Dive into the Elements Workshops
Running across the ten days of the festival, the magnificent Maroochy Botanic Gardens will be transformed from an 82 hectare natural paradise to a contemporary outdoor gallery, exhibiting works from leading local and national artists who have drawn inspiration from the elements; fire, earth, air, and water. As part of the Elements program, we have an incredible line-up of artists running diverse workshops, check out what’s on offer.
Life Drawing in the Gardens
Merging life drawing with plein air style painting, Life Drawing in the Gardens provides a wonderful, unique experience to capture the essence of nature and the human form.
Amongst the private and tranquil Bushland Sculpture Garden, nude models will be poised in the landscape. Choose to draw at an easel, chair or lounge around in a bean bag on the grass for three hours of creative play and exploring nature. An acoustic set from Band of Frequencies will accompany the day to help participants relax and inspire creative flow.
You will be provided with easels, boards, paper, charcoal, chairs, cushions and picnic blankets in which to relish in a luxurious artistic afternoon, but please also bring your favourite art materials or picnic rug if you wish.
Sat 31 Aug
Arrive at 1.30pm for 2-5pm class
Mapping Place
Explore the art of natural ink making and become inspired by and become more intimate with your natural surroundings. This workshop lead by Anne Harris will see you create your own natural ink, and in turn your own unique process of mapping and creatively recording space.
Run over two days, day one of the workshop will see participants forage the Botanic Gardens for found materials, which will be used to make natural inks. On day two, participants will take this a step further in creating marks and using their natural inks and tools to connect to the rhythm and flow of the seasons and plants that surround them.
Sun 25 Aug & Mon 26th Aug
9am – 3pm
Botanicals Eco-Resin Jewellery
Make your very own unique botanical crystal shaped necklace and bangle using collected leaves, flowers, bark and moss.
Running over two days, the first day of this workshop will see Nina from ResArt Designs guide you through the process of embedding your found materials into the moulds and pouring the resin. Day two will see participants de-moulding their creations, sanding off rough edges to create their desired finish and creating the final elements to their unique jewellery.
Tue 27 Aug 4-5.30pm & Sun 1 Sep 9.30-11am
M.A.D.E Walking Billycan Project
Join artist Nicole Voevodin-Cash for an interactive walk around the Gardens, carrying a billycan fitted with pen and paper. As you walk you’ll create a mini-artwork and memento of your experience.
M.A.D.E Walking is an ongoing project by Voevodin-Cash that changes a person’s experience of their everyday. It aims to undo a static, singular viewpoint of the landscape and emphasises the embodied and temporal aspects of perception. The resulting drawings are like signatures—each reveals the different qualities and characteristics of an individual and how they move through the world.
You’ll be joined by a friend of Maroochy Botanical Gardens who will share insights about the gardens and information about conservation of Australian Bushland environments.
Sat 24 Aug 3-4pm, Wed 28, Thu 29 and Fri 30 Aug, 8.30-9.30am
Untitled [H2O]
Facilitated by contemporary artist Kim Schoenberger, Untitled [H2O] is a family friendly workshop in the construction of clay ‘water drops’ inspired by her Elements work.
In this workshop each participant will be guided through several clay-making techniques including, pinch, slab and textured relief work while imbedding various textures of reclaimed steel objects into the clay to realise their creations. The participants will be able to take these creations home at the end of the workshop.
Sat 24 & Mon 26 Aug
1-2.30pm
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Kite Making Workshop
Set to the backdrop of the stunning Maroochy Botanic Gardens and facilitated by artist Lincoln Austin, this family friendly workshop guides you through the construction of your very own kite, inspired by his work, The Wind Forms.
Sat 31 Aug & Sun 1 Sep
1-3pm
