Walk up the road from Tennis Court Wharf. At the top of the hill, look to the right. You’ll see the Scotland Island Fire Shed.
Our island Fire Shed is also a community hub for dinners and meetings. During WaterMarks it is an art and refreshment stop.
Find the works of sculptors Rick Tailby and Martin Williams. See artists Anne Willman, Anne and Kauri Palmer, and photographers Jonathan Duhig and Tracy Ponich. Marion van den Driesschen’s island art students will also show: Amber Ellis, Shar Jones, Carol Floyd and Kathy James.
- See Rick Tailby’s bio
- See Martin Williams bio
- See Anne Willman’s bio
- See Anne Palmer’s bio
- See Kauri Palmer’s bio
- See Jonathan Duhig’s bio
- See Tracy Ponich’s bio
Bios: artists at this stop
‘Organic meets Technology’
Rick Tailby is an artist crossing many genres. Drawing, Painting, Music and Sculpture.
He was born and raised in Melbourne and studied Art at Melbourne State College, majoring in drawing and sculpture. He has lived and worked around the world, including New York, Washington, Berlin and Fiji.
Living on Scotland Island in Pittwater NSW for the past 11 years has provided a rich source of inspiration and raw materials. Termites, fire, ants and lightning strikes all contribute to the design of each piece, a process that potentially takes hundreds of years.
“I have an intense fascination with timber, especially the remnants of these ancient eucalypts”.
In 2002 Rick opened Grange Wares a gallery in the historic Argyle Stores in The Rocks, showcasing a range of sculptural furniture and pieces and collaborating with like-minded ceramic and digital artists. His pieces found homes throughout Europe, America and Asia.
“These pieces represent incredible resilience and a quiet determination in enduring one of the harshest environments in the world. My wood pile is part of the family, we hang out together until things happen”
Here is Martin’s story of a lady.
She was first modelled in clay, transferred to plaster, cut from her cask and then bronzed.
Martin Williams when not lecturing in communications loves messing with clay. He was educated in Scotland and studied art at school, but chose a career in advertising.
Martin has studied art and etching at Bondi Waverley Art School 
and specialised in sculpture from the model at Tom Bass School of Sculpture, with whom he took lessons up to the master’s death 2 years ago.
He loves on the Island with Juliet!
Artist Anne Willman was born in Geneva Switzerland in 1966. She studied graphic design and illustration during a 5 year course at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Geneva.
Since, Anne has been working with a variety of design firms in 
Switzerland, Indonesia and Australia, producing high quality illustrations & designs for commercial and private clients.
Anne’s paintings evoke the spiritual dancing forms found in the natural landscape and the ever shifting aspects of our environment.
Anne Palmer is constantly amazed by reactions to her work.
Just 2 years ago she picked up a paint brush for the first time in art class on Scotland Island run by artist Marion van den Driesschen. Her first ever canvas was sold before it was finished, 
commissions and a solo show soon followed.
Anne realised that she should dedicate more of her time to developing her art, and started a Fine Arts Diploma. At the end of the first year she won an award for ‘Outstanding Digital Media.’ She is continuing with her studies and one of her pieces has recently been selected, from entries from over 54 countries, into the semi-finals of the Charlatan Ink Prize in New York.
Thus Anne is exploring and experimenting with a variety of mediums and subjects. However, she loves the divine expression of the female form and her studio hosts a weekly Life Drawing Group on the island. She also appreciates the way a face can tell a life time of stories. Anne’s portrait work is on display in the UK, US and in Australia. The more spacial and 3 dimensional aspects of sculpture and collage also intrigue Anne, and she received a distinction for her sculptural course work last year.
Her work in the WaterMarks event includes all of these elements, together with some interesting pieces which investigate the concept of light shining through artwork.
Kauri is
Anne
Palmer’s
8
year
old
daughter.
She
too
loves
art
and
painting.
At the tender age of 6 she had her first exhibition and sold all of her pieces by the end of the first day!
She does not want to put a price on her work and so her pieces are for sale by donation.
Jon Duhig is a local photographer capturing the life and locale of the offshore communities.
His current project is with Joy Wyton who is collecting the stories of some of the beautiful boats in Pittwater.
Early light on native bushland, and reflected on water, is subject for recent photos. Tracy Ponich sometimes combines the two, details of native bush and water, by layering images.
Initially, Tracy’s interest in art was academic and curatorial. She worked on a doctorate at the University of Toronto in the 1990’s specialising in 15th century Italian painters. At the time she taught a range of art history courses at the University, from Medieval to Modern. Tracy has also had research and curatorial assignments at MoMA New York, University of Toronto art collections, and the Italian Cultural Institute.
She is amused that her rigorous study of European art now years later influences photos of Australian bush. In particular, the qualities and effects of light, shadow and texture.
