INDIGENOUS SKILLS DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP WITH LINDA VAN DER MERWE

Who: Yinjaa Barni artists, Linda van der Merwe
Where: Yinjaa Barni Centre, Roebourne
When: November 2007 Partners: Yinjaa Barni artists, PIlbara Iron, the State Government through WARIS funds, the Department of Culture and the Arts and the Department of Transport and Regional Services

This follow up workshop with Linda van der Merwe built on the work done by Lesley Munro earlier in the year.  Up to 22 people participated at Yinjaa Barni every day and each made a colour wheel and grey scale before mixing complementary colours to expand from a limited palette to almost unlimited possibilities.

The group really enjoyed the workshops and loved seeing copies of paintings that Linda had made in Cossack and Roebourne almost twenty years previously using the same limited palette.

Jilinbirri Weavers ‘Make time to talk’ Artopia Residency

Who: Jilinbirri Weavers and Janine McAullay Bott
Where: Old Customs House Studio, artsource in Fremantle
When: October 2007
Partners: Jilinbirri Weavers, Relationships Australia through Healthway and the Department of Culture and the Arts

As a part of the Artopia Festival event, the Jilinbirri Weavers traveled from the Gascoyne to take part in an exciting residency opportunity and to work closely with Noongar artist Janine McAullay Bott. The women stayed in the Old Customs House residential studio at artsource in Fremantle. The ladies also made a day trip to the Swan Valley to talk with well known fibre-textiles artist Nalda Searles; visited the Gallery at Ellenbrook to see a wonderful exhibition featuring works by Nalda Searles and Kate Campbell-Pope and visited the Indigenart Gallery in Subiaco.

Works developed over the residency together with work the weavers brought with them were shown during the Old Customs House artists Preview and Open Weekend during Artopia 2007.

Indigenous Illustration workshop with Ann James-Perth

Who: Indigenous Illustration workshop with Ann James-Perth
Where: Central TAFE, Perth
When: 2nd -5th October 2007
Partners: Presented by WritingWA, artsource, Magabala Books and Central TAFE with funding from Australia Council for the Arts.

Artsource assisted in coordinating a 4 day illustration intensive from the 2nd -5th October with award winning children’s book illustrator Ann James.

The workshop was attended by 9 Indigenous and 4 Non-Indigenous artists. Over the 4 days the group explored creating and developing characters, interpreting text into visuals, storyboards and dummies, drawing from life, drawing from visual reference (photos), and drawing from memory. The majority of the artists now plan to seek work in the sector.

The workshop was a response to the need for more Indigenous illustrators, particularly in the field of Children’s Literature

Relationships Australia ‘Make time to talk’ Workshop with Paula Hart

Who: Relationships Australia Make time to talk Workshop with Paula Hart
Where: Mirrga Balardu Maya Art Group
When: September 2007

Partners: Roebourne Art Group

With support from Healthway and Relationships Australia community artist Paula Hart and Glenn Pilkington traveled with to work with the Mirrga Balardu Maya Art Group in Roebourne on a banner making project. The group is made up of younger people who use the space to meet, learn about making artwork and acquiring other skills. The project was a great success with two large banners produced for the centre.

Relationships Australia ‘Make Time to Talk’ Skills Workshop with Julie Clampett

Who: Make time to talk Skills Development Workshops
Where: Wiluna
When: August 20th –24th
Partners: Relationships Australia and Healthway with Tjukurba Gallery Artists

artsource Regional Coordinator Sonja Parmenter traveled to Wiluna with textiles artist Julie Clampett to the work with a group of women in the Mid West. The workshop explored dying techniques that utilise the natural resources available in the area. Over 40 people participated over the week including young people from the region who helped collect and gather all the natural bush materials on day one.

Skills Development in the West Pilbara

Who: West Pilbara Skills Development Workshops
Where: Yinja Barni Art Group, Roebourne
When: July 2007
Partners: Roebourne Art Group, PIlbara Iron

Western Australian artist Lesley Munro and Glenn Pilkington traveled delivered a series of skills development and professional development workshops to a group of artists in the West Pilbara. The workshops also discussed the importance of good documentation and how to prepare a portfolio. Workshops ran from 11 -13th July.

Memento Awards Australia in Western Australia

Who: Memento Australia Product Development Workshops
Where: Roebourne, Geraldton, Carnarvon, Perth
When: July 2007
Partners : Roebourne Art Group

Sonja Parmenter, Regional Coordinator for Mid West, Glenn Pilkington, Regional and Indigenous Program Manager and Darren Jenkins from Creative Economy (Brisbane), made trips to Geraldton, Karratha, Carnarvon and Perth to promote the Memento awards. The workshops provided advice and feedback to artists, designers and craftspeople on publicity + marketing, presentation, pricing work and developing quality products. These were designed to encourage entries to the 2007 Memento award.
Geraldton artist Kathryn Chynoweth’s proposal was short listed and Sonja assisted Kathryn to successfully apply for Artflight to go the awards ceremony in Brisbane.

Artist Mob in the Goldfields

Who: Artists Mob workshops in the Goldfields
Where: Kalgoorlie
When: 8 May - 10 May 2007
Partners: Desert Art Kalgoorlie, Goldfields Esperance Development Commission, Lyn Webb - Photographer

Artsource Regional coordinator Ashley Smith and Jude van der Merwe delivered small workshops about developing a profile including a CV, biography, collecting images of artwork. Working with Monika Mokhayber from Desert Art, the workshops focused on photographing artists work, assisting people to write their story and develop a list of collections and exhibitions.

Documentation, Portfolio and Copyright

Who: Artists Mob workshops in the Gascoyne
Where: Carnarvon
When: May 8th – May 10th
Partners : Carnarvon CDEP and Jilinbirri Weavers, ArtsWA

Glenn Pilkington delivered a two day workshop with a group of 10 artists focusing on the rights of artists, correct procedures fro documenting your artwork and compiling a portfolio. The Carnarvon CDEP group are an exciting group of artists who Artsource began working with in late 2006.

‘Make Time to Talk’ Skills Workshop with Julie Clampett

Who: Make time to talk Skills Development Workshops
Where: Carnarvon
When: May 7th – May 11th
Partners: Department for Community Development, Relationships Australia and Healthway

Fibre artist Julie Clampett and Glenn Pilkington traveled to the Gascoyne to work with a group of women known as the Jillibirri Weavers. The group have been weaving baskets and other objects in a community setting producing high quality, colourful baskets The workshop will explored dying techniques that utilise the natural resources available in the area.

‘Make Time to Talk’ Skills Workshop with Julie Clampett

Who: Make time to talk Skills Development Workshops
Where: Laverton
When: April 29 – May 4th
Partners : Curtin University, Relationships Australia through Healthway

Directions from Perth. Go east 600 kms to Kalgoorlie, 360 km north to Leonora and then 120 km east. Laverton is on the western edge of the Great Victoria Desert and is the last fuel stop before Docker River.

As part of a broader project investigating the native plants and their properties for a regeneration project following mining, Professor Louis Evans of Curtin University wished to find ways of adding value to the Laverton community’s experience. Community members were providing expert advice about the plants, their location and properties; and Julie Clampett, an Indigenous artist and bush dye expert, became involved through her abiding desire to share knowledge.

Two, week long workshops into natural dyeing techniques were arranged; plants found, described and collected; dye pots developed. Plants collected include eucalpyts, kulgula, kurrajong, quandong, smokebush and sandalwood. Julie demonstrated shibori and tyeing techniques which the group adapted to their own vernacular making small cloth works that replicated some of the mark making.

The learning for all parties, and the continuation of knowledge across generations are wonderful outcomes of the experience. Finding medicine plants and seeds for grinding into damper flour add to everyone’s capacity to understand and respect this extraordinary land. The group continue to make dyes and create cloth in what we believe is the beginning of an exceptional group practice. One of workshop attendees who is presently employed part time at Laverton, Marie Edmonds, agreed to coordinate a bush dye project for one day a week and work with local Aboriginal women to produce dyed silk scarves for sale locally and elsewhere. The group has been working for two months now and have produced some beautiful dyed scarves using local plants of cultural significance to the Wongutha people.

Skills Development in the West Pilbara

Who: West Pilbara Skills Development Workshops
Where: Wickham Hall
When: April 2007
Partners : Roebourne Art Group, Pilbara Iron

West Australian artist Lesley Munro traveled with Glenn Pilkington to deliver a series of skills development and professional development workshops to a group of artists in the West Pilbara. The week of workshops explored colour and mixing paints as well as talking with artists about the different types of paints that were on had for them to experiment with.