Bold landscapes fuel intense artistic vision
Port Campbell Ephemeral Art has been created to encourage everyone to get out in nature and create some mindful ephemeral art.
Fortnightly themes, have fun, share your creations on our page and share the joys of the ephemeral experience.
Merrian Dennis works from her ‘Gnarlbine Studio’ nestled within the crater of Lake Gnotuk, Victoria.
Merrian Dennis is a visual artist living in country Victoria. Merrian has formal qualifications in Ceramics and the Visual Arts from the Ballarat University.
Her work is described as expressionistic with a strong use of line and form; clearly influenced by her background working in clay. Merrian’s artwork reflects the rural volcanic landscape of the Western District, the female form of the wide horizon and discarded domestic objects. Her studio, Gnarlbine Studio, looks over Lake Gnotuk in Western Victoria, Australia. An inspiring landscape.
Follow Chelsea’s exploration into her obsession with texture, organic shapes and greenery.
The designer behind Second Nature is Chelsea Hatherall, who has studied at the Victorian College of the Arts and the Australian Academy of Design.
Chelsea arrived in Cobden back in 2017, bringing with her extensive experience within the arts industry.
Follow Chelsea’s exploration into her obsession with texture, organic shapes and greenery. Chelsea is also the creative producer involved in The Phoenix Project.
Note that we are no longer a retail store, but are happy to discuss custom orders (and run the occasional creative workshop).
These items are usable artwork. A lot of time has been taken to make them one of a kind and original pieces.
The process involves sealing the glassware then applying paint and finishing with detail before sealing for a quality finish. Any imperfections or faults are the result of being hand painted and are a part of their charm. “I hope you enjoy these creations as much as I have enjoyed creating them.” – Lynne, artist.
Names, ages and colours can be done on request. Local pick up can be arranged or additional costs if the item needs to be sent.
PassionFish ArtHouse is an Artist-Run-Initiative in provincial Western District. Within the context of a global movement, I live and work in my studio space.
I open for limited hours, for exhibitions and events and by appointment.
My Aboriginal foster nephew from Uluru territory has been the inspiration behind me beginning another teaching career after semi-retiring from Melbourne. I have spent almost 20 years now flying between teaching contracts working with Indigenous students up North and in Perth, returning to my home base in Camperdown, Vic.
There, assessing, producing and resting up for the next gig. I have been active in restoring some of the Aboriginal stories to Camperdown and bringing back aspects of Aboriginal and other cultures to my studio to share with this community. It has been a slow consciousness-growing venture. I have become a chronicler or journey woman of this area and beyond with images from my childhood and on but most pertinently over the last 20 years of chronicling events, people and landscape in this rich volcanic environment.
Knots by the Rocks is the creative outlet of sisters Sally and Prue Cashmore. Sally and Prue work together to produce bespoke macrame pieces featuring natural fibres coupled with driftwood and natural materials sourced from the same Southern Ocean shores that inspire their works.
Younger sister Prue is also a talented photographer who creates daily ephemeral art pieces using natural materials on hand when out collecting. If you’re staying in the region you might be lucky enough to see one of her works before the next tide or strong wind carries them away.
Check out @knotsbytherocks to purchase one of their pieces. Works are also on display and for sale at local venues including the Grass Roots Deli and Café and the Fat Cow Food co. in Timboon.
Nirranda Arts is nestled halfway between the Bay of Islands Coastal Reserve and Childer’s Cove National Park on the Great Ocean Road, 300 kilometres south-west of Melbourne. Nirranda Arts Studio is a unique and rare art space where one is exposed to the natural environment and also to the experience of making art in a beautiful wood-lined hall made in 1896.
Nirranda Arts offers a unique opportunity for artists, tourists and those who seek to discover a creative space and unique retreat. The studio specializes in Silk painting and textile design. They blend online teaching and real-time workshops and tuition. Sculpture, painting, illustration, photography and drawing are practised. Nirranda Arts also offer classes for school and tourist groups, shop and gallery sales and commercial offerings.
Overall Nirranda Arts would be best described as an alternative creative place to work and think about art, design and life.
Spence Australia stocks Australian made souvenirs and gifts.
Sue and Clare Younis design and make products inspired by the Great Ocean Road. An intimate shop where you will find a wide range of locally designed magnets, greeting cards, tea towels, aprons, tea cosies, keyrings, ceramic mugs, postcards, soaps, candles and more. Printing of cards (made using recycled paper) and souvenir range is completed in Warrnambool, Geelong and Melbourne. Local crafty people assist in the production of many of the items on offer in this unique store.
Alderwood speakers have achieved incredible things in a short time and are fast gaining ground in the venue, home entertainment and marine industries.
A 100 year old picture theatre in Cobden in South West Victoria, is not the first place you would expect to find a passionate craftsman producing world-class speakers by hand. Alderwood audio products are shaped into form by Scott Wilkinson using instrument grade birch timber in a process that can take up to a month.
Scott hand picks the finest quality timber sheets and uses custom designed CnC machines to precisely cut the material. From this raw form each speaker is manually crafted into audio and aesthetic perfection. Nothing is approved for purchase until it passes Scott’s stringent listening test and each component has been hand inspected for visual imperfection.
Artist & writer, living and painting in Camperdown where she has her studio, Skye Studio.
I have always been fascinated by the actual surface of my artwork in all my painting practice across many mediums. I think the surface of the work is where whatever it is that is art – happens and where inspiration takes place. The artwork’s surface provides the window that opens up to us something about ourselves; and it is also the mirror, letting us see something about ourselves in the painting.
In many instances I like to work in the encaustic medium with oil paint, as I find the layers of wax introduce the quality of an acetate to the work’s surface that lets us see through the layers of the painting to something beyond.
I think Robert Bresson summed up the practice of painting best for me when he said: Make visible what, without you, would never have been seen.
I produce paintings with drama, atmosphere and a slight sense of the melancholy. In high school I adored learning about Rene Magritte, and as a result my paintings are done in the surrealist style with birds and statues often as the main feature.
As you can see, many of my paintings are inspired by places I’ve been to or folklore picked up in my travels. When I start a painting, I have a thumbnail sketch and a colour scheme already in mind. After that, it’s a case of plugging away at it until it looks the way I envisioned it to look. My base is in beautiful Alvie, a small town in Victoria’s South West and the perfect place to be inspired by nature, light and scenery.
Brett Clarke is a Gunditjmara/Kirrae Whurrong Songman.
From Framlingham Aboriginal mission, inspired and influenced by his late Grandfather Banjo Clarke, his music reflects the stories and words of wisdom he was told as a child. His songs demonstrate his strong cultural and environmental commitment and a passion for reconciliation. In Brett’s own words Music is a bridge to all Cultures.
The Port Campbell Arts Space grew from a community endeavour to preserve the township’s oldest standing building and invigorate the local arts community with a space for workshops, performance, exhibitions, yoga, functions and reflection.
The building forms an attractive centrepiece in a vibrant community and visitor hub that includes a skate park, tennis courts, BBQ area, Historical Society Hall, playground and seasonal marketplace.
Michelle Shearer’s, Sand and Fire Glass is an Australian warm glass studio designing and hand crafting quality art glass using warm glass slumping and fusing techniques. Our ever-expanding product range includes tableware, home decor items, jewellery, laminated panels, custom designed tiles, art objects and collectables.
Visits, group visits and workshops can be arranged by appointment
Wednesday to Sunday: 11am – 5pm (October – April)
One day, while scribbling furiously aboard the adult colouring bandwagon, Clare Younis had a major realisation: The places, plants and creatures she grew up amongst on the Great Ocean Road offered a rich and rare theme for her own version. She rapidly found that it was almost too great for Clare, drawing the designs was even more addictive than decorating the work of others.
She blames her parents and the aunts and uncles who enriched her childhood with endless clifftop rambles, shipwreck storytelling and beach adventures. Whale watching, penguin counting, foraging through rainforest and bushland. Exploring the capricious treasures of rockpools and tidal caves. Hand rearing wallabies and longing for the dolphins that danced about her uncle’s boat to come just a little closer and maybe have a telepathic conversation (she was that kind of child and iPad were a long way in the future).
There are so many hidden secrets along this coastline – Clare Younis recommends that you take your time. But if you don’t have long enough (say, an entire childhood) then this colouring book highlights twenty of the most special and fabulous memories drawn from the artist’s dream pool.
Ruben Anderson: A young teenage photographer from Port Campbell, Victoria.
Ruben Anderson is a young teenage photographer from Port Campbell, Victoria. Ruben’s love of nature shines through in every photo he takes. Living along the great ocean road surrounded by natural beauty, Ruben loves to go on adventures and find interesting places to take photos, his favourite things to capture are the ocean, waterfalls and stars, especially the Milky Way.
Ruben began taking photos and making short films when he was 8 years old on his iPad, he was inspired to take photos of landscapes from local photographers. He has since saved up for a GoPro by doing odd jobs for people and now uses a Cannon ESO 650D, a drone and a GoPro to take photos and make short films.
Photography has become a passion for Ruben who loves attending workshops and meeting up with mentors who pass on their tips and tricks.
Raised on a dairy farm in country Victoria, Kylie Treble grew up surrounded by nature, her keen eye and inquiring mind driving a constant source of curiosity inspired learning. Kylie has returned boots and all to plant pursuits beginning a permaculture farm and learning facility and of course her café, The Place of Wonder. Her love of learning never far away. In 2015 she completed a Master of Arts in Ecologically Sustainable Development through Murdoch University. Healthy food and most particularly cooking and preparing it for those whose path she crosses has been a constant throughout Kylie’s journey.
Greg and Jodi Clarke farm Aylesbury and Pekin ducks on their version of the country idyll overlooking Victoria’s Great Ocean Road near the Twelve Apostles. They sell their paddock-reared, real-free-range Great Ocean Ducks to some of Melbourne and country Victoria’s best restaurants.
In 2015 they published a book, Just Duck, featuring duck recipes from the chefs they sell their ducks to as well as stories from their farming adventure. Since December 2016 they have been exporting a small number of ducks to Hong Kong.
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Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Great Ocean Road region the Wadawurrung, Eastern Maar & Gunditjmara. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise and respect their unique cultural heritage and the connection to their traditional lands. We commit to building genuine and lasting partnerships that recognise, embrace and support the spirit of reconciliation, working towards self-determination, equity of outcomes and an equal voice for Australia’s first people.
