Join artists, Helen Earl and Belinda Piggott on the first day of their latest exhibition Catchment at the Museum of Art and Culture yapang in a special workshop and tour. Be guided through the making, inspired by the birds of Lake Macquarie using unfired clay and found materials. You will get to take your creation home with you for your garden or windowsill.
Event timeline
- 11am - Artist led tour of the exhibition ‘Catchment’
- 11:30am – 12:30 Session 1 Drop in artmaking with the artists
- 1 - 2pm Session 2 Drop in artmaking with the artists
Workshop
Come and explore clay making and learn about bird species of concern and the unique habitats that birds need to thrive within in the Lake Macquarie Catchment. Birds such as The Brush Bronzewing, The Red Browed Tree Creeper, Masked Owl, Brown Treecreeper, Southern Emu wren, Regent Honey Eater and others rely on a healthy and diverse ecosystem for their survival.
Additional Information
- Bookings preferred but not essential
- Recommended for ages 6+ with accompanying adult
- Workshop participants are required to wear closed shoes
- This event may be photographed and filmed and your image could be used in advertising and promotion by Lake Macquarie City Council. Should you wish to not be photographed or filmed please advise event organisers on entry at the event.
About the artists
Helen Earl
Helen Earl holds a Master of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts and has been exhibiting since 2009. Her practice is collaborative and multi-disciplinary, working often with clay combined with found, existent objects. Her artworks have been described as having a quiet activism, as her work always seeks to remind the viewer of the symbiotic relationship between nature and culture, between our histories and our future.
Earl was the 2011 Artist in Residence at The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, 2013 recipient of a Bathurst Regional Art Gallery residency at Hill End. In 2022 she undertook a ceramics CRETA residency in Rome, Italy and one at Vancouver Arts Centre in Albany, WA. In 2019, Helen was commissioned by the Sisters of Mercy Brisbane to create Short Careful Steps, a site responsive installation of intricately detailed porcelain flowers at Adderton: House of Heart & Mercy in Brisbane.
She was a selected finalist in the 2024 Meroogal and 2021 Ravenswood Women’s Art Prizes and received judges’ commendations in the 2022 KAAF Art Prize, the 2020 Pro Hart Outback Art Prize, the 2019 National Still Life Award and the 2019 Rookwood Sculpture Prize.
Belinda Piggott
Belinda Piggott lives and works on the land of the Gadigal and Wangal people. A multidisciplinary artist, her research driven work is informed the tenacity of nature and respect for the interconnectedness of all life forms. The intersection of nature and technology is explored in various bodies of work that reference the urban landscape, seascape and the cosmos.
Community has always played a pivotal role in Piggott's work. Seeking input from peers and inviting collaboration, she embraces diverse perspectives to enrich her practice. This collaborative spirit extends beyond the studio, as she believes in the power of collective action to address pressing global challenges, such climate change.
Solo exhibitions include Constructed Forest, Laneway Art Space, St Kilda 2018, Stilled, Woollahra Gallery 2022 and All that Twinkles, Linden New Art, St Kilda 2023. Her work has been a finalist for art prizes including Waterhouse, Deakin Small Sculpture, Silicious and North Sydney Art Prizes. She is a member of collaborative groups including Entangled, Dirt Witches and Sea Worriers in addition to working with Helen Earl since 2019.
Catchment is on display at the Museum of Art and Culture yapang from Saturday 15 February – Sunday 6 April 2025