History

A History of the Mallee Artists Swan Hill Inc. (MASH)

Marg Lewis proposed the creation of a local art group after providing art lessons and meeting some of the local artists. In 2001, a meeting was held at the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery to discuss the idea and Mallee Artists Swan Hill (MASH) was launched, with Marg Lewis as inaugural President. In attendance with Marg were Helen Kaptein (Gallery Director) May Ward, Robyn Patterson, and Pauline Bennetto.

In the early days of MASH the biggest problem was to find a suitable venue in which to meet and paint. Many different places were tried even the Men’s Shed at the pioneer settlement. (lots of fun but far from suitable – heat, dust, or freezing cold!) We are now proud to have two venues; thanks to the generous owners of the Murray River Motel, we have free access to their function room, where members meet every Tuesday. Due to growth of the group, members also meet at the Woorinen South Community Hall every Wednesday. To make sure members stay connected we catch up with a coffee morning once a month.

MASH has held exhibitions at Dowling House/Murray Ace and the group endeavours to hold an exhibition at Swan Hill Regional Gallery around every second year. Some of these exhibitions have been titled: Art from the Heart, Art Matters, Mish Mash, Earth Connections and Paddock to Plate. This year our Retrospective Exhibition celebrates our 21st birthday and will be displayed in the main gallery.

MASH members have strongly supported and been represented at the Anglican Art Show, the Fleece and Flower Show, the Bizarre Bra Exhibition, Forest of Christmas trees, Harmony Day, Go North Art Festival, and a Red Cross Fundraiser. This year MASH artists have contributed their work to the Fight Cancer Foundation in their 9×5 exhibition fundraiser. All works were donated by the artists to this worthy cause.

Community involvement and participation has always been an important part of MASH membership. In 2002 a most enjoyable time was had when artists conducted a mini workshop with the residents at Nyah West Jacaranda Lodge. This was a great experience for both the residents and the artists.

In 2005 Members painted a fridge (donated by Ian Ray) which was to be auctioned at Dowling House to raise money for the proposed art wing. Unfortunately the fridge didn’t sell and the art wing didn’t eventuate but it does remain in use as a storage for art supplies with a current member.

In 2010 MASH received an award for cultural awareness from the Swan Hill Rural City Council. That same year some members took part in the local filming of Coxy’s Big Break, a TV program promoting local destinations. This was filmed on the banks of the Marraboor River at the Pioneer Settlement. Joan Holmes starred and had everyone in fits of laughter, as the artists prepared to do a life drawing of Coxy she said,” Wait, I need to get a bigger piece of paper!”

Since 2015 MASH has sponsored the Swan Hill Show Art Section with prize money to a total value of $250. This encourages artists of all ages to participate in our local show.

Further community involvement includes the painting of a mural for the Swan Hill River Walk. MASH received a grant from Swan Hill Rural City Council for the project and after much research the group decided to paint a river wharf scene. A number of our artists spent many hours to create this beautiful mural, which is positioned on the Swan Hill Bowls Club pump shed on the banks of the Murray River, close to where the original wharf was situated.

An important part of MASH history has been showing new ideas and challenges to members to help develop and improve their artistic abilities. This has been achieved by conducting workshops in a huge range of mediums and activities. Each year we have engaged well known art tutors to hold workshops in their specialized fields. Some tutors have included Ross Patterson, Colin Johnson, Max Wilkes, David Taylor, Glenda Cornell, and Steve Hendrics.

The group continues to provide professional development for local artists through workshops and in 2022 this included a trip to Moulamein to learn about Glass Art with Kathy Gibson and Mosaics with Sandy Peeters. Paul Oswin provided tutoring in expressive watercolour portraits and Jon Lam returned to work on landscapes.

Workshops are also conducted by individual members in their own special field or medium. The range and versatility of our members talents is shown by the variety of workshops offered. Some of these include watercolour, linocuts, screen printing, figure and life drawing, pastel, oil, mixed media, portraits, charcoal and pencil, pen and wash, paverpol, paint pouring, clay, clay heads and semi abstract trees.

Over our 21 years many people have contributed to the continued success of MASH. Special thanks go to our past presidents Marg, Robyn, Marian and our current president Judy. Many others have taken on positions as secretary, treasurer, or Committee member. Many others have helped with exhibitions, the Swan Hill Show, organizing coffee mornings and Christmas dinners, conducting and participating in workshops or simply supporting the group by being a MASH member. It is through this support for each other and our love of all things art that MASH has been able to continue for 21 years. Thank you all for your contribution.

Memoirs of Past Presidents

Marg Lewis 2001-2003

I moved to the region for a river change and the idea for the group was inspired by my early membership of The Victorian Artists Society. I enjoyed the great feeling of camaraderie and the utter immersion in art, steeped in history of the past back to Streeton Roberts & Conder; I hoped to pass this on through the groups establishment.

After the first several meetings, members were elected to every position. Albert Heslop appointed Patron and aptly guided annual meeting protocol & support. Mallee Artists has lobbied council many times over the 21 years for a purpose built venue, however this has been unsuccessful. The group has relied on other kindness of recent years for a venue, and it is a great pleasure to see the group still offering a rigorous annual agenda of art experiences through workshops to the members, with the help of the talented committee giving their time.

The early years saw times when my husband, Jim and I ran (in conjunction with MASH), workshops by the Melbourne 20 painters including Ross Paterson, Max Wilks, David Taylor and Colin Johnson: Painting and drawing Tutor of Deacon University. This excellent tutorage started the group off on a solid footing.

Some art holiday experiences run by Jim & I included: Hahndorf, guided tour of The Willows & studio of Hans Heyson & his daughter Nora’s studios; painting in the garden & about the charming town was an Autumnal time not to miss. A Western District trip, in the Footsteps of the Masters with Tutor Colin Johnson held at Hamilton and historic properties with local artists in tow. We also travelled to Flinders Island, Shoalhaven and Bundanong with Ross Paterson and his wife, Barb. An unforgettable experience in itself to an exclusive part of Arthur Boyd’s world.

Mallee artists has progressed well over the years, and has led to a great hobby for some, career to others. Long may the group go on into the future providing support for much happy community creativity into the future.

The essence of all beautiful art, great art – is gratefulness.

Robyn Patterson 2003 – 2004

During my time as President of the Mallee Artists of Swan Hill, and with the support of members of the committee of management, the group expanded and became pivotal in promoting the visual arts within the Swan Hill region. Active participation in the community raised our profile and resulted in requests to provide assistance to various groups and organisations in the region. Programs that we either conducted or supported are listed below:

Facilitation of an art program for the Swan Hill Hospital Adult Day Centre and residents of Jacaranda Lodge at Nyah West. This was a rewarding experience for all involved.
Forest of Christmas Trees which raised money for the Swan Hill and District Committee for the Aged.
Held our first exhibition at Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery, organised by Marg Lewis.
Painted wall panels that are now part of the Dowling House/Murray ACE permanent collection
Exhibition at Dowling House Community Art Gallery. This was a collaboration between MASH, Dawn’s Art Group, Phoenix Arts and included visual arts, glassware, woodwork pottery and ceramics.
Workshops were facilitated by Joan Holmes, Marg Lewis, Margaret Stewart.
A Plein Air Day was held at Tyntynder Homestead and a Floral Art workshop was held.

Marian Caccianiga 2004-2009

Marian was unable to provide her memoirs, so this is a summary from her time as President.

Marian came on board at a difficult time, when numbers in the group had diminished She worked hard to revitalise the group with her passion and enthusiasm. During Marian’s time as President the group amalgamated with “Dawn’s Group” who were a group originally taking painting lessons from Dawn Watts at Dowling House/Murray ACE. After Dawn passed away Murray ACE changed its focus, and the group was forced to find another venue. Thanks to Helen McKerrow the two groups were successfully merged and working well together by the time Marian stepped down.

Judy Brawn 2009 – 2021

How time flies! It doesn’t seem like 12 years as President. My favourite memories of this time has been the weekly gatherings where art discussion often took second place to many discussions nurturing companionship and friendship for many members. I loved our workshops and always aimed to take away a new idea or technique. One memory is of the resilience of several members during our time at the dusty Pioneer Settlement’s Men’s Shed, where it was hot in summer and very cold in winter, but the regulars turned up! However, it was always nice to chat to visitors who popped in. During this time, I think the newsletter bound us together but now we have moved to the digital age utilizing facebook and a website.

Management Committee through the years

Presidents

2001-2003 Marg Lewis

2003-2004 Robyn Patterson

2004-2009 Marian Cacciniga

2009-2020 Judy Brawn

2021-Present Norma Anderson

Treasurers

Pat Kemp, Helen McKerrow, Dawn Watts, Sandra Bolton, Sue McGrath,
Lorri Lambert (current)

Secretaries

Jeannette Clutterbuck, Eileen Gunton, Marg Lewis, Joan Mellahan, Toni Jessop,
Carol O’Day, Lorri Lambert (current)