumour in a small town.”
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“Sadness, complexity and distress are a valid part of fine art, as is indifference, but as I’ve discovered since meeting Debra and visiting art galleries, serenity, joy or a playful sense of humour are the most common themes of fine art, perhaps because we are all drawn to what makes us happy. Although I have not learnt to draw or paint, whenever we look together at conceptual installation art, I often come up with amusing ideas that makes Debra laugh and which we could create together. Art for me is now a stimulating and necessary part of life.”- Philip Slack (C)2014
Debra welcomes visitors to her studio, please phone: 02 49877 947 for appointments.
Web site: www.debraliel-brown.com.au
Debra Liel-Brown’s next exhibition is “Landscape from Two Points of View” with
Peter Griffen at Cessnock Regional Gallery, from the 15th of May to the 8th of June 2014.
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Exhibition Dates: 15th May–8th June 2014 Opening celebrations : 2pm, Saturday 17th May Cessnock Regional Art Gallery 16 Vincent St, Cessnock NSW
www.crag.net.au Issue 5 - May
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PETER GRIFFEN Issue 5 - May
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PETER GRIFFEN - INTERVIEW Peter Griffen’s background Griffen was born in Adelaide, 1948, did teacher training, then went for two years National Service (1970-71) followed by one year of art studies. Later he taught in Adelaide, Maths and Geography in secondary school in 1970’s. During 1976-80 in Adelaide he owned and directed Flight Art Gallery. Then came the decision to move to Sydney to paint full time. From 1984-87 Griffen studied painting, drawing and sculpture at City Art Institute (now Cofa). I asked Griffen when did his artistic passion begin?
“ In Grade 1 infant school, but I did not start painting with real commitment until the year of art studies after National Service approximately 1971.” Peter describes his work as “Colourful, abstract through to representational, expressive, mainly a response to the landscape.
Sometimes very textured, perhaps with found objects attached, other times highly glazed and carefully executed over years. In the studio, I like to start not knowing what I am about to do and find out as I go along, see my website for my Manifesto.” Opposite page: Cockburn Range - painting © Peter Griffen 2014. Issue 5 - May
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Near Yepoon acrylic on canvas 40x40cm (C)Peter Griffen 2010
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I have a paint sponsor, Derivan, and so use mainly acrylic paint but I have done many works in oil and with whatever makes a mark…I love mixed media drawing and incorporating collage.I also enjoy en plein air, responding directly to the landscape in a vigorous expressionist way, I consider that this is an important way to learn about the world around me, en plein air is “note taking” I have painted en plein air throughout Australia, in Paris, France, Italy, Greece, UK, New York, LA, NZ. Peter is inspired by “The landscape (deserts, estuaries, mining sites), the work of many other artists eg Picasso, Matisse, De Kooning, Vermeer, Miro, Kandinsky, Turner, Nolde , the CoBrA group, Nolan, Tucker, Boyd, Guy Warren, the Surealists. I do enjoy responding to the human figure and to still life as well.” I asked Peter what he considered his greatest achievement, exhibitions? “Becoming a full time artist in 1980 with the help of my wife, Denise Lithgow Exhibiting in Paris and London several times. Teaching a workshop in Birdsville (see the link to ABC TV Landline on my website) My best painting is of course my greatest achievement but I am not sure which one it is. At present he is working on “Many, many paintings unfinished from the beginning of my career. More specifically, right at the moment, watercolours and a large oil painting based on an Australian desert salt lake”. Issue 5 - May
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Bush Living, Tree Sounds and woody Sprites acrylic on canvas 61x51cm (C)Peter Griffen 2010 Issue 5 - May
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What are your future aspirations concerning your painting? “Keep painting, searching for new ways, getting better, understanding more, appreciating more, learning”…. And forthcoming exhibitions? May 2014 Exhibition with Debra Liel-Brown, Cessnock Regional Art Gallery, NSW.
May 2014 Exhibition with Denise Lithgow, “The Figure, Flowers and Felted Vessels” Painters Gallery, Manly, NSW. Other interests? “Teaching workshops, see my website www.petergriffen.com, and face book, Peter Griffen Art, for more details Main workshop this year, Northern Flinders Ranges, SA, Arkaroola Art Adventure (see its face book site) August 22-28 Next year I will be teaching a two-week workshop in Portugal in September see “Art In the Algarve” www.artinthealgarve.com<http://www.artinthealgarve.com I also enjoy visiting our son, David, and his family in Cornwall and our daughter, Tracy in Edinburgh, UK Denise and I enjoy good wine and food and entertaining in our Leichhardt warehouse studio/home.” Peter Griffen(C)2014 Issue 5 - May
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Bungle Bungles - drawing acrylic on paper Š Peter Griffen 2003 Issue 5 - May
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Now available, the book: peter griffen in and out of abstraction
Published by la Fabrique $44.95
www.petergriffen.com Issue 5 - May
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Blue Rider - oil on canvas 152 x 183cm Š Peter Griffen 2004 Issue 5 - May
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By the River Acrylic on canvas Š Peter Griffen 2014
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Poem for Panda by Glenda Smith Panda’s ghost-memory follows me Down to the goats, Or runs ahead Flipping a stick with her nose. Her familiar shape poses in the kitchen doorway Sphinx-like, composed,
Her front feet elegantly crossed. Phantom Panda waits patiently for toast, Or ferocious, sounds out her morning boundary.
The expectant greetings, The reluctant goodnights Still linger –
But it’s the absence that haunts.
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Glenda Smith is a Hunter Valley poet and writer. Panda - photo by Rowan Staines Issue 5 - May
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DONALD KEYS
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DONALD KEYS INTERVIEW “I was born 1958, in the coastal town of Bulli, so I was heavily influenced by the juxtaposition of my hometown’s heavy industry and environmentally sensitive beaches. I started working in the advertising industry back in 1976, where I honed my drawing skills in the pre-digital-graphics era. In 2005 I walked away from a lucrative career in commercial art to focus on what I believe to be the more emotionally satisfying profession of fine artist. I guess my artistic passion began way back in primary school. It was fun covering my schoolbooks with illustrations of cars and spaceships. It really annoyed the nuns too, which was an added bonus as far as
I’m concerned. My paintings are figurative works, in a contemporary impressionist style. I paint using vibrant colours that are quintessentially Australian, employing quite visible brush strokes to enhance texture, which give the paintings a tactile quality. My works generally feature people enjoying their leisure time surrounded by a mix of man-made structures and the natural beauty of the Australian landscape. There is a narrative element to some of my paintings as I believe humour may be another saving grace to our challenging times besides art. By creating images of people and nature, infused with everyday suburban objects, I hope to chronicle modern life through the eye of an artist.”
Opposite page: “Levendi's" 30 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas - Donald Keys (C)2014 Issue 5 - May
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Sydney Eye Hospital - 41 x 51 cm acrylic on canvas, Donald Keys Š 2013 Issue 5 - May
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What inspires Donald Keys? “I tend to see things in an optimistic, and colourful light, and therefore have no desire to create images that depict ugly and sad situations. Hopefully, when one views my paintings, they will see something better than it is in real life. Growing up close to a coal mine, and just twenty kilometres from a steel works, I was often asked by people in Sydney what it was like to live surrounded by big dirty industries. This amused me greatly, as I was so used to virgin bushland, and clean beaches. Bulli is just seventy kilometres south of Sydney, where the mountains meet the ocean, and has a wealth of natural beauty. It’s picturesque.” “My last exhibition was in the Bondi Pavilion Gallery where I received more than two-thousand visitors. It gives me great pleasure to know that I now have paintings hanging in private collections in Europe,
Canada, the USA and New Zealand.” Donald is presently working on his next exhibition - “It will be a series featuring scenes of interesting places in and around Sydney. At this stage the exhibition will most likely be in August. It will be my seventh solo show in three years.
Future aspirations with your art? “My goal is to be a competent modern impressionist that chronicles life in Australia.”
Website: www.donaldkeys.com.au Issue 5 - May
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"Japanese Bridge" 101 x 152 cm acrylic on canvas - Donald Keys Š 2012. Issue 5 - May
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"Farm Cove Walker" 101 x 152 cm acrylic on canvas - Donald Keys Š 2014 Issue 5 - May
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"Lee and Me" 30 x 40 cm acrylic on canvas - Donald Keys Š 2014 Issue 5 - May
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"Last Ferry Home" 41 x 51 cm acrylic on canvas - Donald Keys Š 2013 Issue 5 - May
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“Goghed-up Street Light” 45cm x 61cm acrylic on canvas - Donald Keys © 2012 Issue 5 - May
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Artist Donald Keys in his studio - photo courtesy of artist. Issue 5 - May
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OBSERVATIONS ALONG THE ROADSIDE. Eric Werkhoven Š2014 Next to this bit of bushland, where the Whip birds live and make the bush resound with their peculiar piping sounds. Then there is this quattering sound, like some birds really busy with what they are doing. I have sat here on numerous other occasions. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still a muggy day, but there is also a nice wind, with an effort to be cool, so it is bearable and I even have some water to drink.
Along the other side a fire has raged, but the trees have not been too badly affected by the flames that torched them and embraced them to make all life forms cringe and scream. But there are opportunists who scoop up the insects trying to fly away from the smoke and heat. This part has been spared and that is where most of the birds are, altogether creating quite a din. Some old mattresses and a collection of bottles seek to remind us that this is litter by the roadside; that the council workers avoid to look at, or even comment on, let alone that they might be told to pick it up. Issue 5 - May
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Spring Sculpture by Eric Werkhoven
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T H I S
This - by poet Carlin McLellan
This is pretty astounding better than turning yr phone off for an afternoon better than a summer beer on a sunny balcony better than clipped fingernails and new glasses and a new old haircut better than a quiet lorikeet on yr shoulder Issue 5 - May
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or a finished song or a late night drunken cactus buying spree better than embracing better than uncovered coal trains
or a complete set of Charles Dickens even better than a wilted strawberry & better than drinking a bottle
of red wine (drinking it from the bottle) better than an unscathed car Issue 5 - May
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or a cockroach on it's back, giving up better than an anthology of Newcastle poets or fried eggs on toast
probably better than good& evil not actually existing
or a cute girl glancing at you and smiling (actually, no, nothing is better than that) Issue 5 - May
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Okay, it is: Collaging & the lovely war we seldom rage against senselessness because the universe reels
for us & only us. - Carlin McLellan(C)2014
Carlin McLellan lives in Newcastle and divides his time between his band Moonsign, and staring at the sky and writing haiku. Issue 5 - May
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Shooting Safari in Sydney by Lorraine Fildes
â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rhinoceros Orchardosâ&#x20AC;? - artist Richard Allen - at Pitt St. Mall, Market St. Issue 5 - May
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Rhino
Shooting Safari in Sydney by Lorraine Fildes
A great day in Sydney getting rhino images! If only everyone would go shooting with a camera instead of a gun.
Beautiful hand painted rhinoceros sculptures are everywhere in Sydney at the moment.
Why? I visited the Taronga Zoo website to find out.
http://taronga.org.au/wild-rhinos “In the wild, poaching is causing world rhino populations to collapse, pushing these animals towards extinction. Right now, one rhino is killed every 11 hours by poachers. ‘Taronga Wild! Rhinos’ was a Wild in Art event that brought businesses, artists and schools together to create a spectacular world-class
sculpture trail through the streets, parks and public spaces of metropolitan Sydney to country Dubbo. This event was held from 2 Feb – 28 April 2014. The herd of 125 extremely colourful rhino and calf sculptures formed a free public art exhibition to help raise awareness and vital funds for Taronga’s world leading Black Rhino breeding program and in-situ conservation projects.” I managed to capture (shoot?) ten of these Rhinos in Sydney CBD. I have given the artists name, the rhinoceros’s title and the place where the sculpture was sited. For more detailed information go to: http://taronga.org.au/wild-rhinos/artists
Lorraine Fildes is a travel photographer and writer, presently living in Sydney. Issue 5 - May
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R - Bot 4000 artist - Joel Gregory Cameron - at Custom House Square. Issue 5 - May
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Camouflage - artist Hans Hulsbosh - at Martin Place. Issue 5 - May
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Porcelain Rhino - artist Rachel Chu - at Chifley Plaza. Issue 5 - May
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Rhino - All Patched Up - artist Lynley Kirkness - at Hyde Park. Issue 5 - May
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Rhino Survival & Golden Baby - Ken Done - at Overseas Terminal. Issue 5 - May
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People Takeover the Wild Rhino - artists Kevin & Paul Connor - at Opera House Issue 5 - May
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Sunrise - Wakeup With Friends - artists Channel 7 Sunrise crew - at Martin Place. Issue 5 - May
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“Put a Lid On It” artist - Jane Gillings - at the Sydney Botanic Gardens. Issue 5 - May
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Come Forth All You Romantics - David Graham Issue 5 - May
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Come forth all you Romantics the world is still yours though we have passed from tecnicolour dreams to the minute stream of digital’s
and deify the pound of pants – explosion of the willing naked in the grass, pressed in by trees their flowers sparking
glean there is still the euphoric episode that
smarts the cells like a battery acid sucked from the
Hear the Faun that skips to the
tune of Venus’ flute it brings the bacchanal in
stem of gods’ own plant
pills and tabs and leaves
the old game of sun and moon
us to expand cornea
still swims with white and
and mind alike deep
red and on earth’s crust the broken
in the cement and bricks of
children still love
our world that burns and
to writhe in death-throw folly Issue 5 - May
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churns as Gomorrah once did And so as poet the line is drawn from all you Romantics that came before the data pulse rose louder and busier
rabbit’s heresy comes cool and slow long the tree lined trail: Dransfield’s abode Courland Penders. My Courland Penders is the dome of Kubla Khan on
than rock and the avalanche
a Bathurst hilltop where the
of coins changed tune to
graves sprout like pubic
binary’s rank call and I must shout louder the
hair and inside the temple light and art rain
chant of forest and faery
to dazzle immemorable
dance from the rooftops
in fresco as the music booms speakerless and
So Morrison’s ghost drums in
the Russian priests bring
your ear and white Issue 5 - May
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the crowd to an ecstasea that washes the shore of Byzantium, the dolphins encircle Avalon, risen Atlanâ&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tis with stars and night I have the murmur deep with-
in the garbled screen of my mind it coils like a snaking wire that will take on Rumour with meek love
and overwhelming sense of everything at once against the forces only the urges can lead us on to honey and the ultimate way to satisfaction is
to succour the fruits of our humanity: Art Come forth all you Romantics the world is still yours.
and modesty, the rampage like gonzo fumes that rise to nostrils like kava
Copyright David Graham 2014
against the banal Issue 5 - May
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David Graham is a Hunter Valley poet and Editor of Word Hurl Anti -Slam online Poetry magazine. Issue 5 - May
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Paintings by (C) Robyn Werkhoven 2014
www.studiolaprimitive.com Issue 5 - May
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STITCHING PROJECT - FIONA WRIGHT
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Talking Needles - Stitching the Strip- Islington with Fiona Wright
Suburban Islington's shopping strip will be festooned with Hope Flags in May as part of a
cross-cultural art event that will raise funds to improve literacy amongst women in rural India. The flags will be part of the Talking Needles: Hopes and Dreams exhibition at Timeless Textiles Gallery, which showcases the work of much-loved fibre artist Fiona Wright, who returns to the Hunter from rural India where she now lives. For many years Fiona has been working with locals in her Indian community on the 'Stitching Project'. A social enterprise dedicated to making fine textile products, the Stitching Project produces quality hand-worked homewares, garments, and craft supplies, with a style that is a both ethnic and contemporary. "I work with a group of people, mostly women, endeavouring to find a way to produce an income that will
feed both our bodies and our souls," Fiona explained. "Our business is a social enterprise that produces benefits for all." Fiona says â&#x20AC;&#x153;That the 'Stitching Women' who are part of the project take pride in their work, which is hand stitched.â&#x20AC;?
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Fiona Wright and pink Saris.
Block carver at work.
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"Sharing the finished pieces with them, and showing them pictures of foreign clients appreciating them, adds to their satisfaction and encourages them in their involvement with the work and its quality." The idea for the exhibition arose from the group's latest designs, a series called 'Hopes and Dreams', which fits well with what the Stitching Project members want to share with the world. Fiona says â&#x20AC;&#x153;the designs gave members a chance to demonstrate their creativity.â&#x20AC;? The Talking Needles: Hopes and Dreams exhibition will showcase a collection of Hope Flags (similar to the idea of Tibetan prayer flags) that have been block-printed in English and Hindi and stitched into using a range of coloured threads and embellishments. Their themes are compassion, hope, peace, love, sharing
and dreaming. The exhibition will include Hope Flags created in many places - in India by the Stitching Project; the local fibre art group NCEATA, as well as those made at workshops held by Fiona at Timeless Textiles Gallery, joining creativity across continents and cultures. The gallery invites anyone who is interested to create Hope Flags with Fiona - listen to her wonderful tales while you stitch - focusing on the themes of compassion; hope; peace; love; sharing and dreaming.
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Hope wooden carved blocks.
More wooden blocks carved ready to print. Issue 5 - May
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Workshops will be held in May on: Monday 5th, Tuesday 6th, Wednesday 7th, Thursday 8th and Saturday 10th. Drop into Timeless Textiles Gallery any time between 10am and 3.30pm and create a Hope Flag. The workshops are free, with a $5 charge for the hand-loomed cotton flags. 150 metres of stitched white ribbon, created at an International Women's Day stitch-a-thon, will be used to hang Hope Flags, in the Talking Needles exhibition, opening on Sunday 11 May. Selected flags, focusing on the unique, eclectic and unusual, will flutter along The Strip, Islington's vibrant Maitland Road shopping strip, starting at Madame Mo's and rounding the corner to end up at Timeless Textiles Gallery. The flags will be auctioned at the opening of the exhibition, from 6pm on Sunday 11 May. All proceeds will
be donated to create a library for the Indian Stitching Women, to help increase their literacy. Those flags not sold will be returned to the Stitching Project and stitched together into a quilt.
Time: 9.30 anytime between 10 am and 3.30 pm Venue: Timeless Textiles Gallery 7 Beaumont St, Islington Newcastle. NSW Free
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Sewing Surfaces: Planting seeds with Jan Clark
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Sewing Surfaces: Planting seeds with Jan Clark Over three days we will look at the journey involved with making original small format quilts. At exhibitions the finished pieces you see are often the result of explorations fraught with indecision and desire. The serene face of the finished work shows none of this. Art quilts are built up in layers, physical layers and layers of meaning. Stitching and collaging fabrics in a contemporary and painterly way will give participants freedom to create. Starting at the beginning with the first layer you will be encouraged to work towards a final surface that expresses your personal creativity, some twists and turns on the way. This is a playful workshop that combines the fun of free motion machine sewing with useful information on design to make your work sing. Experience with free motion sewing is required. If you have an Embellishing Machine we will also explore the amazing potential of this tool to create unique surface embellishment. Issue 5 - May
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Lanscape II - Art Quilt by Jan Clark
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Dates: 9/11 May 2014 Venue: Newcastle Community Arts Centre 246 Parry St, Newcastle West (free parking at back of venue) Cost: $350 including delicious morning tea and lunch. BOOK IN NOW Contact Us: P 0408 483 913 E anne@timelesstextiles.com.au
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3 Village Art Festival – Graham Murphy “It was said that it could never happen, the thought of having an art show in four locations over two days, organised in such a short time was an impossibility. We have taken a dream and made it a reality. Local Gresford resident Jim Doyle wanted to put this art show on as a tribute to his mother who was a tireless worker for our community and a talented artist and photographer. Therese Doyle who so many people loved and admired was taken from us tragically in a car accident nearly fifteen years ago. So was born the Hunter Quarries 3 Village Art Festival with the Open competition aptly named the “Therese Doyle Award” sponsored by Daracon. The Gresford Historical Society will have a display set up in Gresford Hall with a tribute to Therese showing her art and many of her photographs as well as a long list of her achievements and local activities. We have a draft program that is growing everyday, we have artists from all quarters registering their incredible range of art and photography. Our resident artist and Judge John Bradley, said in an interview recently “I cannot recall seeing a response to an art exhibition like this before, I know a lot of Australia’s leading artists and many of these will be showing at the 3 Village Art Festival”. Photography Judge David Oliver also said “He was pleasantly surprised by the number and quality photographers who will be participating in the festival”. Everything is now set for one of the Hunters premier art events and the most exciting thing is, it is set in our own backyard. All we need now, is to have our residents throughout our three villages to come along and support this great event, knowing they are also supporting the Maitland Hospital Foundation and the local Rural Fire Service Brigades who are the beneficiaries of the festival.” Issue 5 - May
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Our program covers something for everyone from children to the avid art lover and entertainment for the whole family.
Weekend Program. Official Opening Function Friday night 23rd May Opening Function commencing at 6 to 6.30pm starts in the Main Hall at Tocal Agriculture College. People who are interested must book by email stephigribble@gmail.com or phone
Graham Murphy on 0416116009 for catering purposes.
Finger food, Camyr Allyn Wines, Opening Ceremony by Maitland Mayor Peter Blackmore and Dungog Mayor Harold Johnston. See all of the category winners who will be announced on the night. Lucky door prize of a John Bradley artwork, incredible auction with original works donated by Artist John Bradley, Natalie Jane Parker, Robyn Werkhoven and Photographer David Oliver. The total retail cost of these works
exceeds $10,000. This is great opportunity to get some magnificent art well below the retail value. View one of the largest Aboriginal art displays ever held in the Hunter and you will see one piece of art and photography from every artist participating in the festival. There will be over 200 pieces on display at Tocal alone. Get in first at the opening to purchase one of the best investments you will ever make. Entertainment and lots of fun will finish the evening. Issue 5 - May
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Saturday and Sunday the 24th and 25th May commencing at 10am – 4pm Look for the signs and banners on the main road from Maitland to Gresford Tocal – Tocal Road, Tocal. Pick up your maps, programmes and brochures. Pick up the Children’s Art Rally forms, Watch Aboriginal artist demonstrate their work, watch a traditional Aboriginal possum skin cloak being made. View magnificent Aboriginal and non Indigenous art on display. Go in the draw for a lucky door prize. Buy from many of our local food producers and enjoy music from a range
of talented buskers as you enter the hall.
Leave Tocal and head for Paterson
Paterson School of Arts Hall – Duke Street, Paterson View a range of beautiful works covering, Watercolours, Acrylics, Pastels and Drawings. Watch art demonstrations by Natalie Jane Parker throughout the weekend.
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Paterson School of Arts Hall â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Duke Street, Paterson Visit Paterson Art Gallery next door for more artist demonstrations by Cath Varcoe. Paterson Gallery children can register (now) to participate in art classes with Creative Art Space. Enjoy buskers as you enter the hall. Tucker Park will have Vintage farm machinery on Saturday and a great selection vintage cars on Sunday, Shop at a variety of market stalls on both days. Paterson Rotary club will provide quick easy food or visit one of the cafĂŠs or restaurants in town for sit down or take away meals.
Take a guided stroll around Historic Paterson.
Leave Paterson and head for Vacy
(detail) Wild Land - 16 Images by Robyn Werkhoven Issue 5 - May
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Early Morning - painting Š John Bradley 2014 Issue 5 - May
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Vacy School of Arts Hall â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gresford Road Vacy View our photography section and see our local school exhibition and competition winner. David Oliver will be giving photo taking demonstrations during both days. Enjoy the street entertainers.
Enter the Vacy Hall lucky door prize. Participate in the interactive RFS display Take a helicopter ride Pre book David Oliver to go up with you and get tips for the best aerial photographs. Jumping Castle and amusements for the kids. RFS BBQ, onsite catering van with a variety foods or eat in the local Historic Hotel of CafĂŠs. Enjoy a large range of market stalls.
Leave Vacy and head for Gresford
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Welcome The Rain Š Natalie Jane Parker 2014
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Gresford School of Arts – Park Street, East Gresford View a range of works covering Oils, modern contemporary, local subject and see all of the Art Category Winners. Visit the Therese Doyle Exhibition. Painting Demonstrations by renowned artist John Bradley during the weekend. Be entertained by Buskers. Enter the Gresford hall lucky door prize. Meet at St Annes Church (Church Street Gresford) for Cemetery tours at 11am and 2 pm daily. See the grave of a soldier who fought at the Battle of Waterloo against Napoleon
Shop at the extensive range of market stalls. Buy quick tasty food from the Rotary Club of Rutherford Telarah Catering Caravan or from one of the Restaurants and cafés in town. Saturday afternoon finish off the day and relax with a visit to Camyr Allyn Winery for excellent entertainment by Springtide, buy a bottle of quality wines, enjoy a BBQ and a jumping castle for the kids. Enjoy beautifully restored cars displayed on Sunday Sunday finish the day with a “ get back to the fifties” special guest entertainer and music at the Beatty Hotel where all of the lucky door prizes and the children’s art rally winners will be announced.
We want everyone to come and visit, have a great time and enjoy the works of some of
Australia’s finest artists and photographers.
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Allyn & Paterson Valley Š David Oliver 2014 Issue 5 - May
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CRAFT NSW EMERGING ARTIST â&#x20AC;&#x201C; CRAFT AWARDS 2014 The Society of Arts and Crafts of NSW invites, NSW, emerging craftspeople in any craft discipline to submit entries for the first Craft NSW Emerging Artist - Craft Award.
AWARDS Emerging Artist - Craft Major Award: $2000 and an invitation to exhibit work at Craft NSW for six months. Emerging Artist - Craft Minor Award: $1000 and an invitation to exhibit work at Craft NSW for six months. Two Encouragement awards: $500 each.
Emerging craftspeople, from NSW, working in any area of craft are invited to submit up to two entries for consideration within a competitive selection process. Entry is free. For all the information you need:
http://www.artsandcraftsnsw.com.au/award.htm
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A R T N E W S
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A R T N E W S
ART NEWS
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NEWCASTLE MARK BERRYMAN
ASW M: 0431853600
exhibition space……. Fri to Sun 12 to 4pm
E X I T - till 4 MAY ANDREW MARLEY
40 Annie St Wickham 2293 W: www.art-systems-wickham.com Issue 5 - May
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ART NEWS
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Cockburn Range - painting (C) Peter Griffen 2014