During October and November 2012 I had a three week residency & exhibition in Mildura at The Art Vault. Mildura is located on the Murray River in Victoria on the border with New South Wales.
Julie & Kevin Chambers have set up a fantastic gallery & workshop in an old bank, in this inspiring town that sits on the fringe of outback Australia. There is a well set up printmaking studio, a number of studios for local artists & private studios for artists in residence. The facilities are first class as are the team of staff they have pulled together. I stayed on site in a lush one bedroom apartment with all the comforts of home.
It was great to work in a light filled, white walled studio - a blank canvas. I like to respond to the environment that I am in when I have a residency. The Mildura Show was on so I headed there with the other artist in residency Sophie Gralton and a few other people. It was a visual feast and I took a lot of photos with my new camera bought with money from my ARTSTART grant.
On the middle weekend I headed out to Broken Hill & went to the races. It was the second biggest race meeting of the year & there was a real buzz in the air. Another visual feast & lots more photos were taken.
On the way to Broken Hill I saw an amazing garden. A man was sitting out the front so I asked if I could take some photos of his intriguing, immaculately kept garden, full of flowers, vegetables, sculptures & wonderful colours. We got talking & I have since visited him a number of times. Donald is 93 & is an absolute treasure. He has so much energy, is incredibly agile & enthusiastic. He had never been to The Art Vault before & now is a regular visitor - he catches a bus to get there - it takes him about half an hour. I hope I am like Donald when I get older.
The walls in the studio were quickly covered with images & at least three separate bodies of work have emerged from my time at The Art Vault. I find having a residency is a great way to focus on my work without the interruptions of everyday life in my home studio. I was so energised by this studio - on my return to my own studio I had a major overhaul, painting the walls, building big tables with lots of storage underneath & putting wheels on everything - including my press. It has given me greater flexibility & I can move the studio around depending on what I am working on.
The Art Vault residency program is a unique experience & I would recommend it to any practising artists, especially printmakers.
Julie & Kevin Chambers have set up a fantastic gallery & workshop in an old bank, in this inspiring town that sits on the fringe of outback Australia. There is a well set up printmaking studio, a number of studios for local artists & private studios for artists in residence. The facilities are first class as are the team of staff they have pulled together. I stayed on site in a lush one bedroom apartment with all the comforts of home.
It was great to work in a light filled, white walled studio - a blank canvas. I like to respond to the environment that I am in when I have a residency. The Mildura Show was on so I headed there with the other artist in residency Sophie Gralton and a few other people. It was a visual feast and I took a lot of photos with my new camera bought with money from my ARTSTART grant.
On the middle weekend I headed out to Broken Hill & went to the races. It was the second biggest race meeting of the year & there was a real buzz in the air. Another visual feast & lots more photos were taken.
On the way to Broken Hill I saw an amazing garden. A man was sitting out the front so I asked if I could take some photos of his intriguing, immaculately kept garden, full of flowers, vegetables, sculptures & wonderful colours. We got talking & I have since visited him a number of times. Donald is 93 & is an absolute treasure. He has so much energy, is incredibly agile & enthusiastic. He had never been to The Art Vault before & now is a regular visitor - he catches a bus to get there - it takes him about half an hour. I hope I am like Donald when I get older.
The walls in the studio were quickly covered with images & at least three separate bodies of work have emerged from my time at The Art Vault. I find having a residency is a great way to focus on my work without the interruptions of everyday life in my home studio. I was so energised by this studio - on my return to my own studio I had a major overhaul, painting the walls, building big tables with lots of storage underneath & putting wheels on everything - including my press. It has given me greater flexibility & I can move the studio around depending on what I am working on.
The Art Vault residency program is a unique experience & I would recommend it to any practising artists, especially printmakers.
DONALD was 93
BROKEN HILL races
showtime
the art vault exhibition
Sunraysia Daily - October 24, 2012