It was a pleasure to return to Livingstone Christian College at Ormeau prior to the the Easter break. I facilitated several workshops with a variety of students as part of the annual arts showcase & battle of the band celebrations. Thanks goes out to the Arts Department for putting on an organised and enjoyable program.
It was great to return to Calvary Christian College this year as Artist in Residence. I facilitated workshops for the Eisteddfod and demonstrations during Arts Fest Week. Its always a blast at Calvary.
This mural at the Byron Regional Sport and Cultural Complex is one of the many different projects and plans lined up for January. Sauce was keen to finish this wall as it was a long time in the pipeline with loads more paperwork than the usual job.
The initial Expressions of Interest was in July of last year, and I put together three separate proposals for the gig. At one stage, we received a phone call requesting more information about the proposals, which was strange, as I thought I had all of the bases covered, but I worked out that the team hadn’t read any of the information I had sent. *Sigh* I just love bureaucracy.
Once we put application was accepted, there was a delay between the signing of the contract and the design phase. There were more hoops to jump through, but in the end we met a lovely contractor from the council who was fantastic to work with. She listened to our concerns and was the most organised council worker I have ever met. Our biggest challenge was the paperwork and the design approval process. It is literally easier for Sauce to paint the mural than to organise all of the different bureaucratic processes, but you have to take the good with the bad.
The best bits: working locally and creating some solid three dimensional graff. Sauce didn’t have to deal with traffic or scramble to find parking and all the other hassles of working in the Big Smoke. Once the initial design phase was finalised, the concept and colour scheme for the piece really stood out. Sauce was able to use some of the MTN 94 Transparents and experiment with different stencil techniques. We hope this is one of many different local projects in the Northern Rivers area. There are loads of walls in Byron and the surrounding areas which would be perfect for a good old fashioned graff piece. As a commercial artist Sauce doesn’t always choose the theme for every job. Opportunities like this are few and far between.
Yesterday, we held our first stencil art workshops in our studio in Murwillumbah. The turnout was great and the participants were an interesting collection of young and old. The seven participants watched Sauce paint a quick demo and spent the rest of the afternoon creating their own canvas with various stencil forms and patterns. It was fantastic to have some older participants step outside their comfort zones and explore a new medium. We can’t wait for the next workshop so we can meet some new faces!
The next workshop will be held on the 26th of January from 2-5 pm. For all enquires and bookings email admin@thesaucestudio.com.au
Ok, so it’s 2014 and we still don’t have hoverboards, but we do have a Time Machine! Over the Christmas and New Year break, Sauce whipped up a Time Machine in Newell Park, Murwillumbah. The project was many months in the making, as there were numerous official documents to fill out, and Sauce was juggling several different murals at once. The delay was a blessing in disguise as once Sauce had completed the steampunk themed mural at Ground Control, he was full of ideas for the electrical box. The box is literally across the road from the studio, so next time you’re in town you can see both!
It was fantastic to return as Artist in residence for Calvary Christian College’s Arts Fest Week. I demonstrated aerosol art and stenciling during mural production and on canvas. Students in upper level art classes participated in workshops throughout the productive week, completing amazing works on canvas to display at the Arts Fest exhibition. Once again I had a top time…thanks to all involved in the Arts at Calvary.
Last week I visited Currimundi to deliver three stencil art workshops for the Senior Sibs Camp Quality Winter Camp. The workshops were well received and the young participants created an excellent array of artworks despite having no previous experience with the medium. I really enjoyed working with these young people and the staff and volunteers were tops too! This type of experience shows me laughter really is the best medicine.
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