It’s a Woman’s World

1960’s calendar girl – Beryl Mitchell – British photographer Peter Godwin for John Sands

1960s memorabilia of Burra resident Beryl Mitchell as a 17 year old cover and calendar girl, working out of Sydney. Beryl was one of the models in the parade of Tina Hooft’s vintage clothing, shown at the opening event of It’s a Woman’s World. Dresses, hats and bags are for sale in the gallery.

Beryl Mitchell – High Tea Vintage Clothing Parade

Beth Wiley – Art of the Sewing Basket – Chasmanthe string, Wool, Silk, Emu Feathers – $130

Alison Main – Avatar – Oil on canvas – $1100

Alison Main is a painter, writer and former architect. In her work darkness is camouflaged by humour lurking in small characters cavorting in the background. Little stories that happen in the white noise of the mind, wreckage from the subconscious.

“This painting came about through an exhibition based on the idea of the skull – so from my skull, flotsam figures burst out in a cloud of mental activity.”

Items from Burra Quilters display in the Bence Room, centre stage Karen Baums’ circle of flowers cushion.

Burra Quilters have been meeting monthly for many years. It is no surprise they have built up a formidable range of  skills. Shown here is a collection of works, some of which you can purchase. The quilters are Karen Baum, Gloria Kahane, Daphne Lines, Joy O’Brien, Sharon Porter, Lorraine Stocker and Kylie Thomas.

Burra Quilters display

Main Gallery

Alice Leda Pettirosso – Limited Edition Garment Machine knitted merino wool 15% viscose -$260

Main Gallery

Sometimes paintings and dresses go well together and this is an example of the perfect mix. Come to Burra Gallery to see the fine detail of these three works.

Sandra Shaw’s Rose Dress, hand screened printed cotton $320, and Satin Devore Wrap in silk and rayon hand dyed and screen printed burn out $87.50. Penny Choate’s I Dressed my Doll in Cowboy Clothes. Oil on canvas. $3000. Double Layer Dress of hand painted silk, satin crepe and silk georgette, $250, and Long Sleeved Shirt in hand painted georgette, $250, by Liz Wauchope.

Liz will be conducting a silk painting workshop in Burra in August.

North wall of Annex, showing basketry, felt necklaces, weaving and cushions and above the mantle Karen Genoff’s This Suffocating Silence in embossed aluminium, glass and text, $3000.

This is one of two works by Karen Genoff shown in Burra Gallery for this exhibition. Both works were executed in 2010 for a solo exhibition. Karen is a well-known Adelaide artist who has about 7 public artworks around Adelaide and represented Australia with public work in Tokyo, Japan and our Sister City Christchurch, New Zealand.

From Karen: “I tell stories with my work. I love writing. For the last 14 years I have been working with embossed aluminium. These two works are stories about two women. My work is semi biographical.”

Karen Genoff – This Suffocating Silence in embossed aluminium, glass and text – $3000

View from Annex into Main Gallery showing Helen Moon’s Knitted Coat of hand painted silk strips $350, and three woven wool shawls by Bev Bills, from left: Twilled Boucle – $85, Threads – $150, Wrap Up – $170

In the Bence Room a glorious array of dresses, bags and accessories, with Karen Genoff’s Daydreams and Needlework, embossed aluminium, glass and text, $3000 above the mantle.

Selection of vintage hats, Ronda Dunstan’s Sentimental Assemblage and gumnut pottery, and, next to a crisp cotton vintage dress Meg Mader’s painting Daphne, $150.

Part of Ronda Dunstan’s Nostalgic Assemblage.

Merea Tsatsoronis’ Corset, $90, glass birds by Lynn Elzinger Henry viewing one of Burra’s beautiful carob trees from the window and Laima Guscia’s A Weave on the Wild Side, $120, made from sticks and seaweed.

Charming and innovative quilted portraits by Georgie Sharp, Many Hats, $60 each.

Glenys Christopher – Lis’s World – Paints, Patterns and Plants – Gouache – $220

Julia Thomas: Shoot 13, Sarah 31, Derby Girl. Photographic print on canvas, $750

Intimate partner violence is the biggest cause of injury or death for women between 18 and 45. One in three Australian women will experience physical or sexual violence in her lifetime.

20 different women from Adelaide (and myself) were chosen to be a part of my series ‘Masked or Unmasked?’ out of nearly 100 applicants. The only common factor between all 21 images was that they were of women wearing a mask of some description. The mask signifies the front that women put on, on a daily basis, to hide – mask – what is really going on underneath. They are also topless, thus indicating their femininity and vulnerabilities.

Are they masked, or are they unmasked?

All profits from the exhibition and book will be donated to The Women’s Housing Association. The Women’s Housing Association Inc is a leading not-for-profit community housing organization in South Australia. Their purpose is to provide safe, secure and affordable medium to long-term housing for women, with or without children, on a low income, with their primary focus on women survivors of domestic or family violence.

Julianne Pulford’s beautiful Big Girls’ Beads – Ceramic – $150 a strand

Kerry Youde’s exotic cushions – Chequered Past, Captured Fragments and There’s No Time Like the Present, digital layered photographs on textile -$55 each.

In a Spin, by Laima Guscia, swirls its palm fruit stalks and mixed natural fibres, $120.

This painting by Lois Turner reflects her exploration of the landscape of a venture into the subject of breast cancer. Read Lois’ poems and prose about how her art and walking helped her to deal courageously with the experience.

Lois Turner: Fly In Fly Out. Oil on canvas, $3450

“Fly In, Fly Out, explores some of the health issues facing women living in remote, regional and Indigenous communities. Cultural and financial pressures, and the psychological disparities amongst many women may prevent them from seeking medical treatment. The lack of female doctors in remote regions, women’s embarrassment of talking to male doctors, their obligations to continue working on farms, problems with transport, distance from health centres and Indigenous women’s suspicions of Western medicine, may increase the risk factors in surviving breast cancer.

In the painting, a woman stands with her hands on her hips facing a runway, emphasising her assertiveness, contemplating her future. She is represented as being a forward thinking individual in control of her own life. Bold geometric patterns surround her, reinforcing her psychological and physiological strength.

The painting presents women as being emotionally strong and physically adept individuals.  The work is an appeal to all women to have regular breast cancer screenings and emphasises the importance of early detection.  Timing is everything.

Maria Salomonsen’s felt shoulder bags $165 each, and striped vest $325

A splendid display of Maria Salomonsen’s hats with silk and leather, feathers and fish skin, nunofelted eucalyptus dyed sari silk and green and purple wool scarves. Delightful!

Maria Salomonsen detail

Merea Tsatsaronis – Corset – Chasmanthe and Silk – $90

Marion Burns – She Hits her Stride – Acrylic – $450

Meg Mader – Daphne – Acrylic – $150

Penny Choate – I dressed my Doll in Cowboy Clothes – Oil – $3000

Gladstone Quilters’ Challenge and vintage dresses from Tina Hooft’s collection for sale at very reasonable prices. On the top shelf, Victoria Wilkins’ – Something in the Way she Moves – garden fibre, chandelier drops and beads – $180