SuniTAFE Art students were treated to a workshop with renowned Victorian printmaker and painter, Anita Laurence.

During the workshop, Anita generously showcased some of her beautiful printed works and shared her intricately cut lino plates with the group before they embarked on their own artworks in response to the ‘The Streets of Your Town’ project brief.

Streets of Your Town looks at the unique streets and laneways, buildings, and landscapes, that represent Mildura. Whether it’s the iconic and picturesque Riverfront, the busy hustle and bustle of Deakin Avenue, the water tower, or even the street you call home, come, and celebrate the beautiful region we all call home.

After the linocuts have been carved, inked, and printed, the aim is to bring together everyone’s idea of what ‘The Streets of Your Town’ means to them creating a larger work that represents all the ideas, people, places, and feelings of what makes Mildura home

Creative Design Education Delivery Manager Sophie Cook Certificate III in Design Fundamentals and CIV in Visual Arts students took up the unique opportunity on Friday, April 29 that gave them an insight into how “what they are doing in class is relevant to what happens in the real world”.

Sophie commented that having an artist of the calibre of Anita Laurence offering her expertise to students provided a huge benefit to their hands-on learning experience.

“It’s not every day we have the calibre of artist come through the door and directly be able to work with students, Anita has been very generous with sharing her skills with the groups,” Ms Cook said.

‘It is so important that students are exposed to practicing artists as they are able to learn skills and techniques unique to each practitioner and also to be inspired.

“They get an opportunity to ask questions directly and get authentic responses along with being able to see how each individual is making it work for them (as an artist).”

The workshop saw students select one of Mildura’s iconic buildings or landmarks to draw in a simplified form – these were then transferred to the lino blocks, ready for cutting.

Students were engaged in the process of reversing their artwork to ensure that it printed the correct way and exploring the different lino cutting tools to generate a variety of effects.

“A large number of students turned out for the workshop and were challenged by the activity and enthused by the idea that it will form a mural that they will potentially get to participate in,” Ms Cook said.

“Although works will differ in production times depending on complexity, you can get an outcome relatively quickly, even though there quite a few steps in the process, so it is really rewarding.

“This project is exciting in that everyone can have a go at making something – even those who don’t think that they are creative.”

The Streets of Your Town project is funded by Mildura City Heart and the artwork completed from various workshops will be collated into a collaborative mural. Students and other contributors from the other workshops will be able to participate in the painting of the mural.

The location and date the mural will be unveiled is still to be determined.