Clare, Den and I pose for Mundaring Arts Centre director Jenny. Note how empty the walls are. Hmmm. Much work to be done!

This week I’ve been working with the team at the Mundaring Arts Centre to hang this year’s heARTlines festival of children’s literature and illustration.

Like hanging the 2013 exhibition, 2015’s exhibition was a humbling experience. Thankfully, we were guided again by the marvellous Clare Stroud, who has an eye for detail and a terrific sense of what-looks-good-where (and she also cooks a fab pumpkin soup – mmmm).

Unlike 2013, we had the invaluable help of Dr Bob Squiggle, some sort of magical laser-pointing tripod-mounted Christmas gift that splashes perfectly level cherry red laser light across the entire gallery. AMAZING! Begone, heavy and ridiculous measuring devices! Thank you Dr Bob!

And even better than Bob, we had the help of artist Den Scheer, who valiantly volunteered her time to hang with us and was a huge help and inspiration (and she also makes a super-tasty quiche – mmmm).

The festival opens this Friday night… Come and see the exhibition…it’s super-inspiring to be surrounded by all these original and beautiful works, each created by people who love what they do and are looking forward to sharing it with us over the next six weeks. Yee ha!

Come see the exhibition, and you can also be part of our public program of workshops and the Great Kid’s Book Swap (bring in a book you’ve loved but can bear to part with, then swap it with another book and make a gold coin donation to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation….cool!)

THANK YOU to everyone involved in this year’s exhibition: to the authors, illustrators, the team at the Mundaring Arts Centre and to our sponsors: the Department of Culture and the Arts, the Shire of Mundaring, the WA branch of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, and the Mundaring Branch of the Bank of Bendigo. We love you!!!

Come one! Come all!

Come for the OPENING of 

the 2015 heARTlines Festival of Children’s Literature and Book Illustration exhibition.

The exhibition opening will be held at the Mundaring Arts Centre from 7-8.30 pm on Friday 15 May and you can RSVP your attendance with the Mundaring Arts Centre.

More on the festival

Held from 15 May till 28 June 2015, this year’s heARTlines festival, held at the Mundaring Arts Centre in the awesome town of Mundaring, will feature this FREE exhibition of awesome artwork from Western Australia’s most fabulous children’s illustrators, and feature workshops from WA’s best children’s authors and illustrators.

Details on our public program are below, and you can also check out our schools program (bookings required).

PUBLIC WORKSHOPS:

WATERCOLOUR PAINTING AND ILLUSTRATION WITH GABRIEL EVANS
Thursday 11 June, 10am – 3pm
16 years + Adults
At the Mundaring Arts Centre – Gallery 2
$110 non-members (including materials) or $99 MAC Members *
Maximum participants 12
Gabriel Evans has illustrated over fifteen books, working in traditional materials including watercolour, gouache and coloured inks to create his whimsical paintings. Join Gabriel for a fun-filled day of creative exploration to learn about watercolour techniques and apply them to create your own illustrative painting to take home.

MEET THE MAKERS
Sunday 21 June, 1 – 2.30pm
16 years + Adults
At the Mundaring Arts Centre – Gallery 2
$5 non-members or $4.50 MAC/ Katharine Susannah Prichard Writer’s Centre members
Afternoon tea provided
Maximum participants 35
Join the heARTlines curator Cristy Burne and some of the festival’s artists and authors, as they discuss and demonstrate their passion for literature. For this session, you will meet renowned illustrators, James Foley and Frané Lessac and authors, Mark Greenwood, Cristy Burne and Amanda (AJ) Betts as they share their knowledge, stories and inspirations.
The session will conclude with an illustrator duel… be prepared with some exciting adjectives and see what happens next! Then relax over a lovely warm, mulled wine and nibbles and a bit of informal mingling with the session’s presenters.

LANDSCAPE PAINTING WITH WENDY BINKS
Sunday 28 June, 10am – 4pm
16 years + Adults
At the Mundaring Arts Centre – Gallery 2
$110 non-members (including materials) or $99 MAC Members *
Maximum participants 12
Join well-known artist, illustrator and author Wendy Binks in a full-day workshop exploring acrylic painting techniques. In this session, Wendy will help you create an amazing piece of art you will be proud to hang on any wall, using simple rules, methods and shortcuts. You will leave with one practice piece and one completed large canvas. This workshop is for absolute, non-painting beginners…. be brave, you will be amazed!