Melody Woodnut took a free Jugglers studio at Norman Park in March as part of the 103 Project Experiment. She is used to ARI’s and travelling and making do and creating wonderful things out of her endless creative energies and imagination. She has put down her roots in  Iceland as an artist in res too. She has experienced art for free and the limitations of doing art for the people [no charge folks!] and wonders at the corporate world’s paradigm of controlling people’s harmless art that impacts on the AFL Grand Final parade. Not that people care. It is the footy after all! Ai Wei Wei might have some sympathy for her but as yet she has only had herself stuck to the wall not stuck in a cell!

Melody Woodnut took a free Jugglers studio at Norman Park in March as part of the 103 Project Experiment. She is used to ARI’s and travelling and making do and creating wonderful things out of her endless creative energies and imagination. She has put down her roots in  Iceland as an artist in res too. She has experienced art for free and the limitations of doing art for the people [no charge folks!] and wonders at the corporate world’s paradigm of controlling people’s harmless art that impacts on the AFL Grand Final parade. Not that people care. It is the footy after all! Ai Wei Wei might have some sympathy for her but as yet she has only had herself stuck to the wall not stuck in a cell!

On a rainy January morning, jaded and sore from a big wet two days at Sunset Sounds, I woke early to meet a guy about the possibility of having a show at Jugglers. I stood out the front of the gallery, the water spilling over the gutters and gushing down the footpath. A man arrived and introduced himself as Peter, the owner of the space.

e just completed three weeks at the Jugglers Norman Park Studios and found it a very rewarding experience. I enjoyed working with the talented Mr Anthony l Walker and found the actual studio space quite pleasant and inspirational to create in. This is a unique opportunity and came at just the right time for me.

I primarily work in pastels and oils, usually doing figurative and portraiture painting. One of the oldest forms of art is the creation of lifelike images from coloured pigment and portraiture is a prominent means of doing this, it is a form of art I really enjoy. I find that the energy and scope of a good working studio is very important to the process.

“Here are the keys”. I couldn’t believe how easy and pleasant it was to have my own studio space for three weeks. No expectations, no rules. Just free art. With this sense of freedom I entered the space with no clear plans. I had $20 to my name and decided to save that for lunch rather than spend my dying dollars on props or hire equipment for once. I wanted the environment to inspire ideas and shape a project. And that it did.