SPACE 1 : GROUP SHOW - StudioWorkings
Exhibition Dates : 21 October - 2 November 2025
Opening Reception : Wed 22 October 2025, 6:00 - 8:30pm
Artists :
Francesca McNamara, Kate McCracken-Bell, Linda Baker, Margaret Meadows, Marija Newbold, and Mercedes Wolfenden.
When six women meet…
What happens when six women artists are brought together by serendipity to meet weekly in a beautiful studio? Stories and laughter abound as they talk, think, dream about, and make art, while they encourage, inspire, and challenge each other. With printmaking as an initial common thread, each artist brings her own style and practice across a range of mediums including painting, mixed media, printmaking, collagraph, drawing, collage and ceramics. Whether from a representational or an abstract perspective, there is an enjoyment and exploration of colour, texture and pattern in the work.
In a short period of time, the six women have become an enthusiastic studio group who meet weekly to work on their own projects. The group environment serves to push each artist to stretch her practice and to grow in confidence and creativity. This is their first group exhibition together.
Francesca McNamara
A life-long interest in the inner world of the mind, soul and heart, and the influences of Buddhism, Jungian dreamwork and creative therapies has led to my artistic exploration of ambiguity, stillness, quiet, of both the fragility and the strength of human experience and relationships. I work intuitively, allowing material to emerge from the conscious and unconscious levels of psyche where past memories and present experiences meld to shape my work. I work mainly with semi-abstracted and expressive figuration and landscape using mixed media, paint, fabric and ink, collage and collagraph printing.
Catalogue :
Kate McCracken-Bell
I remember the day clearly, in 2018, when I was introduced to printmaking. My creative world opened and my love affair began. I haven’t stopped carving lino and exploring other print techniques since then. During COVID I embraced finding ways of printing without a large press - including a silver spoon and an old pasta machine. It was my solace and my way of creating colourful images of dreams beyond Lockdown.
My images draw inspiration from the patterns and life in my world around me, from the ships in our Port, to the beloved bush where I grew up and our explorations around Australia. Fauna, flora and man-made all have a place in my art.
Catalogue :
Linda Baker
Linda is a Melbourne based printmaker. Driven by the process rather than the subject matter, she enjoys the many varied techniques that printmaking has to offer. Her work is the result of continual experimentation, combining different elements of printmaking and mixed media. Linda is inspired by the human form and nature. She is a member of Fire Station Print Studio in Armadale and exhibits regularly in their group shows.
Catalogue :
Margaret Meadows
Margaret Meadows’ creative practice spans various paper-based art forms, including printmaking, painting, and drawing.
Across these mediums Margaret’s work reflects her love of the natural world, and endeavours to detail its forms and textures. Her lino prints (often hand-coloured with pencil and watercolour) examine the shapes and textures of landscapes, while her drawings in pen and ink focus on details of found objects such as bird nests, bones, insects, and sea creatures – often assembled into striking still life compositions.
Margaret studied printmaking and drawing at Victoria University and works from her home studio.
Catalogue :
Marija Newbold
Marija Newbold lives and plays in Melbourne. Marija is a versatile artist and ceramicist whose work spans multiple mediums. Her creative process draws deeply from her experiences exploring new places, the natural world, and discovering inspiration in surprising and unconventional sources.
Catalogue:
Mercedes Wolfenden
My philosophy in creativity is that ‘play’, then refinement is the vehicle through which I discover what lies within. The mystery of finding myself in art.
It’s for the individual to explore, see and feel the colour, the mark of my hand, the flow of shapes, the light and the dark, the presence. To make of my art their own interpretation from their rich, inner, personal narrative, formed by their own lived experience. Hopefully your unique understanding creates meaning for you in relating to the work.
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