THE rich green farmlands of West Gippsland are proving fertile ground for a great diversity of talented artists and craftsmen and women.
Painters, potters, sculptors and jewellers are just some of the artisans creating unique pieces from their modest home and backyard studios in the beautiful Gippsland countryside.
At Open Studios West Gippsland earlier this year we meet Drouin graphic designer, illustrator and printmaker Helen Timbury working on an old linocut machine producing a range of unique illustrative works on paper including calendars, cards, book illustrations, limited edition art prints and tote bags.
"My husband had converted this into a space for himself but after a while, when all my drawings and art materials were taking over the house, he gave up the space to me," she says with a smile.
A short drive away jeweller Wendy Hitchins, well-known for her exquisite handmade glass beads and necklaces, earrings and bracelets, patiently demonstrates the painstaking process that goes into making a glass bead.
"Each handmade glass bead is unique, as no two beads are exactly alike," she says.
Another quick trip through beautiful countryside brings us to the studio of Anita George Calligraphy in Warragul. "I come out here and I play", she says, describing her art as the "intertwining of paint and lettering".
A former draftswoman, Anita melds the flow of letters into the dozens of striking abstract paintings that adorn her studio.
The natural world is the inspiration for award-winning pastel artist Val Connelly whose studio is in Drouin West. Trees, birds, flowers and the Bass Coast seascape and coastline that she loves are the predominant subjects of her beautiful work.
Later that day we meet potter and wood carver Sue Acheson. Sue's bushland studio, Tarago Pottery in Rokeby, is where you will find her using a kick wheel, mixing her own glazes or putting her clay pieces into the wood-fired kiln she built herself.
The kiln is a hungry beast, requiring to be fed for 36 hours so it's a case of all hands-on deck when her work and those of fellow ceramic artists are placed into the kiln. The ash and ame from the burning wood give each piece an individual nish, creating totally unique tableware and sculptural pieces.
Then it was time to meet painter Phil Henshall in his Rokeby studio and hear about his remarkable series of paintings based around the life of notorious convict William Buckley who came to be known as Australia's "wild white man"
After Buckley escaped from a Victorian settlement, he survived in the wilderness through living with the Wathaurong people for more than 30 years, learning their language and customs.
Our last visit is to former metalwork teacher Laurie Collins who now recycles other people's unwanted material into metal sculptures which populate his sculpture garden and gallery, Red Tree Gallery, in Jindivick.
"A lot of people give me things," he says as he rifles through a huge pile of what would be rubbish in anybody else's eyes.
Spanners, plugs, nuts, pipes, bicycle wheels, old golf clubs - all are transformed by Laurie who admits he never runs out of ideas.
"I make something and put it out in the garden. Sooner or later, someone will find it, love it and take it home," he says.
"This is my life and it's a fine life."
If You Go....
Visiting artists' studios during an Open Studios event is a great way to meet the artists and see and hear about their work. There is no pressure to buy but of course they would be delighted if you fell in love with a piece and wanted to buy it. The next West Gippsland Open Studios event, featuring these artists and others, is on the weekend of November 13-14 so put a few days aside to enjoy the event and everything else West Gippsland has to offer.
Click here for more information.
Stay: The Ridge House in Yarragon South captures the very essence of Gippsland's creative spirit. Owner Kristy Plumridge, who has the adjacent Green Hill Farm property, has woven her magic through what was a dilapidated farmhouse, transforming it into a glorious four-bedroom retreat on 50 acres of pristine bushland with magnificent views across the valleys to the Baw Hitchens Ranges. www.theridgehouse.com.au
Sue Preston was a guest of Destination Gippsland