The Orbost Arts Centre (OAC) is inviting residents to buy local this Christmas, as the exhibition space fills with art and gifts handmade with meaning and intention by local artist-volunteers.
The OAC runs on the strength of a small army of volunteers, most of whom are artists themselves.
When not in their studios making beautiful work these are the people welcoming visitors, hanging artworks, cleaning the floors, serving drinks, wrapping gift shop purchases and stacking chairs.
Volunteers are at the heart of the OAC,
and to close out the year the gallery is showcasing their work with its latest exhibition
Art from the Heart.
Everything on show is for sale, ranging
from funky and funny handcrafted Christmas cards through to glass jewellery, bags, ornaments, vases and tableware right up to large oil paintings.
Helen Chalmers uses lampwork, the process of melting glass, to create vibrantly coloured fish, animals and beads.
Ngaere Donald has exhibited both solo and in group shows, and has been awarded multiple prizes for her impressionistic paintings which capture the local landscape and surrounding environment.
“En plein aire” is her preferred way of working so that the prevailing weather brings excitement and movement to her art.
Dawn Van Den Berg brings her interests in spirituality, ancient cultures and alchemy to her paintings and drawings of East Gippsland’s magical places and amazing plants, bush animals and birds, capturing the unique spirit and atmosphere of the bush in a new and delightful way.
Julie Mustard works in textiles, and the show includes a variety of Julie’s woven utility baskets, denim bags from recycled jeans and some fun Christmas gifts.
Caryl Patterson’s passion for hand building pottery started while at school and
after attending a weaving workshop in Bairnsdale, Caryl began integrating New Zealand flax into her work.
Aiming for an authentic rustic look,
this has become Caryl’s signature style,
and won her the People’s Choice Award at a recent exhibition.
After a long career in hospitality, Cathie Robertson has returned to art in her retirement.
Working primarily in acrylic, watercolour and textiles, Cathie creates joyous vibrant
and fun works.
Janey Morrison studied watercolours in the US with Dale Boatman where she studied and practiced the perspective, dimension and balance that makes her work so elegant.
On return to Australia Janey took up oil painting, with a love of seascapes, landscape and animals.
Barry Paten is a self-taught wood craftsman who took up woodturning as a hobby to fill in idle weekend hours.
Barry enjoys taking a piece of wood to the lathe and removing the excess until he is left with just the right elements, whether it be gum veins, knots, swirls or colour variation, which he finishes with gloss or matt oils or a beautiful natural finish.
Barry also makes elegant wooden bowls and lamps which make terrific gifts.
The lockdowns and the darkness of the pandemic spurred Kate Chapman to achieve her lifelong dream of learning to paint.
It was a journey that quickly grew into a love of light, colour, the wildness of water and the gift of the creative process.
Kate found the act of painting itself a revelation, a meditation on nature, finding unexpected joy and new ways of relating to the weather, wild skies and golden sunsets of the East Gippsland wilderness.
The OAC welcomes residents to Art from the Heart up until January 4, 2026.
