Meg Doller

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Photography) and Diploma of Studio Textiles
Mixed media/printmaker/textile artist
Splinter Contemporary Artists member for almost three years

 

From memory, what was the first thing you made with your hands?

The first thing I can remember making with my hands was a car for a toy mouse. My sister, brother and I went with my Dad to an agricultural field days and for some reason, we all wanted to buy little toy mice. When we arrived home with our furry pals the three of us spent hours making little cars for each of them using empty Prima boxes. We even made little drawings of corn cobs on recycled cardboard which we ‘laminated’ with sticky tape. My love of making things and recycling continues to this day.

 

 

What are you making with your hands right now?

Right now I’m making lino cuts and printing them on handmade recycled paper. The whole process is very hands on from making the paper and cutting the lino to inking and printing. The act of cutting the lino is laborious at times, but the results are so incredibly satisfying that any lingering tenderness in my hands or arms is a lovely reminder of the results that can be achieved through perseverance and hard work.

 

 

Why is the art of handmade so important?

The art of handmade is so important because it enables and fosters real connections between people. When making original work, artists reveal their individual experiences, thoughts and ideas through the unique marks, shapes, forms or images they create. Resultant works connect the artist to the viewer in an amazing way; individual experiences, thoughts and ideas are shared, explored and reinterpreted by many. Even if the artist and viewer never meet in person, the connection is real and the impact great.

 

 

All photographs courtesy of Meg Doller.
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Beverley Dowd

Splinter Contemporary Artists member for 16 years

From memory what was the first thing you made with your hands?

Growing up in the fifties there was never money for art materials. At home we used the backs of receipt books for drawings. The first object I remember making was in prep when we were given plasticine. It was a hideous brownish-purple colour, but I loved making a den like a cave with little creatures sheltering inside. I was sad to chuck it back into the box when our art session finished. Much later, at TAFE, I carved this woman from Murray Pine. When I’d only just begun, another student, male and very talented, said dismissively, ‘Oh you’re doing Mary and Jesus.’ Annoyed, I then created ‘Woman with duck’!

 

What are you making with your hands right now?

I love painting and drawing most of all. Recently I have been trying the centuries-old technique of oil glazing. It involves an underpainting in black, grey and white followed by up to 15 separate layers of glazing medium made from Damar Varnish, gum turps and cobalt siccative to which is added tiny amounts of colour. It is such a long process as each layer has to dry completely. (I only got to 8 layers!) At present I am having a go at screen-printing and ceramic sculpture with Japanese transfers. Very much a beginner here. 

Why is the art of handmade so important?

Something made by your own hands is a unique expression of yourself and it has a value and an integrity which machine-made things do not. Machine-made things can be very beautiful and where they display the skill of the original designer, they can also be a work of art. But only a handmade piece conveys the intimate connection between artist/craftsperson and audience/user. My mother was a very skilled knitter who took up weaving in her senior years. She wove the wall-hanging pictured, and as I pass it now, many years after her death, I can still see her working at her loom, totally engrossed in the art of handmade.

 

Photographs courtesy of Beverley Dowd, Lynne Hume and Meg Doller.
Beverley can be contacted via Splinter Contemporary Artists.

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Linda Lee

Artist

 

 

From memory what was the first thing you made with your hands?

I think I played with mud at my Grandma's. I made mud cakes and decorated them with found items like sticks.

 

What are you making with your hands right now?

I have just finished making some poppies for the 5000 Poppies project.* They were made in memory of my husband’s father and grandfather who were both soldiers. My husband belongs to the GV Vietnam Vets and they shared the information on how to make the poppies and get involved. This has been a special project for us.

*As part of the 2015 Anzac Commemoration, the 5000 Poppies project will be “planting” a field of more than 25000 poppies in Fed Square Melbourne as a stunning visual tribute to Australian servicemen and women for more than a century of service in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. http://5000poppies.wordpress.com/about/

 

 

Why is the art of handmade so important?

It gets you back to nature and the basics of making things, from our time in caves. It is both a source of great relaxation, and a wonderful opportunity push the limits of art and creativity.

 

Photographs courtesy of Lynne Hume and Meg Doller.

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Esther Costa

Painter

 

From memory, what was the first thing you made with your hands?

I grew up in England’s north where inclement weather often meant indoor activities. My innovative parents always provided materials and support for my brothers and me to draw, paint, sew, weave and build. My hands were often engaged in my love of drawing but the outdoors beckoned the tomboy in me to build snowmen or elaborate effigies of ‘Guy Fawkes’ for the bonfire. One of the first things I probably made was a daisy chain of the delicate pink and white English daisies which grew in the lawn.

What are you making with your hands right now?

I am crushing locally sourced ochre stones using a hard stone tool. This traditional ‘hands on’ activity produces textured pigments for my paintings and mixed media works. I love the variety of ochre shades available in nature, from almost white through the yellows to rich golden browns. The historical significance of ochre is beautifully documented in Victoria Finlay’s book, Colour – Travels through the paintbox.

Why is the art of handmade so important?

I’m always inspired by the sheer diversity of works by others. During my creative process I find it empowering to understand that each of us is unique and contributes in an original way. This validates my own freedom of expression as I explore and translate my core experiences and new ideas. Through the art of handmade we come to know ourselves.

Photographs courtesy of Esther Costa.
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Isabelle Kawai Vincent

Bachelor of Fine Art - Printmaking

Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary)
Visual artist working in a variety of mediums including relief printing, painting, drawing and photography 

 

From memory, what was the first thing you made with your hands?

As a child I was drawing on everything. Toilet paper, newspapers, cereal packets, books, wrapping paper; anything I could find. Fortunately, my parents knew someone who worked in the Bendigo Advertiser so they managed to get boxes of off-cuts of butcher paper, which was a sanity saver for everyone. At primary school I had queues of students wanting me to draw images of Bambi for them, and I always had the job of drawing chalk images on the black board for events such as Easter and Christmas. 

 

What are you making with your hands right now? 

At this moment I’m working on a portrait of a friend. I’ve stretched raw cotton duck on a frame and not primed it. I use watered down acrylic paint to stain the canvas and produce a loose brush affect. I create the details using water based textas. I find that you can blend the colours with a stiff brush loaded with water if applied immediately after making a mark. So I need to work quickly. Also using textas on my paintings give a ‘drawing’ affect. I then use opaque paint for highlights and to create definition. The two images above are portrait studies for the final piece.

Why is the art of handmade is so important? 

For me personally, art is my first language and I was born an artist. If I don’t make artwork I feel like my ‘mojo’ is missing and can’t live without it. I had put art making aside for several years while raising my children, which I didn’t mind as they were also very important to me. But now they are independent and living their own lives, being an successful artist is my main focus. So, my art making is quite a selfish endeavour.

Recently I met someone who bought an artwork from my Dying Swan series (above) which changed my attitude to my art making. This series is about the ‘space’ between life and death, inspired by my mother, my cat and the ballet, Swan Lake. It’s a ‘space’ where a life and death are at a crossroad and there is struggle to which way to go; return to the living or continue the transition to death. The ballet dancers, although appearing graceful and delicate, need to be physical and psychologically strong to perform successfully, therefore, became a metaphor for my theme.

I was fortunate to be able chat with the buyer and discovered that she had related to this artwork because she almost died and came back to life, therefore, personally experienced that ‘space’. “ I had to have it” were her very words. It was immensely rewarding for me that my artwork had such a meaningful experience for someone else. Therefore, emotionally and spiritually connecting with people is an extremely rewarding by-product of making artwork. It seems that art can express meanings that words cannot define.

All photographs courtesy of Isabelle Kawai Vincent
Isabelle can be contacted via Splinter Contemporary Artists
See more of Isabelle's work at Isabelle Kawai Vincent Artist Page

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Amanda Hocking

 New member of Splinter Contemporary Artists

 

From memory, what was the first thing you made with your hands?

Ever since I can remember my siblings and I were encouraged to be creative. My father was a frustrated fashion designer/artist who was conscripted into a more ”manly” career of engineering to protect his own father’s pride. But as a closet artist, he would spend hours showing his eager young apprentices magic tricks, such as drawing in perspective, composition and how to use colour washes. This was a great way to impress other 6th graders who were struggling with stick men and their iridescent pink faces! 

Each Saturday afternoon Mum and Dad would do the weekly grocery shop leaving us at home. To ensure our safety they would leave us with boxes of craft items and then give us a dire lecture on the terrible things that happen to small children trapped in burning houses because one child, looking straight at me, would be so foolish as to play with matches. “Flood the house” Dad would say, “Break the furniture if you have to but never, never play with matches!”

With such scope at our disposal and a plethora of implements we would set to. If the weather was good we would dig clay out of the garden, lay it out on the patio and shower it with water thus creating mighty muddy rivers and land lumps. When we had finished creating new worlds we would knead the clay until it was pliable (sort of) and then form up a veritable pet shop of animal figures. These we would line up on a baking trays to dry out and then plead with Mum to “fire” in the oven with the Sunday roast.

 

On wet days it was paper mache, collage, potato printing with poster paints or dress making for Barbie. Our younger brother drew the line at the last activity, insisting that if he had to dress Barbie she had to wear a Coventry City soccer outfit!

Needless to say we all survived any potential “fiery” deaths and each one of us have derived great pleasure from our artistic pursuits, my brother is an excellent photographer, my sister paints and is a superb make-up artist and as for me? Well I am still playing in mud, glue and bits of old fabric! 
 

What are you making with your hands right now?

Most of my work at the moment, other than commissions, is in the area of mixed media. I like to use fabrics to build up the ground and then I use acrylic paints and found or recycled objects to create a piece. It is a process that is led by the objects rather than based on a pre-conceived idea. It is great fun looking for bits of “rubbish” and then pondering on a future outcome.

Why is the art of handmade so important?

Well it keeps me sane for a start! It is a wonderful outlet for getting thoughts out of the brain’s circular racetrack. It really is a selfish activity that gives immense pleasure and satisfaction.

If I create an object that gives another pleasure then that is an added bonus!

 

All photographs courtesy of Amanda Hocking
Amanda can be contacted via Splinter Contemporary Artists

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Lynne Hume

Founding member of Splinter Contemporary Artists (Feb 1998)
Photography/printmaking/collage/mixed media artist

From memory, what was the first thing you made with your hands?

I was not encouraged with art as a young person but I do remember as a birthday present I was given a magic painting book where I had only to brush the page with water to make it come alive. At secondary school I was told art was “A man`s realm” and I would not get a job as a commercial artist even if I trained because I was female. So I was 50 before I studied for my diploma of visual art and 56 when I went on to University.

What are you making with your hands right now?                    

Right now I have just started making whimsical little collage works depicting my home town of Kyabram and exploring why I cannot leave the place I have lived in since 1986. I am using layers of different types of paper, handmade or purchased, that I colour with paints, inks, food dyes, pastels or just draw into before and after I collage it onto canvas. For the first time I have started including text in my work.

 

Why is the art of handmade so important?

The importance of handmade is complex because it means different things to different people and nothing to some. Artisans` skills are handed down through the centuries and acquired over a life time. Most artists are connected to their community…they work locally and buy locally and soak up their surrounding culture. I have an appreciation of all handmade works but for me, personally, I have this creative passion that drives me to my studio every day and working with my hands saves my sanity.

All photographs courtesy of Lynne Hume
Lynne can be contacted via Splinter Contemporary Artists
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Kathryn Carroll

Past President of Shepparton Artists
Member of Splinter Contemporary Artists

 

From memory, what was the first thing you made with your hands?

At the end of our street was a pine plantation. One morning a tip truck backed up our street and dumped a load of soil under one of the trees belonging to Mr Leach. There were nine children in the street, all of whom took their place in the pile of dirt. The six big boys made race tracks with tunnels and bridges. They brought their toy cars, making tracks in the dirt.

Colleen and I were 4yr olds. My mother helped us make wooden peg dolls. We used marking pens to make faces and draped material around the pegs, attaching it with fine string and glue. We made little houses out of small boxes using paint and marking pens. We wanted to put the dolls and houses in the dirt pile. Mr Leach said we were having such a wonderful time that he was loathe to use the dirt. So, he rigged a tarp over our little town.

 

 

What are you making with your hands right now?

I have become interested in encaustic art creating fine art with wax - encaustic meaning to burn in - using heat to melt and fuse it. The wax has a mind of its own! I'm just beginning to realise what encaustic offers. Something for everyone. Its unique properties allow encaustic to appear molten, solid, translucent or opaque. It can be modelled sculptured or used with collage, photography or oil paint. More than just a medium or a technique, encaustic has become an artistic unifier.

 

 

Why is the art of handmade so important?

The art of handmade lives with us throughout our lives. To be shown as a child how to cut cloth and stitch, to spin wool to knit, to make sound , to plant a seed, to make bread is the gift of giving and sharing of idea’s.

 

All photographs courtesy of Kathryn Carroll.
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Marcus Dowd

Painter, sculptor & photographer.

 

From memory what was the first thing you made with your hands?

I can't remember what the first thing I made was although I think it was som pottery that I created where I took a round pot and squashed it in the middle so it looked like a bone from above. I think I was about 13. It lasted for many years before being accidentally left outside in the rain and falling to pieces. It was nice to be able to return it to the earth though.

After that, I didn't do any pottery again for many years. The next one I remember doing was a totem pole in my early 20s. I was recovering from a bout of ill health and I poured a lot of my feelings into the little totem pole (having always felt some affinity with Native American spirituality). There was some question at the time whether it would survive firing given the design but it made it through unscathed. Twenty years later, that totem pole still stands on my shelf looking over me. I hope I never break it, it reminds me of the power of art to heal.

What are you making with your hands right now?

I have had an interest in photography for many years and continue to photograph my surroundings whenever I can. However, I am currently working on a painting project (painting having been something I've only taken up in the last twelve months). This project involves murky images of a cityscape but with the green man, the archetypal force of nature peeking out from behind a building. I have always felt a strong affinity with nature and the way indigenous people portrayed the forces of nature. This painting is to symbolise that no matter how we rip out trees and attempt to concrete over everything, nature can and will still come back. One only has to look at a city such as Pripyat in Ukraine (abandoned after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster) to see the truth of this. Pripyat now stands abandoned with trees coming up through buildings and grass growing over the concrete.

Why is the art of handmade so important?

I believe that handmade things portray far more emotion than machine made things could ever do. The artist can really put their soul into the object and create something that preserves their emotions, surviving sometimes many years after the death of the creator. When I look at things I have created, they take me back to how I was feeling when I created the object. Sometimes that takes me to a happy place, sometimes not so happy but just as significant as it symbolises my strength in overcoming adversity at the time.

All photographs courtesy of Marcus Dowd.
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Janet Graham

A Certificate in Ceramics

A Potter and a Painter

A member of Splinter Contemporary Artists for more than 5 years

 

From memory, what was the first thing you made with your hands?

When I was a young child, my Mum was always creating something. My favourite time was lining up when Mum had a wedding cake to ice. She would encourage me to make roses and learn how to use the piping bag. I don't remember painting but Mum has kept in her glory box one of my first paintings. Very abstract but definitely a forest with lots of tones of green. I think clay first grabbed my passion when I was in Room 4 at Primary School. I still have that first pot I made, as seen in the photo above. I think I always knew I would come back to clay.

 

 

What are you making with your hands right now?

At present I paint and do my pottery. I often wake in the middle of the night and have had a dream of an idea I would like to create. At present I’m working on pieces for our exhibition in November. I sketch thumb sketches and then get to the logistics of putting the piece together. The piece in the photo above will eventually be standing.

 

 

Why is the art of handmade so important?

I recently read a quote that said “Creating is good for the soul”. The art of handmade is so important as it lets the person express themselves in a way no one else can. It’s an extension of a person and hopefully it will give a little piece of happiness to someone else. When I’m creating I feel calm, happy and excited all at once. Handmade items let your imagination take flight.

 

All photographs courtesy of Janet Graham.
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Terry Butler

Splinter Contemporary Artists member for approximately ten years.

 

 

From memory what was the first thing you made with your hands?

Being brought up as an only child, I was given, from a very early age, things to draw, paint and glue with. This was to keep me occupied. I used anything I could get my hands on; bits of scrap paper and materials, anything that could be made into something new, I tried.

 

As an artist/craftsperson, my first love was for drawing, design and painting. During my teens I learned to sew. Having studied dress making and drafting in secondary school I designed and made clothes. As I grew older all sorts of crafts came and went but I still had a love of painting and hand craft. Working for a newspaper I was responsible for layout and design in advertising for publications. I produced brochures on a consulting basis for local businesses.

 

On my retirement I decided to take up painting seriously. After tuition with various prominent local artists I had my first exhibition in oils at Mitchelton Winery in 2005. I exhibited there again in 2008 and 2009. I have been a member of Splinter Contemporary Artist for approximately ten years, exhibiting with the group in almost every show during this time. I have also exhibited in the Friends of SAM (Shepparton Art Museum) exhibition every year for the last ten years as well as many local Rotary Art exhibitions.

 

What are you making with your hands right now? Why is the art of handmade so important?

What I am working on at the moment is a crochet baby cot cover for my friend. Her granddaughter is having a girl in August. I have made three rugs so far this year; one for my daughter-in-law, one for a friend and one for my step daughter, all about 160cm square. I find if I am not doing something with my hands of a night when it’s time to relax then I get bored very easily. Wool in the winter is good to work with. The gift of handmade is priceless.

 

All photographs courtesy of Terry Butler.
Terry can be contacted via Splinter Contemporary Artists.
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