Chit Chat
 Elisabeth Cummings awarded an OAM
Congratulations to Elisabeth Cummings on receiving the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the visual arts as a painter and teacher, and to conservation and the environment.
The Australia Day 2011 Honours List was announced by the Governor-General and provides national and formal recognition for many Australians across the nation who have made a significant difference to their communities.
Regarded as one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists and colourists, as well as a much-admired teacher, Ms Cummings’ works are highly sought-after and are widely represented in national, state and regional collections.
 What a start to the year! Floods, storms, hurricanes and high temperatures. Heartfelt sorrow for people who have to start again or who have lost loved ones.
These terrible events have the effect of positioning us away from the centre of the universe, when we realise that we are not omnipotent. An anthropocentric view of the world does not help us when 'nature' turns ugly.
I have been thinking a lot about how important it is to position ourselves as a part of nature and our environment. My landscapes are empty of humans and I do this knowingly and purposefully. It is to reposition us as part of a whole, not the centre of the whole. I like to consider that all aspects of our environment are interdependent. We affect the world and the world affects us. Given that we as a society generally view ourselves as central to life, art that provides an alternative view perhaps creates some balance?
Here’s one of my empty landscapes.
Teresa
I'm looking forward to starting back at TAFE and commencing a year of painting. Having a structure in place ensures that I continue to work and move forward in my development as an artist.
The Open Studio Practice program this year by Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE is especially good news for students with small spaces and little or no facilities to continue their exploration of their creativity. It's also great to be in the company of like-minded individuals as I have formed some great friendships in my time at TAFE.
The program is available in Sculpture, Painting, Drawing and Ceramics at Northern Beaches and Meadowbank.
Designed for students with existing stills, it allows you to continue to develop your creative skills under the supervision of skilled teachers.
To find out more visit the NSI Website.
Stephanie
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Give Queensland tourism a boost by attending Kenilworth art society’s weekend workshops and enjoy a weekend away learning and being inspired by the following great art teachers.
This workshop is a must for an artist wishing to take his or her work to a higher level. Students will be shown how to make vibrant, light-filled landscapes using colour and tone and to learn more about composition, colour harmony and subject selection.
Fourteen people showed up to the idyllic park-land setting of the Ku-Ring-Gai Art Centre at Roseville, NSW for a week of life drawing. Paul Miller promised us hard work – and he wasn’t kidding!