An insight into hidden arts practices

A trail of art studios in Golden Plains will open at the weekend to give the public an insight into creative processes.

Fresh from their exhibition at Ballarat’s The Unicorn, six studios from the Hidden Gems collective will present not only their art but where and how they make their work.

Artists from the shire make up the collective.

The exhibitors include printmaker Vida Pearson and furniture craftsman Fred Ross of Haddon, Scarsdale mixed media artist Rosie Grundell, ceramicist and sculptor Steve Drew in Nintingbool, Cambrian Hill’s Raintree Art, and GP Arts consisting of Deidre Bain, Heather Pickering, Darren Thrift and Beverley Inch at Haddon Community Learning Centre.

Pearson said she and Ross use the opening to offer visitors a peek into their efforts.

“Fred will talk to people about how he makes his furniture,” she said. “I always bring people into my studio and show them how I do my linocuts, and just discuss where my inspiration comes from because I’m into birds and stuff.

“We have a nice garden so people usually walk around if the weather’s good.”

A professional printmaker of 40 years, Pearson said many visitors learnt the amount of effort artists put into their creations.

“You do a lot of printing to get to the final product,” she said. “So just explaining to people all those processes, and I’ve got a bit of a blurb that I go through, and they all sort of go, ‘oh well, that’s actually quite difficult and it’s a lot of work’.”

The collective, which exhibits twice a year, was created out of the pandemic in order to attract more interest to the exhibitors’ art.

“You just share your stories,” Pearson said. “Because I’m into birds and plants, there’s always lots of stories.

“It’s just really nice to connect with people.”

Visitors can explore the studios Saturday 9 May and Sunday 10 May from 10am to 4pm.

More information about the artists and their venues at hiddengemsartstudios.com