November 5th, 2007 sunset
Artists welcome new visitors to the North Sydney Art and Community Centre
This is the first official outing of the new series, ‘Building a Bridge’ from Samantha Schmelitschek, and she is excited to show them to a new audience. “Currently, they are inside the office of the Carbon Reduction Institute, but it’s time to share them! The North Sydney community centre is so open and friendly. You immediately feel welcome. It’s a great place to come, meander through the (North Sydney) markets and even go home with some new art”.
‘Changeable Art’ brings new artists to you each month. This month, we see paintings by Samantha Schmelitschek and Stephen Dejager. The two are consummate, experienced artists and use art in a professional capacity. Samantha has both a Diploma and Bachelor of Fine Arts, painting for over ten years now, and is a Visual Arts teacher. Stephen trained internationally, well rounded as a designer, artist and screenwriter.
The artworks were chosen for their contemporary themes. Stephen presents a number of classic paintings styles, as well as ceramics. Samantha explorations are of a more tribal and decorative spirit. Some are simple, fresh abstracts. Others are light, warm harbour scenes. There are bold black and white linear works. Essentially, something for everyone’s tastes!
For this exhibition, Samantha and Stephen are committed to bringing art to the community at a reasonable price. They invite you to see for yourself what’s on this November 10, at the North Sydney Community Centre, from 10am til 4pm.
Enquiries, Lucy Butler @ North Sydney Community Centre.
220 Miller Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2060
p 02 9922 2299 f 02 9956 8643
e lucy@northsydneycentre.com.au
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September 28th, 2007 sunset
Artist Samantha Schmelitschek dedicates her life and time to artistic pursuits, while flourishing the axiom ‘live joyously, damage no one’.
Understanding life is here to enjoy, and we are here to follow pursuits that bring us joy, as an artist, she acknowledges there are a number of things, a number of pursuits, a number of purposes that achieve this. So while being an artist, she also fulfills other passions, such as photography, painting and teaching.
Her latest painting project has a number of inspirations.
The influence of Aboriginal Australia on Samantha can be first traced to her formative years, with primary education, her mother’s and subsequently her own, involvement in Amnesty International and then in the present, the political climate.
To bring things to a smaller scale, now as an ‘adult’, Samantha was in the position to her first purchases of Art. She bought a number of paintings by artists such as Sharon, Louise and Caroline Numina, and admires the work of Kathleen Petyarre greatly.
Also, Samantha had the opportunity to teach a unit on Aboriginal History in Australia. It was during the research period, the artist was reminded of the vast connection, the balance and integrity Aboriginal people had with the land. Not to invoke the sentimental ‘noble savage’, more to savour the contrast between the honour of the cycles and the misjudgment of English explorers when traveling through desserts and the missed opportunity at the time to share this wisdom.
Bearing this in mind, the artist contributed paintings to the opening of a new office of the Carbon Reduction Institute, by beginning this latest series of large paintings. The aim of CRI is to assist businesses to assess their carbon use, rate their current status and recommend how best to reduce it. Samantha sees this business as recognition of the business community and the community at large to reach a more sustainable living practice.
Drawing all this together is the notion, as shared by Roz Lawler during her “Night with Spirit” talks, of ‘building a bridge’. We all have had negative habits, actions or relationships. Occasionally, as with things in the past, that negative spot, like a hole in the ground, needs to be stepped over, and we need to get on with life. Read the rest of this entry »
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