Rags to Riches

Virtual Exhibition

Welcome to a Virtual Exhibition, brought to you by Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council Inc.

Held at the Ravensthorpe Hall throughout the September 2016 Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show, the Rags to Riches exhibition showcased entries that were judged in 2 categories; Rag Fashion and Rag Passion. Over $1700 in prized were up for grabs. To qualify for the judging, the entries must have contained at least one piece of rag supplied in Rag Bundles by the Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council.

Rags to Riches Exhibition, Ravensthorpe Hall September 2016.

All Welcome, no charge, but a coin donation was appreciated and will go towards bringing a dynamic artistic calendar of events to the Ravensthorpe Shire.

First of all, lets view the winners of the "Rag Fashion" category.

First Prize - Tamara Kuipers "Rosette"

Second Prize - Wilma's Sewing Group's

"Josephs Coat of Many Colours"

Third Prize - Nathalie Grant's "Bright as a Button"

Secondly, the winning entries of the "Rag Passion" category.

First Prize - Beryl Semple's "The Passion"

Close up of one of Beryl's Magpies

Second Prize - Sophie & Amberley Daw's "Seat Full of Memories"

Third Prize - Louise Lodge's "My Grand Design"

Now for the one we had all been waiting for - the People's Choice Award...

Val & Paul Metz's - Henry the Rooster

Rags to Riches received 26 entries overall from across the Ravensthorpe Shire.

Teddies & Teapots by Wanadoo Creations

Rag Mat by Margaret Pike

Superior Firelighters by Margaret Pike

Woven Scarf by Judy Harp

A Fun Sports Scarf by Sandra Kohen

Pot Trivets by Wanadoo Creations

Baby Scraps Tummy Rug by Helen King

The Odd One Out by Shirl Sutherland

Raggedy Anne by The Wednesday Quilters

Macramé Hanging Pots by Tracie-Elise Chambers

Criss Cross Cushion by Harrison Agnew

Sexy Apron, Trendy Vest, Head Piece & Hand Bag

by Jennifer C. Biddulph

Back Pack by Jennifer C. Biddulph

Rags to Riches of the Digestive System

by Jennifer C. Biddulph

Socks by Chenda Goldfinch

The Essential is Invisible by Chenda Goldfinch

Rag Dolls by Ravensthorpe DHS Years 2 & 3

Rag Mats by Ravensthorpe DHS Kindy to Year 1 Classes

This project was proudly supported by;

The Community of the Shire of Ravensthorpe


Kyle Forsyth at Ravensthorpe Landmark (08) 9838 1081

Darrell Panizza of Wesfarmers Federation Insurance Ltd.
Tel: 0427 429 496
darrell.panizza@wfi.com.au  

Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council receives funding from and is supported by the
Shire of 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.

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.