arts zine may 2015

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.

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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

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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

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mailto:[email protected]

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STUDIO LA PRIMITIVE (C)2015 - ANTICS by E&R Werkhoven collaborative drawings www.studiolaprimitive.net

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http://www.studiolaprimitive.net

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.

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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

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ROGER

McFARLANE

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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.

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‘Bather’ bronze with

patina on travertine base.

H91 x W45 x D35cm


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“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.”

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Sitting Pretty

Bronze with patina

H32 x W22 x D12cm


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“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.”

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Precious Pear

Belgium black marble

H60 x W30 x D30cm


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“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.”

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QuYang Lady in White

China.


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“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.”

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“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


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Mystique

Portorro marble with granite base

H170 x W60 x D33cm


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Penshurst RSL-Sub Branch war memorial. Roger McFarlane © 2015

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www.roger-mcfarlane-sculptor.com

Splash - White fused and slumped glass on a granite base

H10 x W31 x D30cm Roger McFarlane © 2015

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http://www.roger-mcfarlane-sculptor.com

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

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Minster from York

Wall.

Photo: Lorraine

Fildes © 2015

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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

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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

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After Flood

Oil on canvas

1600 x 1400


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Oceanic II

Oil on canvas

1500 x 1200


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Ruin (Blue)

Oil on canvas

1500 x 1200


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Wreck

Oil on hard board

1200 D


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Ceres I

Oil & acrylic on Arches

1500 x 1200


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Connewarre

Oil & acrylic on paper

1700 x 1200


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Midden XI

Oil & acrylic on Arches

1100 x 1000


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Head Series

Oil on card

H12 x W 7 cm


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Head Series

Oil on card

H12 x W 7 cm


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Studies Series

Oil on card

H10 x W 6 cm


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Studies Series

Oil on card

H10 x W 6 cm


Issue 10 - May 2015 40

Studies Series

Oil on card

H10 x W 6 cm


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

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Great Western

Mixed media on canvas

2000 x 1800


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Hexham Morass

Mixed media on 300

GSSM Arches

1600 x 2200mm


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“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.

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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

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Jug - Margaret McBride

Material: Stoneware clay, ash glaze Date: c1979

Dimensions: 190ml x 155ml

Photo: David McBride

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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

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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

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The map we were supplied with to help us find our way around “Constable Country”.

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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.

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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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Constable’s painting showing the bridge over the River Stour.

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Constable’s painting of Flatford Mill, seen from the lock on the Stour.

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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.

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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

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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

environment that

both inspires her

work and provides ma-

terials for her textiles.

“My connection to

nature and the beauty of

natural materials 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 sustainable 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

E: [email protected]

W: www.timelesstextiles.com.au

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http://login.visionscapedirect.com.au/t/i-l-yhdlliy-fjtujiit-k/


http://www.timelesstextiles.com.au

http://www.timelesstextiles.com.au

CAROLE

DOUGLAS

Artist reveals her

spiritual journey in

Return Exhibition

21 May-14 June

Timeless Textiles 90 Hunter St

Newcastle East.

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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

E: [email protected]

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

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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

http://www.planetdungog.com

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

http://www.newcastlepotters.org.au

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

http://www.newcastlepotters.org.au

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

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http://www.shillamsalomonart.com.au/

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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

e: [email protected]

w: franceskeevilgallery.com.au

Issue 10 - May 2015 96

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Enquiry


http://franceskeevilgallery.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=5da989f7bdc80326b2de2117c&id=bf23c55719&e=7c884c302d

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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arts zine may 2015

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