Dardanup Art Spectacular and Art Trail - 2025

 Hi everyone! Phew! Well the Dardanup Art Spectacular and Art Trail are over for another weekend. Now time for a relax? Or I just have to catch up around home after letting a lot of things slide over the last month or so while getting ready for the Tree Street Art Safari and then the Dardanup Spectacular and Art Trail - just 2 weeks apart! 

The weekend started spectacularly on the Friday night opening of the Art Spectacular art exhibition held at the Dardanup Hall. I went to the exhibition not expecting to win anything and came home with two wins! So very exciting! 

I was awarded first place in the Photography Theme "Rhythms" for my image Island Rhythms, and Highly Commended in the Open Theme "Rhythms" for my cyanotype sun print Dance of the Peppermints. 

And my grandson was award Highly Commended in the Secondary Student category for his image of a Splendid Fairy Wren. Congratulations Owen. We are so proud of you! Also he sold the image at the exhibition!

As part of the "Rhythms" theme we had to write a blurb. Here is mine -

Island Rhythms

This image was taken at the South West Multicultural Festival. Since time began people have responded to sounds and rhythms, creating their own unique songs, music, movement, dance and rituals to tell stories and pass down folklore, history and traditions. These may be unique to their own culture but they open a window of understanding and enjoyment, showing us how universally connected we are.

Dance of the Peppermints

Cyanotype sun print of Western Australian peppermint tree leaves on Printmakers paper. My art practise is inspired by nature. When you walk through the bush you can see and hear the leaves creating their unique rhythm and dance in the breeze.  Plants respond to changes in their environment - the passage of the sun and moon, the length of the day, temperature, wind, drought and rainfall - responding to climatic changes by moving their leaves and open and closing their flowers. They are a visual representation of the rhythm of the seasons.

Congratulations to other members of the Photography Group of Bunbury for their awards in the Photography section - Winner in the Open Photography was Jodie Deeley for What Was That?, Theme Photography Winner - Jill Harrison for Island Rhythms. Highly Commended in Open was Chris de Blank for Male Red-Tail, with Special Mentions to Jodie Deeley for Humanity, and Trevor Spivey for Sunflowers. Highly Commended in Photography theme Rhythm was Deborah Schramm for Stairway to Heaven.

Here is a link to some images of the awarded art works at the Exhibition. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15yCKb5WDU/

Over the weekend there was a trail that visitors could drive visiting various locations where artists were exhibiting and selling their work. I was located with four other artists, who I have been exhibiting with for the last three years, at the old Dardanup Convent. 

Thankyou to the Dardanup Art Spectacular and Art Trail committee, sponsors and judges for making this past weekend happen. Congratulations to the awardees and everyone who entered their amazing work in the Art Spectacular. A huge thankyou to Ifor and the Dardanup Catholic church for welcoming the girl gang back again to exhibit in the old Dardanup Convent for the art trail and the wonderful girls of the girl gang (you can see us in the photo below) - Sandra Nysten, Jill (me), Sylvia Nysten, Gemma Mangano and Christine Blowfield. I love sharing this space with these ladies.

Sadly one of our girl gang was missing this year, Cynthia Dix, having passed away recently. We send our thoughts to her family.

I am privileged to share the space with these amazing talented artists. I am in awe of them and their work. 

And a few images of my display in the convent. Yes I have a lot of stuff - photography and botanical eco-prints and cyanotypes. 

A huge thankyou also to everyone who visited, chatted, enjoyed and purchased from me over the weekend. You validate what i do. Also thankyou to the constant support of my husband. I couldn't do this without you.

I have been exhibiting on the Art Trail since 2014, firstly at Denise Gillie's Lyndendale Gallery where I first shared a space with Christine Blowfield, and where I exhibited for a few years, then at St Mary's Anglican church in Dardanup from 2021 for two years with Christine, Sandra & Sylvia, and then at the Dardanup convent for the last three years. It has been a wonderful way to showcase my work and make some sales. 

For more images from the Dardanup Art Spectacular and Art Trail - you can visit their Facebook page - Dardanup Art Spectacular

That's about it from me for today.  You might also like:

Australian Dragon Boat Chams & Dardanup Art Trail - 2014

Dardanup Art Spectacular & Art Trail - 2017

Dardanup Art Trail - 2021

June art trail and bushwalking - 2022

Art in Dardanup and the Ferguson Valley - 2019

Weekends of Art & Dance - 2014

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Do you enjoy art trails? or exhibit at one? Perhaps yo would like to tell us about it in your comments. Have a wonderful week. 
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

If you are looking for a translate button - it's there near the top on the right hand side. 
   

Mosaic Monday @ Soul & Mind & So On

Saturdays Critters - Viewing Nature With Eileen

Travel Tuesday

Talking About It Tuesdays @ Slices of Life

ThroughMy Lens 
Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. 
       and Little bird - Pienilintu
Thankful Thursday 
Welcome to Nature Thursday

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Until then, enjoy your day...Life only comes around once, so do what makes you happy and be with people who make you smile. 

Australian Dragon Boats and Dardanup Art Trail

 Hi everyone. I hope you are yours are doing well. 

Last week was a big week in our family with the Australian National Dragon Boat Championship Titles at Champion Lakes in Perth, Western Australia over 5 days 17-21 April, and the annual Dardanup Art Spectacular and Art Trail over the weekend of 20-21 April with the opening and awards night of the exhibition on Friday night. 

Our two sons were competing in the Dragon Boat raqcing and we went up to support them on Wednesday and Thursday. Our family has been involved in dragon boating since the summer of 1989-90, and we are members of a small regional club, the Forza Dragon Boat Club. Our club took out a swag of medals at the WA State Dragon Boat Titles a month ago, but it is a whole new experience and bigger challenge for Western Australian clubs to compete against the bigger Eastern states clubs, so unfortunately Forza didn't bring home any medals.

However they improved on their times, and on the last day of racing made the semi-finals in the Mixed 20's and Open Premier Division categories

We had eleven Forza paddlers competing with the WA State team on Friday, and they all won medals, albeit not gold, but a fantastic effort for a small club. Congratulations must go to all club members, paddlers, management and coaching team, especially our head coach and sweep, Paul Harrison. 

Unfortunately my husband and I had to come home on Thursday afternoon because my husband had some university work to do on Friday morning and we had to set up for the Dardanup Art Trail on Friday afternoon for the art trail over the weekend. I was there with all my usual - photography and botanical eco-prints on paper and cloth. I had a good weekend sales wise and it is always great to speak to all the people who come through. 

I was so excited to win the Photography section theme prize for the theme "Reflection" on Friday night.  We had to write a description of our image - This is what I wrote -  As we gaze out the window during our work day in the city we see reflections of our office windows in the windows of other buildings. Perhaps others are looking out at their reflections too. We are hemmed in by the buildings and the demands of work and economics, and feel we cannot escape. However over time the path-lines of our life will continually evolve, blur and change.

They say that winners are grinners and it was certainly true on Friday night at the Dardanup Art Spectacular art awards. Photography Group of Bunbury (of which I am a member) did exceptionally well. Judged by Sarah Henderson - Winner open photography - Jodie Deeley with Äutumn Tree; Winner Reflection theme - Jill Harrison with Reflecting Life; Highly Commended Open - Trevor Spivey with The Rose Hotel Corner; Highly Commened Reflection theme - ex member Chris Smith with Reflections on a Rainy Day. Honourable Mentions went to Glenys Hough, Chris de Blank, Trevor Spivey, Debbie Schramm, and Lina Coe. An Honourable Mention also went to Jill's Grandson Owen Harrison in the Secondary student division for his Rockpool Underwater Wonderland. You can see a list of all exhibition winners here - 2024 Dardanup art Spectacular winners

I want to thank everyone involved for their support over the weekend of the Dardanup Art Trail. Jenny Spokes and the Dardanup Art Spectacular & Art Trail committee for all your hard work putting together such a fabulous art exhibition and art trail. Father Wayne from the Dardanup Catholic church for allowing us to use the rooms again at the old Dardanup Convent, and Lisa for getting the space ready so brilliantly for us on Friday. Sarah Henderson for awarding me first prize in the photography theme "Reflections" division of the Art Exibition. The person who bought my red canna photo on the opening night of the exhibition - enjoy! The "convent girls" - Christine Blowfield, Sandra and Sylvia Nysten, (we have been exhibiting together I think 4 years now), Gemma Mangano (congrats again Gemma on winning the Portrait prize) and Cynthia Dix - you all make our space a great place to be for the weekend. My husband Rod for his continued support of me, my work and assisting me over the weekend - I couldn't do it without him. All the wonderful people who visited us over the weekend, chatted, encouraged, and loved my art enough to purchase from me - thankyou so much. You all help artists continue with their work. And who could have asked for much better weather! Glorious.

Unfortunately I didn't take many photos over the weekend so here are a couple from last year

It was a big week. Now for the clean up and pack away and I think spend some down time. And catch up on writing I need to do. 

You might also like:

Doodling on botanical eco-prints

Forza dragon boat club - 30 years and on!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

Mosaic Monday @ Soul & Mind & So On

Saturdays Critters - Viewing Nature With Eileen

Inspire Me Monday

Travel Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

Talking About It Tuesdays @ Slices of Life

ThroughMy Lens 
Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. 
       and Little bird - Pienilintu
Thankful Thursday 
Welcome to Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Until then, enjoy your day... it won't be back. 

June Art trail and bush walking

 Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are well. June has been such a busy month for me and I still feel like I am tryng to catch up. Where did winter days sitting in front of the fire with a book go? 

The first part of the month was filled with getting ready for and attending the Dardanup Art Spectacular and Art Trail. Various artists had art displays and sales throughout the town and also in the Ferguson Valley. 

I and three other artist friends again hired the lovely old heritage listed Anglican St Mary's Dardanup church to display our wares. Whilst the other girls had beautiful paintings, I had my photography prints, greeting cards, cushion covers and totes, and my botanical eco printing scarves, upcylced tops, tote bags, greeting cards and prints. Unfortunately due to the wet weather we didn't have as good a weekend as last year, but it was still ok. It had taken me several weeks to get organised and I felt exhausted by the end of it all and needed a couple of days to recover. 

In the pic below you can see me with the other three artists - Sylvia, Sandra and Christine, and the beautiful church. 

And below some of my botanical eco-printing products. - upcylced shirts, prints, notebooks and greeting cards printed mostly with local eucalypt leaves. 

And some cynoptype greeting cards - a craft new to me in the last few months - but so much fun! 

As well as the Art Trail - the Art Spectacular art competiion is held every year in the Dardanup Hall. I entered three pieces - 2 photographs and one of my framed eco-prints. I am happy to say that this top image of the autumn leaves which I took in May at the Balingup Tree Park was award a Highly Commended - ie equal second. 

Here is a happy snap of me accepting my award. Two fellow photographers from the Photography Group of Bunbury won 1st prize and the other Highly Commended prize. Sorry about the poor quality of this photo. 

Since then I have been unsuccessfully trying to catch up with life. Some family issues, trying to walk every day, complete some writing projects for my writer's group and a magazine I write for, and I have also been doodling drawing some botanical sketches with pencil. There never seems to be enough hours in the day. Somewhere along the line I need to do some housework! I think my husband thinks so too! 

It was lovely to go bushwalking on the weekend to the Crooked Brook Forest in the beautiful Ferguson Valley. We picked up some morning tea from the Dardanup Bakery first. A must visit. 

Crooked Brook has walks from relatively short easy walks on wheelchair and pram friendly paths to a more challenging 10km walk. 

There were not many wildflowers out yet, but they are on their way. I really need to start a catalogue of wildflowers I have photographed. Clockwise from top left - ground hugging Banksia nivea, commonly known as honeypot dryandra, one of the dryandras, one of the grevillias, the red jug flower, prickly hakea, and jarrah tree buds. 

Gosh we have a lot of prickly plants in the Australian bush. All of these except for the red jug flower and the jarrah are prickly! 

We were also fascinated to see a Mountain Marri - Corymbia haematoxylon - a variety that I have actually photographed before I have discovered - but obviously it hasn't really registered with me before. It doesn't flower till October to March so I will have to go back then.  They call this bark - tessellated bark

I think that is it from me for now.

You might also like:

The wildflowers are starting to pop at Crooked Brook - 2018

Crooked Brook Forest walk - 2017

Dardanup art Trail & Spectacular - 2017

Dardanup art Trail 2021

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf
Sharon's Sovenirs 
Our World Tuesday
Pictorial Tuesday 
ThroughMy Lens 
Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. 
       and Little bird - Pienilintu
Thankful Thursday 
Welcome to Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

Dardanup Art Trail 2021

 Hi everyone, I hope you and yours are well. 

This past weekend I have had a weekend of art exhibiting at the Dardanup Art Trail, about 20 minutes from my home. 

I and three other artists, Christine Blowfield, and Sandra & Sylvia Nysten were hosted at beautiful heritage listed St Mary's Anglican church.  What a wonderful venue it was, and we had a fabulous weekend with lots of people visiting us during the art trail which wound around Dardanup and the beautiful Ferguson Valley. 

First services were held in the tiny colonial town of Dardanup in the 1800s. The foundation stone for the church was laid on 9 May 1906 by Sir George Shenton. Built of brick with an iron roof, and designed by FW Steere, it cost approximately 600 Pounds to erect. It was consecrated on Sunday 2 June 1907. The stained glass windows were dedicated on 20 May 1908, given by Mrs Venn in memory of her husband the Hon. Harry Wittle Venn. 

Services are no longer held here, but it has not been deconsecrated and can be used for weddings, batisms and funerals. 

We were very grateful to the church for allowing us to use it for the Art Trail. They would like to encourage community events, especially as they are trying to raise money for more restoration. 

In the photos above you can see me, second from the right with Sylvia, Christine and Sandra. You can also see the inside of the church with our art displays.

I had on display my botanical eco-prints (you can see one below), ecoprinted scarves and tote bags, and photographical prints on cushions, totes and greeting cards as well as prints. I am down in the back section in this photo. There was a lot of interest in my eco-prints, especially as it was a technique new to many people. I enjoyed explaining it to them. I might do a post soon about it. Here is an example. 

My weekend started on a high when I was awarded the Photography Prize at the Art Spectacular exhibition opening night on Friday night, for my photo of fungi. It was unexpected, and thrilling to win! 

Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. 

You might also enjoy:

Dardanup Art Trail 2017

Art in Dardanup and the Ferguson Valley 2019

How Green is my valley - Ferguson Valley

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
   
All Seasons
MosaicMonday at Letting Go of the Bay Leaf
Sharon's Sovenirs 
Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 
ThroughMy Lens 
Image-in-ing
My corner of the world through my camera 
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity. 
       and Little bird - Pienilintu
Thankful Thursday 
Der-Natur-Thursday 
The Lovin' Life Team over at: Deep Fried Fruit

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.