Those of a feather create together

TUCKED away on thirty acres of wild bushland dotted with white native wildflowers, is Forest Gallery, home to local artists Terry and Micelle Jarvis.

This is where the husband and wife created the artwork for their new exhibition at Dudley House, Nests – The Birds Abode.

Michelle Jarvis, who created the works and wrote components of the show said it was all based on birds and their nests.

“Because nests have really nice symbolism, like community, and love and commitment, and safety and refuge, and all of those things,” she said.

“After COVID with everyone being so isolated we thought this was a really nice idea, just a nice way of getting back together and sharing part of nature and re-purposing and re-using.”

The nests were made from a mixture of found and re-purposed objects like guitar strings, an old fishing rod, stones from the Greek Islands, and cuttings from grape vines.

Terry Jarvis’s paintings compliment his wife’s 3-D works by continuing the theme of birds and nesting in his own style.

Some of his works have been painted on pages of old books, including an eagle on the passage of Isaiah from the Bible.

“That was in an old Bible we found at the recycle centre and I’ve painted an eagle on there, so that’s something different again,” he said.

“It’s going to be very dynamic and, in many ways interactive, with the textural nature of the nests and everything, and moving around.”

In addition to creating their prolific artworks, the couple spend their time tending to their vast garden and feathered or furry charges on their property.

According to Michelle, their life in the forest is a continued source of inspiration for their work.

The couple are presenting their exhibition after receiving a grant from Dudley House and said they hope the show is uplifting and meaningful to visitors.

Terry will be at Dudley house over the course of the exhibition to provide painting demonstrations.

Visitors to the gallery can purchase a book of the show or one of Michelle’s crocheted nests.

Nests – The Birds Above will be open daily from 10am to 4pm at Dudley House until 3 October.