By Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T[/dropcap]he success of The Artery art space in Warrnambool since opening just over two years ago has been nothing short of extraordinary, and it is getting bigger.

The F Project – the volunteer art collective behind The Artery – already manages 30 artist studios, a community gallery space and a retail shop and, before the end of the year, it will take over the five-bedroom, top floor of the Timor St building to accommodate a visiting artists and artists-in-residence program.

As F Project president Dr Emma Charlton explains, the expansion is the next step in a five-year plan to build The Artery into a dedicated arts space that serves local artists and visiting artists, while at the same time building a strong arts presence in the community.

“A large part of The Artery is about getting art out into the community and to develop an appreciation of the arts in our community, and I think we are certainly achieving that,” she says.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] P[/dropcap]rior to leasing the former Guyett’s funeral home at 224 Timor St, the F Project – which started in 2008 –  had a less prominent space upstairs in what was the old Fletcher Jones shop on the corner of Liebig and Koroit streets.

But as vice president Helen Bunyon says, creating a new, street-front premises has been a game-changer.

“It really has created a central contact point for the arts in this community and has taken off like topsy. We always have people dropping in, coming to ask questions, or wanting to become involved,” she says.

Emma adds that The Artery has become a way for new artists who arrive in town to find an immediate audience and creative network.

She gives the example of artist Caroline Healey, originally from the UK, who recently moved to Warrnambool and volunteers as the group’s public relations officer. Largely through her connections with the F Project/Artery, Caroline has already established a following for her work and will soon hold an exhibition.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] A[/dropcap]s it happens, the gallery space – which is hired out to artists and hosts various art events such as the South-West International Women’s Day Art Prize – has a fully booked calendar for 2016.

As such, it has virtually replaced the original intention of the Alan Lane Community Gallery at the Warrnambool Art Gallery.

The 30 studios wax and wane in occupancy and some artists have moved on to set up their own professional studios at places like Factory Arts, in the former Fletcher Jones factory.

There is no doubt, however, that the F Project has become integral to just about every community arts event in Warrnambool.

This includes the Warrnambool City Council’s ‘Hidden Histories’ project that saw 10 different events held in the city’s laneways, to Arts on the Grass, to the murals appearing in laneways, the Fletcher Jones Christmas picnics, the refurbishment of Patloch Lane, numerous arts markets, and even the replacement of the city’s tired Christmas decorations.

But is it too much for a volunteer group?

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] U[/dropcap]nlike the Julia St Creative Space in Portland, The Artery/F Project receives no council funding other than that provided to fulfil specific projects such as the laneways.

Julia St is also volunteer based, but has a part-time Community Arts Officer employed by the Glenelg Shire Council and operates in a council-owned building.

The WCC no longer has a community arts officer, but is reaping the many benefits of having the F Project/Artery fill the gap for free.

Neither Emma or Helen wish to get into the politics of council funding, but Emma acknowledges the dependency on volunteers and says the group plans to apply for an Australia Council grant next year to employ a part-time coordinator.

When I asked how many hours they each devote to the Artery/F Project each week, both Helen and Emma answer “between 10 and 20”, although I know they are being modest.

Both are keen to stress that the workload is shared among many.

“We have people involved who bring a whole range of different skills and, for others, it is a way of developing those skills,” Helen says.

“It is a lot of responsibility,” Emma adds. “But the negatives are far out-weighed by the coolness.”

[box]The Artery is at 224 Timor St, Warrnambool and is open from Wed-Sun 10am to 4pm. The retail area sells works by local artists. The current exhibition is Small Gems, the F Project Members Christmas Show, until 3 January. You can find The Artery on Facebook here. P: (03) 55 62 1109 [/box]

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[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] S [/dropcap]uch was the popularity of the inaugural Fabrication fundraiser for The Artery in Warrnambool last year that the challenge is on again.

When the Fletcher Jones factory closed in Warrnambool nine years ago, a group of local artists salvaged bags and bags of off-cut material that had been left on the factory floor or tossed in a skip-bin ready for the tip.

Those bags of material filled an entire garage, but what to do with it?

The Artery president Emma Charlton said a group of founding members of the arts group, the F Project – named in honour of Sir Fletcher Jones and which now runs The Artery – wanted to “harness the creative vision of Fletcher Jones, particularly in the face of the demise of an industry that had long-defined Warrnambool”.

They decided to invite creative people to buy some of the original Fletcher Jones fabric and create something new that could then be auctioned.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] T[/dropcap]he first Fabrication: Flaunting Fletcher raised $5000 and helped fund new lighting in the gallery space.

The remaining material had been stored in the garage of an F Project member until a month ago, when volunteers again moved it.

“Ten people, five cars, two trailers, five hours, and one emergency doctor’s visit later, and the job was done. There was a lot of dust, and such a lot of material,” Emma said.

(The emergency doctor’s visit was a result of textile artist Ruby Richardson treading on an errant pin, which saw her shipped off to get a tetanus shot during the massive move!)

Fabrication II is shaping up to be even bigger than last year, with rumours circulating that an edgy fashion designer who has local connections is considering making an outfit for the new owner of the Fletcher Jones site, Dean Montgomery.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] T[/dropcap]he challenge is now on for artists to buy a random box of mixed material and make it into something new.

“This time it’s bigger, and people might like to take on the challenge with a few others, or as a family,” Emma said.

The material is unwashed, and is predominantly in muted tones, although all the boxes have surprises in them, she said.

The idea is to create anything including fashion, homewares, wearable art, 2D and 3D art works, textiles, furniture or anything else that takes hold in the creative imagination.

[box]A random box of material costs $20; entry to the auction is $5. Boxes can be collected on Saturday and Sunday May 23 and 24, 10am-2pm, from 27 Barkly St, Warrnambool, or email f4u@fproject.org.au to arrange another time. Entries need to be dropped at The Artery on Sunday Sept 13. They will be exhibited and auctioned at the Artery on Saturday Sept 19 from 6pm. For an entry form, email f4u@fproject.org.au[/box]

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Words: Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] R[/dropcap]are images of the Fletcher Jones silver ball water tower have emerged from the private collection of engineer Ralph Jones who designed and supervised the construction.

Bluestone Magazine has been privileged to gain access to the images courtesy of the Melbourne University Archives which has been archiving the story behind the iconic silver ball as part of the Ralph Jones Engineering Services collection.

See all of the images here.

MUV archivist Melinda Barrie said the collection – donated by Mr Jones, who is now aged in his late 80s and living in Melbourne – included detailed documents and correspondence from 1965-1967 when the silver ball was being built.

It also includes Mr Jones’s submission to the 1975 Association of Consulting Engineers Australia -Engineering Awards, where his firm hoped to win a prize for the silver ball that, as far as we know, is without peer in Australia. (Unfortunately, the ball missed out on an award).

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] T[/dropcap]he documents reveal that Mr Jones’s inspiration for the ball’s design came from US advertisements for water towers made by the Pittsburgh-Des Moine Steel Company, one of which included tripod legs.

The unique design was also borne of necessity because of the “poor mains water pressure” on the east side of Warrnambool at the time, Mr Jones wrote in his submission.

It also had to take into account potential earthquakes – given that the Fletcher Jones factory was in the middle of an area that in 1903 experienced two of the worst earthquakes in modern Australian history – and was built to withstand “moderate” earthquake loading.

With the Ralph Jones Engineering Collection ready to view at MUA, Melinda and her team are now turning their attention to a significant collection of photographs, documents, personal items and archival films donated by the family of Sir Fletcher.

The collection includes more than 3000 photographs – including many from the Warrnambool factory in the 70s, 80s and 90s – all of which will be cleaned and then 300 selected for digitalisation.

Melinda described the contemporary Fletcher Jones story as a vital part of documenting Victoria’s manufacturing industry.

“We view it as very important, as it celebrates the narrative of manufacturing and retail in Victoria…and so many of those stories have been lost,” she said.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”]M[/dropcap]eanwhile, in Warrnambool, moves are afoot to start documenting the local, personal stories around Fletcher Jones and Pleasant Hill.

A steering committee has come together with representatives from the Save the Silver Ball and Fletchers Gardens group, the Warrnambool Planning and Heritage Group, the Warrnambool Historical Society and the F Project, with MUA also helping out.

The group has already secured $5000 from the Gwen and Edna Jones Foundation (no relation to Fletcher), which will be used to record those stories considered a top priority because of people’s age or health.

“The next step for us is to sit down and determine who these people are and to capture those stories now,” said group convenor Julie Eagles.

The committee has applied for a further $15,000 from the Public Records Office of Victoria for a much broader project similar to the Silver Ball Screening Festival, where workshops are held to help people record their own FJ story, or that of someone they know.

“There is still such a strong connection between Warrnambool and the Fletcher Jones site, both as part of Warrnambool’s history and part of our individual histories,” Julie said.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”]T[/dropcap]he individual projects of MUA and the local group may eventually lead to a collaborative exhibition or something similar in Warrnambool.

“Most of the people behind these great manufacturing stories want to see their stories out there and their work out there,” Melinda said.

“It is also part of our mandate here at MUA to make our collections accessible to the people, otherwise, what is the point?”

Melinda said the combination of the Ralph Jones collection, the personal collection from Sir Fletcher’s family and the work of the local steering committee would create a “well rounded archive” on one of Australia’s iconic businesses.

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[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]he extraordinary team behind the F Project has again come together to organise a Christmas picnic in the Warrnambool Fletcher Jones factory gardens – the likes of which has not been seen for years.

The garden party on Sunday December 14 follows the hugely successful spring picnic, which attracted more than 1500 people and coincided with the 70th anniversary of Fletcher Jones becoming a company.

This time, the party revives the annual tradition of a family Christmas party at Pleasant Hill for Fletcher Jones staff: a tradition which ended with the sale of Fletcher Jones in the late 90s.

The F Project president Dr Emma Charlton said while the group had been running markets for a few years now, the renewed focus on the FJ gardens in 2014 made it the perfect time to join forces with Bluestone Magazine, Save the Silver Ball and f project cinema to celebrate so many achievements.

“The event in September blew all of our expectations out of the water – the music, the markets, the people, the excitement. This second market builds on the September celebration in a bunch of ways: more market stalls, more food, more musicians,” Emma said.

“Not being from Warrnambool, the garden events seemed to me like a thing of legends, and to be a part of something that brings people on mass back into the Fletcher Jones gardens is more than special!”

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]he garden party will run from 11am to 3pm and include live music, food stalls, a fashion parade, an F Project summer artists’ market and, of course, a surprise guest who may have a long white beard and a penchant for red suits.

There will also be a hanging garden installation by Art 4, together with a screening of a short films and a session of Arts on the Grass, where artists produce a work on the spot.

Among the artist stalls will be Warrnambool sculptor, painter and illustrator Damian “Macca” McDonald who will be joined by his daughter, Minapre, 14.

“I was really *%#*^&! that I was away and missed the last picnic, so this time I am really looking forward to being part of it: to getting my work out there, and being part of the terrific atmosphere in these magnificent gardens,” Damian said.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] D [/dropcap]amian will have a selection of his sea-inspired redgum sculptures for sale, together with a range of new drawings (you can read more about Damian’s work in our earlier story here and find him on the web here).

And while Damian is a seasoned artist, it is Minapre’s first outing with her own work. She is not quite sure how to describe it, but after some discussion we all settle on “henna inspired” drawings.

“They are like the sort of designs you can get done as henna tattoos,” she explains.

The community picnics have the full support of the new owner of the Fletcher Jones site, Dean Montgomery, who has been preparing his own surprises for the event.

One is to have the factory facade – hopefully – repainted in brilliant white by December 14 and the return of the illuminated cross that once graced the top of the silver ball – it won’t be on the ball, but a new garden installation.

[box]The Fletcher Jones Christmas Garden Party is on Sunday, December 14 from 11am – 3pm. Free entry. You can follow the F Project via The Artery page on Facebook here and keep up with progress on the Fletcher Jones site via the Save the Silver Ball Facebook page here. [/box]

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[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color:#A02F2F;”] A [/dropcap] miniature, but otherwise almost perfect replica of the iconic Fletcher Jones Silver Ball in Warrnambool is poised to be brought out of storage and re-assembled for the first time in almost nine years.

The three-metre tall replica was built in 2005 as part of an interactive art project managed by the Melbourne-based arts company, Experimenta, and funded through a $34,000 grant from the then Bracks State Government.

Experimenta worked over three months with local artists, community groups and young film makers to create the silver ball installation, which was unveiled during a weekend event staged at the back of the Fletcher Jones factory, off Lava St.

At that time, three flaps on the side of the ball dropped down to reveal television sets (of the old-fashioned, big-bummed variety) that broadcast a series of short films made by the young film makers about the Fletcher Jones story and site.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]he ball has not been seen in public since and is now stored in a farm shed at Wangoom under the watchful eye of artist, machine operator and welder Murray “Muzz” Adams who was one of the artists involved in its creation. The other artists included Tamara Sharp, Kate Gage, Carolyn Rundell and Nathan Nicholson.

“It is a fully engineered piece of work with a fibreglass skin fitted over a steel framework,” Murray explained.

Just like the real Silver Ball water tower, the miniature version was built to withstand Warrnambool’s famous winds (up to 90kph, at least) and the three orange, steel legs form a sturdy tripod inside the sphere to ensure it will never topple off its perch and roll away.

“It really is quite durable and can take a bit of a beating,” Murray said.

Plans are afoot to re-assemble the ball, which is currently detached from its legs and base, for the F-Project Cinema’s Silver Ball Screening Project scheduled for early May.

“We are planning to locate it at the back of the post office, in the carpark end of Ozone Walk,” said F-Project President Emma Charlton.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color:#A02F2F”] T [/dropcap]he replica ball will again be used to screen films made by locals, although the obsolete TV sets will be replaced by more modern technology. It is also hoped to revive an another part of the original installation, which saw a person either pedal a bicycle or operate a manual sewing machine to provide power for the flaps to open and reveal the screens.

“We won’t know what is to be screened in the ball until (the films) are submitted at the end of March, but we’re also thinking of reviving the films which were initially made as a part of this previous project,” Emma said.

The theme of the Silver Ball Screening Festival is ‘Keeping the ball in the air’ and has already inspired some quirky interpretations.

Some of the ideas, Emma said, included animated bugs collecting the silver ball, a documentary about social services in Warrnambool (therefore keeping the metaphorical ball in the air), and a narrative including the water tower tumbling down Lava St in an Indiana Jones-style action film (god forbid!).

[box type=”bio”] The Silver Ball Screening Project on May 9-10 is part of the Hidden Histories Laneway Festival, and is supported by the F Project, Regional Arts Victoria, Warrnambool City Council and Warrnambool Art Gallery. Bluestone Magazine is part of a grassroots movement to save the best of the Fletcher Jones factory site and gardens from being lost through neglect. You can read more about the campaign here and join the Facebook group here.[/box]
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