Women’s Art Register

The Bulletin No. 53 Summer 2013 $5.00 ISSN 2200-9574

‘Standing Stones of Callanish Installation 3’ Lynne Sinclair-Wood

See page 5

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Editor’s Note Welcome to the Bulletin #53. Thank you to all our contributors. In this issue we have a number of articles about Australian women artists. Thank you to all contributors. Contributions for the next issue of the Bulletin are welcome. Please send your article and any images to the Register, either in hard copy to 415 Church Street, Richmond 3121, or by email to [email protected] before the closing date (1st June 2013). If you are holding any workshops or exhibitions in the second half of this year, please forward the details to the Register so we can publish them in the next issue. Such notices are welcome at any time for publication on our website.

Regina McDonald Editor Issue # 53

Disclaimer The opinions of the individual contributors are their own and are not those of the Editor or the Women’s Art Register.

[The Bulletin] WOMEN’S ART REGISTER Women’s Art Register Inc Richmond Library, 415 Church Street Richmond, VIC 3121 Telephone: 0424 333 136 Email: [email protected] Library Opening Hours Monday–Wednesday 10 am – 8 pm Thursday 10 am – 6 pm Friday 1 pm – 6 pm Saturday 10 am – 3 pm Sunday 2 pm – 5 pm Register Office Open First, third, and fifth Tuesday of the month. 10 am- 3 pm, or by appointment. Membership Includes borrowing rights to slides, information folders and issues of The Bulletin as published. Costs: Individual $35 Individual Concession $25 Institution $55 Individual renewal: 1 July each year Institution renewal: 1 January each year Contributors Editor: Regina McDonald Writers: Kerry-Anne Cousins Margaret Gurney Hunter Arts Network Kaye Johnstone Susan Kinneally Gail Stiffe Cover Image: ‘Standing Stones of

Callanish Installation 3’ Lynne Sinclair-Wood Women’s Art Register The Bulletin No. 53 Summer 2013

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In This Issue News from the Register The Art of Lynne Sinclair-Wood ‘Out There’ Artists Summer Arts Bazaar One Woman’s Art : Margaret Gurney Casting Nets - fibre artists in the ACT

Gail Stiffe Susan Kinneally Kaye Johnston Hunter Arts Network Margaret Gurney Kerry-Anne Cousins

Opportunities What’s On

News from the Register Gail Stiffe

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scanned. We haven't totally worked out the logistics as yet but will inform members once that is sorted. As well as scanning, the slides need to be indexed, i.e. all the information that is on the slide needs to be transferred to a database. There are a couple of ways this can be done: one is that the person who scans the slide could do it thus taking time away from the scanning. The alternative is that the person scanning just numbers the slide and image and someone else adds the information to the database. All in all a lot of person hours are required to do even a small proportion of our slides.

In the last Bulletin I announced that we had

At the moment we have a card for each of

applied for a grant to have our slides

the slides and it would be helpful if one or

digitised. I am very pleased to announce

more volunteers were to transfer the

that we were successful and have been

information into a digital format.

awarded a substantial grant that will allow us to have a large number of our slides Women’s Art Register The Bulletin No. 53 Summer 2013

4 This could be done on site at the Women’s

downloaded from our website so please

Art Register office at Richmond Library or

consider printing a few out and giving them

we could send photocopies of the slides to

to your artist and art loving friends.

volunteers who could then email back the results. If you can help out at all with this project please contact the Register [email protected]. This coming year looks like being a very exciting one for the Register.

In addition to our valuable band of regular volunteers we recently welcomed the assistance of new volunteers, Anne and Belinda, who have generously helped at the Register. Saren Dobkins has been managing our website, and Fay Gilbert our social

I also reported in the last Bulletin on the

media. Thank you both and thank you to

workshop that three of the committee

Regina for another Bulletin. Make sure you

attended at the Museum of Victoria, we have

send us information about your exhibitions

been gradually adding items to the

and workshops, we are happy to publicise in

catalogue starting with the Bulletins. It is

the Bulletin, our website and our Twitter

quite a long process requiring scanning and

and Facebook accounts.

several pages of documentation. I would hope to have the Bulletins all tagged and on the site by partway through 2013. You can see how far we have progressed by going to the Victorian Collections website

It is hard to believe that it is 2013 already; in two years we will be forty. We would welcome ideas on how we might celebrate the occasion. We would need assistance as well as ideas of course!

http://victoriancollections.net.au/organisatio ns/womens-art-register. We have also recently signed a 3-year sponsorship agreement for ongoing use of the premises at the Richmond Library with the City of Yarra. However due to changes in the Incorporations Act we have taken out additional insurance thus adding considerably to our running costs. We really need some more members to help cover these costs so please do your best to encourage new members, our fliers can be

Women’s Art Register The Bulletin No. 53 Summer 2013

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The Art of Lynne Sinclair-Wood : Images on a Spiritual Journey

her guns. Straight masking tape edges and ‘field painting’ was never going to be her style.

Susan Kinneally Lynne was a child of the 1950s. She lived in dreary suburban Newcastle, dreaming of another world; a different reality populated with the fairies and spiritual beings of her Grandfather’s stories (he was affectionately known as ‘Old Jack’). She slept with the moon on her face, defying her mother’s prophesy that she would go ‘mad’, and took for granted that the fairies had left her the books and paint brushes she found under her pillow (never just a threepenny bit for a baby tooth). She loved to paint and draw these beings, but only shared her images with Old Jack and her Dad, fearing derision from the rigid expectations of the teachers at primary school. These were special creatures that she created, ones with special meanings, not to be disparaged by the unsympathetic or ignorant. In High School she found the rich colours and patterns of Klimt, the Pre-Raphaelites, Art Nouveau, the novels of the Bronte sisters and the intellectual challenge of Modern Art to be compelling. Ancient History was also to became a guiding passion in her life. She delighted in wearing richly coloured velvet robes; her long wavy tresses would surely have been the envy of a Rosetti maiden. At Art School in the 1970s she found more in the way of opposition to her ways of making art, but Lynne stuck to

‘Self Portrait with Guardian’ Pastel on watercolour paper Lynne Sinclair-Wood (her Guardian was her much loved cat, Grainne)

She spent some time as the art teacher at Temora High School in the New South Wales countryside, where she lived in a shared household with other young teachers. Rock and roll and wild parties were crazy fun, but bushwalking awoke in her an awareness of the ancient spirit of the land. Here Lynne began to produce work that reflected her sensitive response to landscape. Her painting and drawing at this time has a rhythmic sensuousness and begins to suggest that innate understanding that Lynne expressed throughout her career, the sense of “my female body being one with the earth and the elements of nature.” Even so, Lynne felt deeply that her ancestral roots belonged on

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the other side of the world, in Wales and Scotland. Western New South Wales was not enough for Lynne, who enrolled herself at Adelaide University in the late 1970s to do a Fine Arts degree. Here Lynne exhibited with the Women’s Art Movement at the ‘Exhibition Space’; a work which comprised an empty room filled with purple mist, where people were encouraged to meditate. Photos suggest an ethereal otherworldliness. The Experimental Art Foundation at the Jam Factory was another intriguing art space, where Lynne learned of the earth and body installation and performance work that was going on in Britain, Ireland and other parts of Europe. In 1980 an inheritance gave her a chance to live and study in Great Britain. She wanted to explore, to find meanings, to experience something of the places she had read and dreamed about. The stories of her Grandfather were buried deep in her psyche. There followed years pursuing those instincts, meeting with inspiring people, studying Celtic culture while losing herself in the ‘sacred landscape of my ancestors’ and being part of the emerging feminist goddess movement. Discussing shamanism with Joseph Beuys and talking with Monica Sjoo about body and spirit were energising, exciting.

Lynne lived in Wales and Scotland for four years, connecting with artists producing work exploring Celtic ideas in creative work. In 1983 Lynne worked at the UNESCO World Rock Art Centre in Valcamonica, Italy, collating the work of people studying ancient rock art worldwide. The common elements between symbolic rock carvings in indigenous cultures interested Lynne as a possible point of understanding between European and Indigenous Australians.

‘Katajuta’ Pastel on paper Lynne Sinclair-Wood

After returning to Australia in 1984, Lynne headed to Uluru and the Central Desert, spending a year producing vibrant images of the light and colour of the landscape. The aboriginal women she met spoke of their oneness with the land, giving Lynne a deeper understanding of the importance of place. The artworks she made show “this notion of my body and the earth as one, here within the Australian landscape”. These artworks were exhibited as part of a larger exhibition in London in 1985, and complemented by drawings of sacred sites in Britain.

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Lynne also presented a ritual performance piece using her body, paint powder and fabric, weaving a triple ‘spiral’ pattern of the elements.

topics ranging from Celtic culture, women in Buddhism and Goddess traditions. Also during the 1990s she led tours of ancient sacred places in Ireland and Britain. Lynne’s incredible personal knowledge and enthusiasm lent these trips a deeply satisfying and inspiring edge.

‘Stonehenge’ Pastel on watercolour paper Lynne Sinclair-Wood

Other extraordinary installations included the notable ‘Standing Stones of Callanish’ (see title page), presented at the Adelaide Festival Centre Gallery in 1986. This beautiful exhibition comprised thirteen large vertical pastel drawings representing each stone that makes up the ancient stone circle at Callanish, on the Hebridean island of Lewis. As well, the installation included a large 1.5 metre drawing of the whole complex. The drawings, when individually lit, created a powerful atmosphere within the gallery. During the 1990s Lynne taught Celtic culture and spirituality through workshops and courses, and published a book ‘Creating form from the Mist: the

Wisdom of Women in Celtic Myth and Culture’. She published numerous

‘Ancestral Bones on Callanish’ Pastel on watercolour paper Lynne Sinclair-Wood (this painting refers to Lynne’s experience of the lunar ‘standstill’ on June, 2006.)

Researching spiritual traditions across cultures was Lynne’s life work and greatest passion. Her art reflects this passionate centre, her ability to use colour and symbol to communicate her deep immersion in the worlds of symbol and meanings. Her work is sensitive, delicate and strong and manages to convey a kind of monumental tenderness. They achieve what Lynne had hoped for I think...a powerful expression of womanly spirituality.

Lynne Sinclair-Wood 1950-2011.

articles in journals and anthologies on Women’s Art Register The Bulletin No. 53 Summer 2013

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‘Out There’ Artists Kaye Johnston ‘Out There’ Artists is a group of ten women artists from southern NSW who meet regularly to paint. We are not your usual plein air painters but we paint, draw, photograph, video or sculpt in our various media.

weather is poor there will be some ringing around and last minute decision making. We may stay at a location for more than one week if someone is working on a picture.

The group started in 2006. Most of us had been at TAFE together studying and wanted to continue working from the local landscapes in the Shoalhaven. We had all been inspired by our wonderful teacher Barbara Hilder. Barbara is a practising artist and was exhibiting at a commercial gallery in Sydney. In 2004 our TAFE course finished and the TAFE did not run the follow-on course the next year so we took matters into our own hands and hired Barbara to teach us privately. We got a group of students together and hired out an old Girl Guide Hall for a year so that we could complete our studies. It was during 2005 that we were taken out into the landscape by Barbara and we were hooked. In 2006 I started the group. We have had members leave and others join us but the group has stayed roughly at ten. Members who join have to have had some art education. The group works very well with few rules. I email everyone each week with the name of the location and members email back if they are coming or not. On the morning of the painting day if the

Shoalhaven River

We meet at ten o’clock, have coffee and a chat and then get to work. About 1pm. we have lunch followed by Show & Tell where our paintings and drawings are placed against a tree or post and each of us in turn talk about our work, what we are trying to achieve etc. and we give each other guidance and constructive criticism. Everyone enjoys this part of the day even if our works are not finished. Sometimes members bring other artworks along or we will visit each other’s place and studios for this purpose. The group works extraordinarily well with few hitches. Members have had various careers; there are two ex-art teachers, one woman owned an art supply shop (so she is useful for information re media), one

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woman had been a gallery guide in Adelaide, another is a guide at Bundanon, one woman was an History and English teacher who is happy to check our spelling and grammar and guide us through history. We discuss politics, art exhibitions, give tips on art practices and media and give and get support from each other. We have had two group exhibitions. The first in 2008/9 at a local cafe in Kangaroo Valley and at present we have an exhibition, ‘Process & Place’ at The Shoalhaven Regional Gallery in Nowra. We startled the gallery by requesting a Salon hang as we wanted our artworks grouped by location. The aim of our exhibition was to demonstrate the process from sketch to finished artwork. The group works because it is flexible, supportive, motivating and it helps reduce the isolation artists feel living in a regional area. It has also been interesting to see how individuals have developed and I feel privileged to have witnessed it. We are mostly older women but we take our art seriously. It is not a hobby, something we do to fill in time. We all work in different mediums and one artist creates the most beautiful ceramics inspired by her landscape painting. Another woman draws us while we are working and I have developed a new art practice of photographing Barbie dolls in the landscape.

‘Barbies on the Shoalhaven River’ Photograph Kaye Johnston

The Shoalhaven and Illawarra have some beautiful locations from the coast to the bush. In Huskisson there is a lovely creek and inlet (Moona Moona Creek) which has become a favourite of the group and we have painted and swum there many times. Bass Point in the Illawarra has a basalt quarry with its ensuing industrial scenery and is another interesting place to paint. The creative process is different with all of us. Some sit and paint straight onto canvas (but also creating other art works at home), some draw, create a sketch in gouache then an oil on board or canvas either on site or in the studio, some artworks are more realistic some abstracted or abstract. One artist uses Google maps of the location to create abstract art. This process of creating something, turning a minute sketch into a huge abstract painting for example or the contour of a leaf or insect into a 3D

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sculpture is a challenge and the process of creating never gets any easier. That is why we continue to try I suspect.

‘Children at Minnamurra II’ Oil on Canvas Andrea Lofthouse

My process on site starts with a walk around, looking at the big picture and the small things. I’ll do a couple of sketches, sometimes also a thumbnail sketch to try and get a simplified idea that I want to develop. Then I’ll do a gouache (poster paint) or small oil and later work on a larger one back in the studio sometimes over some months. Sometimes the gouache or the small oil is good enough to exhibit. Sometimes I’m not inspired, or I get side tracked and don’t complete a bigger picture.

It is not a passive endeavour of realistically copying or duplicating something (which a camera, software or photocopier could also do). It is a hard process, learned over many decades, of shifting the real to an abstracted form. Despite the form and style used by the artist, most artwork does this to some degree. It is a great skill to be able to simplify what we see and convert it into an artwork. This is the transformation process. I hope that ‘Out There’ Artists will continue to grow and develop, and continue to create, and enjoy the great outdoors. I often think about Streeton and Roberts and their outdoor painting camps and how they coped with the elements.

If you know of any art related businesses who would like to advertise, please ask them to contact the Register at [email protected] for the charges. Members may advertise in one Bulletin per year free of charge.

As I see it, the challenge of creating art is about problem solving. It is cerebral.

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Summer Art Bazaar : a wholehearted effort in promoting artists in the Hunter. Hunter Arts Network

While labouring to promote artisans, Art

Upon entering Summer Art Bazaar last Saturday 1 December, visitors were welcomed with a festive atmosphere charged with excitement & inspiration.

go through a formal application process

Bazaar creates the ideal platform to educate the community to invest in locally produced high quality visual arts, craft & design: “All participants need to assessed by a panel of Art Professionals in order to participate - this way HAN can guarantee a very high standard”, Leah Fawthrop, President of HAN.

This year marked the tenth anniversary of Art Bazaar which was held in conjunction with Civic Park’s first Art in the Park, attended by Tim Owen. Both events were co-ordinated by non-profit Hunter Arts Network (HAN).

Art

Bazaar

has

developed

a

loyal

following and allows Artisans to exhibit their work outside of a formal gallery. This year the premier art & design marketplace has grown & evolved to increase from only one per year: in July

This latest Art Bazaar has been touted by

HAN & Moray and Agnew Lawyers

many as the biggest & best to date with a

announced

record 118 stalls, which involved 200

arrangement to see the four seasonal Art

artists. "It was a perfect day on Saturday

Bazaars held across the Hunter flourish

with so many beautiful Artisan stalls. It

and grow.

was great to see so many Artists painting and drawing the crowd, making the atmosphere that much more fun”, Leah Fawthrop, President of HAN. The effort put into the day paid off with very successful results, the supportive crowd

their

partnership

The Art Bazaar dates for next year have all been locked in and the first Art Bazaar in 2013 will be held on Sunday 10 March

on

the

grounds

of

Lake

Macquarie Regional Art Gallery.

packed out the park & saw a fantastic

To stay up-to-date with Art Bazaar

day of sales.

information

please

www.fb.com/artbazaarhunter

Women’s Art Register The Bulletin No. 53 Summer 2013

visit

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Autumn Art Bazaar will again be held on the grounds of Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, First St, Booragul on Sunday 10 March from 10am – 3pm Winter Art Bazaar returns on Sunday 9 June from 10am – 3pm at Maitland Regional Art Gallery, High St, Maitland

Spring Art Bazaar will be held on Sunday 8 September from 10am – 3pm at Hunter Valley Gardens Shopping Village Green Summer Art Bazaar will be held on Saturday 7 December from 9am – 3pm at Civic Park, Cnr King & Darby Sts, Newcastle

KILN FOR SALE SCULPTORS, POTTERS, and GLASS ARTISTS do not miss a great opportunity. 8 cubic feet electric kiln with plenty of shelves, automatic pyrometer, running on 2 phase electricity only need separate fuse, rapid climber in temperature, up to 1000 Celsius then goes up to 1250 max. It is a front-loader, easy on your back as it stands on legs. I hate to give it up but it is time for me to choose less physical projects. Sad owner Suzanne. Email me: [email protected] or call me on 03 95984335, mobile 0419591046.

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One Woman’s Art :

Margaret worked on shows including

Margaret Gurney

‘Magic Circle Club’, a children’s show

Margaret Gurney

which moved to the ABC eventually to become ‘Adventure Island’, the ‘Go

One Woman’s Art is an exhibition

Show’ and ‘Kommotion’ that were rock

featuring a lifetime career of work by

shows preceding ‘Countdown’, and

renowned Australian artist Margaret

variety shows ‘The Jimmy Hannan

Gurney.

Show ’ and the ‘Ray Taylor Show’ and

This retrospective shows works

‘Showcase’, a talent quest.

ranging from the 1960s, when

“It was very creative as a graphic artist,

Margaret worked as one of the first

as we were left to do what we liked in

woman Graphic Designers and Art

terms of producing the flip cards and

Directors in the-then male dominated

that gave me great creative

television and advertising industries, to

opportunities.”

2012 and the Australian landscapes for which Margaret is well-known, and an exciting new Kakadu series.

“My move to TV art director at George Patterson’s [advertising agency] was a very exciting progression of my career.

“This is a very emotional exhibition as

In my work there I was involved in

I reflect back on my work and career.

visualising and producing

It brings back many memories of

commercials and again there was a

people and places at different times in

great buzz.”

my life – spanning from days in the TV studio and advertising, to days working in my studio and painting outside in remote locations,” Margaret said.

“Each phase of my creative artistic work has given me new creative directions and challenges - from establishing the Templestowe Arts Centre in the ‘70s, and a move into

“It was very exciting to work in the

education was a new direction, and

industry in those days. Channel 0 was

rewarding to see people benefit from

only nine months old when I started

my work.”

and everybody was enthusiastic about the many live productions we all worked on.”

“A love of drawing and painting has been a natural part of my life from my earliest days. And whilst I have always continued my art practice, it’s during

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the past 15 years I have been working

nationally and internationally. She

as a full time artist”

represented Australia at the

The Kakadu works featured in this exhibition emphasise strong shapes, form and glowing colour whilst capturing the essence of the country. Through this exhibition it is clear Margaret paints with a deep passion.

Florence Biennale in 2009 and has won numerous awards. Born into an artistic family, she is the youngest daughter of Australian war artist, Alex Gurney, creator of the legendary ‘Bluey and Curley’ cartoon.

Margaret has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions both

‘One Woman’s Art’ opens at Kingston Arts Centre Gallery 979 Nepean Highway (Cnr. South Road) Moorabbin February 7th to 28th 2013 Mon- Fri 9.00 to 5.30, Sat 12.00 to 5.00 Contact Margaret Gurney www.gurneyart.com.au Mobile 04171064931 Email [email protected]

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Casting Nets - fibre artists in the ACT Kerry-Anne Cousins Nancy Tingey is the inspiration behind NetWorks - an ongoing project to

connect a group of professional artists with multi-disciplinary practices inspired by concepts and materials relating to nets and networking (NetWorks catalogue introduction 2012). Tingey has spent a lot of time travelling between England and Australia since migrating here in 1971. She now has a studio at the Strathnairn Arts Association in Canberra. Tingey's work is diverse, incorporating drawing, quilt making, felting and fibre construction. Her interest in nets and netting was the result of early travels. In Malta in the 1970s she was intrigued by the net curtains used domestically and later in Kerala in India in 2004 she was interested in the techniques used by fishermen in the hand plying of core rope nets and the patterns they made when laid out on the sand. In working with net making as part of her art practice she grew aware of the contradiction inherent between the apparent fragility of the net and its power of entrapment. Tingey thought nets could act as a metaphorical framework to bring together likeminded artists, their work and ideas.

‘Shadow over my brain’ Cotton, ink, net Nancy Tingey

In 2009 Valerie Kirk, head of the textile workshop at the Australian National University School of Art, and Sharon Peoples, an academic and textile artist, held a workshop for twenty net workers. From this initial gathering the group has grown, with fruitful connections having been made with other artists overseas. NetWorks has held exhibitions both in Canberra and overseas at Cumbria University in the UK in 2010 and at a conference in Turku, Finland in October 2011. In August/September 2012 members of Networks Australia, held an exhibition at the Belconnen Arts Centre in Canberra. The artists in this exhibition, while working within the thematic framework of the exhibition, made work that was very individual. It engaged the

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of natural resources. Rosina Wainwright and Katherine White gave concrete expression to this concept. Wainwright in her work called ‘A long slow dying’ entangled stuffed toys in the coils of a net and White in ‘Shark Nets’ wove images of figures onto the mesh recycled from orange bags. She asked the question “What sea life is trapped by shark nets just so we can feel safe?” Beverley Moxon replicated the beautiful forms of actual fish traps in bamboo rings held together by looped fibres. However Moxon's small traps were environmentally sustainable in contrast to the indiscriminating dragnet lines ‘Entrapment’ Polyester Organza Marli Popple

visitor not only on a visual level but in a meaningful way as it dealt with contemporary issues of human relationships and environmental damage that is being caused by thoughtless overuse of the world's resources. It also reinforced the view that the ties that bind together networks of fibres can also act as metaphors for our connections to ourselves and others in the wider world. The Belconnen Arts Centre exhibition involved 18 artists. Marli Popple is well known for her expertise in the Shibori technique. Her work in the exhibition called ‘Entrapment’ consisted of three long hanging columns of twisted and pleated transparent organza. It expressed her concern for the depletion of fish stocks and the unsustainable use

‘Fyke-Nets’ Waxed threads, bamboo hoops, two nets Beverley Moxon

used by fishing trawlers. Monique van Nieuwland's work ‘Ocean Forest’ also explored this theme in her beautiful

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damask wall hanging. Into the fabric van Nieuwland wove in fishing line images of underwater plants from the underwater forests at risk from dragnet fishing.

of the movement of water. Aly de Groot also made reference to the creatures of the deep with her wonderful striped jelly fish made from recycled wire. These small fibre sculptures were witty and fun. Catherine Dabron called her work ‘Life, The Universe and Everything’ and through her sensitive ink and pastel drawings examined the connectedness of the spiritual and corporal world. Beverley Thompson's fibre panels patterned with tiny stitches conjured up connections between the minute insect larvae and the majestic land forms at Mungo National Park. Gabriella Hegyes' works are complicated fretwork patterns cut from images taken from a book titled ‘The Plant Compendium’. These patterns referenced the intriguing devices set by these plants to entrap insects.

‘Ocean Forest’ Handwoven pick up damask, cotton/linen warp and hand dyed fishing line weft Monique van Nieuwland

Wendy Dodd, Valerie Kirk, and Catherine Dabron all took a more ambivalent view of nets. Dodd in her work called ‘Bird Net 2’ was interested in the physicality of nets - their positive and negative spaces working for good as well as causing harm. Valerie Kirk used fish and nets in her work as personal metaphors for the freedom to move between places avoiding the ''nets'' that hamper this freedom. Kirk works in tapestry and her subtly coloured fish swam enticingly against an indigo and white coloured background suggestive

Barbara Dawson's crocheted and knitted baskets linked domestic handicrafts to the wider family relationships of daughter, wife and mother. This was a theme also explored by Lynne Johnson in her two granny rugs made from a combination of techniques and materials. Liz Jeneid's concertina folded book and prints explored her personal journey of different branches of the road to take or ignore. Ola Robertson saw networks also in a personal way finding parallels in the networks of veins, arteries and capillaries that make up our human body. This idea was also cleverly explored in ‘Breathe’ a work by Dianne Libke that drew attention to the network of bodily systems that sustain our lives.

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Jenny Manning's intricate drawing called ‘Small Knots’ gave visual form to the concept of the interdependence of each element of a strong network structure. What happens when things do unravel was poignantly illustrated by Nancy Tingey's work simply called ‘A ravelled life’. The work included a jumper that was mostly unravelled. It referred to the illness of the artist's husband whose life is gradually becoming unravelled as he battles with Parkinson's disease -a very poignant and somehow telling metaphor for the disintegration of a constructed familiar world into an unknown future. ‘Tissue Skin 2’ Paper, dye, thread Ola Robertson

‘Plump or Familiar Vessels’ Copper wire, verdigris Barbara Dawson

The exhibition NetWorks was held at the Belconnen Arts Centre in Canberra from 17 August - 2 September 2012.The majority of the work from this exhibition was also shown at The Fibre Forum held at Geelong in October 2012. The artists taking part were Catherine Dabron, Barbara Dawson, Wendy Dodd, Aly de Groot, Gabriella Hegyes, Liz Jeneid, Lynne Johnson, Valerie Kirk, Dianne Libke, Jenny Manning, Beverley Moxon, Marli Popple, Ola Robertson, Beverley Thomas, Nancy Tingey, Monique van Nieuwland, Rosina Wainwright, and Katherine White. Further information can be found on Nancy Tingey's webpage www.nancytingey.net and the site for NetWorks networksaustralia.blogspot.com

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Opportunities

What’s On

Doug Moran Portrait Prize The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize is an annual Australian portrait prize founded by Doug Moran in 1988. It is the richest portrait prize in the world with $150,000 awarded to the winner and $10,000 awarded to the runner-up. The aim of the competition is to promote contemporary Australian portraiture and as such, both the artist and their subject must be an Australian citizen or resident for at least one year before the entry closing date.

Workshops Introduction to Papermaking. Tutor: Gail Stiffe Topics covered will include how to prepare recycled paper pulp, how to couch sheets of paper, press and dry them. Basic decorative techniques will also be covered. Tea and coffee provided, BYO lunch Fee: $75 members, non-members $85. Sunday 7 April 10am to 4pm. See http://papermakers.org.au/workshops.ht ml to book and for more information.

However, it is not a requirement the artist or the subject be well known. Portraits that reveal a deep connection between the artist and their subject are well received by the judges.

Karen Hanmer's Pyramid Power

For more information please visit http://moranprizes2012.com.au/about-us/

read page by page or it can be arranged

Flaxart Studios Flaxart International Residency programme facilitates artists living and working in the city for a period of one or two months. Residents are given a studio space accommodation and a subsistence stipend of £500 per month. Residents have access to the Flaxart workshop and facilities including wireless broadband. http://www.flaxartstudios.com/

Tutor: Gail Stiffe The structure based on triangles, squares and hexagons can function as a traditional codex, held in the hand and sculpturally as a pyramid or double pyramids. Tea and coffee provided, BYO lunch Fee: $75 members, non-members $85 Sunday 7 April 10am to 4pm. See http://papermakers.org.au/workshoops.ht ml to book and for more information.

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Exhibitions A selection from around the country. Trocadero Art Space – Melbourne, Vic. Level 1, 119 Hopkins Street, Footscray 3011. Wed-Sat 11.00 to 5.00. Feb 6 to 23 Gallery 1: 448C: Legally Repulsive Gallery 2: Female Dialogues by Michelle Cox. Feb 27 to March 16 Gallery 1: Catherine Clover and Clyde McGill. Gallery 2: Jahnne Pasco-White. BREENSPACE – Sydney, NSW. Level 3, 17-19 Alberta Street, Sydney 2000. Wed-Fri 11.00 to 6.00, Sat 11.00 to 5.00. To Feb 16 Burying Time – Mira Gojak, Caroline Rothwell and Emma White. Feb 22 to March 23 Sally Smart. Redland Art Gallery-Brisbane, Qld. Capalaba Place, Noeleen Street, Capalaba 4157. Mon-Tues, Fri 8.30 to 5.00, Wed 9.00 to 5.00, Thurs 8.30 to 7.30, Sat 9.00 to 4.00. Feb 7 to March 28 Collection and Place: A Decade On – Redland Art Gallery celebrates 10 years. Melody Smith Gallery-Perth, WA. 69 Oats Street, Carlisle 6101. Tues-Sat 12.00 to 5.00. Feb 6 to 23 Alchemy, Ingredients of a Woman – Gemma Ben-Ary, Olga Cironis, Mandy Harwood, Katie Martin, Rizzy, Rose Skinner, Melody Smith, Sarah Taylor and Natalie Williams.

The Brooch Show 2013 Contemporary artists are invited to submit up to 4 brooches (small wearable artworks) for exhibition (must not exceed 10cmx5cm overall). The Brooch Show is an initiative of the Contemporary Art Society of Victoria Inc. (CAS). The Brooch Show showcases small wearable artworks by both established and emerging contemporary artists and offers all participating artists the opportunity gain exposure for their art at low entry cost ($5 per work). By having a theme of small wearable artworks, artists have an opportunity to submit works via Australia Post. Exhibition on show: Fitzroy: 2 May to the 29 June 2013 South Yarra: 2 July - 30 August 2013 See website for all details & online entry form. www.contemporaryartsociety.org.au

Women’s Art Register The Bulletin No. 53 Summer 2013

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new artworks by Lea Kannar Feb 21st – Mar 4th 2013 Opening night Thursday 21 February 6-8pm 281 Clarence Street Sydney 2000 Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 10–6, Sat 11–5 www.gaffa.com.au

‘Coding the Future IV’ etching, aquatint, chine collé and silkscreen 50 x 77cm Women’s Art Register The Bulletin No. 53 Summer 2013

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Women’s Art Register The Bulletin No. 53 Summer 2013