The residents of Colbinabbin chose to depict aspects of the history of their district on their silos.
The murals were painted by artist, Tim Bowtell.
The first silo depicts a Farmers Picnic of the late 1800s to early 1900s.
The mural of the train station and steam train play homage to the rail service which operated from 1914 to 1987. The service was used primarily for the transport of grain but also transported goods and passengers.
The steam engine rumbling out of the mural towards the viewer is very impressive.
The 1940s/1950s Fire Truck, Lulu, is being given a good clean and refilling whilst local children cross an irrigation channel on their way to the local sports ground, netball and tennis courts.
A souped up tractor gives the crowd a thrill during a Tractor Pull in the 1980s.
Colbinabbin was our final stop before returning to Castlemaine.
I am inspired to seek out further opportunities to admire more of the silo art scattered around Victoria.
Gadjigadi is a painting by indigenous artist, Arkeria Rose Armstrong, a young Garmilaraay woman who lives and works on Dja Dja Wurrung country which includes the modern day Shire of Mount Alexander.
Arkeria was commissioned to make the painting by CHIRP Community Health at the time of its integration with Castlemaine Health in 2021.
Three health services in the Shire of Mount Alexander are merging for funding and resource reasons. The local community health service and Maldon Hospital are joining Castlemaine Health, the local hospital, to form one health organisation.
The title of the painting ‘Gadjigadi’ meaning ‘Regrowth’ is a Garmilaraay word.
The colours used in the painting have been inspired by the colours of the local bushland in the spring.
The butterflies represent transformational change.
The waterways replenish and nurture.
The meeting places are where we come together to work as a community.
The painting was launched at a celebration today in the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens.
I attended the celebration as a member of Friends of CHIRP, a group advocating for the provision of community health services in the Shire of Mount Alexander.
I have been using local community health services for over 9 years.
Rural Victoria is becoming a giant art gallery as the grain silos of small towns become the surfaces for art works.
The silo trails are bringing visitors to country regions and boosting local economies.
Some friends and I recently visited Avoca where a Powerful Owl is being painted on a silo. The Powerful Owl is found in the nearby Pyrenees Ranges which overlook the town.
I look forward to seeing the painting another time when it is finished.
This is the view of the silo from the railway station. There is a change of weather rolling in across the Pyrenees.
It is a while since I last published a post. There have been frustration and tears as I have struggled to adapt to the new way of uploading images. I am disappointed that viewers can no longer click on a photograph to obtain a larger, more detailed image.
Today, Friday, was a perfect autumn day and what better way to spend it than to wander around the nearby historic town of Maldon appreciating the art displayed as part of the 2017 Maldon Art Walk. From the 12th to the 26th of March, the work of local artists is on display in shop windows and in public spaces. The work of 100 artists is displayed in 50 venues. Tiny, little pots rub shoulders with the sausages at the butchers, a large charcoal drawing struts its stuff at the hardware shop, a painting of a carousal is a joyous addition to the premises of the local ice cream maker and a small, metal boat rolls on barbwire waves in the garden shop.
The following photographs are of a small selection of what is on show. I didn’t have to worry about reflections from shop windows with these works.
This dress is made of chicken wire, yet it looks soft and filmy – I love it.
I also love these beautiful, hand dyed felt jackets
This courtyard with the old pomegranate tree brought back memories of a lazy lunch with relatives under its shade years ago.
The court yard provides the setting for this amazing installation….
………….. as well as these sculptures.
On the far wall of the dining room of the historic Kangaroo Hotel is this painting of the Trentham Falls.
My friends and I enjoyed a hearty lunch in the dining room.
Below are my first attempts at Sumie painting. I attended a workshop conducted by Gerard Menzel on Sunday, the 14th of February. I have messed about with brush and ink in the past so I appreciated the opportunity to receive some formal instruction in the Sumie style of ink painting.
My first marks
Then on to the first of the four treasures of Sumie – bamboo. Previously, I used western style brushes so the eastern ink brushes were a revelation – so flexible and expressive. Gerard said it can take two years of practice to paint a bamboo leaf with one stroke of the brush.
The next treasure was the orchid. The traditional Sumie way is to hold an image of the subject in one’s head and convey the image onto the paper. I found this a challenge as I tend to work from direct observation of the subject. On the day, we were re-interpreting paintings which Gerard made to demonstrate the techniques of creating the subject. Luckily, I had studied and drawn orchids in the past and felt more comfortable with making these paintings.
Previous paintings were done on butchers paper whilst rice paper was used for these final two paintings.
Making paintings of two treasures was enough for one day. The chrysanthemum and plum blossom await another day.
My previous post about Port Fairy featured the Community Water Mural, a project of the Port Fairy Consolidated School.
This post features another mural in Port Fairy. The Port Fairy Angling Club looks out over the Moyne River. Nothing special about the club building, but some one has allowed their artist to run free in the creation of this mural painted on a shed.
I wonder if anglers can identify the fish depicted?
‘Nothing to see here‘ you would think, but you would be wrong! Even the most utilitarian of structures can be transformed by art as I discovered during my holiday in Port Fairy earlier this year.
I didn’t realise some witless vandal (I’m being polite here) had defaced the mural by adding penises to the birds until I took a closer look at this photograph. Some people have no respect and it’s kids art for goodness sake!
Morose looking wader.
Grumpy seagull.
‘Well done, Port Fairy Consolidated School, ‘Â I say.
This painting was created by applying acrylic paint to canvas and then glad wrap (cling wrap or cling film depending on where you are from) was laid over the wet paint and scrunched and folded so the paint gathered in the folds. The glad wrap was left on the painting until  (semi) dry and then peeled off.
I made this painting at a workshop and each student had fun seeing what shapes had been created at random. In my painting, there was the unmistakable shape of an eye which stared down at me at work for a number of years and then joined me at home when I retired.
margaretgriffin 