The Tamborine Mountain Creative Arts Centre opened its doors to the public for the first time in two years to share the works of some of the mountain’s most talented crafts men and women.
With over 200 members and 16 exhibitors on show the Open Weekend was an enormous success as community members and tourists alike took a step back in time to marvel the exquisite items on display.
Magnificent quilts lined the halls with tables covered in beautiful hand-woven fabrics, exquisite dolls and fabulous wooden carvings; there was even a range of clothing from the 1900s!
Convenor of Tamborine Mountain Creative Arts Open Weekend Dawn Buckberry said the weekend was designed around the concept of “lost skills”.
“We’ve been talking about rejuvenating the open day weekend for the past 2 months so we started chasing our members to get their goods together because we have a tremendous amount of talent here on the mountain,” she said.
The Creative Arts Centre divided the exhibition into three main areas consisting of the main hall which housed a majority of displays and demonstrations, the sales room where visitors had the opportunity to purchase the beautiful works and the pottery area.
Laurie Hawes, who is a member of the Tamborine Mountain Creative Arts Wood Carving group, said the open weekend was a fantastic opportunity for members to share the fruits their labour. “Everybody puts lot of work into their own area of creative arts and it’s great to get them out of cupboard and give them purpose,” he said.
“We really hope people will take enjoyment out of the works and be inspired to take up a craft themselves.”
Vice President of the Tamborine Mountain Creative Arts Sue Morris describes the creative arts community members as being an eclectic group saying “there is no reason for anyone to be lonely.” “We teach you foundation techniques in all the classes, we share our knowledge and support each other as we learn,” she said.
“It’s wonderful for new people who have come to the mountain to be able to engage with members in the classes because they will then find themselves bumping into everyone at the shops and suddenly they are a part of the mountain.”
The Creative Arts Centre is open every day and has a range of morning, afternoon and evening classes. “Every Wednesday is the ‘General Crafts’ day from 9am – 12pm, this is the best time for people to come down, explore the crafts, meet the community and get involved,” said Dawn.
“One of my philosophies is you have to use creativity to live a balanced life. You are never too old, you are still young, you can still learn and best of all we now have the time on our hands to do it.”
by Rhiana Bull
courtesy of the Tamborine Mountain daily star
