‘the YARRAM ARCHIES’ 2021

Winners

 The quality of this exhibition’s work was generally very high. The judges would have liked to have awarded a commendation to all who entered.  Several works that were not chosen for an award were particularly enjoyed for their use of colour, ornamentation and presentation.

First place

Woman In The Wind by Angela Kemp – graphite

#14 This otherwise traditional graphite drawing draws the attention of the viewer through the excellence of its execution. The medium is beautifully controlled, as is its subtle, tasteful presentation.  The pensive quality of the subject, ignoring her hair blowing in the wind, gives rise to pondering what could be going on inside her mind. 

Second place

Damn! by Shane Collier – acrylic and black ink

#10 “Damn!” commands attention immediately by its startling impact and humour – a ‘drone’ view of the subject appealing to the heavens due to the myriad disasters occurring around him. The outlined style and use of pattern creates an enjoyable visual journey leading back to the central figure.

Third place

Moment by Jenny Smart – textile

#33 This amazingly worked machine-embroidered print uses texture to capture the light, emphasising the mood between mother and child outdoors in the sunshine. The tension in the negative space between the two suggests the moment before the kiss, heightening the composition’s appeal.

Hangers pick:   #23 Home by Lautaro Fabricio Musse – chalk on panel

 Encouragement Award: #32 Contemplation by Linda Shaw – acrylic on board

Highly Commended:

#36 Little Lady On The Phone by Sandy Thompson – watercolour

#41 Amanda by Karen Henderson – acrylic

#3  ‘Selfie’ by Gavin Austin – digital print on acrylic

#20 Self Portrait In Lockdown by Roz McQuillan – oil

#26 The Custodian: Anne Davie OAM by Marian Quigley – acrylic

*Thank you to our judging panel from TVAC

*Thank you also to our sponsors: 

HVP Plantations, Star Of The South,

Yarram Custom Framing

Exhibition by well known Gippsland artist, Bianca Biesuz-Stefani from Hilltop Gallery Fish Creek. This exhibition takes you on a journey from Venice to Calrossi via Katajuta. Magnificent scenery, still life, local scenes, towering gums and much more is reflected upon in Biance Biezus-Stefani’s stunning work.

Portrait competition exhibition, all mediums including photography. Sponsored by HVP Plantations, Star Of The South and Yarram Custom Framing. Prizes: 1st prize $1000 - 2nd prize $600 - 3rd prize $400 and Hangers pick, framing by Yarram Custom Framing to the value of $200. We would like to thank our sponsors for their generosity and support.

Five mini exhibitions by local and emerging artists. Varied media: oils, acrylics, pastel, colour pencil, textiles, and dreamdrops and wreaths.

A varied media exhibition showcasing the artwork from the students of Woodside Primary School.

A varied media exhibition by the Student’s from grades Prep to Gr6, Yarram Primary School.

UNFORTUNATELY DUE TO CURRENT COVID RESTRICTIONS THIS EXHIBITION HAS BEEN CANCELLED AND RESCHEDULED FOR 2022

People with disabilities face a range of challenges in accessing suitable housing. The Opening Doors Project was designed to break down discrimination and barriers to a range of housing options including access to the rental market.

These beautiful portraits by Melbourne photographer, Paul Dunn capture the joy of finding a home.

Award winning writer, director and producer, Lawrence Johnston.

MINIATURES IN MAY 2021 WINNERS

Open Section

Winner: Lill Cunningham, ‘Bloom’

2nd: Jen Nickel, ‘Tiny Tatterhouses #1’

3rd: Lisa Kurec, ‘Hedge Berries’

Highly Commended:

Casey Miller, ‘Surrealist Space Race’

Dale Cooper, ‘At The Wharf’

Dale Cooper, ‘Morning Rush’

Haelwen-Sian, ‘ARben#3’

Student Section

Winners: William Cook, ‘Charlie’

   Grace Cook, ‘Molly’

2nd: Lucia Savage, ‘Lost’

3rd: Serena Savage, ‘Self Portrait’

Highly Commended:

Mylie Taylor, ‘Untitled’

John Rojo Fluidity

This exhibition is the culmination of fifty years of artistic endeavour. Throughout this period, I have worked as a graphic designer, teacher, potter, painter, lecturer and builder.

Fluidity is about the movement of flames across the surface of my pots in my uniquely designed wood fired kilns. It is about the flow of water in mountain streams and turbulent oceans.  The movement of wind through our magnificent eucalypt forests and the patterns that are created as the bark peals and makes alluring formations on their trunks.

I love the way the light dances on the surface of the water especially when the sun rises and sets. I have a deep respect for our indigenous people and their culture and their respect for the environment and sacred sites but I despair at the devastation caused by progress and greed.

As a potter I enjoy the fluidity of the clay and the ability to create beautiful forms from this plastic, sensuous material.  It is a journey of discovery especially using local clays and materials to create timeless artifacts. The process of making an object from a fluid material, applying a liquid glaze then firing these works in a wood fired kiln for 45 hours is still fascinating to me. The magic of the results can be both exhilarating and disappointing.

As a painter, I love the myriad of subtle colour variations as you mix them on your palette.  It is exciting to see the movement created when using complementary colours on a two-dimensional surface. I enjoy the dappled light and the contre-jour lighting created by the sun as it dances through the leaves and branches.

I am in awe of the power of nature and its ability to regenerate from the forces of fire, wind, and flood. Some of my latest works are inspired by the bushfires that ravaged our beautiful flora and fauna in 2019 and 2020.

I often look out to the Strezlecki mountains and imagine what our magic country would have looked like 150 years ago when the yellow stringy barks and mountain ash ruled the skyline. The third planting of pinus radiata in this beautiful area will so diminish the fragile soil that the inevitable conclusion will be a desert landscape. 

John Rojo           

Wood Fired Ceramics        

In 1982, I moved to the Tarra Valley in South Gippsland to build a house, studio and gallery. My main passion at the time was wood fired pottery. I was fascinated with the natural colours and unpredictability of the process. This lifestyle means long hours of work, many failures and a life of poverty.  Having a young family meant I had to supplement my income working as a teacher.

Wood fired pottery is ancient and seldom practiced art form. The beauty of wood firing is that nature has its way with manmade articles and it is this combination that makes each one of these works totally individual and impossible to reproduce. All works have been fired in a tunnel style wood fired kiln and a down draught wood kiln. The use of terrasigilata sourced from local clays and materials and traditional Japanese glazes help to create highly individual pots that are unique. The use of native hardwood for firing the kiln and creating ash glazes also gives the work a special quality.  Many works have been fired multiple times.

The use of seaweed and shells help to give each of these ceramic works a luminous natural beauty. These pieces have their imperfections the same as human beings who withstand the rigors of time. These pots are not always perfect, but it is these imperfections that make them individual, unique and intrinsically special.

My kilns are like a painter’s palette: they allow me to paint the surfaces of my pots with flame and colour. I love the subtle qualities of the local clays and I have experimented with many types of clay from the local area. Kiln firing can be between 30 to 100 hours.

The movement of the flames, the incredible colour variation and the unexpected results make this demanding process rewarding when all goes well. When purchasing my work you are purchasing part of me and 45 years of passion, creativity and individuality.

I am Currently lecturing in Ceramics at Federation University Gippsland

In my current arts practice I am exploring the themes inherent in transparency and reflection and how to meld these concepts using textile media to create unique fibre art. I am especially drawn to creating artworks that challenge people's understanding of the nature of textile art.

Making buildings appear transparent can give a sense of dissolving the solid walls, as well as making some features appear to float within the water reflecting landscape. Illumination can create transparency, cast shadows and highlight the beauty of natural fibres.

I mainly work with silk and wool, with felt making and free-motion machine embroidery my preferred techniques. Numerous workshops, particularly through The Australian Forum for Textile Arts (TAFTA), have enhanced my skills. Some artists I am inspired by are Liz Maidment (England /France), Phillipa Rooke (Australia), Fiona Duthie (Canada), Moy Mackay (Scotland) and Olga Finkel (Australia). Felt making has endless potential, with my vessels and wall hangings showcasing the beautiful qualities of wool and other fibres. Cast shadows can develop a different sense of depth, with fine felt and free-motion machine embroidery both producing delicate shadows.

I also love the opportunities that silk organza offers. Being able to transport the viewer through my photos of building facades to close up and distant water reflections, creates both a shallow and deep sense of space within the one artwork. Free-motion machine embroidery enhances the foreground facades and surrounding details, that often gives a three-dimensional illusion to the piece.

Some more recent work includes concertina and carousel books printed on transparent silk organza and cotton. Inspiration for these came via a workshop with Carol Barton (USA) on pop-up books. Using my personal photos, these create a form of travel diaries. The concertina artworks both have transparent tonal building facades and colour water reflections. By limiting the number of images used, I found I could reverse the facades, so they had a different background reflection photo behind them. Looking from above, behind and through each building facade gives different perspectives and senses of depth. The carousel piece has a series of building facades and reflections used together. The process of opening the carousel piece, and also changing the order of the concertina artwork images, can generate intrigue.

My current series of artworks are of reflections, that appear from a distance to be painted. However, instead of using a brush with paint, small pieces of coloured wool and silk fibre are carefully placed and then finally wet felted. Layers of free-motion machine stitched black tissue silk are reverse appliquéd creating window and door designs over the felt scene. This again makes the facade appear transparent over the felted reflection, and in some instances the architectural features appear to float within the landscape.

I still have more artwork ideas I am yet to explore within my theme and look forward to the next challenges.

This solo exhibition, ‘Running In The Wild’ has a mixture of paintings and wire wrapped creations by the young Gippsland artist, Kaycie Jade.

 Kaycie has been painting for almost ten years and still loves to experiment with her art and develop on new ideas and mediums. 

In this collection of work, Kaycie has intertwined her love for nature and touch of creativity to portray a mystical feel that fills the room

JULIE WARD, nee Stephenson, was born in Sale and at the age of fifteen was quite suddenly diagnosed legally blind. After much determination and many specialists, she was fitted with haptic lenses covering the entire surface of each eye, giving good vision for a limited time each day. Then began her adventure with studying music at the University of Melbourne. With a degree and a husband from New Zealand, she returned to Sale to live at Airly on a dairy farm just five minutes from Stratford.

The Principal of Gippsland Grammar invited Julie to actually come and teach Art, …..oh and some music! She soon became the inaugural Director of Music, establishing the department and its fine reputation, teaching there for twenty-five years. Painting was sidelined as a hobby.

During this time her eyes began to deteriorate more, and corneal grafts became the next stage to retain vision. It’s no wonder Julie paints with bold strokes and strong colours. Forever grateful to the breast cancer victim who donated the first graft, and to the other unknown donor, Julie is an avid supporter of all possible organ donation.

In the last twenty years Julie’s spare time has been absorbed by her love of art. She has a studio at Seaspray on the Ninety Mile Beach where she delights in portraying the much loved beach and ocean.  Every Easter she has the annual Art Show in the Seaspray Hall, originally a duo exhibition with her friend and fellow artist, Sue Cox, now deceased. Julie’s sister, Margaret O’Brien, has become her invaluable partner in this regular Easter Art event.

At her home studio in Airly, portraiture is an enticing challenge to extend her development as an artist. Julie is always wanting to learn more. Her memories of ‘sitting’ for the well-known local Giffard artist, Edna Gooding, definitely ignited her interest. Visiting art galleries in many parts of the world was an inspiration too. With Ben Quilty one of her favourite Australian artists.  Julie enjoys bold strokes, juxtaposition of strong colours and using large canvases. She has painted five entries for ‘The Yarram Archies’, all local characters; particularly Judith Summers, of Yarram Eisteddfod fame. Julie paints landscapes/seascapes and enjoys the freedom of abstracts. At the moment she has a series of animal heads called ‘In Your Face’, at Jack’s Country Bakery in Sale, Gumtree scenes at the Criterion Hotel in Sale, the Easter Art Show at Seaspray Hall.

It is with much delight that Julie offers her interpretations of her love of the ocean and also the trees of the unique Australian landscape in this exhibition, ‘Seas & Trees’  at Yarram Court House Gallery. All the artist's work is for sale and visitors are also most welcome at Artsea Studi,o Seaspray, and the Julie Ward School of Music, Foster Street,  Sale.  Facebook, Julie Ward Art or phone 0428673423