MULTIMEDIA artist Denise van Horen is in residency at the Broken Hill Art Exchange this week, working on a macrame project from the living room of the Grand Hotel.
Van Horen is visiting from her home of Blackheath in the Blue Mountains, and will be running a workshop on Sunday to teach macrame to those interested in the craft.
She said though she’s been to the region previously, it’s her first time coming with the intention of artmaking.
“I applied to do macrame here and macrame workshops, because I have many different mediums but this was the easiest because you don’t really need anything except string and you can always find a stick to hang it from,” she said.
Among her other mediums, Van Horen makes jewellery, sculptures, mobiles and more, and said she uses what other people might see as junk in lots of her projects.
“Sculptures made from barbed wire and recycled things,” she said. “Lots of upcycling!”
Van Horen said the piece she’s been working on at the Grand is inspired by the Darling-Baaka River.
“This piece I’m working on is going to be the Darling River,” she said.
“Looking at pictures, it’s so winding, and I’d been following the water coming down from Queensland.”
Van Horen said she’s been making macrame since the 1980s.
“It’s very meditative for me,” she said.
Her larger project to complete while staying with the Art Exchange is to macrame the seat of some chairs she found on the roadside.
“They’re hardwood chairs and I sanded them back, and I want to macrame them where the canvas goes,” she said.
“Then I’m going to take them out to places like Silverton and Menindee and take photos of them.”
She’ll be hosting a macrame workshop at the Broken Hill Art Exchange lounge room from 10am until 2pm this Sunday, which includes all materials.
The workshop is $40 for members of the Art Exchange, or $55 for non members.
Registration to attend can be submitted via the website:https://www.brokenhillartexchange.org.au/workshops/macrame-workshop
