Birregurra on the art trail this weekend, 10&11 April

Six Birregurra and district artists will have their work on show at the Birregurra Hall on April 10  and 11 as part of the 2021 Colac Otway Arts Trail.  
The group includes mix media artist Deb McSephney, felting expert Pam Fyfe, mixed media  artist David Lancashire, painter Inge O’Leary, illustrator and painter Lea Barker, and painter  Bonnie McLaren. 
Birregurra’s arts trail event will showcase a spectrum of local creativity and include oil,  watercolour, acrylic paintings, ink drawings, felting, collage, and mixed media works.  
Felting artist Pam Fyfe says it’s good to have events back in the hall after not being able to get  together at all last year.  
She said the Birregurra Community Arts Group has had a lot to do with the hall’s renovations so  it’s great to put it to use for events such as this.  
“Having a group of artists together like this makes the event more interesting for people coming  along as they get to see a range of different works.”  
Fyfe has been felting for more 18 years and will demonstrate the art of felting as part of the  event. She works with wool and silk and said what she loved about felting was the feel and  texture of the wool.  
Deans Marsh artist Lea Barker will have drawings, etchings and paintings in ink, oils and  acrylics on show inspired by her surroundings and her travels. She said the group exhibition  allowed for a shared focus and thought the artists’ works would complement each other.  
Birregurra’s David Lancashire is a mixed media artist creating collage and acrylic works on  paper. Lancashire studied fine art in England and has run a design practice professionally for  more 50 years. He said all his life he had worked creatively and his works for the Birregurra  exhibition were inspired by the Australian landscape. 
Pennyroyal’s Deb McSephney will conduct book binding demonstrations using eco-dyed printed  materials as well as displaying her abstract acrylic and gouache paintings. Gouache, a more  traditional form of watercolour, appeals to McSephney and she likes the matte finish it creates. 
“The book binding will show what you can do with eco-dyed materials. It’s a more artistic  application for the eco-dyed fabrics including linen, cotton, wool, silk and paper,” she said.
Birregurra’s Inge O’Leary creates watercolours on paper and acrylics on canvas and will have a  mixture of her work on show. 
O’Leary a professional painter for more than 20 years regularly exhibits her work locally with her  husband Dominic. She has a creative space set up at home where she paints and said what  she loved about it was the feel of it and how it’s very absorbing.  
She has regularly exhibited her work in the Birregurra art show and said she loved being part of  the local artistic community.  
Watercolour artist Birregurra’s Bonnie McLaren has previously displayed her work as part of the  2019 Year 12 Top Arts exhibition at Melbourne’s NGV. And as an establishing artist she’s set up  a website to sell her work and plans to design t-shirts to sell online.  
In addition to the works on show at Birregurra on April 10 and 11 as part of the second weekend  of the trail people can also see art works on show at the Colac Otway Arts Trail Art Expo in  Colac at the COPACC.  
Dates and locations:  
• 2-4 April 2021 at Apollo Bay and Forrest 
• 10-11 April 2021 at Colac Art Expo at COPACC and Birregurra 
• 7-18 April 2021 at Gellibrand and Lavers Hill.  
Full details on the Colac Otway Arts Trail website https://www.colacotwayartstrail.com/  Or follow the trails Facebook page or find them on Instagram @colacotwayartstrail

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