Ken Done in Leeton

Leeton's Major Dooley Library is hosting an artwork by one of Australia's most successful visual artists. Ken Done has exhibited and sold his iconic work around the world for over three decades and developed a remarkably strong brand.

Since his first solo exhibition in 1980, Ken Done has become one of Australia’s most famous artists. His work has been described as the most original style to come out of Australia, and his paintings are in collections throughout the world.

Born 29 June, 1940, in Sydney, Ken left school at 14 to enter the National Art School in East Sydney. After five years of study, he commenced a highly successful career as an art director and designer in New York, London and Sydney.

At the age of 40, after painting for many years, he gave up his advertising career to become a painter full-time. Since then, he has held over 50 one-man shows, including major exhibitions in Australia, Europe, Japan and the USA. His works have been shown in the Archibald, Sulman, Wynne, Blake, and Dobell prizes.

In 1991, a major touring exhibition in Japan attracted over 200,000 visitors. The artist's first European exhibition was held in Paris in 1996, to great acclaim, and in 2000 the art of Ken Done was successfully premiered in both Los Angeles and London.

Major projects in a very diverse career include the painting of a BMW Artcar, and the total decorative scheme for the Garden Restaurant at the Powerhouse Museum, in Sydney. In 1994, a major retrospective of Ken Done's work "Ken Done: the art of design" was mounted by the Powerhouse Museum. In 1988, Hanako, a Tokyo fashion and lifestyle magazine, was launched, and featured a Ken Done painting on the cover every week for over 15 years.

In 1999, Done was asked to create a series of works for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies programs of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Ken's paintings have become the creative source of a unique, and very successful Australian business which continues to promote Australian art and design to a world-wide audience. In 1993, Ken, together with his fashion-designer wife Judy, won the Fashion Industries of Australia's Grand Award for Fashion.

In 1992, Ken received the Order of Australia (A.M.), for services to Art, Design and Tourism. In many parts of the world, Ken Done has come to symbolise Australia and Australians: creative, optimistic and bold. We hope he will inspire Leeton arts.

Young minds blown with art

Students from Parkview Primary School had their minds broadened with a visit to the 'Automata: 3 is a magic number' exhibition at The Roxy Gallery.

The fifth year art class undertook a creative exercise under the guidance of artist Jo Roberts.

"There were 28 kids," said Ms Roberts. "Approximately two out of five indicated they had never visited an art gallery before."

"The response from the kids varied from complete disinterest, to confusion and worry about a process where there was not a 'right' way to do things, to enthusiasm and interest."

The creative exercise drew on artworks displayed in the 'Automata' exhibition, including collage and automatic poetry created using the cut-up technique pioneered by Tristan Tzara.

"The kids used an image of planet Earth as seen from space as the starting  point for the excercise we  did while they were in the gallery," said Ms Roberts.

"I asked what were some of the things that Earth is a symbol of and they were able to come up with a half dozen. This lead to a discussion about the fact that there can be many associations with an image and that none of the meanings are 'wrong'. I said that  I thought it was because our lives are all different and that the 'meaning' of art is the meeting place between symbols and our own life experience."

"The kids had all drawn an image of their own related to the image of earth, and we applied the cut-up technique to text from The Lorax, Louis Armstrong's song 'What a Wonderful World', and James Lovelock's Gaia theory to make poetry."

"We ran out of time, which seemed to fly by. Art does that," said Ms Roberts.

"They were amazed to hear that my artwork took several hours to complete, and thought this was a long time. For me this is a short amount of time, but they are used to having a mere 45 minutes to an hour in an art lesson -- which limits what is achievable. I think it blew their minds to hear that some of my work takes over 100 hours to execute."

Reimagining the Murrumbidgee moves upstream to Wagga Wagga

Western Riverina Arts have opened the Reimagining the Murrumbidgee exhibition at the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery.

Reimagining the Murrumbidgee explores relationships to the River through artworks by David Williams, Hape Kiddle, Sarah McEwan, Trent Light and Jason Richardson. The exhibition was developed in partnership with the Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority with funding through Caring For Our Country.



"The artists have responded to the River in distinctly different artworks," said curator Derek Motion. "Their varied media offer an opportunity to compare and contrast themes such as environmental, economic and cultural significance."



"Trent Light's portraits and interviews with Narrandera residents capture local attitudes and interests, while Sarah McEwan has created an installation that provides a rich metaphor," said Mr Motion.

Birrego-based artist McEwan infused her artwork with the River. "To make this work I went down to the Murrumbidgee near the Oakbank Brewery to soak eight-metre long pieces of fabric and collect rocks, bark, bottles and dirt," said Sarah McEwan. "Part of the Murrumbidgee is in this work and I hope my installation can channel the sacredness that people feel to this mighty river."

"’Rest In the River’ is an installation using found and natural materials to create a work that represents the threads of life that all rivers hold for the survival of people, animals and the environment,” said Mrs McEwan. “Beyond its practical uses, the Murrumbidgee is ‘home’ for many people; a place to rest, to seek comfort and to be taken away to the spiritual."

David Williams' painting shows the effect of Gogeldrie Weir on the River, in a contemporary indigenous style; while Hape Kiddle worked on a riverbank to craft jewellery, carvings and silver spoons.

“I think Hape's work is beautiful, both in itself and as a comment on how human culture developed through agriculture,” said Derek Motion.

“Seeing art shows you a diversity of ideas and perspectives on a subject and this exhibition will surprise people. There are many discussions around the Murrumbidgee River – particularly in recent times – and the artists have explored ideas associated with this natural resource.”

Reimagining the Murrumbidgee will be in the Links Gallery of the Wagga Wagga Art Gallery from 22 February to 13 April 2014.

For more see http://reimagining.net/

Writing through the fog

Leeton-based writer Melanie Ifield always wanted to be an author but it wasn't until she contracted chronic fatigue syndrome that she found the opportunity to publish.

For Ms Ifield the desire to write started early. "As a little girl I filled exercise books with stories," she says. "I think it's something I always wanted to do."

"I got side-tracked working for Federal Government in Canberra writing policy documents all day. Writing policy is a particular voice, a journalistic style. It was hard to come home and find my own words and you do need an authentic voice to write fiction."

"Now I'm finding time, even if it is due to ill health. Chronic fatigue has freed the words."

In late 2103 Melanie Ifield published three books under her own imprint. The books are available through the Amazon website and each aim at different genres of the fiction market.

The Chicken Liberation Army is a story of action and adventure for young readers. Published 31 October 2013, it details young protagonist Bella as she investigates the abuse of chickens on a local farm.

"A mate had some chickens and mentioned euphemistically that a fox had 'liberated' some of the chickens, so the idea began to develop in my head," says Ms Ifield.

"Then I was thinking on a catchy title and liked CLA for the CIA kind of reference. I liked the idea of really adventurous kids. These days childhood seems cloaked in bubble-wrap and kids hate that. It's important to provide that fantasy I think."

The Candlestick Dragon is a fantasy for middle grade readers and young adults published on 13 November 2013. The plot introduces Daniel Smith, who discovers a magical doorway into the land of Novarmere.

"It's based around the loneliness of the lead character and his need to fit in to society. He gets outside of the bullying that allows him to step into an adult role of being a hero. It's based around courage, he goes from feeling inadequate in the 'real world' to stepping up to the challenge when confronted with the threat of death. And he realises that he's had that strength all along."

Three more books in the series are scheduled for release in 2014.

The Age of Corruption was published on 6 December 2013. This is an action and adventure novel for adults as lead character Fiona Page finds herself hunted by a psychopath and protected by a retired assassin.

"When I started this book I was living in Canberra, and the impression of that city is that it's so boring. So, I thought about what else could be going on here? I'm not going to be a martial arts killing machine, so I started developing a fantasy life to see where the story would go and it kind of got away from me a bit."

While the two previously mentioned books were written for middle grade to teen readers, this one is aimed at an adult audience. "It's called The Age of Corruption because it explores the question of how far you could go without a moral compass?"

"These three novels are my beginning as an author," says Ms Ifield, who is currently writing a book detailing her own experience with illness and chronic fatigue. "People ask for help and any ideas on how to cope and, after I email a lengthy reply, they encourage me to write it down."

"Some times I feel 'human' but others I feel like a foreigner in my own skin, struggling with exhaustion, nausea, and headaches to find the words to express myself."

She believes that writing is an important pursuit. "It helps me get up in the morning. Illness can be demotivating but, even if I write only 500 words, I'm still doing something I love."

"Follow your dreams," Ms Ifield advises. "It's difficult when your brain is in a fog but I've managed to do it. Don't give up."

Automata for the People

"It's three childhood friends navigating the subconscious via art," says Leeton-based artist Jo Roberts of the exhibition 'Automata: 3 is a magic number' that she will open with Allis Maun and Benjamin Roberts at The Roxy Gallery this month.

The artworks in the exhibition are united by the theme of bringing hidden meanings into the open.

"Often you have clear ideas of images you want to use but my process this time has avoided that. I've used automatic processes, such as the cut-up method of making poetry, to come up with surprisingly apt juxtapositions that I wouldn't have developed with my conscious mind."

Ms Maun uses a similar technique, explaining her art arrives from a dream world. "Usually I stop my critical mind when I draw and see what comes to me."

"It's a bit like when I used to play music, if I thought about it I'd make mistakes. So I switch off my conscious mind and sometimes the results makes sense and I can rationalise them later."

When asked if intuition plays a role, Ms Maun says the term captures the relationship. "Intuition, as in 'in tuition' like it literally suggests an inner teacher."

“I guess things come from the subconscious all the time,” says Benjamin Roberts somewhat warily. “Usually I have an idea what I want to produce [in art] but end at a different destination. Mistakes along the way aren’t always mistakes.”

“This exhibition allows me to feel a lot freer. I’ve let go of many opinions and there’s less pressure. It’s about acknowledging what I enjoy doing in art after working semi-professionally on projects in Melbourne.”

“The works produced for this exhibition have been more about process than producing a particular result,” says Mr Roberts.

"The line 'Three is a magic number' is a play on our friendship obviously," says Jo Roberts. "The number also represents a sense of how a child is born from the blending of masculine and feminine energies. This for me represents art process, a blend of creativity and discipline leading to a realisation."

Ms Roberts says she proposed the exhibition as a way of promoting non-conventional art practise and to ensure the visibility of art in Leeton. "I think it's extremely important that the Roxy Gallery continues to be used as an art space."

"It was also a way of creating momentum for my own art-making, setting a deadline and working toward it. Not waiting for a muse or inspiration but adopting a practise. Even just thinking about art and developing ideas everyday is a discipline."

"Benjamin will tell you he's compulsively driven to draw and has been since he was a child," she says of her brother. "I really enjoy placing constraints around my practise as I find the idea of infinite possibilities paralysing, rather than liberating."

The exhibition 'Automata: 3 is a magic number' will be open at The Roxy Gallery between 10am - 2pm, Tuesday to Sunday from 11th to 27th February.

Grow the music