22 July – 25 August 2024

Beric Henderson began his career in science, having completed a PhD in biology (University of Sydney, 1990) and is now a full-time practicing artist. His work is naturally influenced by his background in science, with a strong emphasis on the essence of life and our connection with nature. He is currently working on two main series of works examining the beauty and fragility of the oceans and the transformative processes behind natural biodiversity. 

Henderson received some formal art training at Southern Sydney Technical College (St George TAFE), and has work held in private collections throughout the world, as well as multiple corporate collections throughout Australia. His work has featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions, alongside a selection of prizes including the Adelaide Perry Drawing Prize (four times), Korea Australia Art Foundation (KAAF) Art prize, Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, St George Art Prize and winner of the Port Macquarie Art Prize (open category) in 2014. He recently completed a residency in Hobart where he did research preparing for an ocean-related exhibition at Manning Regional Gallery (Taree) late in 2024.


Image above: The Artist in front of his 3D artwork Transcendence, ink and acrylic on Perspex. Image courtesy of the Artists’ website.
Image below: Transcendence (2022). ink and acrylic on Perspex. Image courtesy of the Artist’s website.

Henderson intends to use his residency at Carss Park to consolidate an understanding of the area and his prior reading of the Landscape Heritage Study of Carss Bush Park. As an artist he has an interest in how the local community interacts with the site. Henderson intends to visually explore the historical aspect of the Park’s development, alongside the changing face of the grounds surrounding the Carss Park cottage through photos, sketches and painting studies. 

The Georges River community will have the opportunity to gain more insight into Beric’s practice through his planned artist talk and open studio. He also intends on contributing a small 3D Perspex painting to the local collection - at this stage he anticipates it to be a 3D version of the original Carss Park cottage building as it looked a century past.

Instagram: @berichenderson.
Visit Beric Henderson's website.

2 September - 29 September 2024

Marielle Gonier is a dance and mixed media artist who creates by offering a singular vision where arts and movements mix; she defines this as “conceiving a sensitive path between the internal world and the tangible in movement.” Her reflections often refer to socio-philosophical questions such as the human condition, the place of the sensitive in modern society, and the environment.

Gonier built her classical dance and music training at the conservatory and went on to continue further study in New York at the Russian Ballet School in Broadway, alongside the Jennifer Goubé Ballet School and at the International Dance Academy in Paris. She also obtained a Master in Performing Arts at the University of Paris VIII. Marielle is currently the founder of Un jour / Une performance, where she devotes herself to multidisciplinary artistic creations, performances, and artwork in collaboration across a range of artistic, literary and health areas.

Image above: Catharsis - Study 1 Performance, at BigCi, (Blue Mountains). Image courtesy of the Artist’s website.
Image below: Image courtesy of the Artists’ website.

Marielle’s dance and performance-based practice has been inspired by nature and she hopes to use her residency at Carss Park to draw inspiration from the natural surroundings in and around the park. Having responded to her previous international contexts, Gonier would like to see her practice respond directly to the Australian environment. 

A body expression class will be offered and facilitated by Marielle in which participants will be introduced to various ways in which to express something abstract with their bodies. This is a class open to all ages and all dance levels. This class will be facilitated within the natural context of Carss Park, in contrast to a performance space.

Instagram: @mariellemadly.
Portfolio: Marielle Gonier.

7 October – 1 December 2024

Maureen is a writer based on the East Coast of NSW on Dharawal country. She loves writing speculative (science fiction/fantasy and horror) and crime fiction short stories and novels, though has also dabbled in poetry. She has written since her early twenties but began taking her art practice seriously in 2018 after being accepted into the 2018 Hardcopy program for emerging writers (funded by the Australia Council for the Arts). Her short stories have been featured in A Hand of Knaves, Temporal Fractures [mis]adventures in Time, Beginnings: Australian Speculative Fiction Anthology Volume 1, and Stories of Hope. She has also published A Study in Time and most recently Child of Ash & Flame as well as a collection of poetry.

Maureen will spend her time at the Carss Park residency researching, planning and drafting a psychological crime novel. The novel will be a stand alone about a young woman who cares for her disabled mother whilst working for the Department of Social Services as a political staffer supporting an inquiry into NDIS provider rorts. This novel will deal with a range of timely and sensitive issues around the rights of people with disability and their carers, the failures to protect people with disabilities and their families from abuse and the complex relationships that develop between families in an environment where additional care is given and received.

Maureen will facilitate a writer’s workshop, ‘cultivating a writer community’. This workshop will cover issues which include why a community matters for your writing, how to find one, meeting expectations and how to best use writing communities to develop yourself as a writer.

To highlight this workshop, Maureen will be hosting some write-in sessions at the cottage where local writers can choose to come and join her in creating words and discussing their work/reading from their work. 

Instagram: @maureenflynnauthor   
Visit the author's website

     
Image (left) artist Maureen Flynn,              Image (right) Child of Ash & Flame by Maureen Flynn
Courtesy of the artist's website.                 Courtesy of the artist's website.                                    

22 January – 3 March 2024

‘Confluence’ installation, Water: presence & absence, curator Rilka Oakley, Blue Mountains City Art Gallery, Dec 2022 – Jan 2023. Artists Rochelle Summerfield large-scale drawing and wall painting, with Tracy Pateman small metals and Will Rodgers sound, Silversalt photography.

Rochelle Summerfield is a multidisciplinary artist working with drawing, paint, collage, print media and installation. Her practice is deeply influenced by her connections and experiences with her local rivers and habitat in Northern NSW. In the field she makes large scale ‘tree portraits’ that are imbued with the waters and sediments of the River. 

Summerfield received her Master of Research and Bachelor (First Class Hons) of Visual Arts from Southern Cross University, Lismore, where she trained in contemporary printmaking and drawing.  Her work has been acquired by numerous public and private collections, including the Print Council of Australia and State Library of Victoria. She has exhibited in notable exhibitions including Water: Presence & Absence, curator Rilka Oakley, Blue Mountains City Art Gallery (2022), in Irreverent Matter at Hazelhurst Arts Centre (2021), the Windmill Trust Scholarship 20th Anniversary Retrospective, Murray Art Museum, Albury (2017), and solo shows including Crossroads, Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo (2019) and Penrith Regional Gallery (2017). Rochelle was awarded overall winner in the 2017 Moreton Bay Region Art Awards and has toured nationally in ‘As Far As The Eye Can See’, with Rilka Oakley curator of Blue Mountains City Art Gallery. She has completed several residences such as Penrith Regional Gallery (2017), Hazelhurst Arts Centre NSW and Freemantle Arts Centre (2019), WA.  She has received several grants including the NSW Artists’ Grant in 2019 for her multimedia video project, ‘Crossroads’ through NAVA. 

Artist's Instagram: @rochelleartist.
Visit Rochelle Summerfield's website.

Right: Rochelle in her studio surrounded by her tests and drawings of the trees she loves for an upcoming solo show ‘On the River’s edge we meet’ at Grafton Regional Gallery, 2023. Image courtesy of the Artist.

Rochelle used her time at Carss Park to further explore the relationship between rivers and trees in riparian landscapes (relating to or situated on the banks of a river). Through initial sketches, studies, and tests of river sediment from the Georges River, Rochelle then created large scale Tree drawings. 

Early in the residency, Rochelle engaged with the community and local Bushcare groups, allowing her to get to know the local environment, to assist with weed eradication, and to see the work they have achieved. This gave her the opportunity to share her experience as an artist who works in and with the environment, and to learn about significant trees and other native vegetation in the area.

Rochelle also hosted a pop-up exhibition and meet and greet at the Carss Park Lifesaving Hall, where she shared and discussed what she has achieved during this residency. Participants perused materials such as sketches, river sediment tests as well as her large scale work in progress ‘Tree portrait’ work in progress, demonstrating Rochelle’s approach to these two key elements in the riparian environment. Rochelle found that participants loved to share their stories about favourite or life-changing experiences of place as well. 

6 February - 2 April 2023

Lissa-Jane de Sailles is a basket maker and fibre sculptor based in Nowra, NSW. Her inspiration comes from the patterns and repetitive cycles of the natural world. She has completed a Bachelor of Arts in History and English Literature at the University of Wollongong and discovered a passion for traditional and contemporary basketry. Lissa-Jane now divides her time by teaching, making and furthering her skills with a number of internationally renowned master basket makers. Over the past five years she has been awarded several scholarships which have enabled her to continue her practice and fibre art studies overseas. 
 
Red waratah girl, paper on Skin 2022 runner up.
Image (right): Grant Wells model: Kelsey Bos.

Lisa further developed her basketry practice within the beautiful and natural setting of the Carss Park cottage and surroundings. Alongside her practice she delivered a comprehensive range of public programs which included a weekend ‘Weaving with weeds’ workshop and a 4-week course covering a variety of basketry techniques. As part of her mapping project, participants were given the opportunity to join her in a walk around Carss Park to learn about caring for wild places as well as discuss the uses of native and exotic plants for making baskets and fibre art. 

    
Weaving with weeds workshop (left) and basketry making workshop (right).
Images courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

During her residency Lissa-Jane offered two workshops. 

• Weaving workshop: Weaving with Weeds: two consecutive informative sessions where participants had hands on experience working in nature using found and foraged natural materials that can be used in basketry construction and decorative art for the home. Participants learnt the basics of age-old basketry skills and how to make cordage as well as how to identify, harvest and prepare plant materials for weaving and stitching small baskets. 

• Four Week Basketry Course: In this four-week course participants learnt various basketry techniques such as random weave, twining, coiling, plaiting, braiding, and looping. Each week classes began by discussing how to harvest and prepare locally foraged plant materials and how to use them in basketry construction. The course aimed to familiarise participants with basic basketry techniques so that you can practice your skills at home independently.

Image (right): example of basket weaving (detail) 2021, Image courtesy of the Artist.

17 April – 11 June 2023


A weird entanglement, 2021.
Multi format performance, crafted artifacts, video and live-art presentation. Image courtesy of the Artists’ website

Marta and Karl are a collaborative artist-research team that specialize in the creation of community driven projects that engage landscape, nature, memory, and future sustainment.

In response to emerging conditions of crisis, transition and instability from Northern Italy and Australia, they decided to relocate to the small island of Sant’Antioco in Sardinia to absorb the knowledge maintained by a 'maistu the pannu' — a master weaver that conserves the original techniques of spinning with the 'fuso', natural dyeing, ancient designs, patterns and stitches. This ongoing process of learning and reflection has opened up a new relationship with nature, landscape and art. Here weaving becomes a powerful tool of meditation and connection with the self, others, and the land.

Marta completed studies at the school of ancient weaving of Maestro Chiara Vigo, attended the National Film School in Sardinia and Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Animation and has an Honours Degree in Fine Arts. Karl has an (Hons) Bachelor’s Degree of Design from COFA and in 2020 completed a PhD at Charles Sturt University, School of Design. They have work in and have been commission by major institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, the Brisbane Museum, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne and the Auckland Triennial. 

They have completed numerous residences and won a variety of awards, some of which include Nature, Art & Habitat Residency, An ECO-Laboratory of Multidisciplinary Practice, Taleggio Valley, Bergamo, Italy, Viadellafucina – Twinning Residency, winner of Concorso FABER,Turin, Australia Council for the Arts Skills and Arts Development Visual Arts Residency (Tokyo, Japan).

   
Weaving with Marta Romani (left), Marta and Karl weaving at Hurstville Museum & Gallery (right).
Images courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery

As part of their residency project, both first time weavers, alongside more experienced hands were encouraged to join the artists as they shared their story and work-research in progress. Hurstville Museum & Gallery facilitated two encounters, one at Carss Park, the second at the Museum & Gallery where Karl and Marta created a participatory installation that mixes loom, landscape tapestry, gathering and mapping. Through experimenting with forms that act as an interface of exchange and co-creation, participants experienced an original approach to the ancient art of weaving as a means of connecting past and future, gesture and memory and exploring craft as a radical material heritage that joins personal expression with the natural environment and the spirit that unites them.

Visit Karl Logge & Marta Romani's website.

During their residency Karl and Marta facilitated the following events:  

Weaving encounters	Participants were invited to meet Karl and Marta, who introduced themselves and their research/work so far. They discussed their practice and approach as it relates to the landscape and showcase some of their techniques, as they host a participatory workshop. Saturday 6 May 2023, 10.00am – 12.00pm - this event has now passed.  Address: Carss Park Lifesaving Hall Cost: Free
Artist talk and installation	Participants were invited to meet  Karl and Marta who discussed their work and provided a viewing of a site-specific installation that they have completed during their residency.   Saturday 10 June 2023, 2.00pm – 3.30pm - this event has now passed.  Address: Hurstville Museum & Gallery, 14 MacMahon Street, Hurstville Cost: Free

26 June - 20 August 2023

Newtown Art Seat in Sydney, commissioned by Marrickville Council.
Image courtesy of the Artist’s website.

Bernadette is a Sydney-based, cross disciplinary artist who uses art to raise awareness of the nonhuman world and environmental sustainability, particularly water. Blending fine art and documentary approaches, her practice encompasses photomedia, video, painting, sculpture, and installation. Her works have delved into endangered waterways, wetlands and coastal hinterlands of Greater Sydney which are under threat from extractive industries and inappropriate development. Smith has exhibited in multiple prizes, as part of festivals, had solo and group exhibitions throughout NSW and has completed a residency at Bundanoon Trust.

Smith completed a Master of Fine Arts by Research at Sydney College of the Arts, a Multimedia Certificate IV TAFE, Newcastle, a Graduate Diploma Professional Art Studies and a Bachelor of Education in Art. Her works are currently held at ARCO Experimental Cinema Library, Madrid, Spain; Kodak Photography Collection, Sydney; Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, France; Fotogalerie Kommunale Friedrichshain, Berlin; State Library of New South Wales, Mitchell Archive, Australia; and the Australian National Film Archive.

Website: Visit Bernadette Bayley Smith's Blogspot

     
Photo safari, Carss Park. 
Images courtesy Hurstville Museum & Gallery

Smith utilised her residency time to research, observe and visually interpret the historical and recreational nexus of the marine eco-system of the Georges River. She explored some of the physical changes wrought upon the seascape by colonial and post-colonial disruption. In a series of sketches, diaristic notes, photographs and video vignettes she investigated how these places not only sustain historical, social and recreational connections for the community but are also vital for the conservation of nature and the biodiversity of our marine ecosystems. 

Photo Safari for children & their guardians consisted of a two-hour walking tour where participants learnt tips on how to compose and expose good photos under natural lighting. The basics of camera controls such as ISO sensitivity, aperture, shutter speed, selective focus and composition were also shared. While taking photos around Carss Point Baths, Carss Park Channel and Foreshore habitats including its intertidal rock platform we looked for unusual viewpoints and studied the effect of sunlight and shadow.

In addition, Bernadette opened her studio space and facilitated an artist talk where she discussed her visual research and experimentation at the residency. Bernadette has expanded and developed her art practice by working in nature and exploring both the environmental and social context of the Georges River. Her latest art project using video, photography and expanded drawing, reflects on the environs of Kogarah Bay as a constantly modified coastal landscape embodying ongoing colonial impact.

During her residency Bernadette facilitated the following events:  

Two hour photography safari

You will learn tips on how to compose and expose good photos under natural lighting. We will cover the basics of camera controls such as ISO sensitivity, aperture, shutter speed, selective focus, and composition. While taking photos around Carss Point Baths and Carss Park Channel and Foreshore habitats including its intertidal rock platform, we will look for unusual viewpoints and study the effect of sunlight and shadow.   Saturday 29 July 2023, 2.00pm - 4.00pm - this event has now passed.

Artist in Residence studio talk

Join Bernadette Smith for a one-hour artist talk and presentation where she will discuss her visual research and experimentation at the residency. During the presentation and studio tour there will be question time and discussion of work-in-progress including how art could assist post-colonial reconciliation and climate justice. Bookings are limited to 10 adults.  Saturday 19 August 2023, 2.30pm - 3.30pm - this event has now passed.

3 October  – 31 October 2023

Liz Walker, previously based in Melbourne and now residing in Red Hill, investigates contemporary social and environmental concerns by collecting, repurposing and extending the material possibilities of natural ephemera, found detritus and recycled domestic. Walker uses an extensive range of resources gathered from around the inner city and rural sites to construct sculpture, assemblage, installations and ephemeral site-specific responses to people, time and place. 

Liz has exhibited widely in both solo and group exhibitions, undertaken public artworks, received awards, grants and residencies and her work is held in public and private collections in Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Ireland.

Visit Liz Walker's website.
Image: If the future fits wear it, 2017. Image courtesy of the Artist.

During her Carss Park residency, Liz produced a sculptural work called Salt of the earth in response to the stunning scenery and natural qualities of the Georges River region. Salt of the earth is an oversized charm bracelet comprised of dozens of amulets hand-made from vintage brass, copper, roofing iron and pressed tin. The individual amulets, which are to-scale replicas of natural fragments (leaves, shells, bark, etc) that Walker found at Carss Park, are suspended on vintage chain. Upon the work's completion, it was immersed in the Georges River for a few hours to shroud it with a sense of place.

While exploring her environmentally-focused practice within the Carss Park cottage setting, Liz hosted a workshop inviting the public to contribute to a communal artwork to be donated to Georges River Council for public display. The public was invited to contribute a piece of writing focused on an environmental pledge and accompany this with a small drawing and collage. It was then rolled, folded, or manipulated in any way they determined, before being attached to a communal bracelet.

The finished bracelet acts as a constant reminder about the communal need to look after and preserve our precious environment. 

"This residency has provided time and space to respond to the location on a deep level - each day something new has unfolded and all have contributed to the work I've made here." - Liz Walker.

Image from workshop hosted by Liz Walker at Carss Park, 2023. Image supplied by Georges River Council.

6 November – 17 December 2023
Manfred Krautschneider, aka Manfred, is a painter, photographer and new media artist, whose work responds to the fluidity of space and light. His works observe reality as seen in reflection, from outside, or tangentially, in order to acquire something essential and surprising about the subject. His work is most commonly depicting streetscapes as reflected on imperfect surfaces.

Manfred has a Diploma of Visual Art from Box Hill Institute and a B.A. M.Sc. Ph.D from Monash University. He has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions and has been a finalist in the Gosford Art Prize, Wyndham Art Prize, Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, and Tweed Regional Gallery, Border Prize.

​Visit Manfred Krautschneider's website.

Image (top right): Portrait of the artist in a strange land, 2017, mixed media. Image courtesy of the artist's website.
Image (bottom): Terrible Beauty, 2015, Photograph, Edition of 5. Image courtesy of the artist's website.

During his residency at Carss Park, Manfred set out to capture and explore the Georges River and surrounds from the lens of an observer using photography. Manfred’s residency focused on viewing and capturing the Georges River as seen from the edges, from outside, tangentially, in order to acquire something essential but new and surprising.

As part of his residence, Manfred hosted a Surreal Streetscape Photography workshop at Carss Park. Led by Manfred’s goal of eliciting an exploration of and responses to the Georges River’s natural and built environments, participants spent a sunny Spring afternoon observing and capturing the local streetscape in new and surreal ways.














 

1 - 28 February 2022

Emma Varga was first introduced to glass in her birthplace of Yugoslavia during her time as a worker in a glass factory. Varga’s practice is an ode to her enduring focus on the fine details of colour, pattern and repetition, combined with complex and laborious processes which she has spent the last 20 years honing. Her work focuses on flora and landscape which she has captured from the many places she has travelled and lived. Today, Varga’s work is represented across both Australia and the world, having extensively exhibited in over 80 major international exhibitions and over 30 solo exhibitions.

Visit: Emma Vargas website.
Instagram: @emmavarga.glass.
She is represented by Sabbia Gallery.

Image: Forces of Nature- Rage & Revival, glass, 52 x 64cm, 2021. Courtesy of the Artist’s website.

Varga conducted a public engagement event as part of her residency in late February 2022. It was an opportunity for the public to not only visit the Carss Park Residency site, but also get a more in depth understanding into the artist’s practice. The presentation covered the artists experience as Artist in Residence, provided information on the glass making process, and touched on the inspiration she drew from the site and her current workings.


Image: Public engagement with Emma Varga at Carss Park. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

2 March – 24 April 2022

Kathy Mackay is a Queensland based photographer, painter and installation artist who explores the complexity of space and light within art and architecture. She completed her PhD in 2011, and works across photography, painting and installation to explore her interest in public leisure activities and cultural tourism. Kathy, throughout her career has been the recipient of several awards and fellowships.

Visit Kathy Mackay's website.
Instagram: @klm186.


Image: The Jetty, Kathy Mackey 2022

Kathy undertook her Residency at Carss Park to create a new body of work to reflect her engagement with the Georges River area through still and moving images. The artist created an online resource pack which came in the form of a seven-week blog that referenced her practice within the context of the NSW Syllabus Stage 6 Visual Arts Curriculum Frames: Subjective, Cultural, Structural and Postmodern. Mackay reflects on the residency as having “significantly impacting my professional development and artist practice” and the “Artists Cottage is a fabulous and very unique setting’.

Click on the thumbnail below to view the educational resource:

9 – 29 May 2022

Sarah McEwan is an artist, musician and an artist-curator whose work focuses on feminism and social change. Her practice encompasses multiple disciplines including painting, textile, installation, text, music and video which she uses to create solo installation works. She is passionate about 'onto-ethics'; how to make the present world different from the past. In 2016, Sarah was awarded a Create NSW Regional Fellowship where she undertook residencies at Duke University USA (2017), Women’s Centre for Creative Work USA (2018) and Bundanon Trust (2018).

Visit Sarah MacEwan's website.                  
Instagram: @sssarahmcewan.

Image: A portrait from the Frozen in Time Project, 2022. Image courtesy of the Artist

Sarah’s Frozen in Time project invited the Georges River community to sit for her. The sitting process involved a 45-minute discussion with the artist, who in turn produced a non-representation portrait of sitter and their interaction. These artworks are looking at the limits of portraiture which, like place and lives too, change over time. She goes on to say, “Within these portraits I am responding to the thoughts, sounds or words that come from people’s mouths or through written text, not their physical shape or form”. Sarah also held an artist talk at the Cottage in late May to share the developing artworks from the project and to hear the stories behind the portraits.

Image: Artists talk with Sarah McEwan. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery

31 May – 24 July 2022

Image: Eucalypt dye research. Image courtesy of the Artist.

Barbara Wheeler is an Australian artist, living in both Australia and New Zealand, who works with natural fibres and fabrics, botanic prints and dyes in a practice that spans clothing design, stitching, basketry, and fabric piecing. Barbara’s artworks reconnect us to nature.  She immerses herself in the local landscape, observing the systems and connections found there. Her works speak of country and our environment through the physical connections to plants, soil, water and air.

Website: Everythreadcounts
Instagram: @every_thread_counts

Image: Barbara Wheeler and participants at her botanical dying workshop. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

During the residency at Carss Park Barbara investigated the Georges River eucalypts for their botanical dye properties and in doing so, this deepened her understanding of the Georges River as an entity of the region. Barbara Wheeler shared her experience as an Artist in Residence at Carss Park with our community through a workshop. Participants explored the plants and foliage of Carss Park that Barbara had been experimenting with during her stay. Participants were then encouraged to bundle, and print using the foliage found on the ground. Giving an invaluable insight into the delicate unpredictable nature that is creating art with the natural environment. When talking about her experience during this residency, “I am grateful for the support to extend my understanding of river… My aim for the residency is to create new fibre and textile works about the Georges River and to share my eucalyptus botanical dye research.”

5 September – 27 November 2022 

Hilde A Danielsen is an artist, art communicator and art consultant, working in Norway and internationally. Her work delves into light, shadow, perceptual displacements and optical instruments. Her works are strikingly geometric and play with paradox and impossibility. She has shown and built larger spatial works of art at several sculpture biennials, sculpture events, art exhibitions and interdisciplinary arenas both indoors and outdoors in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, UK, Poland, Estonia, the Netherlands, USA, South Korea, Japan and Australia.

Website: Hilde Angel Danielsen

Image: CoV 2 Corridors by Hilde A Danielsen at Sculptures by the Sea Bondi 2022, photographed by Ellen Dahl.

  
Image: Hilde A Danielsen at artist in residence at Sculpture Space, Utica, NY, USA 2018. Photographer Ana Cvoroic. Image courtesy of the artist.

Hilde took part in Sculpture by the Sea 2022 while conducting her residency at Carss Park. Her objective throughout her 3-month residency was to continue developing her pavilion style structure, otherwise known as Gazebo Uno which she describes as a place of contemplation and reflection on ones life; past, present and future. 

In Hilde’s words: "I work within the theme, the Boat, in dialog with Nils Aas Kunstnerverksted, a Norwegian artist also eager to let children and youngsters have access to crafting tools and workshops, learning how to make their own arts. I aim to do research for upcoming spatial art, to be exhibited in my two solo exhibitions in Norway next year, indoors and outdoors at Sami Centre of Contemporary Arts, Karasjok and outdoors at Muustrøparken, Inderøy, Trøndelag. Beside this I look for future potential for Transparent brick walls installations for permanent sites."

View Hilde's blog post to read about her artistic process.

30 November 2022 - 13 January 2023

Solograph, 2021.
Image courtesy of the Artist 

Tara Gilbee’s practice moves between individual studio work to the exploration of interesting sites and context for making and presenting work, with a focus on the interstices of site and practice. Tara has a keen sense of experimentation within her methods of art practice, drawing on her medical and scientific understanding she applies a range of approaches and knowledge systems. Tara has received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture at The University of Melbourne VCA in 1996, has completed a Masters of Contemporary Art at VCA in 2019 and is a sessional lecturer at Deakin University.

Visit Tara Gilbee's website.

 
Tara Gilbee & participants at her floor talk facilitated at the residency.
Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

During the residency at Carss Park, Tara explored the fluctuation of water and time. Having previously explored this theme in other residencies Tara focused on the Georges River as a prime location in which water and urban spaces intersect. Looking specifically at the shimmery reflective light of the river she captured the ways in which it intersects with the ecologies of natural and urban forms. She held an artist's talk about her photographic practice and site specific explorations at the residency. 

9 – 28 February 2021
 
Lauren McCartney is a multidisciplinary feminist artist who lives and works on Dharawal Country/Wollongong, New South Wales. Her work parodies objectification and conventions of appropriate female behaviour. McCartney holds a PhD (2018) through Curtin University and a Bachelor of Creative Arts (2010) (Honours Class I) from the University of Wollongong. Her work has been collected by the Art Gallery of Western Australia. She has exhibited her work, participated in art prizes and residences, and presented on her practice both nationally and internationally.

Website: Lauren McCartney
Instagram: @laurenmccartneyartist

Image: Drip, 2021, framed archival pigment print, edition of 10, 62cm x 78.5cm. Image courtesy of the Artist.

During her residency, Lauren McCartney explored women’s subjective guilt and the absurd pressure put on women to spend their supposed ‘free’ time in lockdown to not only survive the current pandemic but to refine our physical bodies as we do so. She created a series of still life photographs of undisturbed and unacknowledged domestic objects stuffed with dough which, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, became an item of inflated value. For the artist, “being able to look out over the river helped my creative process, as did being completely alone for days at a time.”


Image: Here with a Bang (I), 2019. Image courtesy of the Artist.

2 – 28 March 2021

Keila Terencio De Paula is a Sydney based artist, born and raised in Brazil. Her work explores storytelling through physical theatre, aerial dance, puppetry and movement, with a particular interest in subjects related to culture, languages and identity that unite people and societies. Keila holds a Performing Arts degree with UFPR (Brazil) and has been constantly training and researching new approaches of artistic expression. She has collaborated in performances with emerging and renowned artists presenting works at MCA ArtBar, This is Not Art Festival, Melbourne Festival, Art & About Sydney, Integral Aerial Arts, Sydney Fringe Festival.

Website: Keila Terencio De Paula.
Instagram: @keilaterencio.    

Image: End of a River, Keila Terencio De Paula 2021. Photo taken at Carss Park Bay by Emilio Cresciani.

Terencio, throughout her 3-week residency  invested her time in researching and developing 3 different creative projects, alongside a collaborative video artwork with photographer Emilio Cresciani. Their collaborative artwork End of a River in which Keila performed a free-form aerial dance six meters in the air was shown as part of the June 2021 Un[contained] Festival at Kogarah. The Carss Park residency was an invaluable experience for Terencio, “at the Carss Park Artist Cottage, my project had a “home” and so many other creative seeds were planted from this time spent there. I am leaving the space with my mind and heart full of ideas, and with opportunities to exhibit the work created here.”


Image: Curated aerial project for Un[contained] Festival 2021. Image courtesy of Elder.

1 – 26 April 2021

Born in Sydney, Louisa Chircop’s work investigates the human condition and the subconscious. Her work has been acquired from the Kedumba Drawing Award for the Kedumba Collection of Australian Drawings which is considered one of the most significant and important collections in Australia. She has won the James Gleeson Prize for Surrealism at Campbelltown Arts Centre twice, the FOH Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award, the John Copes Portrait Prize, The Paddington Art Prize Highly Commended Prize and twice been the Critics’ Choice of Guardian Art Critic and ABC Arts Presenter Andrew Frost.

Chircop holds an Associate Diploma in Fine Arts from St George TAFE and was awarded the NSW State Commission medal for fine arts. She has won the Basil Muriel and Hooper Scholarship AGNSW. Chircop has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Honours Class1 and a Master of Fine Arts Research degree in painting both from the College of Fine Arts UNSW.

Website: Louisa Chircop
Instagram: @louisachircop
Louisa is represented by Galerieheimat (France).

Image (right): 'Some displaced wake', 2022, mixed media and photomontage on Yupo paper (Private Collection). Image courtesy of the Artist’s website.

During her residency, Chircop explored the distance between the Carss Park Artist’s Cottage and her old home, revisiting her past from a distance. Chircop, throughout her residency period, took the time to revisit her experience of growing up in the area and develop that through a new series of artworks. She goes on to explain, “I was able to tap into the well of my memory, recall my experiences, and record my history as a local artist through time/autobiography in a very existential surreal way.”

As part of her residency Louisa facilitated the Make your mark at Carss Park workshop which was held as part of the Georges River Council’s Youth Festival Month ‘It’s a Mood’. Attendees were introduced to the practices and processes of Van Gogh before creating their own painted landscape. The precious opportunity the residency provided Chircop enabled her to revisit her childhood is encompassed in her reflections of her time, “the general ambiance (all the emotional, physical and psychological residue) from the residency will leave a lasting and invaluable impact on my work and will last into the future.”

Image (right): Make your mark at Carss Park workshop. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

1 May – 20 June 2021

Sandra Winkworth is a Sydney based visual artist, she layers hand-painted and printed images of the everyday alongside an assortment of found materials. What results are playful installations. Sandra studied at Meadowbank TAFE; Canberra School of Art, ANU and at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts, and has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in Australia and internationally.  Her artist books, prints and watercolours can be found in private and public collections including Sydney’s Artspace and State Library of NSW, the National Library of Australia and the Print Council of Australia.

Website: Sandra Winkworth
Instagram:  @bimblebox153

Image: Portrait of Artist during her residency. Image courtesy of the Artist.

Sandra, as part of her residency, held a series of free art making classes at Carss Bush Park. This special opportunity allowed the Georges River community to meet, create and share with Winkworth’s creative processes. Over the course of 6 weeks participants developed an individual project, sharing stories and creating new skills by exploring, in a medium of their choice, the mask and home-garden, connecting us to nature. The location of the Carss Park residency allowed Sandra to “relish in the opportunity to paint and draw en plein air, initially, collecting fresh imagery for a new major piece. This mode of working outdoors and directly, unlike my usual studio practice, I would like to develop further as I record what I see and experience which this particular residency can offer.”



Image: Preoccupations and explorations made during my residency, Carss Park, 2021. Image courtesy of the Artist.

2 November 2021 – 23 January 2022

Sydney based artist Katika Schultz is a multidisciplinary artist whose interests lie in psychology, mythology and art’s role as a catalyst. Katika’s portraiture and figurative works lend a thought to magic and the unseen, working from life and memories, slowly layering the complex human image.

Instagram: @skillzbykat
Image: Work in progress, image courtesy of Katika Schultz Instagram.

In her time as Artist in Residence Katika completed a series of watercolours which were displayed at Hurstville Library in March 2022. The collection of works features life drawings and sketches from historical and current photographs, depicting both her own family, as well as others in the Georges River community.

She comments on her time at Carss Park as an experience that “changed my practice for the better. The space is divine and surreal.”

Image: Katika working at Carss Park, Image courtesy of Katika Schultz Instagram.

4 February – 1 March 2020
 
Born in France, Sofie Dieu engages with underrepresented communities to develop her multimedia projects. Her art lies at the intersection of womanhood, healing and spirituality. Through textile and poetry workshops, Sofie gathers Australians' narratives. In the bush, she performs these personal stories and records them through photography and video. She later edits and paints these digital works in her Melbourne studio. Sofie is an award finalist having been included in John Leslie Art Prize, Hornsby Art Prize, Sydney North Art Prize and Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize, among others.
 
Website: Sofie Dieu.
Instagram: @sofiedieu.

Image: Sofie Dieu at work during her residency, Carss Park. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

During her residency, Sofie facilitated an ink workshop where participants were introduced to the to the main principles of ink painting and learnt the central role of water to compose a balanced abstract artwork. Under her expert guidance, participants explored a series of techniques to represent water and interpret its movement, reflection and energy flow; and experimented with layering effects to create light and darkness.


Image: Participants taking part in the Abstract ink workshop with Sofie Dieu. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

Museum at Home: Get inspired by Sofie’s work by doing your own ink painting at home. You can view Sofie's how-to video here.

Sofie took some time to answer some questions about her residency and her artistic practice:

Is this the first residency you have undertaken? 

It is indeed, in New South Wales, though in total it is the fifth one I have been invited to. I have been to residencies in Victoria and France otherwise.

Why did you decide to apply for this Carss Park residency?

I was immediately drawn by the location of the residency. For the last year and a half, I have been exploring water in my art. Being able to work for a month by the Georges River was very appealing as I was able to observe its different states, at different moments of the day, under various weather conditions. In the morning, I would wake up just before sunrise and would cross Carss Park, sit on a rock and look at the river waking up. I also documented it throughout the day, and evening at sunset.

What also convinced me to apply to the residency was to be able to live and work from the same place. Having everything provided, receiving the amazing support from the fabulous Council team was a blessing and financially relieving. 

As I am Community driven, being able to share my practice with local residents at Hurstville Museum & Gallery was also attractive. Sharing my work from conception to exhibition is a big part of what I do.

Would you recommend this or other residencies to other artists?

I would definitely recommend this residency to other artists (and I already have!). Each residency has its own qualities and as far as I am concerned, it is good to mix it up a little. It opens up your horizon, in some cases you work with other artists and get to form friendship. With the Carss Park residency, as I was on my own, I used this opportunity to dive in my work and solely focus on it, with no distraction at all. This is a rare privilege, I made the most out of it.

What did you see as being one of the highlights of this residency?

Carss Park residency has the perfect balance between natural environment, city facility ease of reach, the sea shore close by. The cottage is well set up and very comfortable. I’d love to have the same amount of studio space back in Melbourne, with the same quality of light and view on the river! 

The highlight for me was being by the river and going on long walks at any time of the day and night. These were special moments. I would load up with inspiration and creativity and go straight back to the studio and pour it all on paper… how precious!

3 March – 18 April 2020

Tess Mehonoshen is an emerging visual artist, currently based in Melbourne. Mehonoshen's practice is concerned with generating a sense of defiance, focusing on adjusting to loss of place, and a subsequent untethered sense of belonging. Working primarily in sculpture and installation on site specific responses, her work aims to intrude within spaces, subtly disrupting the functionality of domestic sites. Using locally sourced fabrics, and locally sourced natural materials. Mehonoshen has a Master of Fine Art from Victoria College of Art, is an award finalist, has completed numerous residencies and her work is held in a number of public and private collections.
 
Instagram: @tessmehonoshenart
Image: Tess installing her work in the Carss Park Life Savers Hall. Photo by Elderlad Courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

During her residency Mehonoshen created large scale floor installations using locally sourced beach sand and found fabric. These installations took place outside, in the parkland itself, and in local buildings which included the Carss Park Life Savers Hall and Kogarah School of Arts. Tess reflects on her residency in the following statement, “The residency has a major role in continuing my current body of work and has been vital in pushing the work into new, more expansive territory. The peaceful time to reflect, write and create in such a unique natural setting cannot be understated, and has been critical in developing new works post-residency.” As part of her contribution to the Carss Park residency program, Tess generously donated two photographs of installation images of her work produced during this residency.

Museum at Home: Get inspired by Mehonoshen’s work with this fun family activity or learn more about Mehonoshen’s process from the artist herself.


Image: Installation of her work in the Carss Park Life Savers Hall (detail). Photo by Elderlad Courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

Tess took some time to answer some questions about her residency and her artistic practice:

Is this the first residency you have undertaken? 

I’ve previously undertaken residencies at House Conspiracy (QLD, 2017), Hill End (NSW, 2018) and Fremantle Arts Centre (WA, 2020).

Why did you decide to apply for this Carss Park residency?

As an emerging artist all the residencies I’ve undertaken have been self funded, so applying for council run/supported programs is really important as there aren’t additional fees attached which would make the opportunity unobtainable. They are also generally well structured and organised, with helpful and friendly staff that are willing to support the artist, and the Carss Park Residency was no exception. The Carss Park program really appealed to me as it had such a unique natural location, being in a bush parkland but also located close to a major city, so you could experience both worlds within the one residency period.

Would you recommend this or other residencies to other artists?

I’d absolutely recommend this residency- it really exceeded my expectations in so many ways. I completely fell in love with the peaceful and beautiful park surrounds, and the staff at the council were beyond supportive to my practice and creative intentions. It was a really crucial time where I could connect to the environment and really focus on making. 

I feel very fortunate that all the residencies I’ve done so far have proved to be amazing opportunities and have really furthered my practice in so many different ways, so I’d recommend them all, particularly Hill End. 

What did you see as being one of the highlights of this residency?

I really enjoyed being allowed the opportunity to work in the local community buildings – Carss Cottage, Carss Lifesavers Hall and Kogarah School of Arts to create larger scale works. Access to these kinds of facilities can be very difficult to arrange for time consuming works such as mine, so having the option to create installations on such a large scale was a new and really rewarding experience. It was an avenue I hadn’t considered prior to my time at Carss Park. 

2 June – 23 August 2020

Based in Canberra and currently completing a Master of Visual Arts at ANU, Gibson experiments with the mediums of painting, drawing and printmaking. The cross over and flow of these various art forms help inform her practice and create new paths for future work. As a painter, she is mainly drawn to the Australian landscape and the visible changes that occur within it; manmade or natural. Gibson received her Cert 4 Fine Arts from St George TAFE, completed Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) from National Art School and has completed her Master of Visual Arts at Australian National University, Canberra. Gibson has been a finalist and winner of several art awards and showcased her work in numerous solo and group exhibitions.

Website: Becky Gibson
Instagram: @bettygibsoid.

Image: Artist in studio Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery 

Image: Becky’s developing works in studio space in Carss Park Cottage. Image courtesy of the Artist.

29 September – 20 December 2020

Venessa is a Dharug, Dharawal Muringal-Baragal woman with Irish descent, born in Sydney. As an artist and archivist, her site-specific research leads to a diverse oeuvre of gestural painting, drawing, collage, frottage, documentary photography, video art and installations as artefacts. She is also involved in repatriations of Aboriginal material culture, Dharug language as philosophical knowledges and in testing ways to exhibit her creative research in context. She is currently a confirmed as a candidate in the Doctor of Philosophy in Fine Art at the Queensland College of Art Griffith University. Her previous studies include a Bachelor of Contemporary Indigenous Art (CAIA) / Fine Art with honours and a university medal in 2017.


Image: Yanada banga (moons – binding time) 2020. Image courtesy of the artist

Upon reflection, Venessa shared her thoughts in undertaking this residency. “This residency was an amazing opportunity to be able to fully immerse myself in my art practice for a length of time. My time spent walking on Ngurra (Country) as a Dharug Custodian and returning to the studio provided lasting inspirations into the future.”


Image: Ngun bayala (us speaking) 2020. Image courtesy of the artist.
 

27 November 2018 – 3 February 2019

Kassandra Bossell works in sculpture and installation. Working with materiality and scale, she explores the interconnection of life forms through processes of transformation and cycles of life and death. She engages interactive perspectives by connecting with science, imagination and memory. Kassandra completed a Master of Fine Arts, UNSW Art and Design in 2018, a Bachelor of Visual Arts, Sydney College of the Arts in 1990 and a Bachelor of Arts, Sydney University in 1986.

Instagram: @kassandrabossel.
Image: Richmond Birdwing Butterfly, 2018, fabric steel aluminium, 4.5 x 3.6 x 3.6m. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery

As a part of her residency, Kassandra’s contribution to the Georges River community was a wind sculpture of the Richmond Birdwing butterfly. The sculpture aims to bring attention to the interconnected relationships between humans and animals, and the idea of endangerment and extinction. She also facilitated a drop in kite making session as part of Council's 2019 Australia Day celebrations.


Image: Participants holding up their artworks made in the Australia Day community workshop. Image courtesy of Hurstville Gallery & Museum

19 February – 3 March 2019

Jill Samera is a Sydney based visual artist and writer, heavily involved in community art. She is part of the creative team at Georges River Life Church and regularly paints live at gatherings and events. She also writes and performs short spoken word, story and poetry. She loves to experiment with colour and texture, and paints using acrylics, mixed media and more recently, watercolours. Jill has a Diploma in Expressive and Performing Arts: UNSW (Majors: Visual Art, Drama, Dance. Independent Study: Playwriting), and has Graduate Certificate in Writing (Advance Narrative, Screenwriting, Writing for the Camera) from University of Technology Sydney.
 
Website: Jill Samera.
Instagram: @jillsamera.art.

Image: Artwork Carss Park (in progress). Courtesy of the artist.

Of her experience residing at the Artists’ Cottage at Carss Park, Jill says ‘I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to create art in the stunning surrounds of Carss Park…I am developing an artist’s trail highlighting great spots to do art in, or to simply stop and breathe in the view. Staying at the Artists' Cottage by the beach was a dream come true.'  Jill's contribution to the local area was a Sketching Trail, for people to see Carss Park from another point of view.

5 March – 5 May 2019

Elder is a professional videographer, photographer, music video creator and resident of Carss Park. His practice explores a modern take on romanticism; using light to replace paint on a canvas, his work seeks to disrupt the internet persona. Having studied Photography post High School, he was directed towards a freelance Photography career which began in 2007. In 2011 the passion for video was revived when given the opportunity to shoot a music video. In 2013 he completed a Graduate Certificate in Cinematography Fundamentals at AFTRS and has since gone on to work on over 100 music videos, and an array of other digital/online content.

Visit: vimeo.com/hausparty to view his videos.
Instagram: @elderlad.

Elder's portrait. Image courtesy of the artist.

As a lifetime resident of Carss Park, Elder felt compelled to tell the story of this location, through a combination of photography, video, writing, and other mixed media. Despite having spent 32 years living in Carss Park he goes onto explain that doing the residency was an enlightening experience, “It was startling to experience a complete shift of perspective in familiar territory - the new context enabled me to feel like I was on holiday within my own neighbourhood, as I found myself wandering the streets wide eyed, and receptive to new stories. Only now I realise how little I know about this place I call home.”


Image: 55 days. Image courtesy of the artist.

7 May 2019 - 2 June 2019

Susan McInerney is a mixed media artist working across many forms including but not limited to writing, installation, performance and works on paper. Through her work she explores her identity, role and thoughts on society. She generates playful personal narratives using quirky humorous symbolism inspired by advertising, history and politics.

Website: Susan McInerney.
Instagram: @soupsuemc.

Image: Artist Susan McInerney working on her Waterways series at the Carrs Park cottage. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery

McInerney was one of Hurstville Museum & Gallery’s earliest Artists in Residence. Throughout her one month stay she worked all day and night producing several series of works- Waterways, Who Stood Here, Botany Bay mud oysters and Modern Midden. “For the first time in twenty years I was able to dedicate a large chunk of thought, time and energy solely in the action of researching, experimenting and making art… The surrounding landscape provided great stimulus for ideas and reflection.” Susan’s community contribution involved a day at Carss Park with local High School students, introducing them to the local history and environment. Students participated in a native flora art making activity, which resulted in small clay tablets depicting the local plants. They were then fired in the school kiln and donated to Georges River Council.


Image: Susan conducting her Clay Tablet workshop with local High School students. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery

Susan took time to respond to her residency at Carss Park.

Can you give us an insight into your artistic process? Is your work pre-planned or created intuitively? How long does each work take to complete?
My work is heavily researched and planned but of course there is always room for a little experimentation and play. I am very interested in history and the environment, so I often draw upon these to help guide my creative process.

Usually, I work with collage in the more traditional sense, i.e cutting up and incorporating found imagery to create a new image, story or meaning. These can take a few days to make. But for Water Ways, the large, embossed collages which will feature in the exhibition, I was influenced by my research into the Australian smallpox epidemic of 1789 and the publication of the massacre maps by Newcastle University. The maps used in the artwork are from Watkin Tench’s ‘1792 Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson’ and the embossing’s take their inspiration from a 1720 Japanese smallpox illustration. Each embossed collage in the exhibition has taken many months to complete and they are very labour intensive.

Can you explain your technique; how you manipulate the medium?
The large collages are all hand embossed. To make them I push damp paper into lino cut outs. My tools were spray bottles, towels, elbow grease, lino printing tools and surprisingly crotchet needles, they are perfect for pressing into thick paper. After the embossing I usually ponder the image for a while and once I have found the correct colours and paper I start to collage, using the coloured paper like paint. I often have to leave a work for weeks at a time so I can get a better understanding of what I want to do next.

My digital images are usually pre-planned or in response to something I have already photographed. I love using Photoshop to make quirky advertising-like images. They are often cheesy and tongue in cheek. I find digital art a great way to play with messages and present them like the mass-produced images I use in my traditional collages.

Invasive Species uses a mishmash of popular culture quotes combined with images of plastic waste photographed along the Kogarah Bay shoreline. For Who Stood Here I wanted to explore the millions of undocumented experiences people have had in the local area especially in and around Carss Park. I photographed rocks, the keepers or voyeurs of the experiences and created faux postcards to capture the memories.

Do you keep some kind of ongoing drawing book or diary? Or a collection of images or photographs for inspiration?
I have a visual arts diary where I write notes and ideas for inspiration. I also have a massive collection of magazines, paper clippings and of course lots of National Geographic magazines.

When I’m on the internet or looking at social media, I am always bookmarking an interesting web page or emailing web links to myself. A local librarian pointed me towards TROVE an Australian online library database hosted by the National Library of Australia and it is a brilliant place to find primary resources. You can spend hours discovering local or ancestral Australian history.

There are many books I have found useful for this body of work such as ‘The Colony’ by G. Karskens, ‘The Sydney Wars’ by S. Gapps and ‘A complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson’ by Watkin Tench. I have also relied heavily on local publications especially those of the Kogarah and Hurstville Historical Societies, these have been an excellent way to get an insight into the local area and its people.

4 - 30 June 2019

Having grown up in the Sutherland and St George area, Michael has fond memories of Carss Park. Having grown up both next to the sea and in close proximity to the Royal National Park, Michael's love of the outdoors and nature grew tremendously; with a preference to draw and paint en plein air.  Michael’s art explores the microcosms and beauty of the Australian Landscape with all its harshness and beauty. His paintings reflect the connections between emotions and the landscape through the expression of colour and mass. Michael trained as a commercial printer and undertook further training with a fine art printer – Duck Print - to further develop & refine his skills and practice for works in print media. Michael has been selected as a finalist in the Paddington Art Prize & Georges River Art Prize.
 
Instagram: @ambrianoart.


Image: “Approaching storm, Carss Bush Park” oil on canvas 2019. Image courtesy of Hurstville Gallery & Museum

“I spent a lot of my childhood exploring, having adventures & observing nature in and around the Carss Park bush land. I hope that my series of art works will allow former and current residents and visitors who grew up and visited the area to reconnect with the bushland and allow them to remember their own experiences with Carss Bush Park”.  Michael's contribution was the delivery of a plein air workshop for a local painting society. In addition to this, Hurstville Museum and Gallery accepted the donation of the painting


Image: Participants taking part in Michael’s plein air workshop. Image courtesy of the Artist

Museum at Home: get inspired by Michael’s work in this fun family activity.

Having grown up both next to the sea and in close proximity to the Royal National Park, Michael’s love of the outdoors and nature grew tremendously. Ever since he was a child he has had a fascination with the landscape and he has tried to harness this passion when producing his work.

Can you give us an insight into your artistic process? Is your work pre-planned or created intuitively? How long does each work take to complete?

Being a plein air painter, most of my works are created intuitively. When I work plein air I take my sketch book & art equipment and create works on what grabs my attention from the surrounding landscape. If I am looking at creating larger work, I create a study or a sketch in the landscape and then create the work in the studio, so that may involve some pre-planning.

My day in the landscape also includes gathering of data such as colour, form, textures, mood and composition of the works. I then interpret that in my sketch book, small canvas or back in the studio.

A small work can take around 3-4 hours. A larger work can take up to 2 weeks. The works are then left on display in my studio and I do go back to them over time and adjust or retouch the paintings. At times, once I have had a chance to look at the work over a few weeks, I may scrap a painting entirely and start again.

Being confident in my medium allows me to work quickly and confidently on the art I am constructing at the time.

Can you explain your technique; how you manipulate the medium?

I work wet on wet – I apply a turps / oil paint wash as an under painting to the canvas and then build up the texture from there. Wiping back and adding as I go. I manipulate my tonal range and colours on the canvas as I paint. This enables the process to be instant and allows me to correct or adjust as I work. I use mainly my hands and range of different sized brushes to apply the paint to the canvas. I use my hands as I feel like there is more of a connection to the canvas using this method. If I don’t like what I have created this allows me to wipe it off the canvas and start again. “It feels like I am unveiling the image on the canvas not actually painting it.”

Do you keep some kind of ongoing drawing book or diary? Or a collection of images or photographs for inspiration?

I use a day to day visual diary to sketch out random sketches, ideas, forms and thought processes from the landscape. If I am working on a series of work I use as many sketch books as required to immerse myself in the series and to allow me the freedom to sketch and put down ideas, colours and images that may be useful for the series. When working plein air I may also take a series of photographs which I can then refer back to in the studio if required.

 Who are your favourite artists? Who do you draw inspiration from?

The list of artists I draw inspiration from is long and diverse and ranges from classic European masters to Australian artists.

My favourite artists include Cezanne, Van Gogh, De Kooning for their shapes, forms and colours. I also draw inspiration from Australian artists such as Sid Nolan, Clifton Pugh & John Olsen just to name a few. 

2 – 28 July 2019

Dawei Xu was born in Nanchang, a small city in Southern China. He completed a Bachelor of Arts in 2002 and then went on to study further at the College of Fine Arts (UNSW), completing a Master of Design in 2005. Since graduating he has worked as a full time illustrator and also as an art tutor at institutions such as Western Sydney University and Shine Art Academy.
 
Website: Home | Dawei Xu.
Instagram: @dawei_xu

Image: Untitled, drawing from Dawei’s sketchbook 2019. Image Courtesy of the artist.

During his residency, Dawei took the time to draw daily to soak in his natural surroundings and capture this landscape, at all different times of the day. He conducted a family watercolour workshop at Hurstville Museum & Gallery as part of his contribution.


Image: Family watercolour workshop. Image courtesy of Hurstville Gallery & Museum.

2 September – 27 October 2019

Helen Amanatiadis is a Sydney based artist whose practice encompasses textile, sculpture, installation and sometimes electronics. She explores the intersections between the spaces we inhabit – physical, virtual and spiritual. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (1992), Bachelor of Art Education (1994) and a Master of Art (2016) from UNSW Art & Design. She is a current Master of Fine Arts (Research) candidate at UNSW Art & Design.
 
Website: Helen Amanatiadis.
Instagram: @helenamanatiadis.

Image: Helen’s creative space in the Artist in Residence cottage. Image courtesy of the Artist.

Helen’s time as Artist in Residence at Carss Park was instrumental in clarifying her thoughts around her practice. Whilst continuing to develop her practice in the cottage, she also took the time to engage with the local community through public programming sessions. She facilitated a weaving workshop for local high school students following her residency in November 2019 which was held at Hurstville Museum & Gallery.


Image: GRAP Artist lead weaving workshop, 2019. Image courtesy of Hurstville Museum & Gallery.

Museum at Home: Get inspired by Helen’s work and create your own weaving loom.

Helen took time to respond to her residency at Carss Park, click on the link below to learn more:

Is this the first residency you have undertaken?

No, this is my second residency. I did a residency at ‘Culture at Work’ in Pyrmont in 2016, with a focus on art, science and technology. It was also a three month residency, although it was more intense as I had an exhibition planned at the end of it. During that residency I created my works “Shifting into Consciousness 1 – 4”, which were a really important development in my practice. It was a great experience that gave me the opportunity to incorporate coding and electronics into my textile based work.

Why did you decide to apply for this Carss Park residency?

As my first residency was very beneficial to my practice, I had been on the lookout for other residency opportunities.  I heard about the Carss Park residency through my friend Glenn Locklee, who had previously stayed at the artist’s cottage. He highly recommended it, so I looked into it and decided to apply.  The benefits that the residency offered were very appealing, including the chance to stay in an amazing studio cottage in the Carss Park bush area overlooking the Georges River (which must be the only residency of its kind in the Sydney metropolitan area) and the unstructured time to focus on and develop my practice without the pressure of an outcome at the end of the residency.

Would you recommend this or other residencies to other artists?

I would highly recommend the Carss Park residency to both local and non-local artists. The cottage is a wonderful place stay with a great atmosphere that, for me, enabled fresh perspectives and clear thoughts to develop about my practice. Whilst my outcome was not as prolific as I would have liked, it gave me a lot of time to think alongside making and was instrumental in clarifying my thoughts about my practice. I would also recommend any residency for the same reasons, including the ‘Culture at Work’ residency for practices that engage with science and technology.

What did you see as being one of the highlights of this residency?

Definitely the location and working in the wonderful artists cottage! Also, importantly, the residency offered the opportunity to contribute to the artistic community and programs of my local area, having grown up in Hurstville and now living in Monterey. As part of my contribution to the community I gave a presentation about my practice and an introductory weaving workshop for local school students. Additionally, the chance to develop connections with the team at the Hurstville Museum & Gallery led to other valuable opportunities including creating designs for the Georges River Council signal box project through Art Pharmacy, developing new interactive work for the post covid lockdown group exhibition “Artbomb: connect + create”, and the opportunity to exhibit the outcomes of my residency with fellow residency artists in the “In the Park” exhibition.

29 October – 22 December 2019

Born in Sydney, Australia, Davidson utilises a variety of printing techniques such as Letraset, typewriter, stamps, stencils, woodblock prints, solvent transfers, and photocopying. Using this technology, they create collages and zines with found objects and texts. Influenced by the early Modernist Avant Garde (Russian Futurism, Dada); visual poetry and mail art movements (Fluxus); the Situationist International; zines and their associated subcultures; alongside the history of printmaking and typography. Davidson has a Master of Fine Arts (Painting), Sydney College of the Arts, 2010 and a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Hons. 1st Class), Sydney College of the Arts, 2004.

Website: Emma Davidson.
Instagram: @eternalproject.

Image: Untitled, work in progress, 2019. Image courtesy of the artist.

Emma, as detailed on her website was productive throughout her residency period, which included an impromptu exhibition of Davidson’s residency artworks. Open the window; open the door was installed on the walls of Kogarah Library exhibition space. Emma spoke about their time in Carss Park to The Leader saying the program offered artists two very important things: time and space. "My residency was productive but also deeply relaxing - I felt in the flow and able to explore the possibilities of my practise without deadlines, interruptions or pressure…I was able to explore new media and techniques and came up with countless ideas for new projects.”

Image: Emma Davidson’s residency studio setup. Image courtesy of the artist.

Museum at Home, get inspired by Emma’s work in this fun family activity.
 
Emma took time to respond to her time at Carss Park, to read further click on the link below:

Is this the first residency you have undertaken? 

This is the first fully residential residency I’ve undertaken. I had a short residency in 2018 at Frontyard Projects, in Marrickville, who run an excellent open residency program.

Why did you decide to apply for this Carss Park residency?

I have wanted to undertake a long residency for a long time. The terms of the Carss Park AIR were really appealing: I liked that it was very open to experimentation and that it was positioned as an opportunity for artists to explore and experiment with their practice without pressure to produce anything too defined. It’s really important for artists to have time and space to purposelessly explore their practice. It may seem ‘unproductive’ or directionless from the outside, but it is in free play and exploration that interesting ideas are formed.

Would you recommend this or other residencies to other artists?

I would, unhesitatingly. For the reasons above, but also because of the location of the residency. It is a good combination of being close to the city but near nature and cafes and shops, and being on the water is a rare luxury. The facilities at the residency are also excellent.

What did you see as being one of the highlights of this residency?

The highlight of the residency for me was simply being able to spend undistracted time alone with my work, in a space large enough for me to work in. Living in Sydney, time and space are at a premium – this is something I feel keenly, in regards to my practice. It affects the type of work you are able to make, its scale for example. At Carss Park I was able to experiment with much larger works on paper than I usually do.