VWA Artists in Residence Update July 2025
Our Artists in Residence have been working on exciting new projects, see below updates from Emily McRae, Freddy Mata and Wanda Gillespie.
Emily McRae
I’ve taken a little time in between projects to practice some joinery by working on a valet in cherry. It’s based on a shaker hanging rack I saw a while back in John Kassay’s, “The Book of Shaker Furniture”. I’ve really enjoyed getting a little more familiar with pegged joinery and hope to use it on some larger scale pieces in the future.
Follow Emily on instagram here.
Freddy Mata
Aeon Fox – a floor lamp made out of reclaimed Spotted Gum and resin on a metal base. Inspired by the sighting of a Red Fox in North Melbourne one night of 2021 during a lockdown. Colours represent the reflection of cars headlights on the Fox’s tale.
This piece is going to be exhibited as part of the Vivid Design Competition at the MCEC 16th – 18th July.
Another recent piece I’ve completed is an Oregon end grain board, which falls within the realm of what I call End Grain Chromatic. This is something that has been in development for some time, where I am taking art to functional objects or furniture.
Follow Freddy on instagram here.
Wanda Gillespie
Here is a work in progress piece I’m calling the Pilgrim.
The face is carved from a local burl which involved a range of power tools and chisels to carve. The hat is carved in Jelutong and I am continuing with the chip carved patterning. The wooden beads have been part of an ongoing fascination of beads as both numerical counters and prayer beads.
Song of the Pilgrim – Artist Statement
In a time of global unrest and uncertainty, this bearded, saint-like pilgrim emerges gently from the wall—part presence, part memory, part prayer. His undefined, closed eyes suggest not absence, but inward gaze; a subtle being who listens more than speaks, offering stillness as quiet resistance.
His face, carved from richly grained local burl, carries warmth and gravity—marked by age, mystery, and grace. A hat, shaped in jelutong, is adorned with intricate chip-carved motifs—symbols of repetition, order, and devotion. From its edge hang strands of beads evoking shared ritual: Tasbih, Juzu, Christian rosaries—interwoven with reclaimed soroban abacus beads, carrying the imprint of hands long past.
The work draws on cultural threads from across the global village, linking traditions of contemplation and craft that transcend nation and faith. Inspired by Hafiz’s call to make beauty, not war, this sculpture becomes an offering: a gesture toward peace made slowly, by hand.
It honours the enduring human impulse to seek meaning, to carve beauty from chaos. In a fractured world, this quiet pilgrim reminds us that attention and collective memory—held in material, gesture, and form—can become powerful tools for healing and connection.
Follow Wanda on instagram here.