Craft

From little things big things grow and when Mark Hewson made a stained glass window for his new home in Torbay back in the early 1980s he was unaware that it would mark the beginning of a career that would span more than 40 years.  Mark, and his equally-talented wife, Paris Johansen, have now designed, sculptured, moulded and soldered literally thousands of glass artworks.

It's the time of year when many people start wearing beanies. The Alice Springs Beanie Festival is almost here, and we recently had a visiting tutor, Tanya Hattingh, conduct workshops at various venues to help create entries for the festival.

Thirty-seven years ago, a group of women came together at Mallanganee Memorial Hall and created a huge applique of a bullock team to honour the village’s timber history. It started in 1975, when Katina Larsson came to Mallanganee from Casino one day a week to teach a TAFE fashion course at the hall.

Broughton's local craft group that meet Thursday fortnightly at the Salvation Army have been very busy and have put a collection of beautiful quilts together ... made from mostly donated fabric and are available to purchase with all proceeds going to the local Days for Girls group.

Make Christmas memorable and creative by spending time crafting, dining out, decorating, giving and having fun with your friends and neighbours this December at the Birchip Neighbourhood House.

Chris Johnston. Announcing the launch of our new membership program, everyone is invited to come along to the Newstead Arts Hub ... Newstead Arts Hub Inc is a vibrant creative space run by our community for you – locals, artists and visitors – and located in our historic train station.  

The  Ballina Contemporary Art Market (BCAM)  is a free, one-day, fun-filled arts and cultural event taking place on Saturday 14 October ... come and meet the Australovenatordinosaur, baby Muttaburra dinosaurs, and help the deep-sea diver discover treasure!

Creativity comes naturally to Cassie Goodwin, who with the support of Centrecare FNQ, has taken her craft to a new level, capturing the attention of local therapists, and creating a market for hand-sewn, bright, and characterful, weighted cats ... "One of Cassie’s long-term goals was to establish a small stall of her arts and crafts so in 2019 she began sewing classes to hone her skills": Centrecare FNQ’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Manager Nathan Lee.

Mon Repos owners Scott and Rebecca Rowlings have given locals an opportunity to learn a new trade through their courses. While Mrs Rowlings handles the background work, her husband runs the increasingly popular workshops.

The Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre will present a new exhibition titled In the Glow of Green by leading Australian glass artist Clare Belfrage from Friday 4  August 2023. Exclusive to the Tweed Regional Gallery, the exhibition is the outcome of Belfrage having undertaken a two-week residency at  the Gallery’s on-site studio, the Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio.

The White Cliffs Craft group organised a Resin workshop led by local, Tallon Towers. From jewellery to coated rocks, there was an amazing array of creative projects.

Nancy Whittaker. Last Sunday it was my delight to chat to Mark Wardle, who is the inaugural featured artist in the new MANet* Arts Focus Gallery ... Mark is quite the renaissance man as he is so much more than a genius creating works of art out of any well-seasoned wood he can find, including on his wood heap.  

There will be plenty happening from Thursday July 20 and running for 10 days in Warwick and surrounds. An easy 20 minute drive north of Warwick and you’re in Allora "The best little town on the Downs".

One of the standout stalls at the recent High School Market Day would have to be the leather goods made by one of the students under the business name Rennie’s Leather Works. Thomas Hicks has been creating the leather goods now for almost two years and spends about 10 hours a week creating wallets, purses and belts that not only get sold at High School events, but also has started doing a stall at the fortnightly local Community Lawn Sale.

After several workshops in Tennant Creek last week, felting tutor Tanya Hattingh returned to Alice with 30 beanies made by Tennant Creek residents for entry into the 2023 Beanie Festival ... The festival was organised to sell beanies crocheted by Aboriginal women in remote communities, and has grown into a fun event where Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists share their cultures and exhibit together.

Renowned printmaker and Castlemaine-based artist David Frazer identifies with rock n’ roll. He even tried to be a musician before realising his strengths were more in fine art than music ... he’s created a very small run of handmade books titled More than Flesh and Bone featuring his signature wood engraved prints inspired by the lyrics of three of his favourite Tom Waits songs.

Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery is thrilled to present the Port Pire Branch of the Embroiderers’ Guild of South Australia Inc. in The Gentle Arts ... The Gentle Arts is an embroidery exhibition that celebrates the historical significance, technical mastery and cultural narratives embedded within embroidery.

Kaniva is celebrating the coronation of King Charles III and all royalists are invited to view Kaniva's royal mob of main street sheep. The crowns are works of art and have been custom-made for this historic royal occasion by Kaniva Puppet Shop proprietor Julie Finch.

The markets are back in their home at Coronation Park, eager to bring the community back together to create the famous iconic event. Held on the second Sunday of the month since 1976, the market is renowned for its colour and atmosphere.

Allan Trounson, 91 years young, is helping restore a very old rocking horse with his mates at the Maldon Men’s Shed ... This horse’s owner wants to keep it as a reminder of her childhood and has tasked the Men’s Shed with the restoration of this beautiful piece of history.

Tiwi Textiles: Design, Making, Process tells the story of the innovative Tiwi Design centre on Bathurst Island in northern Australia, dedicated to the production of hand-printed fabrics featuring Indigenous designs, from the 1970s to today.