Art, book stall, talks & demonstrations
Find the Talks & Sponsors Hall in Catherine Park, Scotland Island. The park is the hub for WaterMarks – pick up a bite to eat and visit the hall located along Robertson Road.
Highlights:
- Artists: Juliet Holmes à Court, Paul Smith, Tracy Smith, Marion van den Driesschen
- Authors: Susan Duncan, Juliette Robertson, Michele Blundstone & Nathalie Muir
Talks & demonstrations
Saturday 24th September 2011
- 11 am: Talk, book signing and tasting with Michèle Blundstone & Nathalie Muir: Michèle & Nathalie’s Kitchen: A journey into the world of Couscous, Quiches and Paëlla
- 12 pm: Demonstration: Derivan Artist Materials with artist Tracy Smith
- 1 pm: Book reading: John Travers, Water Access Only
- 2 pm: Talk: artist Juliet Holmes à Court
- 3 pm: Demonstration: Derivan Artist Materials with artist Paul Smith
- 4 pm: Book reading: Juliette Robertson, Water Access Only
Sunday 25th September 2011
- 11 am: New book signing: author Susan Duncan, The Briny Café
- 12 pm: Demonstration: Derivan Artist Materials with artist Marion van den Driesschen
- 1 pm: Book reading: Philip & Trilby Bond, Water Access Only
- 2 pm: Talk: artist Juliet Holmes à Court
- 3 pm: Demonstration: Derivan Artist Materials with artist Ellie Shore
- 4 pm: Talk and book signing with Michèle Blundstone & Nathalie Muir: Michèle & Nathalie’s Kitchen: A journey into the world of Couscous, Quiches and Paëlla
Sponsors & stalls
- The Art Shop Mona Vale: with special event offers and exciting and interesting materials for artists
- Book stall:
- Author Susan Duncan’s new book: The Briny Café
- Juliette Robertson’s book: Water Access Only
- Art Alamanac
- Information stall:
- Pangolin Associates: sustainability specialists helping to ‘green’ WaterMarks
- Art Van Go: fine art transport
- Blue Glider: website and usability specialists: WaterMarks website and online communications
Artists
Saturday, Sunday 2 pm: artist talk
Artist Juliet Holmes à Court will show her paintings and speak on both days.
Tony Geddes, Director of the Mosman Galleries:
“Juliet’s work reveals an unrelenting fascination for light and movement and the critical role these elements can play 
in creating a strong sense of mystery and ambiguity in painting.”
Juliet says that “BEING AN ARTIST is about wrestling with shape, colour, composition, and the sheer stuff of paint, and how you can learn to work it so that it becomes your language to communicate.”
This statement sums up years of Juliet Holmes à Court’s life as an artist. Her body of work pays its dues to abstraction and the idea that the surface of a picture can be a site for contemplation and self reflection, and no need not bear any deliberate relationship to the outside world.
Juliet is working towards her next show at the Australian Galleries in February 2012. She teaches regularly at the Art Gallery NSW where she’s given workshops over 5 years. Juliet’s classes book out up to 6 months in advance.
Saturday, 3 pm: Derivan demonstration
As well as an artist in his own right, Paul Smith is a world renowned master printmaker. Paul will demonstrate how he uses Matisse products: impasto, gel mediums and artist quality gesso to create his unique printing plates called colloblocks.
With the colloblock technique Paul has printed limited edition prints with some of Australia’s best known artists: Euan Macleod, Margaret Olley, Tim Storrier and many more.
He now combines his colloblock printing technique with Matisse structure paints to build his incredible 3D paintings, as seen at WaterMarks stop: Gone Fishing Gallery.
Saturday, 12 pm: Derivan demonstration
Sculpting, painting, writing, living and working on Scotland Island.
Artist Tracy Smith has exhibited extensively throughout Australia. Her work is often selected for prestigious exhibitions by well known critics such as John MacDonald and Betty Churcher. Tracy has exhibited in The Salon des Refuses, The Gallipoli Art Prize, The Blake Prize, Sculpture in the Vineyards, and many more. She was awarded the Fleurieu Peninsular Vistas Prize with a small triptych fresco, Mapping Histories.
Tracy’s art practice is all about the exploration of new media and effectively combining them with traditional techniques. In her WaterMarks demonstration she will show you her secrets for applying images and text to traditional fresco surfaces.
Sunday, 12 pm: Derivan demonstration, mixed media
One of the great lessons I have learnt as a teacher, is to facilitate students’ creativity so they can discover their own language in art, based upon the development of their skills and knowledge, about drawing and painting and the use of media. The more skills and knowledge one has, the more creative one can be through experimentation and play.
This demonstration of mixed media, will focus upon the use of acrylics, water soluble pastels, chalks, and collage on paper. We will be looking at the process of constructing an artwork from an idea or concept, building layer upon layer and through playful experimentation to allow the painting to develop as we go along.
This approach to using mixed media, is one which encourages one to free up and to focus upon the process, rather than the outcome. Sometimes we can become so anxious about creating a master piece, that it actually stifles our creativity.
The Briny Café
Author Susan Duncan introduces her new book, a novel: The Briny Café. The book’s cover artist is WaterMark’s Nettie Lodge.
Susan will sign and read from her book in the Hall on Sunday, 25 September at 11 am. Meanwhile, read about Pittwater and this unique offshore community in Susan’s books: Salvation Creek, The House at Salvation Creek, and A Life on Pittwater.
John Travers, Juliette Robertson, Philip & Trilby Bond
Water Access Only
To really appreciate the flavour of living an offshore life, one can’t go much further than this very entertaining, and heart felt compilation of true life short stories that capture the sights, sounds, hilarious and tragic experiences of some of Pittwater’s most colourful offshore residents.
Professionally compiled by local island resident and writer Juliette Robertson, and edited by John Hoffmann, this popular book has already sold over 1,500 copies. Now in its third reprint, it makes a wonderful addition to the library of anyone who has yearned to live or has lived a Water Access Only lifestyle.
‘A rare and wonderful collection of offshore-life stories…funny, poignant, poetic and downright classy.’ - Susan Duncan, author of The Briny Café and Salvation Creek.
I have rarely enjoyed anything as much…It is so alive…The entries in the book are written..with love, humour, understanding, experience, personal involvement, acceptance of whatever comes, courage, and enjoyment…. — Margaret Symonds, writer and critic.
John Travers, Juliette Robertson, and Philip and Trilby Bond will read from Water Access Only on both Saturday and Sunday.
Michèle Blundstone & Nathalie Muir
Michèle and Nathalie’s Kitchen: A journey into the world of Couscous, Quiches and Paëlla
Michèle Blundstone and Nathalie Muir first met at a wine tasting function on Scotland Island in Sydney’s beautiful Pittwater. Both were residents there, but neither had any idea that they shared far more in common. Over a glass, or two, they discovered a remarkable connection. Not only were they French, but both had been born in Casablanca, Morocco and shared a passion for food and cooking.
A desire to see their beloved recipes in print led to the birth of Michèle and Nathalie’s Kitchen. They decided to organise a few cooking classes on the Island and from the success of those cooking demonstrations this book has evolved.
Hear Michèle and Nathalie speak about their food and new cookbook. The authors will speak, sign books and provide a few tasty samples on Saturday, 24 September at 11 am in the Hall.
