Cathy Staughton

The first of four Luna Parks in Australia, Melbourne’s amusement park, was opened one hundred years ago this December. Showman J D Williams developed Luna Park with the three Phillips brothers (from Washington State, USA). The park opened with great success and has remained popular since.

Cathy has had a life long fascination with Luna Park. You learn that pretty quickly when you get to talking with her. Luna Park is not just a place to Cathy grew up with. The amusement park is a place that has grown to hold and embody Cathy’s passions, dreams and rich fantasy life.

Cathy with one of her paintings for The Great un Reveal

There is a carousel in Washington, that same state the Philip’s brothers hailed from, that we three sisters grew up riding. As we spun around on it during the endless summers, it began to twine together our family memories and stories. Like Cathy, our love of theme parks is born in their ability to metaphorically hold life’s joys, excitement, fears and mysteries.

Cathy and Esther after a long day of painting!

Which leads me to speak of Finucane & Smith’s Carnival of Mysteries premiered in the 2010 Melbourne Arts Festival. Two years ago, we were working on the production designers for the shows set. It was with great excitement that Moira Finucane and Jackie Smith selected Cathy to paint one of the panels for their Tent of Miracles. We were over joyed at the selection because it was the perfect meeting of creative minds.

When we began working on this project we were all well aware that it was the centenary anniversary of Luna Park. And I don’t mind telling you our dear readers that we were delighted with the coincidences of the three American siblings from Washington! It has been great fodder for our imaginations. We’ve even began dreaming that Cathy is the great showman those three brothers joined up with. And in doing so we created ‘Our little Luna’.

Come visit the gallery TODAY for the opening of The Great un Reveal! 

Adrian Lazzaro

Adrian Lazzaro’s artworks are expressive, with intense line work. Adrian draws beautifully. His subject matter is inspired by supenatural beings. Vampires, zombies, wrestlers, werewolves and otherworldly creatures are sensitively brought to life under Adrian’s deft hand.

Adrian Lazzaro, The haunted mask,  2011, dry point
Image courtesy of Arts Project Australia

Adrian's work reveals a deep engagement with what it means to be human. This was exemplified when Adrian's figurative works were included in the exhibition ‘Revealing the human’, curated by Professor Colin Rhodes. That great exhibition was accompanied by a fantastic symposium on art, intellectual disability and the role of the specialist studio.

Adrian was asked to speak at the Revealing the Human symposium. With playful language, aliteration and humour Adrian spoke of his own human nature and of his artistic ability as supernatural.

Artsworkers Christina Hayes & Bernadette Trench-Tiedemann
in coversation with artists Adrian Lazzaro and Jodie Noble

What followed, over the last three years, has been an ongoing discussion of what it is like to be supernatural in an every day sense... Because Adrian' family, like ours, has an affinity with the sea we talked a lot about that as well. Adrian wrote down for us a fishing tale told to him by his dad. It reminded us of stories of Selkies told to us by our father who is a former sailor.

For those who don't know, Selkies are supernatural creatures who are seals that can shed their skins and take on a human form on land. Since seals are one of Adrian's favourite animals and are potentially supernatural humans it didn't take long for us all to head to the Melbourne Zoo and undertake some research.

Esther, Adrian and Rebecca sketching away

The Deep Sea Seals were perfect life models

Waving to Christina behind the camera

Adrian with the immortal seals at Melbourne Zoo

Rebecca Scibilia

For Downton Abbey fans everywhere we have some pretty awesome news…. the show is a major feature in Rebecca Scibilia’s new work with us. Exciting right?

We undertook some intensive research in the form of a daylong Downton Abbey MARATHON at our house. It was pretty awesome, all the cares of the week slipped away as we discussed and argued about the exact titles of each character. It can be a bit complicated remembering who is a Lady, a Corporal, first footman or a Duke.  You do not want to get things confused. As Mr. Carson says, there is nothing much worse ‘than a maid serving a Duke’.

More "research" with Rebecca in the Sisters Hayes Studio

When it comes to exciting escapism, there is nothing like a period costume drama. And Downton Abbey is epic escapism.

For those of you who do not know, the show Downton Abbey is set during the dying end of the Edwardian era, in a fictional Yorksire county estate. The aristocratic Crawley family and their servants are at the centre of the drama as the great historical events; such as the sinking of the Titanic, The First World War and Women’s Suffrage roar past.

Mansions, silver service garden parties & summer linens, what's not to love?

The Downton Abbey crew.

Three sisters.... we can relate

Poor Mary, most likely exhausted from her fifth costume change of the day.

Oh, Edith.

Rebecca's favourite character, Nurse Sybil Crawley

Another casual dinner in Downton Abbey

Rebecca and TSH believe that for the costumes alone, this show is irresistible viewing. And if that doesn't convince you, two words: Maggie Smith.

Rebecca’s work is drawn from what she loves. Book covers, DVD covers and celebrity magazines all provide ample imagery and text for her paintings. We are pretty excited to be making this work from our shared love and looking forward to sharing it with you all very shortly.