Three years ago, Maggie Deall, Elaine Camlin and Janine Middlemost were creating at home and juggling busy careers, caring responsibilities, and rooms overflowing with up to 20 years’ worth of art and craft supplies.
Now these inspirational artists have their own shops side-by-side in Wagga Wagga’s CBD, and they’re helping other female creators break into the business, with over 33 regional female artists exhibited through Maggie’s Little Yellow House store alone.
Maggie Deall was a Sergeant at Wagga Wagga Police Station when she picked up her paintbrush to help with PTSD, depression, and anxiety.
Working between shifts Maggie soon started to see her paintings sell, so she took the leap that was made possible through NSW Government funding and got started with her own studio space in just five weeks.
A year later she signed a commercial lease and opened her own store where she’s extending a helping hand to others breaking into the sector.
“I feel a great sense of responsibility because a lot of the women who are artists here are mums, and they paint at their dining tables so without this space they wouldn’t have a platform to sell their creative pieces,” Ms Deall said.
Print maker and art therapist Elaine Camlin was operating her business from the road, limiting the size of the projects she could take on and impacting her interactions with clients.
These days Elaine is experimenting with different forms of her art and has a shop called Unique State Art Space that sells supplies that are hard to source locally for people who catch the print-making bug.
“Pretty much anything to do with paper – if I can draw on it, paint on it, print with it – that’s what I would consider my practice, and I have experimented with everything from 3D paper brooches to earrings,” Ms Camlin said.
“Prior to having this physical space, I had been going to different spaces around town with a little trolley that would fit into the back of my car, and when you’re a print maker and art therapist you need a lot of materials and tools, so I was having to adapt processes a lot.”
Fashion up-cycler Janine Middlemost draws her inspiration from fabrics many of us would throw away including old woollen blankets, tea towels, tablecloths, curtains and unfinished craft projects.
One of Janine’s passions is ensuring the handiwork of other rural women lives on and she’s turned quilt-toppers from a deceased estate into dresses and embroidered family heirlooms into living legacies.
“During winter I was collecting beautiful crochet granny blankets that had been thrown out and I cut them up and made jumpers and cute little tops out of them,” Ms Middlemost said.
“I make jackets and dresses out of discarded embroidered tablecloths, and I find it really important to repurpose women’s creative work that’s been tossed out, so I collect it, rescue it and give it a new life, so it can be appreciated by another person.”
While the funding has allowed all three creators to open their own studios and shopfronts, COVID threw up new challenges and with art sales down, the trio pivoted to offering creative experiences for others including painting and print-making lessons, sewing circles and op shop rummages where students are taught how to up-cycle their own garments with a few simple alterations.
“My focus here has always been about community and a safe space, so I would like people to take away a sense of joy,” Ms Deall said.
“If they walk out feeling rejuvenated and like they’ve had a good time, nothing’s been negative and they just feel really positive and really supported, that makes me happy.”
Riverina Arts Executive Officer Tim Kurylowicz says the region is home to an eclectic, evolving and vibrant arts scene full of people with unique skills they can share.
“I think there are huge opportunities in the experience economy – more and more people are looking to participate in workshops and unique experiences that enrich their lives and give people fantastic things to learn and do, and creatives make the best experiences for people,” Mr Kurylowicz said.
“Every single one of them, they didn’t need much, all they needed was a little bit of space and a little bit of support and they’ve turned that into an original, sustainable, creative business.”
After moving away to Canberra to study at university, Elaine Camlin is now a proud ambassador for living and working in regional NSW, and despite the challenges of a smaller market all three creators say the regions are a great place to network and establish a career.
“I moved away from home and studied and didn’t think I ever wanted to be back in Wagga, or back living regionally, but Wagga is a lovely place to have a family and to engage with the community, and I had lots of great opportunities working here and have been able to really see the value in working regionally and the passion that people have,” Ms Camlin said.
The CreateSpace project was supported by $333,150 in funding from the NSW Government, and Eastern Riverina Arts also received an additional $563,282 for the new Ambo Creative Industries Hub where several CreateSpace artists are continuing to work and exhibit.
