New artist takes Ficifiolia prize
In Drouin each year the Ficifolia Festival is timed to celebrate the flowering of the Ficifolia trees in the town’s streets.
As part of the festival it also has a vibrant art show organized by the Baw Baw Arts Alliance (BBAA).
For the past four years the art show has been held in the Drouin Football Club Rooms in a partnership with the Baw Baw Arts Alliance.
The sixth year of Baw Baw Arts Alliance’s coordination of the art show makes this a true community partnership and a unique way to showcase the fine facilities of the Drouin Football Club Rooms.
The 2018 Ficifolia Art Show lived up to its reputation of being one of the best regional art shows in Victoria with a huge range of artworks in painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, sculpture, ceramics, textiles, woodcraft and fibre art.
While many of the artists on show have exhibited previously, a fresh new artist Dani Till won the J B Cuthbertson Award for best exhibit in the show.
Dani has experienced enormous success in her limited time as a painter. She took up a paintbrush to try her hand at producing some paintings for the bare walls of her family’s newly renovated home only six months ago.
Her win was for one of the many incredibly strongly coloured, large paintings that are currently winning her accolades.
Dani speaks of loving texture and bright bold colours often applied with a broad palette knife. Her latest work can be seen at the Station Gallery in Yarragon during March. This will be a ‘must see’ exhibition from a new artist with a very bright future.
Margaret Koopmans won the popular vote for her wonderful watercolour of a Ficifolia blossom.
For more information about winners and their artwork visit the website http://www.bawbawartsalliance.org.au.
Fresh from the Ficifolia Art Show members of the Baw Baw Arts Alliance turned around to take delivery of a printing press which is now installed at the Trafalgar Railway Station Artspaces.
The printing press was a generous donation from Belinda Barnes to the Baw Baw Arts Alliance.
The management committee of the Arts Alliance organised for the refurbishment of the press. Thanks to printer Stephen Twohig, it has undergone a complete transformation and is now available for use by members of the Arts’ organisation.
Mixed media and drawing teacher Alison Bain was at the railway station to assist with its installation and is excited about the potential.
Alison will be using this in some of her mixed media and drawing classes which take place on Tuesdays from 10am to 2.30pm.
Coming up in May are some very exciting workshops for Creative Gippsland’s programme, Come and Play all of May.
Workshops inclue needle felting, felting with international felter Catherine O’Leary, glass engraving with local glass artist Peter Cummings, embossing with a Collagraphic Plate with teacher and artist Alison Bain, a metal and wire ‘taster’ by well-known metal and bead artist Kay Lancashire and a children’s programme called ‘Glue Gun for Fun’.
These will take place in the Artspaces at Trafalgar Railway Station during May. More details can be found on the website http://www.bawbawartsalliance.org.au and https://creativegippsland.com.au.