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studio la primitive
arts zine issue 10 May 2015
EDITOR
Robyn Stanton Werkhoven
CONTRIBUTORS
Roger McFarlane Max Howe
Peter Gardiner Carlin McLellan
Margaret McBride Bastion Fox Phelan
Jane Calthorpe Brad Evans
Lorraine Fildes Eric Werkhoven
Nigel Nerd David Graham
Timeless Textiles Robyn Werkhoven
studio la primitive slp
Front Cover: Dreamer - Carrara marble with bronze inlay
Roger McFarlane © 2015
Above: Studies Series - oil on card H10 x W 6 cm Peter Gardiner © 2015
Please do not copy articles in this magazine without written permission
of the Editor. Copyright © 2014 Studio La Primitive, All rights reserved.
Issue 10 - May 2015 2
INDEX Index…………………………………………………… 3
Editorial………………………..Robyn Werkhoven 4
Studio La Primitive Antics……E&R Werkhoven 5
Poem…………………………..Eric Werkhoven 6 - 7
Featured Artist……………… Roger McFarlane 8 - 21
Poem ………………………….David Graham 22 - 23
Featured Artist ……………… Peter Gardiner 26 - 45
Short Story……………………Max Howe 46 - 47
Featured Artist……………… Margaret McBride 48 - 61
Poems……………………….. Carlin McLellan 62 - 63
Poem………………………….Carlin McLellan
Bastion Fox Phelan 64 - 65
Constable Country………... Lorraine Fildes 66 - 79
Poem………………………….Brad Evans 80 - 81
Not News……………………..Nigel Nerd 82 - 83
Timeless Textiles……………..Anne Kempton 84 - 88
Art News………………………… ……………… 89 - 99
Issue 10 - May 2015 3
Day at the Beach - E&R Werkhoven © 2015
Acrylic on canvas H90 x W60cms
EDITORIAL Greetings to all our ARTS ZINE readers .
The May / June issue 10 of ARTS ZINE features interviews with nationally and internationally recognised sculptor Roger
McFarlane , painter Peter Gardiner and ceramic / sculptor Doctor Margaret McBride.
Lorraine Fildes travel writer and photographer visits Constable Country, allowing us to see the original painted landscapes
and juxtaposing them to the present day rural scenes.
A new satirical column starts this month, introducing Nigel Nerd , International Artistic Journalist joins our team.
Don’t miss reading our new essays, poetry and art news.
The ARTS ZINE features professional Hunter Valley, national and international visual artists poets and writers, glimpses
into their world of art and their creative processes.
Submissions welcomed, we would love to have your words and art works in future editions in 2015.
Email: [email protected]
Regards - your editor Robyn Werkhoven
Issue 10 - May 2015 4
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STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE (C)2015 - ANTICS by E&R Werkhoven collaborative drawings www.studiolaprimitive.net
Issue 10 - May 2015 5
LOVE SONG - Eric Werkhoven
Love is an inexhaustible force.
Love is the struggle that ties us together.
An ever widening view, sweeping everything in its wake.
Love will endure all the superficial changes.
We have been there, we have also done that.
Grown up to remember many of the memorable.
The mind must process love to be the most essential ingredient.
These instances are a part of the Universe.
These instances are a part of our family and our friends.
But above all, we must continue to adorn our partner with nice gifts,
from where ever we find these petite packages,
wrapped up and given a satin bow.
Issue 10 - May 2015 6
Words of adornment to give the spirit wings to fly with.
Words to help us cross over these difficult passages.
Stepping stones in the garden, leading up to the house.
Long sounding chimes, which create an enormous distance.
From each moment love will have a prime position:
For the birds to flutter towards
For the grasses to whisper among themselves
For the light to fracture in so many beautiful colours.
And you are there to high light my otherwise lonely existence.
Love is indeed an inexhaustible force.
- Eric Werkhoven © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 7
ROGER
McFARLANE
Issue 10 - May 2015 8
ROGER MCFARLANE - SCULPTOR
“I was born in Newcastle NSW Australia in 1948, I attended a small public primary school at Teralba on Lake
Macquarie. I was fortunate that reading came naturally to me. We were a family of readers, and read across
a wide range of subjects and genres. After exhausting the small and meagre library at school I started read-
ing books from the mobile Library, the ‘Book Mobile’. After working through the children’s section I would
borrow my mother’s library card so as to get access to the adult section. It was there I discovered books on
Archaeology, the photos and descriptions of long lost sculptures in Stone and Bronze totally fascinated me.
That the work of sculptors would still be around many thousands of years later was an awesome concept. It
was a type of immortality that one’s work would live on long after the civilisation that had given rise to the
sculpture being created had all but vanished.
My mother painted, although not particularly well, she did however paint with great enthusiasm. Art was
regularly discussed in the family home but it was never seen as career option. I remember as a child around
11 years old during the late 1950’s visiting with my parents an exhibition of Charcoal Drawings illustrating the
direct aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima. The exhibition was at the War Memorial Cultural Centre
Newcastle, I still remember clearly the drawing and the powerful effect they had. It was an early introduction
to the impact that art can have.”
Opposite: ‘Rosapearl’ - Rosa Portugal marble, Imperial red granite base, height 170cm.
Issue 10 - May 2015 9
‘Bather’ bronze with
patina on travertine base.
H91 x W45 x D35cm
Roger McFarlane © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 10
“At high school boys studied woodwork, metalwork and technical drawing, so as to get a trade. While the
girls studied home economics, sewing, cooking and art. Becoming an artist was never a serious option, you
had to have a trade. As it turned out I was no scholar so I did not qualify to get an apprenticeship, so at the
age of sixteen I went to sea as a deck boy on a merchant ship carrying coal and iron ore between various
ports around Australia, I also shipped out in New Zealand for a while also . The time at sea was formative,
as I had to stand on my own two feet, a ship at sea is an island; so you had to learn to coexist with a variety
of personalities. The ships also had good libraries on board with an incredibly eclectic range of titles and
authors. I consider this sea time as adding to my education.
At the age of 19 I headed off to London to avoid the call up for national service, and potentially the Vietnam
War. I married my then girlfriend Sandra in London, we had arranged to meet up in London as her parents
were not too keen on her marrying this seaman who only turned up infrequently while his ship was in port.
My daughter Meg loves to tell her friends that I was a draft dodger who eloped to London so as to get
married.
The three years spent working in England, Scotland and Switzerland were exciting. As I believe that you
see the world differently when you wake up each day in a foreign country.
Each day is an adventure, and you learn to enjoy the difference, not needing everything to be the same and
as comfortable as it is at home.”
Issue 10 - May 2015 11
Sitting Pretty
Bronze with patina
H32 x W22 x D12cm
Roger McFarlane © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 12
“The Australian working holiday in Europe gave me access to the grand cathedrals of Europe with the great
sculpted tombs by the masters. Visits to the great museums of Western Europe and Russia all served to fire
my imagination. I was inspired by the dedication it took to achieve a quality result, you could tell that the
great artists had the fire in the belly to rise above the mundane. The artists had mastery of their materials
and dedication to their particular art. Although the historical styles are considered dated, and out of fashion
they have a feeling of gravitas and a presence about them which ensures that they would endure the trendy
changes and fads that flourish in the art world.
Upon returning to Australia after almost three years abroad, my draft dodging caught up to me. I was given
the choice of, going to Jail, Joining the army, or joining the Civilian Military Force (CMF). I elected to join the
CMF and was with the 113th Light Anti-Aircraft Gunners stationed at Fort Scratchley at Newcastle. Being a
weekend warrior was not too onerous, and I made some good friends and had some interesting
experiences. However the officials decided after almost 12 months that they did not want me, so I was off
the hook.
After some nondescript jobs I was unemployed in 1975 and I knew that I needed an education. I started a
Technical College course in ‘Commerce (Accountancy Procedures)’ so became a Cost accountant/ Office
Manager working for several large corporations. The major change came when I joined forces with my
brother Jim in 1979, Jim had a sheet metal business. He had the trade’s background and I had the financial
background. We built the company up to being a high tech manufacturer of mining machinery and industrial
dust and fume extraction systems.”
Issue 10 - May 2015 13
Precious Pear
Belgium black marble
H60 x W30 x D30cm
Roger McFarlane © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 14
“In 1989 I enrolled in a hobby type course with the WEA doing sculpture in Soapstone. I would do courses
every year with the sculptor Derek Morgan at various locations in NSW and Queensland. The courses were
a live in one week course where students totally immersed themselves in carving and discussing art. When
I wanted to carve harder stone such as marble, there wasn’t any tuition available. So in 1994 I went to Italy
to learn how to carve marble at the Palla Atelier at the town of Pietrasanta, Northern Tuscany. I followed this
up with visits in 1997 and 1999. Through the contacts I made in Italy I was invited to apply to exhibit at the
Salon d’Automne in Paris. I subsequently exhibited in Paris in 1998, 1999 and 2003. I joined The Sculptors
Society (NSW) in 1997 and held many positions including Secretary, Vice President and President.
I exhibited in many of The Sculptors Society exhibitions, and had several solo exhibitions.
In 2000 I enrolled at the University of Newcastle NSW in a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree.
I juggled work and study to graduate in 2007.”
“My work is mostly in stone and bronze, but lately I have been experimenting with fused and slumped glass.
What I look for in sculpture is a mixture of skill and concepts. Whether working with noble materials or recy-
cled castoffs, the artist should demonstrate a commitment to quality. It is insulting to the consumer to put up
glib thrown together items with a catchy name, then call it art. No one looks at my work and says ‘my five
year old child could do that’. I like a finely finished piece that looks professional.”
Issue 10 - May 2015 15
QuYang Lady in White
China.
Roger McFarlane © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 16
“While at University I applied to create sculptures in various parts of the world.in 2000 I was selected to cre-
ate a sculpture sponsored by the UN to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War. This involved
going to South Korea and working on site carving a large granite sculpture. This work led to further projects
in South Korea, China, Brazil, and Switzerland.
In 2010 I was asked to design a War Memorial for Penshurst RSL-Sub Branch. This was a green field project
where I was given a stretch of land and the brief to design create and supervise construction of the Memorial
which opened 11th of November 2011. I said to the committee ‘a lot has happened since WW2 let’s move on
and honour those who served in later wars’ the committee agreed. In this sculpture I jumped the WW1~WW2
mindset, and had an old Digger from Vietnam, and a young Digger from Afghanistan represented. The old
Digger was facing west and fading back into the stone, the young Digger was facing east and stepping out of
the stone.
I am working on another sculpture at present, for the foyer of the club to commemorate the Centenary of
ANZAC 1915~2015. It is a strange turn of events from being a draft dodger to creating War Memorials.
However I feel that even though I am antiwar, and suspicious of governments who use jingoism to generate
fear in our society as a means to justify waging war; I have a respect for the Diggers who do their duty, as
the government of the day directs.”
Issue 10 - May 2015 17
“I have been fortunate to be invited to China on several
occasions to speak at the International Sculpture Confer-
ence at Chang Chung. The subject that I have spoken on
has been about the influence of public art on city design,
and the effect of sculpture on the citizens of the city.
Also the History of sculpture and its effects on culture
and society. I have also written articles for a sculpture
magazine in Northern China, which keeps me in touch
with what is happening in the Chinese sculpture world.
My experience with sculpture has been very fulfilling and
opened doors to travel and meet interesting people. The
key to this has been to keep an open and enquiring
mind, and to seize the opportunities as occur.”
- Roger McFarlane © March 2015
Opposite: Lady in Red
Red Travertine marble H180 x W50 x D29cm
Roger McFarlane © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 18
Mystique
Portorro marble with granite base
H170 x W60 x D33cm
Roger McFarlane © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 19
Penshurst RSL-Sub Branch war memorial. Roger McFarlane © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 20
www.roger-mcfarlane-sculptor.com
Splash - White fused and slumped glass on a granite base
H10 x W31 x D30cm Roger McFarlane © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 21
York - David Graham there are bricks and then there’s ivy, but that says nothing about feeling them both with you at a place where a drunk eye can be happy with a blue streak sky with riling clouds as we drive, the trees perform a merry-go-round of chance encounters curtained by boroughs we have drunk of the river Ouse and fed on the miller’s leaves washing our tongues with stones it is an old way to be related to the growing of mushrooms - David Graham (C)2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 22
Issue 10 - May 2015 23
Minster from York
Wall.
Photo: Lorraine
Fildes © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 24
RE - ALIGNMENT collaborative drawing E&R Werkhoven © 2015 www.studiolaprimitive.net
Issue 10 - May 2015 25
RE - ALIGNMENT - Eric Werkhoven © 2015
Over these long distances, we commence our dreaming
To draw lines in the sand and in the dark surrounds of the night
Connecting to the colour or to the sound of the morning
Becoming a part of that great human rush.
Accost accrue, in serving an age old ritual
Where the lines mirror imaginary faces on real faces
As instances lapse into either forgetting or remembering
On that long stretch of time, only snippets remain
The arts converge on that dialogue with a sense of great
Abandonment, to force upon its simplified objective
A metaphysical quest to order not just our life!
Hence this urgency doubling up.
The diaspora between the dreaming and reality is
prevailing over this spiritual vacuum in an act of denial,
and superfluous acceptance for the self
to remain on one side of the fence.
PETER GARDINER
Issue 10 - May 2015 26
PETER GARDINER
BACKGROUND:
“I was born, raised and educated in Geelong an age ago and moved to Newcastle to
study at the ASRT School in the mid eighties. I stayed there for a long time, changing
from full time study to part time as I felt 3 years was no where near long enough. By
the time they kicked me out I was no wiser to the nature of my creative compulsion
than when I left Geelong. For the next decade or so in various warehouses and sheds
throughout Newcastle I worked at this thing called Art in a singular and selfish way.
Every day almost without exception I painted drew burnt scratched and fooled around,
working through idea after idea, searching constantly searching.”
Opposite: Debris series, oil on canvas Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 27
When did your artistic passion begin?
I borrowed a book from my school’s library on El Greco.
Never returned it, so it goes.
Describe your work? IDIOSYNCHRATIC.
What inspires you ? FEAR.
Name your greatest achievement, exhibitions? I can’t say, only that arts taken me around the world , something I never imagined possible back at art school. What are you working on at present? Large aerial views of cities. Your future aspirations with your art? TO KEEP PRODUCING - Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 28
In Splendour ( The Flood)
Oil on canvas
1600 x 1400
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 29
After Flood
Oil on canvas
1600 x 1400
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 30
Oceanic II
Oil on canvas
1500 x 1200
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 31
Ruin (Blue)
Oil on canvas
1500 x 1200
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 32
Wreck
Oil on hard board
1200 D
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 33
Ceres I
Oil & acrylic on Arches
1500 x 1200
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 34
Connewarre
Oil & acrylic on paper
1700 x 1200
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 35
Midden XI
Oil & acrylic on Arches
1100 x 1000
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 36
Head Series
Oil on card
H12 x W 7 cm
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 37
Head Series
Oil on card
H12 x W 7 cm
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 38
Studies Series
Oil on card
H10 x W 6 cm
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 39
Studies Series
Oil on card
H10 x W 6 cm
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 40
Studies Series
Oil on card
H10 x W 6 cm
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 41
Peter Gardiner latest works are:
“A further meditation on the
landscape.
The works respond to the vast
vistas and the presence we
have within them.
These for me are as much about
within as they are without.”
Opposite: Peters’ studio.
Photograph - Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 42
Great Western
Mixed media on canvas
2000 x 1800
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 43
Hexham Morass
Mixed media on 300
GSSM Arches
1600 x 2200mm
Peter Gardiner © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 44
“Details from these dense paintings that will hopefully give you some idea of the nature of these works.”- Peter Gardiner © 2015
Further information about Peter’s work contact: E: [email protected]
Issue 10 - May 2015 45
Strange suburban things that happen.
- Max Howe
A woman comes to pick her daughter up and finds the teenager has a scratch across her face.
Although still bleeding slightly the girl is unconcerned and wipes some blood from her cheek
spreading it across the back of her hand.
She then turns her face up toward her mother and brushes a European style kiss across each
side of her mother's face.
Her mother stiffens, looks around the entry foyer of the house then acknowledges her
daughter's friend's father.
As she wipes away her daughter's wet blood she can see he has been crying. She leaves a dry
red smear across her daughter's cheek.
He begins to cry again and wipes tears onto his thick woolen jumper.
The mother shudders involuntarily then shakes her head as if clearing her mind from an
unnecessary dream.
Issue 10 - May 2015 46
No one spoke. The air is incisive and still. Not calm. Sharp.
The girl hugs the mother’s stomach and buries her head into the space between her breasts.
The mother cups her hands around the back of daughter’s head, holding her safely.
The other girl’s father twists his forehead into a complicated frown and rests both arms onto the
shoulders of his daughter who stands calmly in front of him.
Behind them his wife enters the room and after examining the situation turns away in disdain.
Gliding gracefully from the room of the room.
As the mother turns to leave she notices through one of the small glass door panels, a priest
slide slowly past the tin letter box poking out of dead yellow grass, languid flowers and weeds
dribbling along the fence line.
He slips by in his robes, looking down, trembling.
She takes her daughter’s hand and leaves, walking away briskly with her head up.
- Max Howe© 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 47
MARGARET
McBRIDE
Issue 10 - May 2015 48
MARGARET
Dr MARGARET McBRIDE: A Life’s Work in Progress Skilled potter, visual artist, teacher, academic, writer and exhibition curator.
Margaret McBride comes from a family that made art. Her father excelled at drawing and also made
handicrafts such as macramé, knitting and woodwork and her mother sewed, crocheted and knitted. Along
with her three siblings she was given art and craft materials. Her elder sister had work selected by the
Education Department to display in their headquarters in Sydney. Another sister later studied art and
majored in painting at Newcastle TAFE. Margaret entered annual children’s art shows and won certificates.
A passion for collecting began at an early age. She collected bits and pieces and always made things,
including her own clothes from the age of twelve. Despite her love of art, and the opportunity to join the
advertising section in a Newcastle Department Store as a trainee it was discouraged.
At the age of twenty six after a ‘safe vocation’ Margaret decided to study pottery, firstly at a craft centre,
followed by a three year course in ceramics at Newcastle School of Art and Design (later TAFE). In 1978/9
she established a studio and worked as a full time potter. This continued to be a source of income while at
art school where she completed a Diploma in Art at Newcastle College of Advanced Education (now
University of Newcastle) from 1979 - 81.
Opposite: Birds and Bees - Margaret McBride Material: hand turned wood and ceramic on perspex
Dimensions: 15 x 15 x 15cms Date: 2012 Photo: Brian Cox
Issue 10 - May 2015 49
Jug - Margaret McBride
Material: Stoneware clay, ash glaze Date: c1979
Dimensions: 190ml x 155ml
Photo: David McBride
Issue 10 - May 2015 50
There was a lot of interest in handmade pottery in the 1970s and the ceramic department at the C.A.E. with
Ken Levenson and Robert Ruthvan (from England) was one of the best in the country. Inspiration for
Margaret’s majolica work came from the prominent ceramic artist and teacher Madeleine Scott Jones.
After majoring in ceramics, and then undertaking a year of Graduate Studies in Education, Margaret
became a High School Art Teacher which allowed her to continue her own work without the need for making
commercial pottery. In 1983 she completed a Post Graduate year majoring in ceramic sculpture. A
conversion course in 1984 to upgrade her Diploma in Art to a degree completed her studies.
In 1989 Margaret was appointed Head of Visual Arts at Newcastle Grammar School. Here she was given
free rein to build up the art department, establish the Visual Art Scholarships, after school art and
photography classes, and established the now iconic Annual Nexus Exhibition. Margaret was given time off
for study trips and encouraged to use the facilities of the art department to make her artworks for
exhibition during the holidays. At art school she also studied sculpture for two years. As she was now
working in a conceptual way ceramics wasn’t always appropriate and so she began to explore different
forms of representation in both two and three dimensional forms. Margaret began to construct installations
of made and found objects. With these she often produced two dimensional works of mixed media to further
communicate her concepts.
Issue 10 - May 2015 51
4 Dishes
Material: Majolica (Oxides on tin glaze) on Cassnock red earthenware clay
Dimensions: 110ml x 110ml each Date: c 1978
Photo: Jane Calthorpe
Issue 10 - May 2015 52
Margaret’s greatest achievement, exhibitions:
Talking for this interview Margaret said that perhaps her greatest achievements were in her solo exhibitions
and being awarded a Doctorate. Her first truly solo exhibition was of functional and sculptural ceramics at
Possum Brush Gallery, Taree in 1980. Another memorable solo exhibition was “Structures” 1994, Suan
Dusit Art Gallery, Rajbhat Institute, (University) Suan Dusit, Bangkok, Thailand. It was also an honour to be
selected for a solo exhibition called ‘Sight Plans’ at Newcastle Region Art Gallery in 1995. In both of these
exhibitions she used architecture as a metaphor for personal philosophies and experiences. The man-made
built environment has always fascinated her both in form and materials. Margaret has had nine other solo
exhibitions in Newcastle and Sydney.
With her husband Brian Cox, a well-known Newcastle silversmith and sculptor, Margaret has traveled
extensively worldwide over the past twenty years to study art and architecture. She said she has always
been interested in writing and art theory, both contemporary and historical. In 2003 she embarked on a PhD
in Fine Art Theory and was awarded her doctorate in 2010 for her thesis, Changing the Art Culture of
Newcastle: the contribution of the Low Show Group of artists. In 2006 Margaret began lecturing in Fine Arts
at the University of Newcastle. She taught Foundations in Creative Art, Soft Sculpture and 3D Fibre until
she retired from teaching in December 2013.
Issue 10 - May 2015 53
Water Bowl
Material: Majolica (oxides on tin glaze) on Cessnock red earthenware clay
Dimensions: 235 x 96ml Date: c 1978
Photo: Jane Calthorpe
Issue 10 - May 2015 54
What Margaret is working on at present:
Since retiring from teaching in 2013 Margaret devotes her time completely to curating, making artworks and
writing. At present she is working on ceramic and fibre pieces for an upcoming exhibition Searching for
Shibui at Back to Back Gallery in May.
Margaret’s future aspirations with her art:
Skills are continually being developed as needed and have included learning how to use a lathe to turn
wood, how to felt, how to work with casting pewter and other casting metals, making jewellery, making paper
and art books and many other techniques. In art, Margaret’s passion is not confined to one art form or one
theme. Whether a concept is presented, as in group exhibitions, or derived from her personal view of the
world, both physical and psychological, the subject changes, as does the vehicle to communicate that
concept. Future work will reflect this philosophy. Margaret would also like to publish her research on women
artists of the Hunter to produce a much needed history of women artists from the Colonial Period until 1970.
Issue 10 - May 2015 55
Library
Material : box and wooden
books, various timbers
Dimensions: 40 x 50 x 15cms
Date: 2006
Photo: Margaret Mc Bride
Issue 10 - May 2015 56
Alternate Views
Material: pewter and
sandstone
700 x 400ml (without
stand)
Date: 2009
Photo: Brian Cox
Issue 10 - May 2015 57
Forthcoming Exhibitions:
Margaret has just completed curating Book Keepers, an exhibition in conjunction with the 2015 Newcastle
Writers Festival where a group of Newcastle artists selected the latest publication of a presenter at the festi-
val, to interpret and transpose into visual images and objects. In 2014 a similar exhibition, Subtext, success-
fully brought together the literary and fine art community of Newcastle. A similar exhibition is planned for the
2016 Newcastle Writers Festival. Margaret, along with two others, is currently curating the next ‘small’ exhi-
bition at Back to Back Galleries in April and will participate with a group of fibre and clay artist/makers in the
exhibition Searching for Shibui which opens on Friday 8 May at Back to Back Galleries, 57 Bull Street,
Cooks Hill.
Other Interests:
These include reading and writing, both fiction, and non-fiction, antiques, gardens and family. Margaret’s
early love of collecting has continued, amongst other things she has an extensive collection of wooden box-
es. During the course of her career Margaret has curated over thirty exhibitions, given public lectures, writ-
ten for journals, been a judge of art competitions, had commissions and has been reviewed in newspapers
and featured in journals. Her work is in collections both in Australia and overseas. She has exhibited in over
eighty selected group exhibitions in Sydney, Newcastle and Regional NSW. Starting out by learning to be a
potter and acquiring ceramic skills opened the door for Margaret to a lifelong arts practice that is a ‘work in
progress’. - Written by Jane Calthorpe and Margaret McBride (c)2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 58
Comfort Reading - Margaret McBride
Materials: felt, wood, metal 30 x 21cms
Date: 2006 Photo: Brian Cox
Issue 10 - May 2015 59
Cross Reference - Margaret McBride
Material: metal, bamboo, twine 24 x 18cms
Date: 2006 Photo: Brian Cox
Issue 10 - May 2015 60
MARGARET McBRIDE
Piercing the Void
Material: hand turned New Guinea
rosewood bowls, bamboo, black
granite, wooden stool
50 x 18 x 38cms , stool H 68cms
Date: 2014
Photo: Brian Cox
Issue 10 - May 2015 61
Forest Green
The painting was forest green with black
splotches and thin intersecting lines
which resembled a skewed tic-tac-toe grid
I ripped the canvas
from the wall of McDonalds in Ville Saint-Pierre, Montreal
I ran back to my friends' apartment through
the frozen streets, thinking what am I trying to prove to myself?
I wrote an illegible haiku on the torn canvas
and hung it above the kitchen door
while my friends slept fitfully, I could
hear them coughing and tossing
It was then that I escaped
to New York
I still think about New York, but what can one say?
I got the tee shirt (I didn't)
I spat off of the Empire State Building (I did)
One day I might be reborn there as an urban fox
Central Park would be too vast for me so
I'd scour the back alleys for cream cheese bagels
Amongst the debris I might find the thing
That everyone that is there
- Carlin McLellan © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 62
Home, sick
I haven't been watching the news
I don't what to know what is happening
I want everyone to miss me all of a sudden
I want to know what is happening
I am learning to be
appreciative of flowers folding in on themselves
Self pollinating, self sufficient
Quiet moments often feel like
Waterfalls waiting for an opportunity
to be endless
Restless to rush towards the ocean
- Carlin McLellan © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 63
Forever Freedom Carlin McLellan & Bastion Fox Phelan
Sometimes love gets in the way of love
My brother used to say
She's choking me like a baby bird
Now I bring back fat worms
to the expecting nest
I'm lightly grasped
by your steady hands
Sometimes the hurting feels good
So we make an arrangement
To meet here every few years
When travelling to different dimensions
We bury our shared
precious elements deep in the earth
Inaccessible except by
excavation
That's why a crystal talisman
means so much
Tell me,
How do you think love
renews itself, for each person
Each day?
From where does love draw itself?
Issue 10 - May 2015 64
In an exchange of atoms
between fingertips & collarbones
In crystalline eyes burning like the sun
In impartial clouds
Love saturates everything
Spilling from the sky
Running down through estuaries
Before settling in the cracks
Between our bodies
Love renews itself
Each time we choose it
Not fear; love
Not hate; love
Not control, punishment, greed; love
Love is the only thing that multiplies
each time you give it away
Collaborative poem by -
Carlin McLellan & Bastian Fox Phelan
© 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 65
LORRAINE FILDES
CONSTABLE COUNTRY
Issue 10 - May 2015 66
Constable Country
Images of the English Countryside - Lorraine Fildes
“Landscape is my mistress….” ‘-tis to her I look for fame – and all that the warmth of the imagination renders dear to
Man.’ John Constable, 1812.
What a wonderful day I had exploring what is called “Constable Country”. The National Trust of England is
to be congratulated on their preservation of the countryside where John Constable painted many of his very
famous landscapes. Much of the scenery is largely unchanged from when the painter knew it. We were
supplied with an excellent map that allowed us to easily find our way around the numerous buildings and
scenes that had been painted by Constable.
John Constable was born in East Bergholt, Suffolk, England in 1776; died 1837. 'Constable Country' is the
popular term for the area where Constable was reared. The south Suffolk countryside is very beautiful and
inspired paintings such as ‘The Hay Wain’, ‘Flatford Mill’ and ‘Dedham Vale’. Flatford Mill was owned by
Constable's father who was a wealthy corn merchant who later also bought Dedham Mill. Constable worked
in the corn business after leaving school, but his younger brother Abram eventually took over the running of
the mills. In 1799, Constable persuaded his father to let him pursue art, and his father even granted him a
small allowance.
Opposite page: A Day Out in the English Countryside - Lorraine Fildes © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 67
The map we were supplied with to help us find our way around “Constable Country”.
Issue 10 - May 2015 68
The allowance given to Constable by his father was very small indeed and to make ends meet he took up
portraiture. He executed many fine portraits, but he found the work dull and got no pleasure out of doing
portraits. His main love was landscape painting. Constable adopted a routine of spending the winter in
London and painting at East Bergholt in the summer. His landscapes were not appreciated by the art buyers
as Constable rejected the accepted way of painting the landscape - In the early 19th century, landscape
paintings were usually generalised and idealised depictions of nature, based on the study of other pictures
rather than actual scenes. They followed certain accepted conventions on how foliage should be painted,
how the composition should be organised, and what colours should be used. Constable rejected all this,
using nature directly as his inspiration. He painted the scenes he saw and that is why when you visit
Constable Country you can photograph many of the scenes that he actually painted.
It was not until 1819 that Constable sold his first important canvas, ‘The White Horse’. He was elected an
Associate of the Royal Academy that year, and in 1821 he showed ‘The Hay Wain’ at the Academy's
exhibition. Theodore Gericault saw it on a visit to London and was soon praising Constable in Paris, where a
dealer, John Arrowsmith, bought four paintings, including ‘The Hay Wain’, which was exhibited at the Paris
Salon of 1824, winning a gold medal. In his lifetime Constable was to sell only twenty paintings in England,
but in France he sold more than twenty in just a few years. Despite this, he refused all invitations to travel
internationally to promote his work. Constable refused to paint landscapes by the accepted
Issue 10 - May 2015 69
conventions and in consequence his ability was not fully recognised for a long time and he was not elected
a full Royal Academician until 1823 at the grand age of 53.
Just as Constable had a difficult time trying to establish himself as a landscape artist he also had problems
with his personal life. From 1809 onwards, his childhood friendship with Maria Bicknell developed into a
deep, mutual love. But their engagement was opposed by Maria's family. Constable’s parents approved the
match, but held out no prospect of supporting the marriage until Constable was financially secure; but
Constable’s parents died in quick succession, and Constable inherited a fifth share in the family business.
John and Maria married in 1816. It was followed by a honeymoon tour of the south coast, where the sea at
Weymouth and Brighton stimulated Constable to develop new techniques of brilliant colour and vivacious
brushwork. After the birth of her seventh child in 1828, Maria fell ill and died of tuberculosis later that year at
the age of forty-one. Thereafter, Constable always dressed in black. He cared for his seven children alone
for the rest of his life. He died in 1837. Although his paintings are now among the most popular and
valuable in British art, he was never financially successful whilst alive and always struggled to make ends
meet.
- Lorraine Fildes © 2015
Photographs - Lorraine Fildes© 2015.
Issue 10 - May 2015 70
Willy Lott’s house today .
Photograph -
Lorraine Fildes © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 71
Willy Lott’s house as Constable saw it over
200 years ago.
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Two of Constable’s paintings of Willy Lott’s house and mill pond. Sorry about the reflected windows in the
sky in the painting above, but in some museums it is impossible to get into a position where the reflections
can be avoided.
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Willy Lott's House, and
black and white dog .
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Willy Lott's House, almost unchanged from 200 years ago - sorry no black and white dog - only a tourist
nearby. Photograph –Lorraine Fildes © 2015
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Bridge over the River Stour and Bridge Cottage. Photograph Lorraine Fildes © 2015
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Constable’s painting showing the bridge over the River Stour.
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Flatford Mill, near the lock on the Stour. Photograph - Lorraine Fildes © 2015
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Constable’s painting of Flatford Mill, seen from the lock on the Stour.
Issue 10 - May 2015 79
a certain something
for Harold Hopkins
I can still see you on those flickering frames:
A featured billing in those gutteral 70s pictures
Almost a superstar back then
You reminded your fellow actors of Errol Flynn.
Steve McQueen should not have died in 1980
As a child, I was told it was his smoking habit
But they kept the real thing out (like they always do).
He'd been told to clear A certain something
From the naval ships on which he'd worked
And was gone at 50.
came to you for the same reason
But your cause of death looked different.
One might forgive a past if amended
But the radio mentioned another just last week,
Harold:
A teacher in a school.
The bosses are holding off any compo
Long enough for her to die
I can see they don't have to wait long
Her brave colleagues pointed out that she had
been working
In one of the more dilapidated classrooms
They keep their pensions that way
And remind me that your killer is still out there.
Issue 10 - May 2015 80
Some who come to chase it out
Don't even advertise what they do on their vans
Admissions of guilt avoided, greater liability discour-
aged
Millions of others don't even know they've got it
And let's not even begin to talk about the diy craze.
Once 'discovered' you were always seen
To be the healthiest among your colleagues:
Eating all those fruits & nuts
And it was that, Harold, that made me wonder
Did your hidden self already know
A certain something?
Muscle pain finally took you to the quack's
And you were gone within a matter of
months.
You got it when you were an apprentice
carpenter in the 60s
And were told to clear A certain something.
- Brad Evans © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 81
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NOT NEWS
By Nigel Nerd
ARTZINE is proud to announce the discovery of a new star
in the arts scene worldwide - the Russian painter Vladimir
Putin.
ARTZINES investigative travelling art journalist-in-chief,
Nigel Nerd, was fortunate enough to secure an exclusive
interview in Moscow with shy, nervous Vladimir.
Nigel asked Vladimir about his newest work, which has
already sold over one million print copies since it was
released only yesterday.
Vladimir (or Vlad as he prefers to be known) described his
creation as an exciting new concept in self-portraiture, being
plain white in colour. Vlad described his new work in white as
an expression of his inner purity, high ideals and scrupulous
moral standards.
“The pure white colour also reflects my country,
especially the winter, and is one of the colours in the
Russian flag. Thus my self-portrait has several deeper
meanings, because I love the flag, I love my country.
No one could be more patriotic. I believe the saying
goes in the West, patriotism is the first refuge of the
pure (or something like that)”.
Nigel asked Vlad about the astonishing marketing
success of his new work. Vlad replied “Yes, a factory
in Moscow was working three shifts to complete the
order
from the KGB of one million copies at 100 roubles
each. Of course, owing to the recent decline in the
roubles’ value I arranged for payment into my Swiss
bank account in U.S. dollars at a favourable exchange
rate. One cannot be too careful in these troubled
times”.
Nigel came away from the interview marveling at
Vlad’s artistic and marketing genius.
- Nigel Nerd © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 83
Body and Soul Exhibition - Pam Hovel Issue 10 - May 2015 84
Victorian artist Pam Hovel has highlighted the connection
between body and soul with the tactile felt creations featured
in a new exhibition opening at Newcastle’s Timeless Textiles
Gallery in May.
The Body and Soul exhibition features Hovel’s soft and cud-
dly homewares and clothing that promise to not only em-
brace the body but also to uplift the soul.
Using felt as a creative medium, Body and Soul explores
sustainable fashion and homewares and includes contem-
porary lightweight felted dresses, all botanically-dyed, as
well using natural coloured fleece to bring a hint of the wild
into the home.
Creating has been an integral part of Pam’s life, initially
through necessity when she sewed clothes for herself and
then for her children. Larger projects have also featured in
her creative life including the mud-brick home she built with
her husband, many years before sustainability and recycling
were fashionable.Pam’s Body and Soul exhibition will be opened from 6th until 17
May 2015.
Pam is an innovative textile artist living near Bendigo, Victoria. Her light filled, mud-brick
studio on her family property is surrounded by bushland and wildlife and it is this natural
envi- ronment that
both in- spires her
work and provides ma-
terials for her textiles.
“My con- nection to
nature and the beauty of
natural ma- terials has
taken me in different
direc- tions over the
years, cul- minating in a
love affair with
felt about eleven
years ago,” Pam reveals. “The magical properties of wool + water + friction
(felt) and plant-based dyes enable me to express myself while staying
within the boundaries
of sus- tainable liv-
ing.”
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The home was built largely from reclaimed materials and is
surrounded by a large garden, Pam’s passion prior to
textiles.
A lifelong interest in textiles led Pam to discover felting in
2004 and she has been passionate about it ever since.
Although she has attended numerous workshops with
well-known felt artists, she is largely self-taught and has won
awards for her work.
Following her creative instincts, Pam has sought sustainable
art practices. After exploring different techniques and fibres,
she developed a beautiful, soft felt fabric using super-fine
Australian Merino wool. More recently she has focused on
more feminine and highly artistic garments, marrying wool
and silk in the felt process, as well as using raw and wild
fibres with dramatic results..
Pam’s Body and Soul exhibition will be opened from 6th until 17 May 2015.
Pam is an innovative textile artist living near Bendigo, Victoria. Her light filled, mud-brick
studio on her family property is surrounded by bushland and wildlife and it is this natural
environment that
Issue 10 - May 2015 86
Eco-printed and textured nuno-felted top or tunic
workshop with Pam Hovel
During this workshop we will look at design aspects and work on samples
using different fabric manipulation techniques. You will make a top or tunic
following a method which eliminates the need of a template or calculating
shrinkage rates and how to put it all together to form a garment which fits.
We will explore of world of the eco-print when we will fire up the caldrons and
indulge ourselves in a little magic. While we are waiting for this magic to
happen we will look at alternative methods of fabric manipulation in nuno-felt.
Using fabric scraps from your stash, we will make a scarf or obi which you
can then eco-dye at home.
This workshop is not designed for beginners. Some felting experience and
some very basic sewing is necessary and, a word of warning, there is quite a
bit of rolling involved.
Dates: 11-13 May 2015 (9.30 am – 4.30 pm)
BOOK IN NOW
W: www.timelesstextiles.com.au
Issue 10 - May 2015 87
CAROLE
DOUGLAS
Artist reveals her
spiritual journey in
Return Exhibition
21 May-14 June
Timeless Textiles 90 Hunter St
Newcastle East.
Issue 10 - May 2015 88
The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me)
“Is an exhibition compiled of artists’ responses to the
lyrics of Tom Waits’ legendary song of the same tile at
the request of Joseph Eisenberg OAM, Cultural Director
of Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG), in celebration
of achievements during his ten years of leadership.
A broad cross-section of local and nationally-renowned
artists were approached to participate with interpretive
works on paper, in response to these song lyrics holding
personal significance to Joe. An overwhelming number of
artists responded, resulting in a uniquely creative and
diverse collection of new works which will be exhibited at
MRAG for the first time.”
-Maitland Regional Art Gallery © 2015
Exhibition 25 April - 21 June Drink Till You’re Blue
Collaborative drawing E&R Werkhoven © 2015
Issue 10 - May 2015 89
FANCY – Donna Cavanough, John O’Brien and Lenny Burgess
Perform at PLANET DUNGOG
Issue 10 - May 2015 90
Planet Dungog Music Festival
29-31st May 2015:
Features street concert, film, comedy bush poetry and of course lots of fabulous music, 5
venues running a broad range of Australian performing artists, folk, funk, classical, blues and
more.
info and bookings www.planetdungog.com
Issue 10 - May 2015 91
Searching for Shibui 8 May – 24 May,
Opening @ 6.00pm Fri 8 May 2015
Back to Back Galleries 57 Bull Street Cooks Hill NSW 2300 T: 49 293 677
www.newcastlepotters.org.au Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11am-5pm
Issue 10 - May 2015 92
Media Release: BACK TO BACK GALLERIES New Exhibition: Searching for Shibui Dates: 8 May –
24 May, Opening @ 6.00pm Fri 8 May 2015 Contact: Jane Calthorpe, publicity officer M: 0409 601155 Back to Back
Galleries presents a group of fibre and clay artists/makers that have come together to explore the ideas and aes-
thetics of the notion of ‘shibui’. A mixed media exhibition to be opened by special guest, from Ian Potter Museum of
Art, Ron Ramsey. Curator Kathy Heinrich writes: What is shibui? According to W.G. von Krenner: The Japanese have a
special word to describe the bitter taste one experiences after biting into an unripe persimmon. This taste called
shibui, has a meaning far beyond taste. Shibui is sometimes translated as rustic simplicity or austere elegance. It is an
aesthetic concept that rejects kitsch and tasteless elaboration. Elizabeth Gordon, wrote that shibui “describes a pro-
found, unassuming, quiet feeling. It is unobtrusive and unostentatious. It may have hidden attainments but they are
not paraded or displayed. The form is simple and must have been arrived at with an economy of means. Shibui is nev-
er complicated or contrived.” A group of artists and makers, some working in clay, some fibre and some both,
have come together for this exhibition to interpret shibui in a contemporary way that references this time
and place and the simple beauty of handmade objects. The exhibition will be curated by Kathy Heinrich and
Helen Stronach. Newcastle Studio Potters is a not for profit incorporated association supporting ceramic art-
ists. Its gallery Back to Back Gallery while presenting exhibitions in various media, focuses on traditional
and contemporary ceramics.
Back to Back Galleries 57 Bull Street Cooks Hill NSW 2300 T: 49 293 677
W:www.newcastlepotters.org.au Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday 11am-5pm
Issue 10 - May 2015 93
Andrew Shillam
Rindi Salomon
25th March - 10th May at the Grafton
Regional Art Gallery.
Art Systems Wickham Gallery, Newcastle
22 May to 31st May.
40 Annie Street Wickham NSW.
Web site: http://shillamsalomonart.com.au/
ANDREW SHILLAM
RINDI SALOMON
Issue 10 - May 2015 94
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JOHN WATERS
ON REFLECTION
5 – 24 MAY
Frances Keevil Gallery
Bay Village 28 - 34 Cross Street
Double Bay
NSW 2028 Australia
t: 02 9327 2475
w: franceskeevilgallery.com.au
Issue 10 - May 2015 96
studio la primitive NEW WEBSITE
www.studiolaprimitive.net
Issue 10 - May 2015 97
Hunter Arts Network’s (HAN) fourth annual Lake Macquarie Art Bazaar will return to the
grounds of Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery (LMCAG) on Sunday 3 May 2015 from 10am –
3pm, located on the shores of beautiful Lake Macquarie.
With Art Bazaar now being held on the weekend before Mother’s Day, visit the stalls to search
for unique Mother’s Day gifts while having an enjoyable day out.
Art Bazaar is free entry. There’s also demonstrations, entertainment, food & drinks, and a quick
stroll to LMCAG for children’s art activities and exhibitions including Bodywork: Australian
Jewellery 1970-2012 touring from the National Gallery of Australia and a (in)visible: the First
Peoples and War showing until 10 May and 24 May respectively.
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