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 #11
Helen is well known as one of Australia’s few contemporary artists working primarily in mosaic and has been a Lot19 resident artist since 2007, where she practices full-time. Originally trained as a Painter, she is still at the easel while also using marble and glass smalti to make paintings in glass and stone. Helen has been pivotal in re-defining mosaic as an art form in Australia, also working in more experimental media exploring ephemera and biodegradability. She works primarily on larger public and private commissions for public and private spaces, and regularly teaches intermediate and advanced mosaicists in her Lot19 Studio and overseas (Italy, USA and UK). Helen is the author of Mosaicism – Thinking in Mosaic and holds a PhD in Creative Arts. Feel free to contact Helen to make a suitable time for a studio visit: helen@helenbodycomb.com
This is no ordinary place to work. Lot19 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 #1
Karin trained as an Actor at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
She went on to become a successful Playwright. Her work has been performed at Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company, State Company of South Australia, Griffin Theatre Company and others, including La Comédie-Française in Paris.
Her work has been published in Australia, France and Italy.
Karin Now spends her time as Resident Witch (AKA The Knitting Man Recommends) at Lot 19.
Her studio, Studio1, is where she dyes yarn.
In the way of a water-colourist, she explores links between emotion and memory through colour, using yarn in place of paper.
She hopes to push her practise as well as resume writing.
Karin has a studio Shop at Lot 19 where you can buy hand-dyed and painted knitting and crochet yarns. The studio is open by appointment.
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.
Simon Dubbeld
Visual Arts
Studio #13
Simon Dubbeld is a visual artist based at Lot19. His primary focus is on text; it’s production, texture, form and coding. His practice encompasses ephemeral art, raw and natural materials, signage and printmaking – often utilising obsolete or archaic technology. He explores the aesthetics and visual landscape of the written word, shifting text into a pictorial language. Referencing popular culture, lyrics and common sayings; parading them as iconic statements, confused by spacing that goes against grammar conformity.
Annefie Judge
Jewellery
Studio #14
Annefie is a contemporary jeweller, designer and maker, based in Chewton Bushlands and at Lot19. Her work is inspired by the meditative and honest process of creating jewellery from raw materials – predominantly gold, silver and found objects.
With a focus on unique lines, curves and subtle details, Annefie strives to incorporate traditional jewllery techniques, such as lost wax casting, into her creations. She takes great care to ensure that her pieces are comfortable and feel like they belong to the wearer, paying close attention to weight and proportion.
Annefie also prioritises sustainability by sourcing recycled and local materials, and incorporating texture that is both visually appealing and tactile. Her process is organic, often starting with the materials themselves and letting them guide the creation of each piece.