Chisholm 2013 Camp

This year the art camp for Chisholm was held even closer to my home than last year which meant that I was able to drive to the site each day.

The camp is a three day event held for Visual Art, Advanced Product Development (visual art) and Illustration students. Workshops are held by the tutors during the day and everyone is encouraged to try their hand at new materials and methods.

For those of us with cameras, it is also an opportunity to take reference photos for later works, or just enjoy the process of photography as it’s own art form. For me with camera in hand it was a chance to do both. Arriving early each day I was able to get time to photograph for an hour or so, then get stuck into painting on site from nature for a change, then go back to photography later in the day.

Over the three days this has meant over three hundred photos have now been imported into iPhoto for future use and the completion of two water colours, three pastels, three acrylics which have now been over painted with oils and two oil paintings. I also visited Shoreham, Balnarring, Flinders, and Somers beaches as well as the Somers Mansion and wetlands for photography.

I met some great locals who showed me spots to paint along the shoreline at Crib Point and mixed with some of the students whilst we looked and each other’s work.

The break away has also for me, meant that I can get some ideas going for sculpture this year. It is interesting that when you are free to let the mind wander a bit, ideas can come flowing for creative projects.

On the business side, I chatted with the lady at Somers Mansion about the art exhibitions they hold there. I told her about my practice, activities with McClelland as a volunteer and memberships etc and my thoughts about my own future exhibitions. She has my card now and she has expressed an interest in seeing a submission for either a solo art exhibition by me, or a shared one if I have a couple of artist friends whose work I am happy to be shown with. I am now thinking this could be a great project for my advanced diploma should I be able to go on with it next year. (something to talk over with tutors in the near future I think!)

Meanwhile, I am back in the studio, have unloaded all my photos and sorted them, have nearly unloaded the car and am sitting here a lot browner from some outdoor activities, doing some very fun artwork. Tomorrow I am back at TAFE preparing materials for projects for the first semester and chatting to Jon about my ideas for some left over curved glass lying around my studio. Then in the afternoon I have paintings which to be delivered for the courier to take to three exhibitions I have entered for March-April. (Rosebud, Bright and Bendigo)

My thanks to the organisers of yet another enjoyable camp. Fun, educational and relaxing (productive too I might add!). It will be interesting to see all the results at the Bright Space Gallery this year.