by Bonnie Collings

Warragul Primary School students and parents gathered at the West Gippsland Arts Centre last Monday for the opening of "Local", an exhibition of student artwork.
On display across all levels of the arts centre, the exhibition focused on the central theme of "Australiana." Artwork across different mediums captured the beauty of Australian flora and fauna, and iconic parts of Australian history.
Lisa Gardiner, local artist and art teacher at Warragul Primary School, said over the three school terms, the students spent around 25 hours working on their pieces for the exhibition.
"It's just such a proud moment for the kids and for me," she said. "I'm so proud of seeing their work hung up in a really nice building and not just blue tacked to walls. It makes the work really shine."
The art exhibition provided students a unique opportunity to consider their art from the perspective of both an artist and an audience.
"We talked a lot about the viewing of art as an audience and as an artist, and I think they really got to understand what that meant through having this exhibition," said Ms Gardiner.
"It was a really fun experience for them and they learnt about art history along the way."
Ms Gardiner said the students fully immersed themselves in the theme of "Australiana" when creating their artwork.
"The students collected sticks and plants from around the area to learn about Australian native plants and then they drew those plants from life because they had them sitting around them," she said.
"They would look at landscapes by well-known artists and then they would go outside and look at the mountains in our area as well and then make artwork about that. Some of them made Ned Kelly collages and they placed him at the shops in Warragul."
Teaching primary school art, Ms Gardiner said she loved helping her students pursue their creative talents.
"I'm very passionate about teaching art to kids, it's been a little bit of a dream come true to be able to display their works," she said.
"I really love that most children don't have any inhibitions when it comes to creating. I love being able to think on my feet and come up with different projects in different mediums for the kids to learn to learn about."
Alongside the student exhibition, Ms Gardiner currently has an exhibition of her own artwork at the arts centre.
Also titled "Local," Ms Gardiner's exhibition features works inspired by the streetscapes and landscapes of Baw Baw, Melbourne and the wider Gippsland region.
Initially born out of her time spent in the Melbourne lockdowns, Ms Gardiner's artwork touches on the connections we have with the places we call home.
Both the Warragul Primary School student exhibition and Ms Gardiner's work will be on display at the arts centre until Sunday November 5.