The Hunter Artisan Gallery & Café is a permanently housed artisan collective, featuring the works of some 60 independent makers from across the Hunter and surrounding area. We encourage creativity to connect, inspire and empower the creative community; this is our simple aim and at the heart of what we do. All works are FOR SALE.
The small gallery café offers a very simple menu of hearty home-style meals, tasty toasties and home-made cakes and sweets. As far as practicable, we endeavour to use local produce and 'made on the premises' condiments. We are fully licensed and offer a small range of Hunter wines.
SAMPLE MENU
(Subject to changes from time to time)
Our little Gallery Café has a tasty menu that changes regularly and comprises delicious homemade sweet and savoury dishes and a selection of Gluten Free, Lactose Free & Vegan treats from Georgie’s Fine Foods….however, please remember, ‘WE DO NOT DO FAST FOOD..NOR DO WE DO FOOD FAST’…so please enjoy your time with us…play a game, read a book, look at the art or most importantly talk to each other.
‘SWEET TREATS’ - Available all day until 2pm
Raisin Toast - 2 x toasted slices w/ butter $8
Warm plain scones w/ berry jam & fresh cream $8 (2/serve)
Warm date scones w/ fresh butter $8 (2/serve)
CAKE OF THE DAY $8 (GF Option also available)
(GF) Specialty biscuits from Georgie’s Fine Foods $4
BRUNCH MENU - Available 9am until 2.00pm
(*GF) Hearty Bacon & Egg Roll - 2 eggs, bacon, cheese, hash brown, spinach & our special tomato relish $15
(GF* V*) Vego Turkish’ - Turkish toast topped w/ roasted sweet potato, grilled haloumi, avocado, poached egg, cherry tomato, green leaves, feta & balsamic glaze $18
ADD Bacon or Chorizo $20
(*GF V*) Build Your Own – Toasted Turkish Bread w/ Choose from of the following – bacon, 2 x eggs (poached, fried, scrambled), corn fritter, beef patty, hash brown, wedges, 2 x sausages, spicy beans
Choose 2 - $15, Choose 3 - $19, Choose 4 - $22, Choose 5 - $25
Salmon Patty - tasty salmon patty, served w/- crunchy chips & salad garnish $18 (Subject to availability)
(GF* V*) Corn fritters w/ bacon, roasted sweet potato & avocado, topped w/ fresh spinach & corn drizzle $20
( V*) Quiche of the Day – w/-salad and chips $20
(GF*, V) ‘Melt of the Day’ – Served with salad garnish $13 Add chips $15
*Changes can be made to the dishes (within reason), All menu items are subject to availability, GF bread is available as a substitute
Our building, the former George and Dragon Inn, was originally built in 1837 is unique and beautiful and filled with a history that spans across 180 years. As well as gorgeous art, we have beautiful giftware, jewellery, homewares and vintage china. Our creative space also offers drawing and other art workshops, special individual and group exhibitions and a wonderful meeting place for writers and poets.
Our Life Drawing Sessions provide the opportunity to gain confidence with a life model.
These sessions are held every Wednesday evening from 6.30 to 8.30pm and suitable for all levels.
You will be inspired by a combination of an experienced Life Drawing facilitator (East Maitland local artist and author, Graham Davidson), a wonderful model and the ambience of our wonderful gallery.
Develop your drawing skills and experiment with new concepts and approaches. Bring along your favourite materials so you feel comfortable.
Places are limited to 12, so it is important that you confirm your attendance. COST $25 for a 2 hour session.
To book visit the Sketchers' Salon website
Date: Tuesday 16th March, 2021
Time: 10 - 3pm
COST - $120
FOR BOOKINGS:
Eco dyeing and Shibori Workshop - in Maitland | Mysite (amandadonohue.org)
A face to face workshop where you will learn how to create your own unique printed fabrics. Course includes notes and all materials. No experience needed.
16 Mar, 10:00 am – 3:00 pmThe Hunter Artisan Gallery & Cafe, 48 Melbourne St, East Maitland NSW 2323, Australia
In this small group workshop we will explore eco dyeing using natural materials and then look at shibori techniques.
In the first part of the class you’ll use materials such as leaves, flowers, nails, beer caps, berries to dye a piece of silk that can be used then for a scarf, to wrap a gift or to form part of another project.
While the silk bundles are steaming you can explore Japanese shibori techniques. Shibori dyeing is a way of making patterns on fabric by exposing only some portions of the fabric to dye. Tie, pinch, fold, concertina, clamp and stitch your fabric then dye it.
This workshop is a great opportunity to enjoy handmade processes and have fun learning how to continue these traditional crafts.
Price includes:
Course notes and all materials and tools including fabric, dyes, natural materials (leaves, seeds, flowers, onion skins), metal objects (coins, bottle caps etc) resists, clingwrap, string, pots all provided.
All included is a light lunch.
Wear old clothes and covered shoes. Also you may have some damp pieces to take home so an old shopping bag might be useful.
About your tutor:
Amanda Donohue studied printmaking at Sydney College of the Arts graduating with a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours). She also has a Graduate certificate in Cross Disciplinary Art & Design from the College of Fine Arts (UNSW). Amanda has been a printmaker for over twenty years and a member of the Newcastle Printmakers Workshop for eight years. See more about Amanda at www.amandadonohue.org.
Monday 8th February 2021
10am—12pm
SIGILS—Mixed Media
(Create a personalised intention-charged symbol that resonates with your own energy)
Monday 8th March 2021
10am—2pm (includes lunch)
Watercolour ’Quilting’
(Create a colourful ’quilt’ design using watercolours and ink.)
Monday 12th & 19th April and 10th & 17th May 2021
10am—12pm
Acrylic painting for Beginners
(This is a 4-session course taking your through the basics of painting with acrylics including colour mixing, working in layers and basic skills to get you started and ignite your passion.)
Monday 21st June 2021
10am—12pm
Belles and Blooms
(A fun combination of collage, paint and lovely girls)
For all information including costings and to make a booking please call Valerie Maude directly.
https://www.facebook.com/maudesmadhouse
You can find her on Facebook and Instagram
Maude’s Madhouse
Also join her Facebook group
‘Maude’s Maude’s Arty Farty Gang’
BOOK DIRECTLY WITH VALERIE MAUDE
0407906836
Scratchboard or scraperboard, is a form of direct engraving where the artist scratches off dark ink to reveal a white or coloured layer beneath.
This workshop is an introduction to scratchboard techniques including stippling, hatching, fur textures etc. and is suitable for beginners to intermediate. All materials needed to create a small black and white scratchboard artwork are included in the workshop price.
Materials include:
- A4 white transfer paper
- A4 scratch paper for practicing
- 5"x7" ampersand scratchboard
- ampersand scratch tool
- tattoo needle
- piece of fine grit sandpaper
- black Pitt pen
- mini (2.5"x3.5") clayboard
· reference material including info on techniques, examples of work by various scratchboard artists and reference photo options for their 5"x7" work.
Optional to bring: (large soft brush, e.g. make-up brush, to brush away clay as you scratch).
·
THURSDAY 25th MARCH 2021, 2020
10AM—2PM
$100 (includes light lunch & all materials)
BOOK THROUGH THE EVENT ON THE GALLERY’S FACEBOOKPAGE.
A DEMONSTRATION OF PAINTING IN OILS IN THE CHIAROSCURO TECHNIQUE
BY KAY SPARKES
WEDNESDAY 21st APRIL, 2021
10am—12pm
$25 (includes tea/coffee/scone)
BOOKINGS: https://www.trybooking.com/BPAZY
Kay was born and grew up on the land near Gulgong, Central Western NSW. Music has always been a major part of her life. When she moved to Sydney she worked in the music industry and sang professionally.
Kay moved to Maitland in 1996 where she began to explore her love of art and in 2006, friend and artist James Casey introduced her to canvas and oil and the use of the old master’s techniques – light and shadow ( the chiaroscuro technique). Kay loves painting and stuff we eat, touch and use everyday and those things become the subjects of her still life artworks.
Kay has won many prizes including the Maitland Art Prize and Newcastle Art Prize. Kay has also been a finalist in the Bowral, Hornsby and Mortimer Art Prizes and the prestigious EMSLA at Coffs Harbour.
About the Chiaroscuro Method
Chiaroscuro (Italian for 'light-dark'), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modelling three-dimensional objects and figures. Similar effects in cinema and photography also are called chiaroscuro.
The underlying principle is that solidity of form is best achieved by the light falling against it. Artists known for developing the technique include Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Vermeer, Goya and Rembrandt. It is one of the modes for painting colour in Renaissance art.
MAITLAND ART FORUM
Third Sunday of the month Maitland Art Forum (MAF)
Art Forum is an informative, tutorial-style discussion group led by artist/anthropologist Dr Deborah Van Heekeren and hosted by The Hunter Artisan Gallery and Café. In a relaxed and welcoming environment, we will consider sticky questions such as “What is art?” and “How should we approach modern and contemporary art forms?”
We have all heard the familiar comment “I know what I like” in reference to artistic tastes, but what happens when we learn to see past our subjectivity?
There is an art to LOOKING at art. It begins with understanding the key components and intentions of a work of art, gaining access to both the work and the artist. That is, engaging with art on its own terms rather than according to our personal preferences. Why? Because learning the language of art—its terms of reference and its key components—will enrich our experience, and broaden our appreciation as artists and art lovers.
Time: 2.30pm to 3.30pm
Dates: Third Sunday of the Month
Cost: $5 - You can pay on the day, but please register your interest so we can provide suitable catering and adhere to COVID restrictions.
TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST: https://www.trybooking.com/BPDNJ
TUESDAY 23rd MARCH, 2021
10AM—2PM
$70 (includes tea/coffee/cake)
HOW TO BOOK: https://www.trybooking.com/BPGEH
Many people struggle with trees. In this ‘TREES WORKSHOP’, local artist and tutor, Marea Kozaczynski-McCaig, will take us through the basics of understanding and drawing trees (the sentinels of life).
She will then take us through the steps of creating an amazing and beautiful tree artwork in watercolour and pen on paper. “We will have fun with light and shade and tonal effects”
WHAT TO BRING: Please bring your favourite art materials –Watercolour paper (630gsm preferred, 350 minimum), watercolour brushes, Pens (preferred Fabre Castell Pitt artist pens), suggested colours indigo and sepia watercolours or ink tense
Date: Wednesday 24 March 2021
Time: 10 – 12pm
Cost $40 (Inc. ALL MATERIALS & Tea/coffee)
FOR BOOKINGS Visit our FACEBOOK page and book through the event or
Learn to make a mini junk journal of recycled and found materials that contains a variety of folds and pockets that can hold both your art, thoughts, memories and ephemera.
We will take you step by step through creating a single signature journal, using a greeting card as the cover.
We will also learn a series of simple paper folding techniques that will add tuck spots in your journals for you to hold keepsakes, tags or journaling cards.
This class is suitable for everyone! Whether you have new to journaling, creating books, have no sewing experience, or if you are an avid art journal Junkie, or book binder, this class is for you!
We will walk you through all the steps, and will provide all the materials. Our aim is for you to have fun, and to leave the class with your own mini journal. You will never look at your box of old greeting cards in the cupboard or your recycling bin the same way again!
EXHIBITION DATES
8th - 25th APRIL, 2021
Open Thurs to Sunday 9am - 3pm
Kim is based in Branxton in the Hunter Valley and in 2019 she spent time in a mental health facility being treated for severe mental illness.
During this time in hospital she discovered that her life had been mission driven to be ‘successful’ in traditional terms of having a good education, a nice home, a good family and material wealth. "Outwardly I had it all but privately I was falling apart - depressed and miserable. I had spent too many years living the life I thought was expected of me, rather than the life that was true to me."
One of those truths was that as a young person she had wanted to be an artist. But criticism of this not being a ‘real’ profession led her to following a very ‘real’ profession in business. This trajectory after many decades left her incomplete.
"This last year has quite selfish for me as a person. Uncustomarily for being a woman, a wife and a mother, I put my needs before others, I spoke my mind rather than hold my tongue, I cut people from my life who were toxic to my soul, I stood up for myself, I accepted that I am overweight and decided I don’t really care. I found me!
This is the theme behind my exhibition – BIG, BOLD & BRIGHT.
I AM BIG.
I have a big personality. I come from a big and loud family. I am a big person. I paint on big canvases because I find this freeing and suit everything about me.
Painting on big canvases allows me to be untethered by space. I paint large blooms and petals as these express my need to create as it bursts out from me.
I AM BOLD.
I paint with bold colours. I paint with bold strokes.
I AM BRIGHT
I paint what colours I am feeling on that day. When I paint with colours such as raw sienna, black and burnt umber I am remembering my travels to Outback Australia. When I paint with navy’s and blues, I am feeling the peace of sitting by the ocean enjoying the sun. When I paint with colours such as turquoise and aqua, I am remembering the intrigue I feel at the beautiful design of a peacock.
When I paint with hot pink, I am sharing a bit of my bigness, my boldness and my brightness."
OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT
Saturday 10th April, 2021
6-8pm
More details to follow.
EXHIBITION DATES
26th AUGUST - 12th SEPTEMBER, 2021
Open Thurs to Sunday 9am - 3pm
'The Story Behind the Face' is a group exhibition featuring local artist Helen Fenner.
"For this exhibition I am presenting a collection of lino prints featuring faces with a hidden story within a time frame from the 1920's to the present".
Helen is a mother and grandmother who has lived in Maitland for her entire life. For the past 34 years she has suffered from mental illness and was widowed in 2018.
She holds both the Diploma and Advanced Diploma of Visual Arts from Newcastle Art School. Her works include prints, sculpture, mixed media, acrylics and watercolour.
She has been part of many group exhibitions, however this is the first time that her works have been featured.
Helen is assisted by Flourish Australia via an NDIS Programme which she attributes to improving every aspect of her life and reconnecting her passion for art.
It has been Helen's goal to hold an exhibition of her work to raise funds for suicide prevention; a cause that her husband volunteered with. This exhibition will see the realisation of this goal.
OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT
Saturday 28th August, 2021
6-8pm
More details to follow
EXHIBITION DATES
16th SEPTEMBER - 3rd OCTOBER, 2021
Open Thurs to Sunday 9 - 3pm
‘Pots, Posts and Perspective’ is a collaborative offering from two distinct generations of artists - two grandparents and a grandchild.
"Choosing the title for an exhibition is almost as much fun as deciding which pieces of art to submit or develop" explains Carolann.
Carolann has gathered images of old fence posts and pots over many years, Georgina is surrounded by her mother’s lovely succulents and Dennis strives to provide perspective to the things we chase.
Life is, after all, about perspective. A walk down a street yields a hidden pot to the girls and motivates Dennis to map the area. Perspective is what provides the varied expression of images in art form.
It is joyful to see the view Georgina takes on things Dennis and Carolann see as formal and ordered. The freshness of youth is stimulating and encourages the ‘oldies’ to experiment.
Carolann is primarily a pastelist with some charcoal and acrylic. Dennis burns images to paper and timber, and at present is revisiting sculpture. Georgina works mostly in pencil, watercolour and gouche.
OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT
Saturday 18th September, 2021
6 - 8pm
More details to follow
EXHIBITION DATES
7th - 24th OCTOBER, 2021
Open Thurs to Sunday 9 - 3pm
Rebecca Woods is a local creative, living in Largs. Her career as a Visual Arts Teacher in various High Schools in the Hunter New England area spans some twenty (20) years and it has long been her desired ambition to broaden her Arts Industry experience, to hold exhibitions and become a recognised artist in the arts community.
“As a landscape artist, I explore the world in which I live, capturing moments and subjects I find interesting and have a strong creative connection too. I draw, paint and print-make landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes and subjects within the environmental landscape. My subjects are the changing light and lines of the landscape from both a wide angle view to more specific subjects within the landscape.”
Bec primarily works in acrylic and ink on canvas and paper. Her fascination in landscapes led her to the works of Impressionists, particularly Van Gogh and Monet, both of whom focused on their connections with the changing light of the landscape. Her creativity has also branched out into printmaking and photography.
Woods’s works are constantly changing and her approaches to the creative process of creating landscapes are forever changing with her renewed sense of connections with the landscape.
OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT
Saturday 9th October, 2021
6 -8pm
More details to follow
EXHIBITION DATES
28th OCTOBER - 14th NOVEMBER, 2021
Open Thurs to Sunday 9 - 3pm
Jason and Linda first met in 2007 where they exchanged gifts - a portrait drawn by Linda for a panoramic photo of Vail, Colorado taken by Jason. And so began a beautiful relationship of two creatives who shared a love for travel, nature and adventure.
This love of nature, adventure and wild places led them to a trip of a lifetime in 2019, to Alaska. They spent four weeks exploring a small part of this very large state, from the ocean to the forests and mountains. This collection explores Alaska through their eyes, travelling with their then three year old to discover the impressive wildlife, rich culture and magnificent landscapes that often left them breathless.
"Alaska leaves an imprint on your soul and though it’s been over a year since we visited,we can feel her calling us back – there is still so much to see and experience. With the travel restrictions and global disruption that Covid has brought, we would like to take the viewer on a journey to this vast land that is so wildly different to Australia, to catch a glimpse of the formidable jowls of a grizzly, the absolute stillness and tranquillity of Whittier’s glacial bay, the fairytale forest scenes of mountainous trails."
The artworks in this exhibition include scratchboard works (coloured and uncoloured) in various sizes and styles, including miniature panels, as well as select landscape photos.
The medium of scratchboard lends itself perfectly to explore the dramatic Alaskan landscapes and detailed textures of otter fur, velvety mosses, birch bark.
" Our different perspectives on what we find aesthetically interesting or pleasing also provide a nicely balanced collection. Jason’s knack for creating beautiful images from rusted machinery, derelict buildings and perfect reflections of boats on crystal clear water for example, complement Linda’s passion for wildflowers, historical and cultural artefacts and all creatures great and small. The result, we hope, is an exhibition that evokes an appreciation of this wild place and inspires a sense of adventure within the viewer. "
Linda is a botanical and wildlife illustrator with a background in environmental science. Her preferred medium is scratchboard, a panel covered in a fine layer of kaolin clay and sprayed with black ink which can be scratched into to produce highly detailed artworks. Linda is a signature scratchboard artist with the International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA) and has participated in local and international exhibitions since graduating from the Natural History Illustration degree in 2014.
Jason is a self-taught photographer and artist with a strong mechanical background. Jason has an inability to pass up on a scene with good composition and can capture the atmosphere of a place or subject in a single shot. This shines through in his landscape and street photography. Linda finally convinced Jason to try scratchboard a few years ago and he quickly became addicted, developing a graphic style that particularly favours chrome subjects! Jason is an active member of the International Society of Scratchboard Artists.
OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT
Saturday 30th October, 2021
6 - 8pm
More details to follow
EXHIBITION DATES
3rd - 20th JUNE, 2021
Open Thurs to Sunday 9 - 3pm
Myths contain fundamental truths that tell us something important about the culture or tradition to which they belong.
They connect people with places, with their ancestors, with valued traditions and rituals. Like myth and poetry, art can show us important truths. It can also show as possibilities. Many of the oil paintings, drawings and mixed media works for this exhibition are grounded in an Australian vision that imagines shared connections between the land and its inhabitants.
Some of the work was shown as part of the Design Canberra festival in 2020 under the title Beingsand with the overarching theme of CARE.
About the Artist
My work developed a strong involvement with the NSW landscape following a road trip I made in 2018, at the height of the drought. I wanted to show the essence of a dying landscape as a shared experienced for all involved. Farmers were suffering, animals were suffering and the land was dying. The human/animals in these paintings take on the colours and forms of the land. They are compacted, reduced to poetic possibility. The images speak to the tragedy of landscape in the face of neglect, and misuse, and suggest a devastating breakdown in human-animal-earth relations.
Predominantly figurative, my practice is grounded in the modernist tradition of oil paint on canvas, with the occasional incorporation of collage and mixed media treatments.I am influenced stylistically by the Australian painters of the mid-twentieth century, nevertheless, my imagery reflects a personal response to the current state of the human condition in its relation to the environment. I also want to challenge the masculinist representation of life on the land and question some common assumptions. My artistic and intellectual influences are eclectic. They include Marc Chagall, Arthur Boyd, and the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, but it is Patrick White’s poetic descriptions of the Australian landscape that are particularly resonant in much of this body of work. At its best art is visual poetry.
OFFICIAL OPENING EVENT
Saturday 5th June, 2021
6 - 8pm
More details to follow