Q & A for Melony Kara Smirniotis regarding her upcoming exhibition 'Earthly Delights'

'Earthly Delights' opens 10am at Gallery 11:11 on the 14th of December. The celebration commences at 5pm and concludes at 7pm. There will be wine tasting provided by the local boutique bottle shop Roma Vino for patrons over the age of 18. Party Rockin Rocky Road chocolates also return with their delicious signature rocky road favourite flavours. The exhibition continues 10-4 on Sunday the 15/12. The gallery will then be open by appointment until the 21/1/25.

Q. What will I expect to see?

A. This exhibition will cover my three series; ocean earth and floral. The ocean series will be represented with work based on both my aerial and underwater experiences. The earth series will focus on the local landscape, Wallumatta region, based on my daily walks and the floral series will be represented by a cross-section of work based on local gardens.

Q. What inpsired the theme for this exhibiton?

A. My inspiration for the theme was my continued interest translating my experience of natures textures, palette and the light that constantly transforms both.

Q. How long have you been working on the paintings for the exhibition?

A. There hasn't been a set time frame that I have spent on this body of work. A few pieces have been in the making for a couple of years whereby I have set out to revisit these with fresh eyes. I've always worked with several pieces at one time given the amount of time necessary for drying between layers. I'm constantly revisiting work, allowing for time to pass to then reconnect with the process with fresh perspectives and experiences.

Q. What message or feeing do you hope people will take away from your show?

A. A sense of peace and the joy that I experience every day during my walks, whether it's down in the bush or in someone's garden or during my ocean adventures. I feel so grateful that people can resonate with my interpretation of my natural surroundings/ adventures, and my translation of it onto canvas.

Q. Have you made any changes to your creative process for this exhibition compared to previous exhibitions?

A. There have been a few changes to my creative process for the exhibition specifically with the coral textures this year. I have spent a great deal of time, experimenting with extra materials and layers in terms of the coral and the reef with the intention of building the sculptural element. For example, in several of my coral paintings, I have hand sculpted my impression of the coral, and then collaged that into the layers embedding it at different levels to further play with the light. I've also worked a great deal with metallic pigments this year, which then push those peaks and valleys to a new level, really accentuating particular areas with a further play on light.

Q. How do you feel about the process of curating your own exhibition?

A. I have no problem when it comes to curating my exhibition. In fact, I feel incredibly connected and excited by the process. I begin curating an exhibition as soon as I've seen an artists work and I have a sense of what they will be bringing to the exhibition. I'm pre-curating in my head for weeks to come and the same thought process happens with my own work, whilst working in the gallery space, I'm often looking around around getting a sense of where I'd like to present the story and in what order, how the chosen positions or vantage points of the viewer will connect the story and affect the viewers interpretation.

Q. What’s next after this exhibition?

A. After this exhibition, my focus will be on commissioned work and preparing for the three Affordable Art Fairs in 2025. The Gallery will be open by appointment from the 16th of December until early February. I warmly invite people to book in to visit as we have incredible work on consignment by the 11:11 artists and much more.