A Walk on the Wild Side with Sabrina Hahn

Hopetoun Ravensthorpe Railway Heritage Walk Trail

The sun was out. Yes siree, after days of wind & rain, and after digging out our wellie boots the weather miraculously turned a wonderful shade of sunshine for our proposed bush adventure.

The Hopetoun Ravensthorpe Railway Heritage Walk Trail is rich in natural beauty, plant diversity, geology and history. 20 walkers were as keen as mustard to get on the trail, and to enjoy the great company of Sabrina Hahn, patron of the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show and a wealth of practical information, horticultural knowledge and in general a lot of fun.

Walkers gathered at Kundip town site, then travelled north to Mine Road to meet up with the track where the wild walk began. This part of the Heritage trail runs parallel to the Steere River, towards Hopetoun, Later Site and Cottage Ruins. Old ruins were sighted, as was a biodiversity of plant life which required reference to booklets featuring local botanicals. Did you know that the Fitzgerald Biosphere is host to over 60 plant species, which are unique to the area, and more than 40 that are rarely found elsewhere?  The Hopetoun Ravensthorpe Railway Heritage Walk Trail is alongside the Fitzgerald River National Park which is the one and only Biodiversity Hotspot in Australia and is internationally recognised.

Apparently the adventurers also came across the Separation Plant. With Sabrina announcing “I found a Separation Plant“, she had everyone scurrying to see this rare species. However, the Separation Plant had even the professionals stumped. This find remains controversial because minorities of us are not so good with directions in the bush. Luckily Sue Leighton (local Horticulturist, Designer and Advisor) & Ainsley Foulds were qualified to be on the case. And anyway, what happens on the trail stays on the trail, isn’t that right?

A much deserved yummy morning tea was provided by Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council along the trail, which really topped off the morning and added value to the experience. An entertaining morning of flora, fauna, discovery and friendship.

 

After the official walk participants were offered to follow Sue down along Horner Road to view the wildflower wonderland, then on towards Dunns Swamp where the variety of species was awe inspiring. Every colour of the rainbow!

Sabrina Hahn was a pleasure as always, and participants soaked up knowledge and inspiration delivered in her down to earth approach. We thank everyone one who joined us for a great morning of culture and outdoor adventure. Let’s do it again sometime.

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council receives core funding from Country Arts WA, which receives funding from the State Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts and Lotterywest.

Rags to Riches Exhibition

Featuring the Tepees of Hope

Ravensthorpe Hall was the perfect venue to host Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Councils contribution to the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show. From the 12th to the 22nd of September, Rags to Riches attracted almost 700 people! The 26 Rag Art entries covered a very broad artistic interpretation. Entries included Rag Dolls by Ravensthorpe's Year 2 and 3 students, cushions, wearable items, edible items, hanging items, growing items, mats, artist's interpretations and artistic creations, all with great stories behind them.

Entrants paired their creations with photos and stories, descriptions and meanings. Some were funny, and some were very heartfelt including life stories. Most know that many hours and care goes into an artistic creation. Whether it is a cake you baked or a garden you grew from seed, it takes persistence, determination, time, reason and passion to bring an idea to life. Rags to Riches was a showcase of this. By taking a 'horrible old shed rag' (someone else's words, not mine) and turning it into a usable or showable piece, you have overcome the stigma of a throwaway society, you have accomplished a goal, you feel a sense of belonging, you have turned Rags into Riches.

With so many fanciful and quality entries, the dread of judgement loomed. There was good prize money up for grabs, a prize pool of over $1700.00 and the competition was stiff. Two team members of Country Arts WA, Doone and Tegan happened to be visiting our Shire for the delivery of an Arts Funding Forum and they were happy to take on the role of impartial judge. We congratulate the winners and thank all entrants for supporting the Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council. What a fabulous supportive community we live in.

Thank you equally to the kind sponsors of Rags to Riches, Darrell Panizza of WFI (Wesfarmers General Insurance Ltd), and Kyle Forsyth of South Coastal Agencies - Landmark Ravensthorpe.

Featured in the exhibition was the large scale mystery community art project, the Tepees of Hope. This project asked community members to donate a once-loved piece of fabric that would be sewn into a large scale mystery masterpiece. Over 200 volunteer hours went into the construction of this project. After the initial concept, the wood frame was sourced, measured and cut, followed by the measuring and sewing of the calico liner, the fabric mosaic construction and sewing of the 18 tepee panels, constriction of each tepee, then the final touches.

A Tepee Sew-A-Thon was held at the Hopetoun Community Centre where volunteers encouraged and helped each other, gave each other sewing tips, and laughed amongst each other when someone sewed something back-to-front by mistake. The project came to life and it was a very enjoyable weekend. The Hopetoun Community Centre was filled with great feelings of community spirit and belonging, not to mention cotton and fabric scraps.

Life is not over for the Tepees of Hope, this is only the beginning. Thoughts and feelings have been scribed on the inside liner of the Tepees, as per poetic instruction, and for a little while they will be featured at the Hopetoun Community Centre. So watch this space because you never know where they might turn up next!

For more photos, and to see who won places in the Rags to Riches project & exhibition check out our Facebook pages;
Rags to Riches;
https://www.facebook.com/Rags-to-Riches-1036336073071021/
Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council;
https://www.facebook.com/Raveaboutarts/?fref=ts

Subscribe to this blog to keep up to date with Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Councils projects and events.

 Photo credits; Sue Leighton and Kirsty Duffy.

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council is supported by the Departments of Culture and the Arts and Regional Development, Royalties for Regions and Country Arts WA.

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council receives core funding from Country Arts WA, which receives funding from the State Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts and Lotterywest.

Artist Talk with "Amok Island"

FORM & CBH Silos Project

With a rich history, not only is Ravensthorpe the place to stop and grab a pie and chips on your way to Esperance. Now, this is no travel blog but I'll let you in on a little secret. Ravensthorpe is an absolute gem, if you take the time to stop and breathe it in.

Thanks to FORM and CBH Group, the once-plain-white silos at the west entrance to Ravensthorpe have been transformed into gigantic pieces of ART! Just in case you hadn't noticed.

On the chilly evening of September 15th, around 25 intrigued community members gathered in the Ravensthorpe Hall to listen to a talk hosted by FORM & Amok Island. An insight into the process of how these enormous silos were turned into one of only two Silo Art Projects in Western Australia.

Fantastic! Amok Island (that's his Artistic name, you know, to keep his private life private) talked the group through the whole process from concept to (almost) finish. Amok Island's resume already included a large list of big scale mural projects, but the Ravensthorpe project was his biggest yet. A big fan of flora and fauna, Amok Island tends to paint his murals relative to the area, hence "Six Stages of Banksia Baxteri", for Ravensthorpe. Not to mention the too-cute Honey Possum and New Holland Honey Eater.

As audience members, I think we were a bit dumbfounded with the honesty in the detailed description delivered to us about the whole process, with this much information from a professional source someone might just pull off another silo mural down the road a bit! In all seriousness, it was very interesting, fascinating actually. Even better, Amok Island was a super nice down-to-earth bloke.

After the Artist Talk, relaxed chat took over as did mingling. Rags to Riches and Tepees of Hope were being exhibited in the Ravensthorpe Hall so the crew from FORM had the chance to browse and write their own comments inside the Tepees. Technically, Amok Island has made his mark on the CBH Silos AND our Tepees of Hope. That may not make the news though.

Thank you to those community members who attended the evening. Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council looks forward to continuing our relationship with FORM, as they are such a friendly and professional bunch.

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council is supported by the Departments of Culture and the Arts and Regional Development, Royalties for Regions and Country Arts WA.

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council receives core funding from Country Arts WA, which receives funding from the State Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts and Lotterywest.

FORM Photography Workshop

With visiting artist David Collins

Tying in with our wildflower season, David Charles Collins Photographer and Andrew Nicholls FORM Senior Curator were visiting the Shire of Ravensthorpe to work on an exhibition featuring botanical photography. Lucky for us they offered to host a free photography workshop during their visit, featuring the use of different light techniques on Friday 16th September.

Originally a painter and sculptor, the very talented David Collins has an eye for the unusual and inspires you to challenge yourself and the way you think about your craft. His images are bold, theatrical, voyeuristic, and not for the faint hearted. Very inspiring.

Six people attended the workshop with various types of cameras. David talked us through how to make the most of the hardware that you have, and that it is ok to improvise. Working with tripods (a challenge on its own!), the lights were dimmed and the tech talk began. David explained that the camera works like your eyes in light and dark, and that you shouldn't be afraid to experiment with settings and props. Images were shot under spot lights, we looked at shadows, how light creates mood, black and white images, and how to work on accomplishing clear images in low light.


David's relaxed but thorough teaching techniques put the group at ease, and made it easy to ask questions. With a mixture of beginner and professional photographers attending, I think its pretty safe to say that everyone learned something. A very enjoyable morning. I just hope I wasn't the only one who came home with a few completely, err, black images. Practice makes perfect?

David and Andrew were a pleasure to deal with. A very professional duo, and a credit to FORM. During their visit to the Hopetoun and Ravensthorpe region David and Andrew hoped to capture some botanical beauty that will feature in an up and coming photography exhibition to be held in Perth. Watch this space, as it seems FORM are determined increase the status of Hopetoun & Ravensthorpe!

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council receives core funding from Country Arts WA, which receives funding from the State Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts and Lotterywest.

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council Inc. receives funding from the Shire of Ravensthorpe.

Photo credits, Kirsty Duffy.

A Visit from Country Arts WA

Local Arts Funding Sessions

Well strike me roan, Country Arts WA (CAWA) were locked in to visit us! After some initial nerves had settled (these guys are one of our most valued funding bodies), we were very excited that Doone McAlary Regional Arts Development Coordinator, and Tegan Morey Regional Arts Development Officer were coming to deliver two Arts Funding Sessions.

We were excited because CAWA is important to us, we were excited because we had the chance to showcase our area and our latest project and exhibition, and we were excited because we had the chance to introduce fellow community members to CAWA. This was a great opportunity.

Two Arts Funding Sessions were offered. One in Hopetoun on Tuesday 13th September, and the other in Ravensthorpe Wednesday 14th September. It was a wonderful gesture to offer the two workshops because even though the two towns are only 50 kms from each other, after work, school drop offs and pickups, and shopping it makes for a busy week if much travel is involved.

The CAWA ladies talked us through funding and grant opportunities, with plenty of time for questions and comments. It can be a mine field when you are working through project funding, so it was nice that Doone and Tegan's delivery of information was relaxed yet on point. For those who were not familiar with CAWA, it was also a nice insight into their work in regional WA.

During their stay in Ravensthorpe, we invited Doone and Teagan to act as impartial judges to determine the winners of our Rags to Riches Exhibition. It was a hard task, but they were up for the challenge.

We thank participants for joining us in attending the Country Arts WA Arts Funding Sessions, and look forward to continuing community cohesion through the arts and culture.

Botanical Art and Date Loaf

A weekend with Penny Leech

It began with a gathering of friends and strangers. Professional artists and beginners. Exquisite date loaf and not-quite-cooked-in-the-middle chocolate cake. As 11 participants settled in to begin a journey of discovery a hint of apprehension and awkwardness hovered. Where do we start? How do we start? How do we mix the colours? The answer... have a go, be bold, make mistakes, be proud of small achievements and in 30 years time you will still be learning.

There was a plethora of plants, nuts, and flowers to paint and the smell of bush treasures in the room was lovely. Form started to take shape on paper after some deep thought and botanical images were clearly evident. By the end of the first day and after some tips and demonstrations had been shared, the work produced by participants was really quite amazing.













Day 2 of the workshop arrived and by golly, participants were done with simple leaves. It was now time to have a crack at banksias and hakeas! Confidence had grown to say the least.


The results were a true achievement. I think it is pretty safe to say that painting Botanical Art is hard work. It requires patience, concentration, time, and a good Date Loaf. Congratulations to the participants who made this artistic workshop part of their learning journey.

The weekend of 6th and 7th of August saw Windsprays Art Hub on Maitland Street full of studious artists. Penny Leech, an original founder of the Botanical Artists Group of WA graced the group with her faultless botanical art. If nothing else it was mesmerizing watching her work away with ease to create perfect botanical images. Thank you to Penny for travelling to Hopetoun. There is still a lucky group who will be joining Penny on her next visit to Hopetoun September 3rd and 4th.

Thank you also to Beryl, our gracious Windspray host and baker of Date Loaf. And of course our hard working participants who achieved so much in a short amount of time. Looking forward to seeing some completed works in 30 years time.

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council receives core funding from Country Arts WA, which receives funding from the State Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts and Lotterywest.

Patches from the People,  Please.

Mystery Community Project

An Extension of the Rags to Riches Project

There is a scent of Mystery in the air at the moment. A fresh scent. A seed has been planted, and a mystery vine is going to grow amongst communities surrounding the Ravensthorpe Shire. Lets water that vine, and see what Mystery reveals itself.

Once loved fabrics. A hanky with a happy memory? An old beach bag from the Endless Summer of '66? Did you measure once and cut twice to ruin a vintage piece? Consider contributing to Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Councils Mystery Community Project. We have an idea, a big idea. A large scale mystery textiles project will come to life, and we need Patches from the People, please. All are welcome to participate.

Textile patches may be any shape or size up to 1m x 1m. Your patchwork piece will be utilized and exhibited as part of a large scale mystery project. Fabrics may be decorated any way you choose including; traditional patch working, painting, embellishing, drawing, or just a pretty piece that you would like to see included.

Patches will be required by the 2nd of September. The Mystery Project unveiling and sew-a-thon for the construction of the project will be held at Hopetoun Community Centre 3rd and 4th of September. BYO sewing machine.

The project will be exhibited at the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show from September 13th to 24th, and who knows where it will pop up next?

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council receives core funding from Country Arts WA, which receives funding from the State Government through the Department of Culture and the Arts and Lotterywest.