At the end of June, an art installation called Converge was set up in Woodlark Street. The Lismore App wanted to touch base to see what they have been up to and how they like their new setup.

11 artists won the ability to be a part of the project in which a large space was provided for each artist in a showroom/studio style setting to explore their very different aspects of creative pursuits.

Four artists related their experience, showed some of their work, and even some of their work process. However, some pieces are being kept under wraps - in development and not yet ready for the public eye.

Matt O’Brien, an artist who literally paints nature with nature; Michelle Gilroy, a woman exploring her unique space in life; Karenza Ebejer, a video and documentary filmmaker and Aaron McGarry, who creates collages and vibrant outfits that are essentially 3D wearable collages, all share one major commonality - they are revelling in the ability to connect, share and synergise ideas in this unique collaboration.

Another similar aspect was the discussion around momentum. It has taken time to get into the space, acclimatise to new surroundings and new colleagues, and explore the possibilities in this space. Evidence, when you look around, shows progress.  

The artists are engaging with the space and possibilities to push boundaries. Both Matt and Michelle are trying larger canvases than they have ever used. Aaron is looking at getting imagery of his costumes to make “fabulous video creations”. Karenza has some experimental projection ideas in the works.

Each artist has a unique perspective on their time at Converge so far.

“I’m loving the space,” says Michelle, which is larger than her space at home, and she finds the social atmosphere a wonderful bonus, “People are very friendly, very caring, very supportive.”

“I've turned a corner with my art practice and what I was going to do with Converge. I've gone from doing everyday scenes to doing more imaginary, kind of fantasy style almost.”

Michelle has started her next work, which will feature herself watering a dandelion while the dandelion seeds drift off in the wind.  

The transition of her work from a still pose, to mermaid moving freely, to seeds drifting in the wind is evocative of her evolving art.

Michelle describes her latest painting in such different perspectives. Laughing, she describes it as “Me watering a weed in a desolate space,” to “I really like dandelions. Even though they are considered a weed, they are very nutritious. And who doesn’t like blowing them and getting a wish?”

Michelle started her time at Converge in a wheelchair, but is working towards getting on her own two feet. She is getting married later in the year, and would dearly love to walk down the aisle. She was very happy to stand at the easel to share her progress.

(Michelle Gilroy with her new large artwork underway. Her first couple of artworks are to her left, and one other, a Lyrebird, is hanging in the Table of Artisans for sale.)

Karenza says she has already started collaborating with others at Converge. Her space, instead of filled with the components of creating, is simplified, set out to explore the audio visual.

“It's a mental change of gear to come into an art space and just put your creative mind in that space.

“I think having that separation from a home studio has been brilliant. I've loved just coming here to have that collaborative space, to be around other people and just those conversations that happen in that kind of co-working environment.

“I have a couple of different projects in development at the moment, but the one that I'm kind of focusing on is for a cross-cultural collaboration for the Lismore Gallery reopening. It's about endangered species or native plants in this region, the Bundjalung area.”

Karenza has an existing documentary style film which she is adding to, but is also working on another piece.

“I'm going to make a video sculpture for that exhibition as well, which is not narrative or non-literal, but it's more just of an art piece and a meditation on native species.”

Her works will be revealed at the Lismore Art Gallery at a special event once it has reopened.

(Karenza at her creative helm.)

Aarons studio is awash with projects and incredibly vibrant completed pieces. 

“I've been raring for an opportunity to work with other people and have a collective studio space since I left art school. I'm really finding the space in here to be really wonderful.”

Aaron is using the extra space well to spread out and dwell on what he has made.

“You can put a lot more things out to have a look at and work around. As an artist, you put something on a table for a little while and check it out before you sort of throw it out to the world.”

Aaron has been using the space during the day and sometimes at night to get the most out of it.

(Aaron and his favourite artwork of the moment)

Matt’s work is very involved with place. Not only does he document a landscape with his imagery, but he also uses items from the location as his medium of choice. He has been fine-tuning recipes for his paints for a while and has come up with methods to utilise mud, rock, sap and plants he finds on location.

He shares a method of pulverising rock into paint, while discussing the benefits he has found at Converge.

(Matt's rock collection. Matt has developed an eye for spotting what is best to use for paint and shares a little bit of what he has learned, “when sandstone is saturated, it actually behaves like clay, but then goes back to a dry stone.”)

(“I make works about the site, more about environmental connection. So it's trying to approach it with some sort of ethics in mind, about a connection to place. That's a termite nest that's come out of a tree. I can grind that up and make a brown out of that.”) 

(Testing the rocks brittleness. "Normally when I'm installing art, it’s wide, like a timeline or a film strip. I think narratives all the time. Like a book, art has some intense moments, and then it's a little bit more subdued, and there's rest periods.")

(“I use two metal plates from an old woolshed to crush rock." Talking about his plans at Converge, he says, "I'm going to try and do something that's a bit more epic, where I combine my skills and have this big narrative going on.”)

(The rushed rock is put into a container where water and adhesive are added. “I'm not a scientist; I don’t measure because the mediums don't all behave the same. So if I stick to one recipe, it's probably not going to work.")

("Canvas really annoys me. I much prefer paper, because it has a slippery surface and so the medium and the paint is doing the work. Rather than the canvas saying, I want to bite it here and hold it." The art on the easel is a poly-cotton - not as sustainable as Matt would like, but it is a slot smoother than canvas to work with.) 

("With this work, interacting with earth pigment, it never gets old, the work that I do. The pigments come out of the ground, and we love looking at landscapes, they're always going to be harmonious, positive colours.”)

Matt says, “Making is about confidence. If you're not confident walking up to it, you're gonna always question it. And that's going to start making the work look like it's laboured. If you’re not decisive at the time, that just shows up as being uneasy in the work, and then it just becomes a bit flat.”

All the artists are looking forward to the upcoming open day, which is some time in late September (to be announced). They have all said they are excited for this next stage, which will include workshops and interactivity with the public. There is nervousness, also, with one artist commenting that sharing a studio is like sharing a private space.  

To hear that, you know the artists have settled in well. As a community, we look forward to seeing their artwork revealed in September.

Read more about other artists in the story of Conerge's launch, here.