It is great to have New Year’s resolutions and goals for the future. We will be holding a New Years Art Therapy and Mindfulness Workshopon January 7, which will enable you the time to look at your goals for the year ahead and enable you to see how you would like to achieve them.
In this workshop we will explore the year ahead with the use of art therapy, then learn mindfulness and relaxation techniques to help maintain equanimity, increase joy and gratitude in our lives
No artistic ability is needed as the art is an expression of your thoughts and feelings through colour, shapes and symbols using various art mediums. Some of the mediums we will use are collage, acrylic paints, and pastels.
Through the creative process we will look at where you are now, any new directions you would like to take, which in turn can bring new insights and strategies for living. These art processes give you a chance to experiment with changes you may like to make in 2016 before trying them out in real life.
Sometimes we may really want to try something new, but there are blocks or things stopping us from trying (fear, anxiety, perfectionism, money); the art therapy can look at these and help problem solve so you can move forward if you choose to.
It is for self exploration, as no-one else can interpret your artwork, only you know what you think and feel and express through the art. There is the opportunity to share and gain new understanding through the verbal process if you choose to.
We are very fortunate to have Adrian Stojkovich joining us at MAC and presenting our new drawing course.
Adrian is as endearing in real life as his work. He carries a youthful energy, seemingly swaggering on the edge of the precipice of creative potentiality he is about to dive into. His work, traced with cool, skilled abandon is undergird by a sound humanity and is about to fall into something wonderful.
Based in Melbourne, Adrian completed his Bachelor of Fine Art with Honours in 2009, and his Masters of Fine Art in 2013 at the Victorian College of the Arts. His recent show at Paradise Hills in Richmond was made up of room of large abstract works and a room of dead fish paintings. He can handle either style well, demonstrating that he is an artist and painter who has taken the time to explore his craft at a high technical level. The work is infused with subtle passion but maintains the clarity to steer his little project whichever way he chooses.
Adrian’s abstract work comprises hovering planes of coloured marks on a consistent pale, or dark, or umber background. The marks vary in size and slightly in tone, diffusing beneath layers of thin paint, therefore creating several planes. Despite being on a flat, consistent background, the marks drift off into pockets of infinity. Like little galaxies or the infinite suggested by certain repetitive patterns. These paintings aspire for a greater harmony, a greater resolution, a sense that there is or could be an infinite. The colours Adrain uses are slightly cool and acid, slightly sour yellows and greens, supported by pastels and more mellow cool colours. The colour combinations are fresh enough to keep the whole project interesting yet still harmonise. Abstraction at this end of its historical passage is difficult to do well and Adrian passes it off successfully.
Contrasting these abstract works are the dead fish, Fish Tondo painting, two of which he also presented at Paradise Hills. Painted on large circular canvases, the fish paintings maintain an element of abstraction in the big sweeping forms of fish bodies in glass bowls. Up close, they erupt into the most beautiful colours gently laced with glazing. If for a moment you can avoid seeing the fish as you stand back, they are big sweeping abstracts and up close, masterly plays of raw colour. But they are fish, dead and dumped into a bowl for someone’s consumption or aesthetic amusement. There is a fishy, slimy look to the water they are in, with bubbles hovering around the gill area. They undoubtedly reference the Dutch Golden Age and its genre of dead fish paintings. The works speak of life, survival, death and mortality. Painting is a trade for Adrian, from recent abstraction to 17th century Dutch painting, he knows that trade.
He also knows installation and representation. He created a fascinating work in 2014 whereby he rebuilt from historical photographs, the Mercedes Benz within which Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza was assassinated in 1980. An insightful investigation of popular media, it hovers between the same banal pop appropriation we have become accustomed to in the last three generations and the other tired contemporary art influence, Duchamp’s found object. But it is not the original object and its role as a facsimile seems to be very tentative. The power of the work is in its materiality and absences. It describes severe violence that we are all familiar with from our own current news reports. It describes the destruction of the impact of a rocket propelled grenade on a car. We know it is not the real deal but the materials, charred, torn and burned are the same, not just a copy. There is something real about the object we see. The knowledge that lives were lost is also very real. The absence of bodies in the installation makes the suggestion of death more relevant. The work jolts out from the plethora of violent images we see every day, somehow adding gravitas back to the humanity, or lack of humanity of the those original images. It recontextualises the decontextualised pop image into a new discourse of humanity and mortality.
Adrian is a solid young artist who knows his craft as a painter and handles the complexities of contemporary art and representation well. He has built up a sound base early in his career with wonderful results. Now what remains is to see what Adrian will do next.
Naked Maja, Adrian Stojkovich, Oil on canvas , 2009
During this six-week course, Adrian will introduce strategies and techniques for drawing from Still Life. This course will assist beginners in developing fundamental drawing techniques. It is also well suited to people with some drawing experience who want to re-establish the foundations of their practice. Read more and enrol here.
Mental health touches many of us, our loved ones, and is particularly prevalent among creative people. You don’t need to look very hard to find an artist who was affected by mental illness; Van Gogh, Gauguin and Rothko, who suffered from bouts of debilitating depression; Munch’s anxiety and hallucinations; Michelangelo’s underlying melancholia, just to name a few.
I believe that a creative outlet plays an important part of a life touched by mental illness. The entire spectrum of emotion can be acknowledged and celebrated, because it is OK to feel sad, and happy, and everything in between. I myself am extremely thankful for these artists, as well as the many creative people around me who continue to express themselves.
Headspace Hawthorn is celebrating Mental Health Week 2015 with an art exhibition dedicated to young people’s hopes and dreams for the future. MAC, along with headspace would like to invite our young artists to enter artwork that reflects this theme and join in this celebration of creativity.
The event is open to 12 to 25 year olds and entry is free. Three artists will WIN a $200 JB-HI-FI voucher and a NGV Membership. You can submit your entry by email; please include your full name, mobile number, medium-size photo of your artwork and a brief description before Thursday 8th October to chloe.godau@headspacehawthorn.org.au.
When: Thursday 8th October, 6 pm to 9 pm
Where: Dream Catcher Art Exhibition at Appleton Street Studios, 53 Appleton St, Richmond VIC 3121, Australia
After what seemed like (literally) an ice age, spring is finally here, bringing with it a new creative enthusiasm that infects many people. This can be a time of growth, re-birth and creation. Nothing beats sighting the first buds, then within the blink of an eye pink blossom trees are lining our suburb streets and daffodils are brightening up our parks.
This month Carolyn Howells, our Floristy and Art Therapy teacher, shares why spring is significant to her. Thank you Carolyn!
Carolyn Howells, 2015
Is spring an inspirational time of year for you?
I love spring, where the days are getting longer and the weather is warmer (mostly) and all the bulbs begin to flower. I find creative ideas grow and expand and I am inspired to get into the garden and the studio to paint, create flower designs, write workshops and put those ideas that have hibernated in the winter into action.
What are your favourite flowers during this season?
My favourite flowers during spring are, daffodils, I especially love the double daffodils, they are stunning with their pale yellow outside petals and bright yellow inner petals, jonquils, iris especially the flag iris, the vibrant coloured tulips, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, ranunculus, stock, and freesias – especially the ones growing wild. In spring the fragrance of the flowers is exceptional. I also love to watch the trees get buds in late winter in preparation for blooming and then watch the beautiful fragile flower blossom in spring. The rhododendron is amazing too; the colours range from deep burgundy, to hot pink and pale pink.
Which flowers typically make up a spring flower arrangement?
Carolyn Howells
Spring is one of the best seasons for mixed posies of hyacinths, tulips, iris, erlicheer, roses, stock, freesias and rhododendron for both the foliage and the flower.
The visual impact with all the textures is amazing and they smell delicious.
Art therapy – what does spring mean for you?
Carolyn’s Floral Design class
Art Therapy in spring can vary from year to year depending on what is happening in my life. This year I find I have more energy to put things into action, especially around wellbeing. I love to walk on the beach, practice my mindfulness, get out in my garden and pick straight from the veggie patch to make healthy salads for my family. I have kept an art journal over winter with design plans for my garden and now I can finally get out there and start redesigning. I am so inspired by the flowers in spring and love coming up with new ideas and designs to do both in flower design and my art. I am in the process of updating an art therapy based goal and action board, with all my ideas coming to life as change and growth happen this spring.
Greece has held a special place in my imagination since taking Art History classes at university ten years ago. I have spent a decade dreaming about the day I would finally get to see and touch the ancient artworks and buildings that inspired innumerous artists over the centuries. The ancient Greek’s ability to envision, craft, construct and incorporate such beautiful buildings and artworks into the fabric of their society is awe inspiring. For years I longed to walk through the Ancient Agora hoping to feel even the slightest glimmer of the vibrant energy that once thrummed along its dusty avenues.
After years of dreaming, I finally got to go to Athens in June. I was pumped with excitement. The crazy taxi-driver who ferried us from the airport to our dinky apartment, at 177kph with one hand on the wheel, the other casually texting, only added to my impatience to get out there and see it all!
Whilst navigating Athens’ one-way streets lined with high-rise apartments, our driver informed us that we were staying in an area renowned for its Anarchist residents. Apparently our little neighbourhood was rife with political anarchistic activism. To me, the presence of anarchism seemed like such an 80’s punk-rock cliché; but as I looked out of the taxi windows, I understood why it had its place in Athens. I was overcome by the amount of derelict buildings that only a few short years ago had been bustling with business and activity.
Once we had settled into our apartment, my partner and I explored the streets. We wanted to do more than just see the effects of economic depression, we wanted to understand it. Despite all of the media coverage about the Greek economic crisis, we had not imagined what austerity would actually look like. We certainly had not anticipated that it would become a significant part of our trip.
Kallidromiou Athens, Greece Fenja Shaw 2015
As we walked, we counted nine out of every ten shops were closed, seemingly shut-down over night. Gazing into the grimy windows of some stores, it appeared as though the owners had literally thrown whatever stock they had into boxes and hastily pulled the shutters down. Some stores still had empty food containers and coffee cups left on the countertops. It was sad. Incredibly sad.
It occurred to me that I was a tourist of Greece’s ancient and modern ruins. A witness to the despair and loss that coursed through its concrete veins.
Over our three-day stay we walked everywhere, taking in the city vibe and absorbing the spirit of the Athenians. We joined throngs of protesters, not understanding their words but definitely grasping their meaning. We spoke with locals and asked how they felt about their city and the future of their country. Their responses varied but a deeply held pride in their nation was a constant. One man told us “You reap what you sow. And we Greeks, we haven’t been sowing”.
At first we were surprised to see some of the ancient sculptures fenced in by wire and mesh. However, the more we looked, the more cost-cutting we saw. Much of the public art that had once contributed to the feeling and culture of Athens is now hidden behind wire fencing and shade cloth. There simply is no money available to maintain public spaces or art.
Panepistimio Athens, Greece Fenja Shaw 2015
In addition to the closed and shuttered stores, graffiti litters the streets and buildings. Athens has had a vibrant street art scene for years however nowadays, a noticeable amount of the graffiti has a very deliberate anti-austerity message. Since returning home, I have been reading about the influence the austerity measures have had upon Greek artists. One article described how the art scene in Athens is thriving, although not making money. Artists from other European countries are moving to the city because of cheap studio rents, inexpensive living costs and an intensely stimulating political environment. Both sides of the Greek economic debate are represented in artworks on walls, on banknotes, in trains as well as in the galleries.
‘Then they used tanks. Now they use banks’. Mural and photograph by Cacao RocksStack of euros depicted as a coffin. Photograph: Socrates Baltagiannis/dpa/Corbis
Although I went to Athens with romantic ideas of standing amongst ancient ruins, I found soaking up the spirit of the modern city to be more enchanting and inspiring. The Greek’s passion and resilience in spite of their despair attested to their cultural and national pride that has survived for millennia. If you are thinking of visiting Greece, I encourage you to spend time away from the tourist attractions and hotels. The rich and memorable experiences are to be had on the street.
Alfred Felton migrated to Australia from England in 1853, and lived in Melbourne as a successful businessman. He died in 1904 and left £480,000 in trust to be used for charities and for purchasing artworks for the National Gallery of Victoria.
Portrait of Arthur Felton
The combined worth of the artworks bought by the bequest is in excess of $2,000,000,000, with masterpieces by Rembrandt, Monet, and Pollock among many others in the collection. Without Felton’s bequest, the National Gallery of Victoria would not be as reputable in the international art community as it is today.
Due to Felton’s generosity, the state of Victoria is at the forefront of arts and craft. Part of his bequest has a focus on disadvantaged women and children, along with educating young children. Groups can apply to the bequest for funding to assist with charitable works in this field.
Researching Arthur Felton’s impact on the arts and Victoria
Caroline Johnston is a year 12 student from Samaritan College, Whyalla, South Australia. As part of the SACE, she is required to complete a Research Project. She has chosen to research the Victorian philanthropist, and her distant relative, Alfred Felton and the bequest he left to the state of Victoria.
The question she is posing is ‘How does Alfred Felton’s bequest continue to influence Victoria’s artistic community?’ Caroline needs a number of Victorian artists of a variety of ages to help her complete the short survey below to help her explore this question and understand if Arthur Felton’s philanthropy has had an impact on the Victorian art community.
Marco’s Painting Course in December was three days of intense energy between painters and canvas. This concentrated effort is not often exercised in our busy lives and the end results were acute, new technical skills and a finished work after only three days of painting.
The students who attended had varied painting skills; some with little knowledge at all. As you can see from the finished pieces of work below, they completed sensitive paintings with varied tone and interesting compositions. We are very happy with these pieces and proud that such detail was achieved over a short amount of time. It normally takes our students at least few weeks to complete a painting of this standard in our normal classes with two and a half contact hours per week.
We have introduced another intensive art class – drawing with Hilmi Baskurt, which runs for three days over the Labour Day weekend in March. This is a great opportunity to focus and refine drawing skills over three intensive days. You can find out more here.
MAC teacher, Marco Corsini, is currently exhibiting his latest body of work – Homecoming – at 314 Gallery in Richmond.
Marco Corsini, A kind of homecoming, 2014, Oil on linen, 120 cm. x 120 cm.
This is Marco’s seventh solo exhibition and incorporates drawings and paintings from the last few years.
Marco shares his journey towards what he sees and feels as home through his works and has “used painting to contemplate the world around [him] and what it is that gives [him] a sense of moving towards home or the place [he] belongs.” You can read more about Marco’s process in his artist statement here. To view Marco’s complete collection, visit his website marcocorsini.com.
A silent online auction coincides with the exhibition being presented at Gallery 314. You can find out more information and place bids here: http://www.32auctions.com/homecoming.
Macro invites you to join him on the final day of his exhibition, Sunday 21 for his Exhibition Party. Meet the artist and join the buzz of the final hours of the silent auction.
Exhibition details
Date: Tuesday 16th – Sunday 21st December, Gallery 314, 314 Church Street Richmond.
Hours: 12.00 pm – 6.30 pm
Exhibition Party: Sunday December 21st, 3 pm – 5 pm
Carla Murray, one of MAC’s former students, is among 12 other Melbourne Polytechnic Visual Arts Painting graduates exhibiting their entire year’s work this month.
The group exhibition, entitled Introspectives, is primarily painting focused, with some drawing, printmaking and mixed media works.
The graduates also had the responsibility of organising the exhibition completely; from the curatorial process to promoting the event.
Carla Murray with her painting Wimmerascape 1
Carla attended Melbourne Art Class for a number of semesters and then moved on to study art at VCA, and is now completing a Diploma of Visual Arts – Painting with Melbourne Polytechnic.
Carla explored abstraction this year, and her bold works really stand out in the exhibition. Listening to her process was fascinating; she traced Google maps of her home town, Dimboola in the Wimmera region, then transferred these drawings onto the canvas and drew extra lines and patterns intuitively.
She then painted the different lines and shapes and the finished piece somewhat resembles an organic aerial map, with many shapes open to interpretation.
Carla created three other works in the same way, using greens, browns and whites.
Carla Murray Feelings of Home series
This limited palette gives these works a different feeling to the map-like paintings; like you are underwater in the cool shade when viewing them. You could also almost make out some of the white patterns to resemble bones.
It was encouraging listening to the viewers of Carla’s paintings interpret the different shapes and apply their feelings to each piece; it is exciting when abstraction works and creates a dialogue between the viewer and the image.
Introspectives will run for one week from October 24 to 30 and is well worth a visit to see what young artists are producing.
Details of the event:
Where: Melbourne Polytechnic’s new Inner Space Gallery. The gallery is located near the corner of High and Chapel Streets in Prahran.
Tony Irving, Dutch Perspective 2014 oil on linen 92 x 122 cm
Tony Irving will be speaking at Enderby Studio Art Program next Tuesday. A Melbourne-based artist, Tony’s figurative work often originates from everyday life and contains playful narrative nuances. The work demonstrates a mastery of colour and composition, borrowing from the great painting techniques of the past to create relevant work for our time. You can find out more about Tony at http://tonyirvingartist.com.
Mental health touches many of us, our loved ones, and is particularly prevalent among creative people. You don’t need to look very hard to find an artist who was affected by mental illness; Van Gogh, Gauguin and Rothko, who suffered from bouts of debilitating depression; Munch’s anxiety and hallucinations; Michelangelo’s underlying melancholia, just to name a few.
