
Artisan designer-maker Regine Schwarzer provided expert step-by-step instruction & hands-on guidance to participants of Gallery 1855's Jewellery Workshop. View some of Regine's creative masterpieces at www.regineschwarzer.com (image by Jenny Pickett)
Gallery 1855 is named in honor of the year of its build - as South Australia's first council chambers. From 1855-1967, it was home to Tea Tree Gully's Council Chambers. Today, this carefully restored building is a vital part of the City of Tea Gully's arts and culture, comprising a community hub for local artists to exhibit their work and collaborate with other artists and share their knowledge with the public through affordable and creative artist-led workshops and events.
One such workshop was Gallery 1855's Jewellery Workshop - facilitated by artisan designer-maker
Regine Schwarzer, which was held on Saturday, 30 November 2019, from 10am until 4pm. At a very affordable cost of $60, which included all materials and tools, I was extremely fortunate to gain a place in this workshop by invite. I don't live locally but a community art space like Gallery 1855 is a rare find, so I didn't hesitate to accept the invite and, being on a weekend, the drive was relatively quick and on-site parking (including disabled parking) was readily available.

A selection of semi-precious stones & some of the tools of the trade (image by Jenny Pickett)
Regine is truly expertly skilled in teaching and creating - she provided very clear step by step instructions and hands-on guidance so that every single participant (9 in all) completely designed and created their own neckpiece from silver-plated copper and a choice of beads and semi-precious gemstones. As I had no previous jewellery making experience and limited dexterity, I felt absolutely amazed to have designed and created a neckpiece that truly represented who I was. Six hours went very quickly and I know I'm not alone in saying I found it to be very therapeutic.

My finished neck piece - featuring serpentine & black onyx (image by Jenny Pickett)
Gallery 1855's setting and atmosphere definitely contribute to unleashing workshop participants' creative flow - it's such a beautiful historic building (wheelchair accessible throughout) and incorporates both the workshop and exhibition spaces in a welcoming and casual setting to effectively create a hub.
Follow Gallery 1855 on Facebook - (click here) - to stay updated on workshops, events, and exhibitions.