The founder of the hugely successful Peter’s Project fundraising campaign, Vicki Jellie, has topped the list of Warrnambool City Council Australia Day awards for 2015 as one of six women awardees.

Vicki has been named Warrnambool’s Australia Day Citizen of the Year in recognition of her work in driving the fundraising campaign for a cancer treatment centre in south-west Victoria.

“It is really lovely to receive this recognition for my work, but this award belongs to all of the Peter’s Project board and to the community – it is really about the community,” Vicki said.

The other winners include Ann Krause, Megan Nicolson and Julie Eagles, each of whom received a Warrnambool Australia Day Local Achiever Award, together with disability advocate Lorraine De Kok, the inaugural president of the Inner Wheel Club of Warrnambool, Kaye Slater, and firefighter and mentor Wayne Rooke.

Young Citizen of the Year is Sam Maloney who was recognised for his mentoring work with young people through 3WAY community radio and Brophy Youth Services.

It is very different picture to 2014, when the council received only two nominations for women and neither were among the winners. (Teenager Olivia Niddrie was Young Citizen of the Year.)

This prompted a concerted effort within some sections of the the community to ensure that more women were among those in contention for an award in 2015.

Bluestone Magazine was among those to nominate Vicki, Ann, Megan and Julie and encouraged our readers to either do the same, or nominate a woman candidate of their choice.

We are thrilled to see such inspiring women formally recognised for their contribution to our community.

Ann Krause was recognised for her incredible work with supporting breast cancer survivors, having been diagnosed with breast cancer herself in 2007.

Ann was one of Bluestone’s Quiet Heroes and, as we have written previously, volunteers for a range of breast cancer support groups.

She is the regional community liaison officer for Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA), a group that ensures women and their families are given the very best support upon diagnosis, and is also the co-ordinator of the Warrnambool Social Breast Cancer Support Group.

Ann was also the instigator of the Warrnambool South C Dragons women’s paddling group and remains its president. This social group is soon to head to its first Tasmanian regatta.

Julie Eagles – who was another of Bluestone’s Quiet Heroes – was recognised for her contribution to the conservation and promotion of local history.

The WCC said Julie has been a “tireless campaigner for many years” toward recognising and preserving the city’s built and social heritage and assisted in critical decision making and planning processes around this heritage.

“As a key player in the Warrnambool Heritage and Planning Group, Julie has helped to protect and preserve our irreplaceable built and social heritage for the enjoyment of the community and for generations to come,” the council said in its media statement.

And, as it so happens, local achiever Megan Nicolson was our very first Quiet Hero, way back in September 2013.

As a long-term member of the F Project artists’ collective, Megan was instrumental in establishing The Artery art space in Timor St, which has not only revitalised the local arts scene, but also a key part of Warrnambool’s CBD.

Megan, an artist, has since played a pivotal – and often exhausting – role in the highly successful Fletcher Jones community picnics and arts markets, held at Pleasant Hill last September and December.

Congratulations to all the award recipients, including the Community Event of the Year, the Rotary Hole-in-One Competition.

The award winners will be officially recognised at a ceremony in the Warrnambool Botanic Gardens on Monday, January 26, from 10.30am.

[dropcap style=”color: #a02f2f;”] I[/dropcap]t is one year exactly since we named Warrnambool artist Megan (‘Megsie’) Nicolson as our very first Quiet Hero and promised to tell you more about her … boy, is she one hard artist to catch!

Like everybody we chat to for Bluestone, Megan was determined to leave the limelight to others, but we are nothing if not persistent, particularly when it comes to someone who has been a quiet but energetic force in reviving the local community arts scene.

It is three years since Megan returned to Warrnambool, where she graduated in Fine Art at Deakin University as a young student straight from her home town of Macarthur, and the reunion between the city and the artist has been one of enriching, mutual benefit.

“When I returned here, I started doing my art again: I was surrounded by artistic people doing amazing things and it was just wonderful,” she says.

It had been a 10-year hiatus from visual art for Megan, not because she didn’t love it, but because the momentum of her earlier years had been lost.

[dropcap style=”color: #a02f2f;”] I[/dropcap]n her student days, working under the guidance of artists such as Bruce Vinall and Ron Quick, Megan developed her talent as an oil painter who loved to work on big portraits and murals. One of her earliest works, a mural with Gareth Colliton, is still at South West Healthcare.

She later completed a teaching degree and worked as a relief art teacher at Hawkesdale High School (her old school) before embarking on a 10-year “tour” with her husband, Lachlan, an ecologist and academic, to various work opportunities in Canberra, Adelaide and Mt Gambier.

While in Canberra, Megan secured a position with the Canberra Museum and Art Gallery which sounds like the dream job for an artist and it was, except for one small problem.

“It was amazing. I got to talk about art all day and to listen to great artists, but I stopped painting,” Megan says.

Why?

“Because after hearing and seeing all of these great artists, I thought ‘gee, I’m no good compared to them’ and I had no confidence.”

[dropcap style=”color: #a02f2f;”] A[/dropcap] crisis of confidence, a lack of a studio space and, eventually, a lack of time from having four children (now aged 3 – 10) kept Megan’s visual art firmly in the background, but she maintained the sewing skills that came with her genes.

“I have always been a good sewer and come from a family of sewers, so that became my creative outlet when I was a Mum. I get bored really quickly, so I needed to be doing something,” she explains.

Megan began to make – and sell online – unique soft toys, known as “softies” or Babbits that are designed to have their ears sucked, their legs pulled, and to be crushed, squashed, washed, and spun around with joy.

All of the materials are recycled, including the filling, and, if you look closely at those she makes today, you might spot pieces of original screen-printed fabrics by Ruby Richardson or Danielle O’Brien, or offcuts from Fletcher Jones and the Warrnambool Woollen Mill.

“When people ask me what I do, I say I am a toy maker,” Megan laughs.

But, of course, this is now only one layer to her creativity.

[dropcap style=”color: #a02f2f;”] M[/dropcap] egan returned to Warrnambool in 2011 to find the art scene emerging from somewhat of a slump. The highly successful The F Project art collective was just establishing itself and Megan became its vice-president for the next three years (she only recently stepped down).

Inspired by the creative energy around her, Megan began to “practice” visual art again and now moves between printmaking, oils, watercolours, textiles and her softies.

“As I say, I get bored really easily and so I keep moving on – I want to try it all!”

Her timing has proven to be perfect.

“They say that cultural activity rises in a politically charged environment and we are seeing that with The Artery, Art Four, what’s happening at the Warrnambool Art Gallery and Scope, etc: that culture is coming to the fore and is being embraced by a footy mad town.

“It’s an exciting time”.

[box] You can see more of Megan’s work on her Facebook page, Pint and at The Artery, 218 Timor St, Warrnambool. One of Megan’s Babbits will be given away as part of our birthday celebration prizes – stay tuned for details via our Facebook page.[/box]

[button link=”http://the-terrier.com.au/subscribe-2/” type=”icon” icon=”heart” newwindow=”yes”] Did you enjoy this story? Please subscribe here to help Bluestone thrive.[/button]

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Silver gems in a jewel by the sea: Lucinda Newton

Reviving classic furniture by hand: Be Seated 

Riding the waves of artistic endeavour: Robbie Williams

Return to school completes art journey: Essie Warmuth

Recycled timber shapes a new life: Sarah Carrucun

The twists and turns of textiles: Ruby Richardson

[box type=”bio”] Fletcher Jones gardens spring picnic celebration is on Sunday, September 14, from 3pm-6pm, with the movie screenings from dusk.[/box]

[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] T [/dropcap]he Fletcher Jones gardens in Warrnambool will play host this month to a spring picnic, market and twilight film screening to celebrate the beginning of a new chapter for the much-loved landmark.

The arts collective, The F Project, which took its name from the late Sir Fletcher Jones, is the driving force behind the community event on Sunday 14 September (3pm-6pm), having gained approval for it to go ahead from the site’s new owner, Dean Montgomery.

September 14 marks 70 years to the day since Fletcher Jones started his first company, FJ Trousers Pty Ltd, with the inaugural meeting of the board of directors. The Pleasant Hill site was bought three years later, when the company morphed into Fletcher Jones and Staff.

The day will include an afternoon picnic and high tea with food stalls and live music, together with a spring market featuring work by artists from The F Project.

Bluestone Magazine will have its very first market stall, with limited edition Bluestone tote bags for sale at $10 each. We will also be selling copies of “Warrnambool – This is Home” and have a free car sticker for each person who drops by to say hello.

A twilight film screening is also planned, starting with Last Man in the Ball, a short film by Julie Eagles/Colleen Hughson, followed by the main feature of Fabric of a Dream, a 55-min documentary about the life of Fletcher Jones.

[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] I [/dropcap]t will be the first time in many years that the Fletcher Jones gardens have been opened up for a large community event and taps into the history of the family Christmas parties held in the gardens each year during the 1960s and 70s.

The fact the event is being held at all is something of a minor miracle, given the bleak outlook for the property up until its sale to Mr Montgomery in May this year.

Since then, preliminary work has started on repairing the iconic silver ball water tower and re-roofing of the buildings and Mr Montgomery has indicated he plans to repaint and restore as much of the original garden furniture and features as possible.

An impromptu opening of the site a fortnight ago, including tours of the derelict factory and sandstone tunnels, gave some indication of how popular the factory remains with locals and ex-pats, with more than 100 people taking the opportunity to see inside.

Factory Arts – housed within the old building – will open their studios for the day to give visitors a glimpse of the changing tide within the complex. There is much to celebrate!

[box]

To follow happenings at the Fletcher Jones site and share memories and images, you can join the We love the Silver Ball and Fletchers Gardens Facebook page here. [/box]

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] M [/dropcap]ost artists don’t make much money. Only a handful can pursue their art full-time, regardless of their talent.

Despite this, many artists remain committed not only to their work, but to encouraging other artists so that, together, they can form a vibrant and resilient community that makes our world so much more interesting.

Megan Nicolson is such a person. The Warrnambool artist makes stunning lino cut prints and a range of quirky soft toys called ‘softies’ (more about those in later editions), and also donates a huge slice of her time and energy to building up the local arts community.

She has been a central figure in the collective, The F Project, and this year organised two successful artists’ markets that helped raise funds toward the establishment of the new Artery art space at 224 Timor St, Warrnambool.

Somewhere in there, Megan also parents four children – two still below school age – with her partner Lachlan. It is this combination of creativity and generosity of spirit that makes some artists so special and this is why Megan Nicolson has been chosen as our first quiet hero.

Bluestone Magazine is donating a voucher for coffee and cake to each of our quiet heroes. This week it will be at Wyton Events and Catering, Warrnambool.

[box type=”bio”] *Do you know somebody in South-West Victoria who is worthy of recognition as a quiet hero? If so, let us know via email – in 200 words or less, plus a photo – and we will consider them for our weekly column. Email us at editor@bluestonemagazine.com.au[/box]