29th June 2008 - The Sunday opening yesterday of the inaugural feature exhibition at Studio Whites to promote the work of artists Annie White and Vanessa Rogalsky was a big success. Despite the cold and windy weather, well over 80 brave souls packed the small but cosy gallery at 134 Mollison Street to hear local Macedon Council arts identity Maxine McKee introduce these two artists to this small but very supportive gathering of the Kyneton community. There was plenty of finger food, red wine and white wine, and nibblies to keep the milling crowd satisfied, and at the end of the day several works were purchased, and only one wine glass went missing!

134 Mollison Street Kyneton Victoria 3444 (opposite Shire Hall)
Sunday 29 June - PREVIEW 2pm-4pm —- by invitation only

Monday 30 June - Sunday 13 July 2008
Featuring works by Annie White and Vanessa Rogalsky

Annie White

Annie White is a freelance illustrator who has been involved with drawing throughout most of her life. After studying Art and Design, she worked in advertising before moving full time into illustration.

Annie’s work has appeared on cards, posters, homepages, magazines, rubber stamps and murals, and she has illustrated over 50 books for children. She communicates ideas clearly and simply using expression, movement and a certain sense of whimsy.

Some of Annie’s clients include Era Publications, Oxford University Press, The Five Mile Press, Pearson, Macmillan, Harcourt, Thomson Learning, Michelle Anderson Publishing, Horwitz, Jacaranda, and the National Trust of Victoria.

Annie is Melbourne-based, and we are very privileged to be exhibiting her original illustrations from many of her published works. Annie enjoys working in many areas and especially in the field of childrens literature; her illustrations are well regarded for their ability to capture the innocence, curiosity and the cleverness of children. A former advertising illustrator, Annie now devotes herself full time to working as a freelance artist, and most of her work is published in childrens books.

Vanessa Rogalsky

Vanessa began her art studies in 1965 at Cardiff Art College and continued her education in Fashion Textiles Screen Printing, Tapestry and Design at Great Malvern, England. Vanessa’s tapestries have toured the world with Art Colleges UK.

After graduating Vanessa entered the fashion industry as a pattern cutter. As luck would have it she met and married an Australian, thus emigrating to Australia and settling in his home town of Warrnambool. What a cultural shock after London! They then moved to Woodend where she bred and rode horses, raised her family and worked as a chef for 14 years in Mt Macedon …… artists do have many talents!

Four years ago Vanessa decided to return to painting, her first love. She has successfully exhibited in Lions Club and Rotary Club art shows and was awarded a Highly Commended at the Queen’s Birthday Art Show Bacchus Marsh.

This is Vanessa’s first exhibition which encompasses her love of horses, fish and rust - “Zebras are, to my eye, totally unexpected - you already have appaloosas, pintos, solid colours, but STRIPES … a striped horse - Equus - amazing! Rust … I love the decay of rust, the idea that one day the object will no longer be. I love finding rusted objects in my paddocks - I have no idea how long they have been there or how long they will continue to be there. Fish … I have always had a passion for fish. As a child I had a pond full of fish and newts, and so now I have tanks and a pond full of them. Anyone could design the most outlandish fish possible and within the week it will probably be caught. I love the way fish move and flash in the light - their movement through water is more akin to flying. I also love the way, with water, you can look into it or onto it.”

Gallery hours 10:30am – 5:30pm daily; closed Thursdays.

Some pics from one of our walks (with Floyd the beagle-spaniel cross) alongside the Campaspe River one Wednesday morning in April 2007. River levels can get very low - Floyd was able to run along part of the riverbed without getting very wet! Over the winter of 2007 the river has recovered somewhat, with the ducks returning  and even platypuses being sighted now and then. The walk from near the racecourse up to the railway station is quite refreshing at times, a quiet counterpoint to our busy lives.

Elizabeth Darling - “Choices women make”

For more than 30 years Elizabeth Darling has been a member of the Macedon Ranges community. Now as the community changes and struggles to adapt, while still maintaining its identity, she offers her reflections on the choices confronting the contemporary women of the Macedon Ranges.

[They said I could work From Home]

Using pen and wash she explores some of the issues they confront including

• Do blondes have more fun?

• Can I work from home?

• Go or Stay? Bushfire alert.

• Ice on road - travel at 40 km/hr (do I really want to work in Melbourne?)

• Mobile range (do we really want to live in the back-blocks?)

Her view has been sharpened by her training in education, her participation in the local Zonta International project Connecting Women’s Voices, and participation in a collaborative writing project, Unexpected Consequences.

Elizabeth follows up her earlier Kyneton exhibition A Festival Town, and a recent exhibition at the Lyceum Club in Melbourne. She invites you to share her delight in the modern life of women, and enjoy her whimsical view of common conundrums.