It takes a village to raise an artist
Opening on Friday the 9th of June 2017,
5pm for 5.30pm,
the Serpentine Community Gallery is pleased
to host the multi-generational group exhibition
'It takes a village to raise an artist.'
Everyone is welcome
to attend the opening celebration.
Light refreshments will be available.
Showcasing the works of four unique artists
Ochre Doyle,
Mika Burnet
and Kerrie Divett -
who share a passion
for the process of art making
as an essential element
in constructing a narrative
that echoes and makes sense
of their individual lives,
'It takes a village to raise an artist'
will be on view until
the 21st of June.
'Hidden Healer'
print and mixed media
by Ochre Doyle
As a person living with a cancer diagnosis,
Lismore-based artist Kerrie Divett adds,
"Time in my studio helped me to feel normal, to be more myself;
a place where I could sort thoughts, feelings and facts;
a retreat from the fear, and a place to process that fear.
These works have been created as a dialogue with myself
at a time when everything seemed out of my control.
 Paper has been a good friend,
absorbing the layers of process, transforming my fear
as I changed mediums, my exploration of pink, my enjoyment
of markmaking, the fragility of a line, and attempting
to understand the grey areas. Diagnosis comes with words.
There are stages and steps of understanding,
and of information, and then there is intuition."
'Lismore Flood 2'
chalk pastel and watercolour
Poppi McCarthy
And then we have the youngest of our exhibiting group,
8-year-old Mika Burnet who is exhibiting for the first time,
 "to get used to what it is like".
Mika has grown up in the Lismore art community
and has been asking for a long time
"when am I going to have my exhibition?"
 She works with a mixture of mediums
because Mika just loves to make art.
Like much of our town, the gallery 'went under' during the
recent Lismore flood, and like much of our town we then experienced
 its very best as our landlords, our volunteers and unknown members
of our local community pulled together to get us back up and running.
How many of us are now feeling, thanks to the big hearts and
get-in-and-give-a-hand attitudes of our fellow Lismorians,
is encapsulated in the very apt title of our
2nd post-flood show "It takes a village to raise an artist".
For the exhibiting artists the need, the urge to
create artifacts has simply become part of their everyday lives.
Commenting on her body of work, the 'elder' of the group,
Ochre Doyle says, "In my life, art has at times been an expression of emotions. This small series of work explores loss both personal
and communal. At times even within loss and its healing
we find unexpected precious gifts and strengths."
'Determination'
from the series Lomandra Healing
lomandra grass, cotton thread and pen on paper
by Kerrie Divett
Emerging artist Poppi McCarthey's artworks are a story
of her daily life, her relationships with her family, her friends,
her love of her dogs, the weather and gardening.
In between a busy lifestyle as a young Lismore adult
living within her community, Poppi works in her studio,
exploring acrylic paints and watercolours.
Poppi has produced a recent body of works that are
a vibrant fresh interpretation of her world.
'Heart and Home 1 & 2'
acrylic on canvas
by Mika Burnet
'Arch Angel'
print and mixed media
by Ochre Doyle
'Within the Flotsam'
print and mixed media
by Ochre Doyle
'Mermaid Mystery'
print and mixed media
by Ochre Doyle
'Rapunzel Rapunzel let down your fear'
mixed media
by Kerrie Divett
'Pathology Results'
mixed media
by Kerrie Divett
'If Chemo were a colour it would be grey'
mixed media
by Kerrie Divett
'Family Healing'
mixed media
by Kerrie Divett
'My Team Gathers After Surgery'
mixed media
by Kerrie Divett
'Blood Vessel'
'Fragility'
lomandra grass, cotton thread and pen on paper works
from the series Lomandra Healing
by Kerrie Divett
'I've lived my life in windows of wellness'
mixed media
by Kerrie Divett
'Aminos Stacked'
mixed media
by Kerrie Divett
'Chemo Ward'
mixed media
by Kerrie Divett
'Lymph'
'Thirteen Nodes'
'Recurrence'
'Hope'
lomandra grass, cotton thread and pen on paper works
from the series Lomandra Healing
by Kerrie Divett
detail from mixed media works by Kerrie Divett
'Love'
chalk pastel and watercolour
by Poppi McCarthy
'Dancing'
acrylic on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
untitled
acrylic on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
'Poppi's Dog Jumping'
acrylic on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
'Waterhole - Hot Day
acrylic on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
'Night/Morning'
watercolour
by Poppi McCarthy
'Storm Clouds'
watercolour
by Poppi McCarthy
'Poppi's Dogs'
acrylic and gouache on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
'Birthday Garden Party'
acrylic on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
'Lismore Flood'
chalk pastel and watercolour
by Poppi McCarthy
'Cockatoo'
watercolour
by Poppi McCarthy
'Rain Storm'
acrylic on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
'Hot Summer'
acrylic and gouache on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
'Summertime - Hot Day'
acrylic on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
'My Room - Hot Day'
acrylic on canvas
by Poppi McCarthy
Mika with her artworks and friend Nikita
'Mika's Love'
paper, cotton thread and pen
by Mika Burnet
'It Rained A Lot'
acrylic on paper
by Mika Burnet
'We had a big flood'
acrylic and pen on paper (pre-pen detail right)
by Mika Burnet
'Heart and Home 1'
'Heart and Home 2'
'Gardening 1'
'Gardening 2'
acrylic on canvas artworks by Mika Burnet
The opening celebration
The exhibiting artists at the opening celebration: Mika and Poppi pose proudly with some of their artworks,
Kerrie is pictured with grandson William and daughter Kali, and Ochre (seated) with friends Anne, Tarlai & Zeb.
Aided by the new owner, an
excited Mika places a 'red dot'
on her artwork 'It Rained A Lot'.
Music by guitarist Paul Schulz
Delicious light refreshments by
the artists and our 'village'.
14 June 2017: while viewing Kerrie Divett's
 "It takes a village to raise an artist" artworks,
fellow artist Corine Batt-Rawden reminisces with Kerrie
about their joint 2011 exhibition Modus Vivendi.
