December 2006
AMES (Adult Multicultural Education Service) Women’s Camp 2006
I’ve just had the opportunity to take part in an amazing event that brought together seventy recently arrived refugee women from the AMES Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Program. The camp, held annually, provides opportunities for the participants to meet others who face similar circumstances. I put forth a proposal to make a large ceramic wall mural that could then be installed somewhere giving all the women an opportunity to come back on its completion and to have something that they created permanently on display. We made a 1.4 meter circle representing the world and the tiles spiral in, to incorporate the theme of the camp, “The Journey”. The aim of the camp was for women to be able to participate in a range of activities that allowed them to share their stories, to provide them with an understanding of Australia and its cultural richness, and to provide essential knowledge for the next stage of their lives here.
November – December 2006
Artist in Residence Wesley Prep School 2006
I have been working with the Hutch Early Learning Center at Wesley with the 3 and 4 year old children over a six week period. We created story characters with clay for the unit of inquiry the children had been researching titled “Tell me a Story”. Through the use of music, art and dance the children are discovering that words are not the only way they can tell stories. We have created little dogs, giraffes, chickens, snakes, crocodiles and many other animals the children wanted to learn how to make. These characters will be used to make up and tell stories once they have been decorated, glazed and fired. Everyone gets to take their favorite animal home and the left over ones will be turned into a permanent sculpture (see below) on display at the Hutch. I am fortunate to have been invited on a regular basis to the Hutch to work on various projects since 2002 when I created a 2,800 piece wall mural with all the students of the school.
November 2006
St Brendan’s Primary School
I was invited to the St Brendan’s Primary School in Flemington to work with the year five and six student’s on creating an artwork they could make and take home. The student’s made a tile each and used their favorite achievement for the year as inspiration for the work. The tile was to be exhibited at their graduation evening and then taken home as a reminder of their time at the school.
October – December 2006
Orygen Youth Health Mosaic Project
During the past three months I have been making two ceramic wall murals in partnership with staff, peer support workers and young people experiencing mental health issues at the Footscray Hospital in-patient unit. The finished works are 1.8 by 1.2 meters and have been mounted in the outside courtyard, creating a vibrant colorful new feature. The mosaic was designed by Penelope Richardson using the ideas of the young people in the unit . For more information on the project go to the following websites. This project was supported by Arts Victoria’s Arts Development for Communities program. Photo’s courtesy Penelope Richardson
2006
Tactile Impressions – Harmony Park
I have been working on a joint project installation titled Tactile Impressions along with artist Forest Keegel. It is for an All Abilities Playground in Harmony Park Coburg that was funded by Arts Victoria and the Moreland Council. The art project has been community driven and developed with members of the Friends of Harmony Park group in consultation with the Coburg North Primary School and the Coburg Special Development School with artistic guidance from Forest.Together we created a sculptural installation made up of inter-related components reminiscent of remnants of dinosaur skeletons. The surface of the sculptural forms have been textured by making impressions using leaves, sticks, bones and models of insects. You can view the final outcome at Harmony Park 185-195 Gaffney Street Coburg.
2006 SEPTEMBER 6 – NOVEMBER 26
Symbiotic s, an exhibition at the Toyota Community Spirit Gallery
The Towers are my latest sculptures currently on show at the Toyota Spirit Gallery. It felt great to get back into making some sculptural works. It was fantastic to work on some large -scale pieces again. The Towers refer for my desire to strive to achieve and dream up new adventures and journeys for my self. In working on these pieces I was able to further evolve my surface treatment by not only using a technique that leaves the surface embossed and textured but also scratching back and creating more thought out imagery.
You can see these works at Toyota Australia 155 Bertie Street Port Melbourne. The show is only open Thursday and Friday from 1pm till 6pm or by Appointment call Ken Wong on
03-96900902 from 4 of September till 22nd of November 2006.
2006 AUGUST 24
Biography on my father, Wladyslaw Dutkiewicz, launched at the State Library of South Australia.
I have just been to Adelaide for the launch of a book my brother Adam wrote about the life and art of my father Wladyslaw Dutkiewicz. It was a great night that brought the family together with people who understood and appreciated the dynamic power and textural, emotional and thematic richness of his work. He was a charismatic and forceful personality with a passionate nature and a highly developed intellectual curiosity. The book also features a large number of color plates of my fathers paintings and documentary memorabilia.
Elizabeth Ho the Director of the Bob Hawk Prime Ministerial Center, University of S.A. launched the book. Another key speaker was the archivist at the library.
www.moonarrow.com
2006 July 27 to FEB 18 – 2007
Daffodil Day Art Awards, Touring Exhibition
I have a work in the Cancer Council Daffodil Day Art Awards Exhibition. The piece titled “Missing” received a Highly Commended by the judge Vivienne Webb the curator for the NSW Museum for Contemporary Art. Her comments about the work were: “The symbols in this work could refer to human cells, to writing, to information or to individual people. Its abstraction and ambiguity gives the interpretation a breadth of associations that range from the medical and microscopic to the personal and emotional” The exhibition was showing in Melbourne at Gallery 15 and finished in August but is touring Regional Victoria. My work was selected to take part in the Kyneton Daffodil and Art Festival in September and the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery in October-November. The tour ends at Warrnambool Art Gallery at 165 Timor Street, Warrnambool. Exhibition dates are 31st January -18th February 2007. Gallery opens Monday -Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday and Sunday 12 noon to 5pm.
