What's on

Susan and Vicki met 10 years ago while studying at The Julian Ashton Art School at The Rocks in Sydney. The training was tremendous and the camaraderie between students and teachers was also another of the positive aspects of studying there. Since leaving Ashton’s, they have moved in different artistic directions. This exhibition has both Vicki and Susan ‘ Stepping into View’ offering a view of the exciting contrast in the paintings you see before you.

‘The practice of still life painting can feel like a time traveller’s journey to me. While decisions on the choice of objects or ‘ players ‘ can seem mysterious, whisperings from their different worlds lead me through layers of meaning and connections. These influences are very important to my practice. They provide the impetus for my imagination to wander freely, allowing the exploration and developing of ideas for each new composition’ Susan Heslin

‘I like the idea of recycling materials and giving them a new life. I love how the meaning of an image forms a new meaning in a collage, where print is reduced to becoming a tone. With my still life works I aim to simplify and flatten the forms. I am very influenced here by Japanese art. My chief interest is in the shapes and composition’ Vicki Bosworth

CATCH ‘WEB’

We are busy working on our next beautiful exhibition, WEB celebrating the innovative work of Sally Blake and Nikki Main. Sally and Nikki will be exploring the complexed interconnectivity of all things through glass, textiles, wire mesh and drawing. Sally is a highly acclaimed ACT based artist known for her contemporary drawings, textiles, cyclic patterning, natural dyes and stitched works on paper. Nikki is an award winning glass artist based in Thirroul who graduated with first class honours at the ANU School of Art Glass Workshop. Nikki’s work also speaks to the fragility of the environment and her mastery of glass as a medium is astonishing.

The official opening by Heather McGregor OAM is on Sunday 29th May at 11am and we’d love for you to join us.

Glass Bead Artist Judy Dyson

Judy Dyson has been fascinated with glass since her childhood.  More recently she has been making her own glass beads and jewellery after attending a workshop at Geelong Grammar in 2005 run by Katherine Wardell as part of the Fibre Forum programme.

Glass bead making is an ancient craft and the oldest known beads are over 40000 old.

Beads are made by melting glass in a hot head burner and then laying the molten glass onto a stainless steel mandrel which is rotated in the flame.  More glass is added until the bead is the desired size.  Different colours can be added to create patterns and the shape of the bead can be varied by the artist.

Once a bead is completed it is taken from the flame and plunged into a tub of vermiculite to cool slowly.  Once cool it is placed into a kiln to anneal the glass and prevent it from cracking.

The beads can be made it a wide range of striking and original jewellery such as necklaces, bracelets, ear rings and ornaments.

Judy has now had three exhibitions of her work in the Southern Highlands.