Future Exhibitions
FORM and FIRE
Blue Mountains Clay Collective Inc
Members Exhibition
November 13-29
- OPENING EVENT - Saturday 14th Nov from 2pm - All welcome
- CERAMICS MARKET DAY - Saturday 21st Nov 10.30am to 4.30pm
ARTIST TALKS
What to expect
- WORKSHOP with Gabriella Hegyes - MORE INFO & BOOKINGS
- Watch this space for more information
FEATURED ARTISTS
BROOKE HENNESSY
Artist Bio/Statement
I am a Lithgow-based emerging ceramic artist whose practice is grounded in connection to place and material. Much of my work is inspired by my surrounding landscape, and I often dig and process my own local clay, allowing the environment to directly inform the finished pieces. Although I have long been immersed in the arts, growing up within a family-owned gallery in the Blue Mountains and surrounded by working artists, only recently have I fully stepped into my own creative practice. I work across wheel throwing, handbuilding, and slip casting, and I am increasingly exploring alternative surface decoration techniques and firing methods including raku, pit, and gas firing.
My background in woodworking strongly informs my ceramics practice; I am continually drawn to the parallels between the rhythm of the wood lathe and the pottery wheel.
As an artist, I am committed to ongoing learning, experimentation, and the development of a distinct personal style. I am very excited to have been invited to attend an Artist Residency in India in 2027 to further my skills.
Work Description
My ceramic practice explores the landscapes of Lithgow and the Seven Valleys through the use of locally foraged wild clay and layered glazes. Working primarily with functional forms, I use colour, texture and exposed clay to reflect the varied landscape of Lithgow and the Seven Valleys, from sandstone escarpments and bushland to rolling hills, valleys, waterways and changing skies. The wild clay connects each piece directly to the landscape that inspired it, creating functional ceramics that celebrate the beauty and character of the region.
JULIE NELSON
Artist Bio/Statement
Julie Nelson is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice centres on clay and soft pastels. With a deep
appreciation for texture, colour, and form, she explores the interplay between the tangible and the ephemeral. Her work spans drawing, painting, and photography, allowing her to move fluidly between mediums while maintaining a cohesive visual language.
Clay offers Julie a grounding, tactile connection to the earth, while soft pastels allow for expressive mark-making and atmospheric colour art. Through these mediums, she creates pieces that capture emotion, movement, and narrative. Julie's photography and painting further support this exploration, often serving as studies or extensions of her sculptural and pastel-based works.
Rooted in curiosity and guided by a desire to transform raw material into meaningful expression, Julie's body of work reflects both technical exploration and personal storytelling.
Work Description
- Goddess - Glazes - River Birch on her body with gold on her flower - Price $275
- Goddess - Glazes - Deep firebrick red and saturation gold - Price $250 (approx 14cms tall)
- Goddess - Glazes - Peppered Plum - Price $250 (approx 14cms tall)
- Goddess - Speckled Buff Clay - Glaze - Palladium $240 (approx 14cms tall).
- Mermaid - Glazes - Tenmoku and Vintage gold ~ Price $250 (can be a wall hanging or lay flat (approx 22 cms length)
- Mermaid - Glazes - floating pink, vintage gold and - Price $275 (can be a wall hanging or lay flat ~ 26 cm length)
- Tall Candle holder or Water bowl - Glazes - tenmoku, palladium - $300 (approx 22 cms length)
- Red Goddess of Babylon - candle holder or stand alone on a hardwood plinth - Glazes - deep fire brick red, Dark Flux, vintage gold $700 (approx 50 cms length)
LINDA KEMP
Artist Bio/Statement
I’ve always loved creative pursuits, including running a gallery for several years during a break in my corporate career when I had my children, but my love of pottery really began in 2019 when I was recovering from cancer… I started playing with clay and I was hooked. Within months I’d bought a wheel, the first of my 3 kilns and try to create on most days. I find having my hands on clay incredibly grounding…
Work Description
My work focusses on the flora and landscape of the blue mountains and is mainly handbuilt and Sgrafitto. My signature ‘pods’ always include imprints of locally grown wildflowers and my vision of the escarpments of the region. My work is a mix of decorative and functional and is continually evolving
CATHY HICKS
Artist Bio/Statement
I work from my small home studio in Blackheath, Blackbird Ceramics on the land of the Dharug and Gundungurra people. While not formally trained in ceramics, I have developed my practice through lessons and workshops with individual potters both locally and overseas, as well as short courses at TAFE NSW.
In the mountains, one is acutely aware of the changing light, colours and temperatures of the four seasons of the year, which I try to express in my work: autumnal rich red clays and warm brown glazes; black clays and glazes that reflect the early dying of the light in winter; the crisp clarity of spring is echoed in my white and pastel ranges; the bright cheerful colours of summer.
Work Description
My work is both functional as well as decorative, with careful attention to detail. It is important to me that each ceramic piece has a place in the owner's everyday life and invites the user to take a moment to slow down, observe, feel and touch. Turning and decorating is as important to me as the making of the piece. For decoration, I am interested in the use of slip, underglaze, texture and glaze combinations.
My current fascination is with large bowls (30cm +) and platters - most certainly to be used for salads and other generous dishes, but also a feature for the home, and thus heavily decorated. While large, I like to ensure that the weight of each item is not unnecessarily heavy - thus each item is carefully turned to ensure they fit comfortably in the arms of the bearer.
I am also developing a range of teapots and vases: some of the teapots are included here.
JANE MACGREGOR
Artist Bio/Statement
I have been working with clay for some years now. Largely self taught, I owe my interest in the human form - especially female - to my medical training and exposure to all shapes and sizes at their most vulnerable. I am not interested in the concept of an ideal boy; rather, I love curves, asymmetry and 'imperfections', like scars. Ancient statues and artefacts are another source of inspiration.
Apart from sculptural figures, my other focus is on making unique memorial urns in a range of sizes from micro to large.
All my work is handbuilt and often fired more than once to achieve the effect I am looking for.
Work Description
Grounded - This unique, handbuilt figure was hand built from stoneware clay and wood fired unglazed.
KYLIE GIACOMELLI
Artist Bio/Statement
Kylie creates one-of-a-kind ceramic beings, vessels, and sculptural objects that sit somewhere between character, guardian, and artefact.
Working primarily by hand and without fixed sketches, she allows each form to emerge through an intuitive conversation with the clay. Faces, markings, textures, and personalities develop slowly, often revealing themselves through play, chance, and spontaneous discovery.
Her work is influenced by symbolism, folklore, the unconscious, and the strange inner worlds carried within ordinary life. Some pieces appear humorous and mischievous, while others hold a quieter, more watchful presence.
By blurring the boundaries between sculpture, object, creature, and ritual form, Kylie’s ceramics invite curiosity, storytelling, and personal interpretation.
Work Description
Kylie Giacomelli's work explores the space between the familiar and the imagined. Her hand-built creatures, vessels and sculptural forms often appear as guardians, companions or artefacts from an unknown world, each carrying its own expression, markings and quiet sense of history.
Made intuitively and without moulds, the pieces evolve through touch, chance and close attention to the clay. Humour, folklore, symbolism and the unconscious move through the work, creating objects that feel playful, mysterious and deeply individual.
Rather than offering a fixed story, each piece invites curiosity, interpretation and a personal connection. They are not always especially useful. They are, however, excellent company.
CATHERINE WOOD
Artist Bio/Statement
My sculptural practice reflects an enduring passion for abstract form and its capacity to evoke emotion, express ideas and create a sense of connection.
My process is intuitive, allowing forms to evolve organically through the act of making. Often, without conscious intention, my sculptures begin to suggest feminine archetypes such as the Mother, the Goddess and Fertility. These forms seem to emerge from somewhere deeper than the conscious mind, carrying a spiritual resonance while embodying qualities of feminine strength, resilience and empowerment.
Through the exploration of form, gesture and surface treatments, I seek to create works that hold an emotional presence and invite individual interpretation. Ideas of hope, courage, joy and self-love are woven into my process, becoming an intrinsic part of the sculptures as they develop. For me, these qualities speak to the strength and beauty of the feminine spirit, while allowing space for a more personal and intuitive response from the viewer.
Ultimately, I hope my sculptures connect with people in unexpected ways, evoking a sense of recognition, contemplation or delight. Above all, I want my work to bring pleasure and joy to the spaces it inhabits, offering a positive presence and a quiet celebration of life.
Work Description
Hand built sculptures
DEBBIE DUNN
Artist Bio/Statement
I have lived in the beautiful Blue Mountains for 33 years, surrounded by a landscape that continues to inspire and influence my pottery.
My practice includes pieces for everyday living alongside larger sculptural forms. Through the guidance and knowledge of accomplished potters I have continued to refine my craft. I use a variety of techniques including wheel throwing, top-hatting, coiling, and hand building. I experiment with different clays, glazes, and the very unpredictable firing techniques of raku and obvara. I continue to create earthy tactile pieces that bring warmth, purpose, and a sense of connection to those who enjoy them.
What began as a hobby has grown into a deeply rewarding creative journey.
I look forward to discovering where this ancient craft will continue to lead me.
Work Description
My work explores the tactile and expressive qualities of clay through functional and sculptural forms. I embrace earthy textures, organic surfaces and the unpredictable effects of raku and obvara, allowing clay and fire to shape the character of each piece.
DAN HESLOP
Artist Bio
Dan Heslop is a ceramic artist and landscape designer based in the Blue Mountains, NSW. He has been exploring ceramics for approximately twelve years, initially inspired by Australian ceramic artists whose work he encountered through Cultivate Exterior Design, a small bijou nursery he established in Paddington. His early ambition was to create sculptural ceramic pieces, combining his interests in horticulture, design and the built environment.
Dan's ceramic practice has since developed into a diverse exploration of sculptural and functional forms, with a particular interest in expressive surfaces, materiality and the evidence of the hand. He studied ceramics at the National Art School in Sydney and has continued his development through the guidance of ceramic mentors in the Blue Mountains. His studio in Bullaburra provides a space to pursue his practice alongside his work in landscape design.
His current work brings together his enduring fascination with architecture and his connection to landscape. Influenced by mid-century modernism, Japanese design and architects including Frank Lloyd Wright, Alvar Aalto, Richard Neutra, and Glenn Murcutt, Dan is drawn to the simplicity of line, material and function, and particularly to architecture's relationship with the natural environment.
Work Description
This body of work explores imagined architectural structures — fragments of buildings that feel somehow familiar, yet impossible to place. Rather than representing specific buildings, the forms are constructed from a simplified architectural vocabulary: walls, openings, planes, thresholds and structural elements. Their irregularly positioned negative spaces and deliberately imperfect geometry suggest architecture without attempting to reproduce it precisely. There is something almost childlike in this interpretation — as though a remembered building has been reconstructed from fragments of memory, or remains as a ghost of a structure that once existed.
The work is strongly informed by Dan's fascination with mid-century modernism and its relationship to Japanese design. The linear simplicity, restrained material palettes and emphasis on form following function resonate with his own experience as a landscape designer, where the relationship between built form and its natural setting is a constant consideration. He is particularly interested in the way architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright conceived buildings as part of their landscape, and in the way mid-century and contemporary architecture can dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior, allowing nature to become part of the experience of a dwelling.
The architectural forms provide a deliberate structure, while the surfaces introduce uncertainty and imperfection. Irregularity, asymmetry and unexpected openings allow the pieces to retain something of the wabi-sabi sensibility present throughout Dan's ceramic practice. Proposed glaze treatments further soften the architectural geometry through drips, splashes, texture and movement, allowing the work to move away from the precision of architecture towards something more organic and connected to landscape.
Ultimately, these sculptures seek to occupy a space between architecture and nature, memory and structure, intention and accident. They are imagined places rather than models of real buildings. Rooted in Dan's experience of the Blue Mountains, the work explores the possibility that even the most geometric and constructed forms can carry a sense of place.
ELENA AND KAREN FLETCHER-CARTER
Artist Bio/Statement
Elena and Karen Fletcher-Carter are self-taught ceramic artists driven by a boundless passion for clay. Beginning their creative journey in 2021 after relocating to Australia, they work from their home studio, the She Shed Potters, in picturesque Culburra Beach. Informed by their professional backgrounds in psychiatric nursing and teaching—which revealed to them the profound therapeutic power of art—their diverse collection spans from functional everyday items to thought-provoking, narrative-driven sculptures, each uniquely shaped by the coastal landscapes and people around them.
Working from their creative sanctuary at the She Shed Potters studio, ceramic artists Elena and Karen Fletcher-Carter create work that stands as a vivid testament to their diverse life experiences and rich cultural heritage. Discovering a profound bond with clay—a medium capable of conveying intricate thoughts and emotions far more eloquently than words—they embarked on a collaborative artistic journey defined by deep expression. Each piece reflects their roots and connection to the history and culture of their homeland, while equally drawing inspiration from the stunning Australian landscape, where they take long walks to source diverse local clays for their art.
SHARRON MOUNTAIN
Artist Bio/Statement
Sharron Mountain is a ceramic artist and educator of Visual Arts based in the Blue Mountains, NSW. She has been exploring ceramics for approximately 30 years, as part of both her artist practice and teacher. Her 33 years Visual Arts teaching career followed explorations into sculptural and photographic expressions, settling in the realm of ceramics, in particular sculptural ceramics.
Her current work brings together his enduring fascination with the landscape and the changes that are evolving due to climate change.
Influenced by Australian artists such as Julie Bartholemew, Janet Lawrence and Robyn Phelan, Sharron’s work explores the resilience of flora and fauna and the relationship with the impacts of human interaction with the land.
Work Description
This body of work explores imagined hybrid forms that generate after an environmental events — fragments of forms and fauna that feel somehow familiar, yet the memory of the fauna is irrevocably altered through abstraction and the painterly surface by incorporating manufactured and foraged clay and glazes into my pieces. The colour although vibrant and engaging holds a story or change and shift from nature and natural.
Ultimately, these vessels shaped embody Mother Earth Ghia and forms seek to reflect years of experimentation within ceramic Sharron’s practice and connection to occupied and not necessarily managed land as urban structures further encroach upon the natural environment.
SHEILA ANNIS
Artist Bio/Statement
Sheila Annis, Blue Mountains Clay Collective
I spent my younger life around the fashion industry and had a bespoke shop in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada, where I designed and made all of the clothing. I moved on to making puppets and character costumes for film, television and theatre. I have always been imaginative, creative and made stuff! Clay work has taken most of my attention.
In the last thirty (30) years, I have studied and practiced Yoga intensively, which has become intrinsic to my work..
A few of the formal certificates and studies I have completed are as follows:
Batchelor of Fine Art, Major in Sculpture and Installation (2007)
University of Western Sydney
Diploma in Fashion Design and Clothing Technology (1976)
Quantlin College, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
After completing a bachelor of fine arts I moved over to TAFE where I was lucky enough to study under Rob Linigen for several years. I alternated this with stints in Canada where I cared for my aged mother and spent as much time as I could across the street at Pickering Potters Studio under the tutelage of many fine potters.
Exhibitions:
Solo exhibition, Pickering Potters Studio, 2011.
Bent Art, Katoomba, groups shows from 2005 - 2026
TAFE, Kingswood, winner of Ceramics Acquisition Award,2011
Artist Residency, Manang, Nepal October 2024, January 18, 2025- February 8, 2025
Dalai La Gallery, Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal
Work Description
Sometimes I make work to understand how I feel. Sometimes I make work to reflect how I feel.
MIKAYLA STEWART
Artist Bio/Statement
I walk barefoot often as a way to ground myself and connect with nature. I love the feelings of the soft, cool sand and soil, the slippery clay and mud after some rain and the way pebbles and small stones feel with each step under my feet. I become fully immersed within nature and my ceramic practice is a continuation of this experience.
My inspiration comes from the earth and the natural materials she creates. I collect and forage the majority of the materials I use in my ceramic practice, using every aspect of what I collect; the clay, the minerals, the sand and stones screened out of the clay as I process it. I use Ash and clay glazes to finish my functional wares, which complement the colours of the clays chosen.
Different wild clays embody unique properties and personalities, something I am guided by when envisioning their final form. Vessels made with wild clay start making themselves before the clay is even dug up. I listen to the clay, and with its help, I facilitate the journey from the Earth to ceramic vessel.
I hope to create work which embodies the natural landscape, celebrating the beauty and intricate simplicity of the natural world in a contemporary art space.
Work Descripton
The pieces designed for this exhibition will include functional teaware and vases which showcase the colours and textures of the Gundagurra and Darug lands of the Blue Mountains, made with clay intentionally and mindfully hand-collected from the local area.
RACHEAL LARKIN
Artist Bio/Statement
I am an artisan. I make stuff....
After all the years of studying ceramics, teaching ceramics, exhibiting ceramics and generally making a career out of ceramics, I have come to a fairly simple conclusion: I really like making stuff out of mud.
Clay has been with me since the 1970s. It gave me direction, a creative life and a community when I was young, and introduced me to some of the great pleasures of life—cooking, gardening, good food, generous people and long conversations around a table.
There was, however, a fairly significant interruption. I stepped away from clay for a while to raise two humans, run a business and get on with life. Clay was put on the back burner, although thankfully not forgotten.
Coming back to clay later in life felt less like starting again and more like returning to an old friend. I still love making things that are useful, beautiful and sometimes just a little bit odd. I am particularly drawn to tableware and vessels because pots don't have to sit quietly on a pedestal. They can hold food, get handled, knocked about, chipped, loved and become part of everyday life.
For me, making is less about creating something precious and more about creating something that has a life. A good pot should have a job to do—and preferably be invited to dinner.
After a lifetime with clay, I am still curious about what happens when I put my hands in it. I make things, I play, I experiment, I occasionally make a complete dog's breakfast of it, and then I make another one.
Basically, I make stuff. And after all these years, I still really enjoy it.
ROBERT LINIGEN
Artist Bio/Statement
For the last 10 years or so I’ve been gradually clearing invasive woody weeds from our land in the Blue Mountains. I burn piles of the dry weeds each winter and collect and process the ash to help make pottery glazes.
The ashes are the minerals that the plant draws from the soil as it grows. Each batch is a unique fingerprint of the soil, the plant species, even whether the plant was flowering or seeding when it was cut down.
No two batches of this ash are the same, the glazes are always changing. When one batch is finished, I can’t always get the same result again.
Rob Linigen has been a power and teacher for over 40 years. He works from his Leura studio and conductives workshops in glaze techniques, wheel forming and kiln firing at various venues across Australia.
SUVIRA McDONALD
Artist Bio/Statement
Suvira McDonald is an Australian ceramic artist known for his finely crafted vessels that balance sculptural presence with a deep respect for traditional pottery techniques.
Working primarily in stoneware and porcelain, his practice explores the quiet dialogue between form, surface, and the woodfired kiln process.
McDonald’s work is characterised by elegant, restrained forms and richly textured glazes that echo the colours and patinas of the landscape. Drawing inspiration from both Eastern and Western ceramic traditions, he embraces slow, attentive making — allowing the unpredictable effects of wood firing to play an active role in the final outcome. This approach results in pieces that feel both timeless and contemporary.
His ceramics range from functional vessels to contemplative sculptural forms, each reflecting a sensitivity to proportion, balance, and material. Through subtle variations in glaze, texture, and firing atmosphere, McDonald creates surfaces that invite close viewing and tactile engagement.
Over the course of his career, McDonald has exhibited widely in Australia and his work is held in numerous private collections. With a clear emphasis on wood firing, his practice continues to evolve through experimentation with clay bodies, firing practices, and surface treatments, while remaining grounded in the enduring traditions of studio pottery.
THE ART OF GOOD COMPANY
December 4 to January 31
OPENING EVENT - Officiated by JEFF WHITE Director of Lost Bear Gallery, Leura.
Saturday 5th December from 3pm - All welcome
FEATURED ARTISTS:
JANE CANFIELD
Artist Bio/Statement
“I have spent many years working from life, and my paintings reflect what I have seen or experienced. My aim is always to pare back and simplify. Working from small paintings and drawings, I take these back to the studio to make larger works. “
Jane remains deeply committed to environmental and animal welfare issues, continuing her advocacy work for the natural world that continues to inspire her art.
KAYLENE BROOKS
Artist Bio/Statement
Kaylene is an innovative artist whose work bridges natural materials and cultural storytelling. Her totem pole, made from fabric, seeds, twigs, string, beads, and bone, reflects her commitment to honouring the interconnectedness of nature and human expression. Each element is carefully selected and assembled, embodying themes of resilience, tradition, and spiritual connection. The combination of organic and crafted materials creates a dynamic texture, celebrating both the rawness of the natural world and the artistry of human hands. Brooks’ work invites viewers to explore the layers of meaning woven into her creations, fostering reflection on heritage, sustainability, and the beauty of impermanence.
COLETTE JONQUIERES
Artist Bio/Statement
"My work follows two strands-figurative painting using human or animal subjects and abstract landscape paintings. I paint in oils building up many layers of paint that create a luscious depth of colour to the work. My paintings are often very detailed with a strong use of colour and design."
TRACY DODS
Artist Bio/Statement
I always say that my work is not autobiographical in so much as I’m not exploring my own existential angst. What I am trying to represent, in the only way I know how, is the complete impotence I feel when governments make decisions on my behalf to benefit big businesses. The frustration I feel in the knowledge that governments are just the puppets of their wealthy financial backers.
Much of my work depicts the lushness of the human form alongside the exciting colours of Australia’s beaches. The sea has such a strong calling for me in that it can be a frightening thing, vast, unknown and destructive. Yet, conversely, it can be a meditative thing with its constant motion, its horizon, while its expansiveness stimulates the senses. I feel that it has a big role in the Australian psyche.
NICOL REID
Artist Bio/Statement
Watch this space
DAVID NEWMAN-WHITE
Artist Bio/Statement
I was born in Nowra NSW in 1952. My art education began in 1970 at St George TAFE, Kogarah where I was enrolled in an Introductory Art course followed by Intermediate Art in 1971. Completed a four year Diploma at Alexander Mackie(C.A.E.); followed by an Graduate Diploma in Education (Sydney Teachers College; Graduate Diploma in Professional Arts Studies at Alexander Mackie; MA(Hons) Visual Arts with the University of Western Sydney graduating in 1996.
Employed as a teacher if Fine Art drawing and painting by TAFE NSW from 1980-2017; Employed by the National Trust, Norman Lindsay Art Gallery and Museum as a tutor for figure drawing from 1996-2018.
GARRY PETTITT
Artist Bio/Statement
Garry Pettitt Fine Art is a distinct art gallery located in the heart of Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 2001 by renowned artist Garry Pettitt, the gallery is dedicated to showcasing a diverse range of contemporary art. Known for its innovative exhibitions and engaging programs, the gallery has become a cornerstone of the local art scene. The gallery features works from both established and emerging artists, with a particular emphasis on contemporary realism and landscape art. Among the renowned artists represented are Garry Pettitt himself, whose work reflects the unique landscapes of the Australian environment, and other prominent local artists. This focus on realism combined with a deep appreciation for the Australian landscape sets the gallery apart. The mission of Garry Pettitt Fine Art is to promote artistic expression and foster a vibrant community around visual arts. The gallery's target audience includes art collectors, enthusiasts, and the general public interested in contemporary art. With a strong commitment to accessibility and education, the gallery often hosts workshops, talks, and collaborative projects aimed at inspiring creativity in all ages. Interesting facts about the gallery include its involvement in local art festivals and its role in supporting local artists. Garry Pettitt Fine Art is not just a gallery but a cultural hub where art lovers can connect, learn, and inspire each other through the appreciation of art.
BARRY REID
Artist Bio/Statement
Watch this space
WARWICK FULLER
Artist Bio/Statement
“You can read ad infinitum of the landscape painter trying to “paint his feelings”, “capture the light”, “render the mood of a scene”. There is nothing particularly new or unique in this ideology, developed in part through a natural progression of a very strong landscape tradition in Australia. It is sad to see these expressions misused, abused and over used to the point of becoming almost meaningless with insincerity. Those statements are though, I believe, some of the more important aims and ideals at the core of the genuine landscape painter’s psyche. I, like others, do search for a means of expressing these qualities! I know for me these are genuine and worthy goals. In this, there is a dilemma I feel will test me.
It has been a long held opinion of mine that too often the work of the traditional landscape painter has been seen in an over-familiar sort of way. That is, known objects in the picture being seen superficially and assessed according to a preconceived understanding of those objects. How do I express my vision of the subject unambiguously. It’s not a technical thing as for example, in composition. It’s far more elusive than that. I am doubting more often whether the direction I am taking can adequately reveal, for example, the thrill of gazing at the last rays of sunlight in the tree tops. I can paint something of what it looks like but I am trying to paint how I feel! I want my pictures to sing the songs I sang when I painted them. My hope is that if I can paint with the joy of that moment, something of my emotional responses to the moment will shine through.”
ANNIE JOSEPH
Artist Bio/Statement
My inspiration for painting and drawing comes from the beauty of the landscape, whether it be the wide brown western plains of my childhood and youth, or the hills and valleys of the central west where I’ve lived for the last 44 years, or the very different landscapes of France, Italy, Portugal, Scotland and Ireland. I love the magic of watercolour as my medium for translating the light and colour of those landscapes onto paper. I have had several solo Art Shows and have been part of many Group Shows. I exhibit annually at Portland, Taralga, Blackheath and the Sydney Royal Easter Show. I’m involved with the annual Daffodils at Rydal Art Show and was a founding member of the Lithgow Arts Trail.
ANNIE HERRON
Artist Bio/Statement
Annie Herron studied art at the National Art School . She has been teaching art for many years to all ages from pre school to senior school and worked as a diversional therapist in hospitals.
She has been running residential art classes at her farm at Rydal for the last 20 years. She has a regular art class every Wednesday for people in the Central West area. Annie is an exhibiting artist and sculptor, who has had over 25 solo shows at Maunsell Wicks gallery Paddington. She has shown in regional galleries and been involved in many group shows, mainly with her sculptures which she works up combining her bronze cast birds and found objects to tell a whimsical story. She is also a painter usually working in oils and is inspired by the landscape of the central tablelands. A favourite collaboration was with her daughter Sophie Hansen to create a wonderful book of good things to cook, create and do – the whole year through called ‘Around the Kitchen Table’.
CHRISTINE STEVENSON
Artist Bio/Statement
Chris Stevenson has lectured for several decades in Visual Arts at Sydney tertiary institutions, including Macquarie University.
Since 2000, Chris's studio has been located in a former bread factory, but in the last year Chris has moved her studio to the country, close to the inspiration for her paintings. Chris and her family have owned several working farms in rural NSW, the most recent in the beautiful Megalong Valley. These farms have inspired her landscapes in acrylics, oil and wax. Her style moves between semi-abstract and abstract.
ANNE GRAHAM
Artist Bio/Statement
Anne Graham’s research interests focus on investigations of identity and space. When she first moved to NSW she lived in central Sydney and her installations often responded to the underbelly of the city, the in-between places, the untended spaces between buildings occupied by transient visitors. She transformed these unheimlich places into places for interaction, eating, talking, and forming small communities for a while.
Since 2010 she has lived in Kanimbla Valley in regional NSW and this place is now informing her work. She has the time to listen to the sounds, observe the skies, look at the extraordinary colours of this landscape as the weather and the seasons change. She has also become aware of the urgent need to protect this extraordinary place. To exploit this land and its resources is to ignore the heritage and the idea of the land as a living entity imbued with spirit and identity. She is hopeful that an aesthetic understanding through art works and a critical and social movement can turn the damage around.
SUGANTHI SINGARAYR
Artist Bio/Statement
Watch this space