Interview

interview: Jenny Gillespie

The neighbours and friends of Hunter’s Hill resident Jenny Gillespie called in and wrote to us here at TVO enthusing about her lockdown project to create an enormous mural on her backyard fence. It transpired that the mural isn’t the only reason Jenny is so well known in the community having been on the Musical Society committee for more than 20 years.

 Can you tell us about your two passions: art and music and how they’ve become such an important part of your life?

Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember – classical music was always playing on the radio. My father was a music lover and he played the violin in the bathroom every night (the acoustics were good) and mum used to sing around the house. Both parents were keen that my sister and I be taught the piano. It was a combination of our parent’s enthusiasm and our piano teacher’s disciplined approach and insistence upon regular practise that we both continued with our studies. We are both eternally grateful to our parents for providing us with a lifelong passion. Art has come a close second to music and I’ve always drawn and painted. My grandmother was a great influence. She painted portraits, made hats, sculpted roses from silk to embellish wedding gowns and made jewellery from fresh bread! She also played the piano in dance halls. 

What was the inspiration for the mural, and what did you use to create it? The mural happened out of desperation. The ivy that had covered the wire fence died and left gaping holes which resulted in a lack of privacy. My vision of a rustic dry stone wall swathed in Virginia Creeper and wisteria was not an option and so we erected a ‘lovely’ fibre cement sheeting barrier that I painted grey. The fence is two metres from the back of the house and the sight of it made me depressed. When the lockdown was announced at the end of June, I raced off to Bunnings and bought 5 x 1 litre tins of Dulux Weathershield house paint in five different green colours. I mixed every possible combination of those five colours and started painting, ending up with over 50 different shades. Whole weeks drifted by as I painted my way through banana leaves, bamboo, ginger plants – making it up as I went along. I had the best time – out in the fresh air – listening to the birds and away from the radio. I call it “distraction” therapy. 

Did painting/ art come easy to you? Have you had any formal training? No, it didn’t come easily, but I wanted to improve so I looked for some courses I could do. I studied part time at The School of Colour & Design in the 1980s. That gave me a very good grounding in colour theory. I also did a two year Visual Arts Course at Meadowbank TAFE 10 years ago and since then have taken drawing and painting classes at Willoughby Workshops. 

You are part of the Eastwood and Hunters Hill Musical Societies. What’s your involvement with them? I joined the Eastwood Uniting Church Musical Society when I was 20 - it was there that I met my husband. We have performed in many musical comedies in the last 50 years. I’ve played the piano for approx. 30 shows, painted scenery for some and sung in the chorus for many of them. It’s been a fabulous experience making music with like-minded souls Hunters Hill Music is an organisation that has been bringing classical music to residents of Hunters Hill and beyond for over 75 years. We engage the best musicians and stage six concerts a year. I’ve been on the committee for 20 years and my role is “Head of the tea and scones department”. 

You grew up in Denistone East/ Eastwood.... are there any particular fond, or funny memories you have from that time?

We lived in a house typical of its era, built just after the war. It was two doors from the Denistone East School which meant you could come home for lunch (thus avoiding the dried out peanut butter sandwich in the greaseproof paper). Mum had made a beautiful garden, and the air was always full of the perfume of gardenia, daphne, jasmine or burning leaves (in the days when backyard burn offs were still legal). She was also a very good seamstress and she made all our clothes. I have fond memories of the simple things - climbing trees, riding bikes, playing tennis, going to Physical Culture, fish and chips on Friday night, roast lamb for Sunday lunch, buying Sherbet bombs from the corner store, visits from my Aunts, our annual holiday to Avoca, being one of the first people in our street to get a television. Sharing all these experiences with my sister made it even better. Ah! The good old days. 

You spent much of your working life as a teacher. If you went back in time, would you choose to do the same thing, or perhaps something else? I would have loved working in the Scenic Art Department of the Opera or the Ballet. Being a tap dancer performing in all the big musicals would have been pretty fabulous. 

How did you end up living in Hunters Hill and what attracted you to the suburb? We moved from Castle Hill to Hunters Hill so that my husband could be closer to work. We used to drive here on a Sunday when I was young, and we’d walk around the streets peering over fences and imagining the interesting, maybe eccentric people that lived here. Now I live here and I love it. The mature trees, the sandstone walls, the homes full of character and detail, the ferry ride into the city. I feel very fortunate to be a resident of Hunters Hill.