Maxine Wain
Artistic expression has been an important aspect of her life. She is mostly self-taught in all art endeavours however has attended relevant workshops and short courses from time to time.
She has worked in ceramics; creating, glazing and firing functional and sculptural pieces in her studio which she exhibited and also sold to galleries and shops in Victoria and interstate. Several years later she explored textiles and created framed works and fashion pieces which were also exhibited and sold in shops. Another art endeavour was collage pictures developed as 2D works with a simplicity of shape; often whimsical which she framed.
Oil and acrylic painting started in 2011 when she retired from her career as a librarian and rented a studio. Her inspiration is drawn from the landscapes experienced while travelling in many parts of Australia. She built a studio on the Mornington Peninsula in 2020 where she currently works painting and sculpting in limestone and exhibiting at VAS.
Artistic expression has always been an important aspect of my life. I have been mostly self-taught but have attended workshops on occasions.
For many years while working out of my studio I produced functional wheel thrown items in stoneware and porcelain which I glazed and fired and sold to galleries here in Victoria as well as interstate. At the same time, I also created sculptural pieces, mostly as wall hangings from various clay bodies and made moulds to produce Australian animals, birds, and flora as souvenirs.
Following on from a trip to Mexico where I attended a silk painting workshop, I developed a small business painting, screen printing and fixing silk to be fashioned into scarves and items of clothing as well as framed paintings. These were also sold to galleries and outlets in Victoria and interstate.
The next creative endeavours have been whimsical papercuts of birds, castles, boats, and lighthouses which I frame and exhibit.
Wheel thrown glazed stoneware by Maxine Wain
'Dreaming' by Maxine Wain, Oil on canvas
After retiring I started oil and acrylic painting. I have travelled extensively in the Australian outback and find inspiration in its vastness, the colours, the rocks, the geological patterns, and the aerial views of the river systems and salt lakes. I am also inspired by trees, their weaving trunks and branches and their silhouettes against the sky.
'Parcels' by Maxine Wain, Arches paper and string
‘Henny Penny' by Maxine Wain, Papercut
My very latest creative outlet is limestone sculpture. I like its ruggedness, the nutting out as to how to achieve a design and the change in design that has to be made when encountering a flaw or shell in the stone. I am drawn to again creating whimsical shapes of ancient boats, creatures, structures, and illusions; to decorate and enhance using a variety of materials such as string, rope, wood, bolts, screws and nails, polymer clay and metal to finalise the piece. I have also recently discovered Hebel Stone which is now opening up many new possibilities for designs and I will need to look towards developing skills to make bronze sculptures. There is still so much still to be explored.
Works by Maxine Wain
Acknowledgment of traditional owners.
We would like to pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land on which our building stands, their leaders, past, present and emerging.