Meet the Artists
Alvin Darcy Briggs
Pyrography, Drawing, Sculpture
Chrysalis Studio
Alvin Darcy Briggs is a Yorta-Yorta\Taungurung man, an award-winning emerging artist, and Lot19’s current Chrysalis Studio recipient.
An active artist at the beginning of his career he has already exhibited widely and is catching the attention of many curators and art critics across the country.
Alvin has works at the Castlemaine Art Museum and The Koori Hertiage Trust amongst other notable collections. Alvin has received people’s choice awards at Koori Heritage Trust and is proudly involved as a mentor to younger Aboriginal artists with the Dja Dja Wurrung community in Castlemaine.
Helen Bodycomb
Artist, specialising in works made from glass and stone
Studio # 13
This is no ordinary place to work. Lot 19 is a hive of creativity, you’ll find painters, printers, potters, fashionistas, makers, performers and creators hard at work… or snoozing in the sun… or somehow doing something that is exactly half-way between the two.
Interested in a studio for yourself?
Nici Wright
Visual Arts
Studio #14
Ella Hughes
Ceramicist, Visual Arts
Studio # 15
Ella Hughes has worked in clay for over 15 years, utilising wheel and hand building techniques to make a wide range of functional and conceptual ceramic artworks. She builds sculptural works that embody emotion and capture memory, they encourage us to reflect on the universal nature of joy, love, landscape, grief and community. Ella also makes bowls, platters, jewellery and decorative items with a commitment to exploring colour and glaze. She is the President of Castlemaine Clay and teaches ceramics in Castlemaine and Melbourne – if you are interested in learning some pottery skills then Ella is a great person to have a chat with! Ella is currently undertaking post-graduate fine arts study at La Trobe University in Bendigo.
Karin Mainwaring
Wool, Textiles
Studio #8
In Karin’s own words:
Hailing from a lineage of skilled Welsh Knitters, my journey into the world of knitting was anything but conventional. Despite my Auntie’s prowess in the craft, her impatience and disinterest in teaching left me frustrated. It was only through my unwavering determination and refusal to be deterred that I managed to grasp the basics she begrudgingly imparted.
Fuelled by my initial anger and thirst for knowledge, I delved into knitting books, developing a keen interest in advanced techniques and design. Today, I proudly boast extensive experience as a proficient knitter, with a particular passion for designing, grading, tech editing, and organizing knitting events.
Although my career initially led me down the path of acting during a bygone era, I found my true calling as a playwright in the vibrant ’90s scene. My works have graced stages across the globe, from the prestigious State Companies to the illustrious La Comédie-Française in Paris.
With numerous public speaking engagements under my belt, stemming from my success as a produced and published writer, I’ve shared my insights and experiences with audiences far and wide, including a memorable session at La Sorbonne.
Currently, amidst my bustling schedule, I’m endeavouring to carve out time to complete a tantalizing knitting murder mystery—a project that combines my love for both creativity and craftsmanship.
Dean Smith, Ewin Wood
Museum Makers, Studio #9
As museum trained preparators Dean and Ewin have a long history of service, making exhibits and displays for museums, science, conservation and education institutions, visitor and cultural centres, zoos and more.
Dean and Ewin have teamed up to form Museum Makers, with over 60 years of experience now offering a strengthened toolkit of resources and knowledge to further support their clients.
They blend passion for the natural world, science and art to create enduring exhibits. Their extensive body of work is admired both nationally and internationally.
Tobias Richardson
Drawing, Painting, Sculpture
Studio # 6
Tobias been a practicing artist since 1987. First studying at East Sydney Technical College and exhibiting in artist-run spaces, he later gained a BVA from San Francisco Art Institute, California. Tobias also studied Education and Science.
From 1997 to 2011 he lived in the Northern Territory working as an artist and teaching in remote communities, Charles Darwin University and the Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. In 2015 he relocated to Castlemaine, Victoria. Tobias now has a studio-based practice that is informed by travel and artist residences. His research aims to incorporate autobiographical investigation expressed through the depiction of built environments. Themes of memory, history, abstraction and intervention underlie his subject matter. Tobias has a diverse studio practice centred on drawing, painting and sculpture.
Marwa Fahmy
Sculptor, Muralist
Studio # 3
Marwa Fahmy (aka MAR MAR Studio) is a multidisciplinary visual artist. She has participated in Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe as part of the artist collective k.m.s.e winning the $15,000 sculpture scholarship, which took them to Sculpture by the Sea Bondi. She has completed a public art commission worth $84,000 situated in the Museum Street Precinct in Perth, WA. As well as completing a number of murals and ceramic installations through-out Victoria .
She makes work that is whimsical and often narrative in nature, at times weaving stories of small but beautiful moments into her visual arts practice. At other times creating abstract works that tell their own stories, through line colour and mark making.