Around the Galleries with Michael Berry
A marvellous place to visit, children a welcome but
optional extra, is the Gordon Glass Gallery
and studio Glassblowers on the corner of
Dunns Creek Road and Red Hill Road, Red Hill -a
state-of-the-art purpose built working glass studio
with attached mezzanine exhibition space.
Grant Donaldson instantly strikes one as an
uncomplicated man -for an artisan considered
to be one of the nations leading glassblowers he
is surprisingly without ?arty? pretensions or airs,
his demeanor friendly, direct and matter-of-fact
-yet when you engage Grant in a conversation
about his work you see a glimpse of the deeply
passionate self-taught artist whose prolific ideas
keep him awake at night drawing.
A farm manager in Tasmania in the mid 1980?s,
Grant met Eileen Gordon, an established Scottish
glassblower, when she was employed at
the Tasmanian Glassworks; she is the daughter of
internationally renowned glass artists Alisdair and
Rish Gordon who emigrated here in 1979.
Grant?s fascination with glassblowing
steadily grew as he spent more time assisting
Eileen in production until his aptitude for the
craft took over and he commenced producing his
own range.
?You don?t get a second chance, one
m i s t a k e and all that money and the piece
itself are lost forever -you have to
run with it and concentrate, there
is no time to consider whether
you can do it or not,? he says,
obviously excited by the risks of
blowing glass.
After careful consideration the
Donaldsons decided to build a
glass studio on the Mornington
Peninsula initially at Rosebud,
and now at Red Hill?where
beautiful rural views can be
imbibed, customers are
able to witness resident
artisans creating new works
and take in some of the
glorious art pieces in the
mezzanine gallery.
?This is a place where our
clients can experience a
little of the thrill I feel using
traditional hand blowing techniques
-transforming sand into art,? Grant explains.
So drop in at Red Hill and witness ?taming the
dragon in the firebox which breathes 24 hours a
day? from 10 am to 5pm daily and experience
the amazing universe of Grant, Eileen and the
team of talented artists.
For the month of June at Gallery sorrento,
formerly known as First Settlement Gallery, local
artist damien ruffin?s recent oil paintings and
series of limited edition prints on canvas will be
featured in the space?s front room.
Loosely describing himself as an impressionist
realist powered by an undaunting passion for sea
themes, he reserves the right to avoid slipping into
endless self repetition of tried and true formulaic
images by making pictures in series and then
moving on.
This attitude not only allows for spontaneous
stylistic and narrative changes, but also facilitates
his adoption of a variety of methods and technical
approaches that the specific work dictates as it
grows towards completion.
An inveterate skin diver, Damien sourced the
inspiration for this sequence of fairly large
format pictures while diving and around the
dynamic Port Phillip heads, albeit with a taint of
abstracted license.
?I have an enduring curiosity and fascination with
gannets so they occasionally pop up?as do other
animals,? he says.
?I went through a period of painting topical
political works such as the ethnic cleansing
in Kosovo and other such social issues, but
I experienced trouble finding an audience for
them?people found them too confronting & it
became a challenge to get them hung.?
So he decided as he needed to paint at a
?collectible? level he would have to be realistic
without compromising his artistic temperament or
vision?it was then he returned to the vastness of
the ocean and marine world to paint what ?I felt
good about? and suddenly people responded in a
way in which they hadn?t done when confronted
with his controversial social comment pictures.
After all art is about relating and communicating
with people and as long as there is no conflict in
painting bearing that factor in mind, he can paint
what he likes in the manner his heart and mind
respond, he suggests. Looks like Damien has
found his ?mark?.
Michael
leeworthy
red hill art studio
133 shorehaM road, red hill
P. (03) 5989 2776 or 0408 051 027
e. michaellee48@bigpond.com
Now introducing
artsta
private boutique style,
self contained accommodation
Aquatic
Happenings
Gallery Sorrento
June 2nd -24th
Signed limited edition prints
and original oils on canvas available
from Gallery Sorrento,
(formerly First Settlement Gallery)
141 Ocean Beach Rd Sorrento
Phone: 03 5984 2380
Fax: 03 5984 5716
E-mail: fsg@bigpond.net.au
a display of work by Damien John Ruffin
email. djr.fineart@bigpond.com
fine art
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