Art on Amiens - Official Opening

The 'Art on Amiens' Art Trail will officially open on Friday, 2 September 2011.

We will be hosting the opening here at 'Nest' and festivities will kick off from 6pm. Some of the wineries involved with the trail - Ravens Croft Wines, Robert Channon Wines and Summit Estate Wines - have all kindly donated wine for the event.

Our spring-time exhibition includes all 'adopted artists' from the trail as well as a few extras, so it is sure to be an amazing collection of works! I can't wait to see it all up and ready for opening night.

If you can't make opening night, try and pop out along Amiens Rd sometime during Spring to see a wonderful variety of fantastic art in some beautiful locations.

Reduction Cut Workshop - the results!

What an amazing weekend of printing we've had here at 'Nest'!

Guided by the very talented Eva Rasmussen, we delved into the world of Reduction Cut Printing. The two-day workshop covered everything from getting our design onto the plate, when and how to cut each colour, preparing the ink and transferring the inked-up plate onto the paper.

Adding each colour was always nerve-wracking, but SO interesting to see the various effects we created ... even if they were accidental at times!

Each student had such varying styles, that it was very interesting to see what everyone produced by the end of the weekend.

It was lovely to have the gallery full of such wonderful, creative people. The weather was also very kind to us, warming up nicely throughout the day! (even if we did have frosty toes in the morning).

Silk Painting and Dyeing Workshop

Saturday saw us play host to our first 'Silk Painting and Dyeing' Workshop!

Awakening to a frosty morning here at 'Nest', I was hoping our trusty wood heater would do the trick and heat up the gallery enough to reach to the workshop space! It did quite well ... and the ladies were so busy dyeing up a storm that the weather was of no importance!

The tutor, Sue Jurd, took the students through the process of mixing the dyes, melting the wax and showing them various techniques to create different effects on their silk. Each student finished up with four scarves, each demonstrating a different method of dyeing or painting silk.

Some of the results are in the images above.

The workshop was such a success, that we have already filled a second workshop to run in October. We may consider a third, so if you're interested, please email me at emma@nestgallery.com.au.

The Mosaic ... a progress report

I think I may have mentioned some time ago that I was in the process of mosaicing (is that a word??) the front of the old wine press out the front of the gallery.

Well ... while I would love to say I am finished, this is not the case ... but we are definitely getting there. When I say 'we', I mean my four-year old son and I. He is in charge of picking the pieces that he thinks fits best and I apply them to the wine press ... although our roles do change frequently, depending on his mood.

The weather hasn't been the best for finishing the mosaic, but as soon as it is, Sonny and I are back on the job to get the press done!

We now also have the added incentive of the 'Art on Amiens' Art Trail, opening September, to motivate us to get it finished in time!

Stay tuned for the finished product!

Reduction Cut Workshop - enrolments closing soon!

Our Silk Painting workshop is now full, and we are looking at holding a second one in September. If you're interested, please contact me on emma@nestgallery.com.au.

If lino printing is your thing, perhaps you would be interested in our Reduction Cut workshop. All details are below.

Reduction Cut Lino Printing
Tutor: Eva Rasmussen
When: 23 and 24 July 2011
Time: 9am – 4pm
Cost: $150 (plus $15 for cost of materials)
Registration closes Friday, 8 July 2011

A two-day workshop, where students will be taught to print a multi coloured print from one plate. This exciting way of cutting and printing requires some experience in lino printing.
Students will be guided through the steps of colour use to express form and highlights in the finished print.
Students should bring a prepared drawing, no bigger than A4, with a bold design and strong colour separations in 4-5 colours, preferable primary colours.
Examples of a step-by-step work will be available to view, together with some finished works.
Each student can purchase a pack with A4 vinyl cutting plate, paper to produce five prints, and step-by-step instruction printout. The cost of the pack is $15. Extra paper is available for purchase. Water soluble ink will be used in this workshop.

To download an enrolment form, please go to our website.

Silk Painting and Dyeing Workshop - Enrolments Closing Soon!

Spaces in our upcoming workshops are filling fast, which has been great to see! We still have a couple of spaces available in our Silk Painting and Dyeing Workshop on 9 July however.

All the details are below ... and if you're keen to enrol, please go to our website to download an enrolment form.

Silk Painting and Dyeing
Tutor: Sue Jurd
When: Saturday, 9 July 2011
Time: 9am – 4pm
Cost: $120
Registration closes, Friday 24 June 2011

Students will paint or dye four scarves during the day and will experiment with a number of techniques. Scarves will be completed and ready to take home by the end of the session.
Students will be working with fibre reactive dyes, some common household chemicals, hot wax and shellite.
The cost of the workshop includes all dyes, equipment, four scarves and tuition.

Thinking about visiting the Granite Belt?

With the cooler weather upon us, it is the ideal time to come and visit us here in the Granite Belt. Curl up by the fire and enjoy some of the finest wine Queensland has to offer.
The Granite Belt Wine Country website has all the information you will need to plan the perfect weekend getaway.
http://www.granitebeltwinecountry.com.au/

Or visit the blog to see what is happening right now on the Granite Belt!
http://granitebeltwinecountry.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to seeing you soon!