About Us

Introducing Our Wonderful Workshop Tutors!

Pine Street Creative Arts Centre has a diverse panel of professional artists with substantial experience in specific art practices, as well as backgrounds in teaching and working with different communities.

Rebecca Baird

Printmaking

Graduated from Sydney College of the Arts in 1989 with a BA in Visual Arts majoring in Printmaking and Painting. I pursued my teacher training in Rudolf Steiner education based on the philosophy of Anthroposophy. This is a holistic approach, which focuses on the development of ages and stages of the child and the importance of creativity in education. Whilst studying I worked at Warringah print making studio as a teacher of non-toxic and traditional printmaking techniques.

As a tutor of printmaking and painting, I encourage my students to explore their talents as artists using an experimental approach to produce their own work. I have exhibited in group and solo shows and completed commissioned works for both corporate and private institutions.

I am currently studying ceramics working in wheel forming and glaze.

Dianne Turner

Ceramics

Dianne has spent many years working for local government and non profit organisations, in community cultural development and as an arts manager. She has worked with a broad range of communities in Sydney, and regional NSW.

After achieving her Studio Ceramics & Advanced Certificates in Clay and Glaze Technology from Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE, Di’s further education includes a BA in Community Management and a Graduate Certificate in Arts Management from the University of Technology, Sydney.

Dianne is an experienced arts teacher and has a knowledge of many forms of art practise. She continues to engage in creating artwork , exhibiting , supporting community initiates , and advocating for artist- run spaces and facilities.

“My teaching style focuses on techniques that work , while encouraging individuals to enjoy using clay, colour and design to ignite their creativity and passion.”

Vanessa Owens

Ceramics

BFA (ceramics) National Art School NSW 2001
Dip (Fine Arts) Claremont School of Art WA 1997
Cert (Studio Ceramics) Randwick TAFE NSW 1993

Vanessa Owens has been working as a community and practising artist for over 8 years. Fields of expertise include tutoring adults, children and community outreach programs.

With a strong interest in site-specific art works, Vanessa has also taken part in many community art events including the Art Traffic Signal Box Project, Love your Lane, and Harmony day exhibitions.

As a Ceramist she continues her practice and has participated in various exhibitions within Sydney and abroad. She is experienced in both hand building and wheel throwing ceramics. Primarily working in porcelain Vanessa enjoys using the “historical and traditional material in a contemporary context”.

Lukasz Lasota

Silver Jewellery

Lucasz Lasota has a Bachelor of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, majoring in Jewellery and Object Design. He has also studied at the Emnore Design Centre through Tafe NSW.

Lucasz loves to design and make jewellery for personal adornment and is particularly interested in fostering the development of a men’s jewellery market. He enjoys teaching essential skills in jewellery making.

Jane Caveney

Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Mixed Media

What defines reality as we understand it is the physical presence of
an object, its height, its breadth, and width. The object also is defined by where it isn’t. In other words it’s the space around reality, which grants to reality its validity. When one looks at a tree one sees the branches and leaves. So as one concentrates on the sky around the tree, it is the place where the tree is not that allows one to define precisely where the tree is.

I have a BVA from Newcastle College of Advance Education in 1986 and Master of Art from the College of Fine Arts, Sydney in 1993. I have also been an exhibiting artist for 15 years in Sydney and NSW. I have created and run youth workshops, art classes and community educational projects, using art, environmental sustainability and recycling as the major themes. For many years I have enjoyed working with the Mascon festival from running workshops to designing posters.

WART

Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Mixed Media

Tangents moments………mark makers; stories; compulsion to change the dynamic…..

sounds emerge as paint…

paint changes shape then still

People experiencing extraordinary realities …peers..

Timing …time….. relationships…. minds in motion….talking….untamed belly

Movement passed.. looking.making thinking..think.

Scraping pushing meaning….time timing….when is it your daytime…timing…time

Lets keep the fridge full !

Express…feel ….

Thoughts create …go deep and larf !

Peter Dwyer

Fashion, Ceramics, Mixed Media

BOne of Pine Street's multi-talented tutors, Peter began his career in design by studying Fine Art in all forms, majoring in painting, drawing and ceramics but always with a flamboyant and theatrical style. At 21, Peter accepted a position as Artist in Residence at the Qld University of Technology, and then as a lecturer at Griffith University. Peter was also awarded grants from the Australia Council for the Arts and Arts Queensland.

After a stint as costume and set designer for the contemporary dance season of the Southern Ballet Company in New Zealand, Peter developed a taste for fashion. One year of intensive patternmaking and construction at TAFE Qld and three year's fashion design study at East Sydney Tech enabled Peter to combine his experience in fine art and love of tailoring. He created his first collection and presented it at the illustrious Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in 2000.

Upon Graduating from East Sydney, he began working with Nicola Finetti and then Carla Zampatti in the coveted roles of design assistant, which gave him a great insight into the business side of the industry. Peter was appointed as head of the Fashion Department at the KVB Institute of Technology for four years, which lead on to his current position as head of the Styling Department for the Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney and Melbourne, where he has designed and now directs Australia’s first degree in Styling and Creative Direction. Peter is a man to watch, and we look forward to seeing many more tantalising designs in the near future!

Evan Wills

Ceramics

B.V.A, G.D.V.A
Evan graduated from Sydney College of the Arts with a Bachelor of
Visual Arts majoring in Ceramics in 1993 and then again with a Graduate Diploma in Visual Arts in 1995, also with a Ceramics major. He worked as assistant to Japanese/Australian ceramacist, Mitsuo Shoji, for five years and taught ceramics at Strathfield Regional Community College for ten years.

Evan has exhibited functional, sculptural and installation based ceramics as well as drawing, digital art and furniture in over 30 exhibitions in the last 15 years. He is keenly interested in creative expression through form and function and helping people learn to create and express themselves through ceramics.

Susan Baran

Printmaking

Susan studied at the National Art School majoring in printmaking and did Post Graduate studies at City Art Institute (now COFA) and then further studied at Sydney College of the Arts. She is a member of Sydney Printmakers, Warringah Printmakers and Primrose Paper Arts. She exhibits her work regularly in Australia and overseas with both printmaking and artist books.

Jemima Garven

Drawing, Mixed Media

Jemima holds a BT/BA (Visual Arts) and has worked in education for over seven years. Initially trained as a Visual Arts Teacher, she has taught in public, private and catholic education and is now focusing on community arts. Since leaving full time teaching she has worked in community cultural arts and heritage sectors in NSW and QLD as well as commercial and public artspaces. She has many interests ranging across arts and design, with a current focus on theatre design and production.

Rhonda Balzan Bastow

Painting, Drawing, Mixed Media

Rhonda completed a BA in Visual Art at Sydney College of the Arts in 1985, majoring in Painting. She later completed a BEd (Adults) in 2004 and has worked as a teacher/trainer for many years with many different groups in the community, always maintaining her art practice, however modest at times. Working through her community volunteering, Rhonda has used her artistic ability and the medium of creative expression to create performances and work with Maltese Australian community groups in theatre and dance.

Rhonda has worked at senior levels in education and community sector poilicy roles but has returned to grass roots community work in the last few years, including a community centre program in Inner West Sydney and teaching Welfare Studies at TAFE. Since marrying in 2007, she has enjoyed more time painting and drawing and enjoys encouraging and helping to develop the creative skills in others. Rhonda is very happy to be working with Pine Street Creative Arts Centre and Sydney City Council, where she grew up.

Chris Tamm

Photography, Stencil and Street Art

BA with Hons
Chris Tamm is an award winning photographer and youth publisher with 20 years experience in political and street art campagns. Chris has done work for organisations such as Amnesty, Greenpeace, Unions and YWCA as well as comic studios working with titles such as Batman and Lost in Space.

He has managed multiple festivals and curated hundreds of art events. Chris is a firm believer that art is an activity not a thing and enjoys coaching people from all walks of life to make their own art.

Jessica McGowan

Silver Jewellery, Puppetry, Mixed Media

Jes is a practicing art maker, puppeteer and community worker. She has trained at College of Fine Arts (UNSW bachelor of Design/art education) and overseas in Both Indonesia (ISI, diploma of traditional shadow puppetry) and the USA (Bread and Puppet, Apprenticeship of Puppetry).

Jess is focused on accessible community arts and facilitating any person interested in creative persuits to develop their skillbase and confidence.

Kath Ellis

Mixed Media

Profile to come

Aggie

Mixed Media

Profile to come

Alida Cappelletta

Silver Jewellery

Profile to come