Thank you

Bendigo Bank has again been a very generous sponsor of our Open Studio and Exhibition and we are very grateful for their financial support.  Thanks also to Frankston Council who made a contribution to our running costs in return for holding our event in conjunction with its Seniors Month program.

It is a huge job mounting and running an exhibition of this size. It requires tight teamwork and there are many people to thank for their contribution to the success of the weekend, including those exhibiting artists (and in some cases their family members) who volunteered to help in some capacity. We could not run this event without them. Many of our members distributed flyers – physically or via email – and we appreciate your contribution to the all-important job of publicizing our event.

Special thanks to Barb Hawkins and Jan Barbier for coordinating the amazing textile display; to Paula Petersen and Jacqui Simpson who coordinated the hanging of artworks and to Lis DeDeugd who hung the children’s artwork.

Our feature artist this year was Jenni Guilfoyle who delightfully decorated the ‘Tea & Feathers’ café surrounds with her whimsical paintings of tea cups and birds. Jenni and Jann Hill also distributed hundreds of flyers around Frankston and beyond for us. We are grateful and they no doubt are fitter. Thanks also to Jann for letting us use her beautiful ”Iron Bark Series #2” watercolour painting to decorate our 2024 flyer.

Taking in so much art, especially paintings of tea cups, can make you thirsty. Our in-house tea ladies, Carolyn Kill and Faye McCrystal came to the rescue with free cuppas and delicious treats for the visitors and workers.

Over the weekend several of our member artists inspired visitors with fascinating live art demos. Thanks to Nic Kirkman, Rob Meredith, Chris Wright, Su Fishpool, Jacqui Simpson, Sandra Scurrah, Fiona Forward, Liz Turner, Jann Hill, Paula Petersen and Carla Cruikshanks. One visitor was so taken with Chris’s painting of Mornington beach that she bought it on the spot!

PAS Treasurer Liz Clifford, ably assisted by Mu Thien, manned the office throughout the weekend and took care of framed artwork sales.

Our in-house handyman Rob Meredith deserves a special thank you, along with Stan Hawksworth. Rob and Stan spent many hours modifying our art hanging screens, making them lighter, shorter, safer and more mobile, which made them much easier to erect, hang art on, pull down and store. They have also saved PAS a considerable sum of money in screen hire. I’m sure we’ll be thanking them well into the future. Thanks also to Michael Lehey who provided the extra muscle power we needed to get all those screens configured in the best possible way, and to the volunteers who helped dismantle them quickly and efficiently post exhibition.

A lovely addition to the ambience of the studios this year were the magnificent and fragrant flower arrangements created by Shirley Ingram and her daughter, with home-grown roses supplied by Barbara Bosmans and greenery compliments of Larry Gibson. Most appreciated by all.

Last, but certainly not least, thanks to the PAS Committee, who both prepare, coordinate and work hard over the weekend to ensure that visiting our Open Studio and Exhibition is one of the best things you can do on a spring weekend.

Leoni Jenkin, Coordinator