CONTACT US

Patricia Zuber

0412 456 656

platform6@bigpond.com

Charles Zuber

0422 797 057

churchstudiofranklin@gmail.com

Church Studio Franklin

3408 Huon Highway

Franklin

Tasmania

03 6266 3347

Eco Prints Artists' Talks 22 November 2008

Eco Prints opening 19 November 2008

Eco Prints opening speeches

Briefing Bob Brown at the opening of Eco Prints

Church Studio Franklin and Hanging Eco Prints

Looking at the 1859 Church Title Deed

Inside the pod

After our return from the UK, work continued completion on the facilties inside the pod.The Bathroom and toilet are now complete. The images show the effect of the coloured perspex, and other detailing such as the custom made bath room cabinet.It was for me, difficult to get a good finish on the timber. The were problems with sissing- which I had never encountered before. The cold and damp air did not allow the varnishes to dry properly on the timber.

Keven built the cabinet from myrtle and blackwood selected by us from a small mill close to Geeveston. Phillips is just another small timber business that says Gunns takes all the timber for wood chipping leaving very slim pickings for cabinet makers and local builders. So who is it that likes Gunns? I have yet to meet them.

the pod is launched 21 June 2008

Was this the original green roof lining?

And so, just before the roof was sealed up for the flue and chimney, I took this photograph of the hole revealing the double roof layer. Not a bad thing to have two layers, but how the church now functions with a good stove will determine what other kind of insulation we need in the roof and on the windows.

After the first day of the wood heaters operation it was fantistic to feel the heat rising up into the mezzanine level. This means that the church has the potential to be used all the year instead just the warmer months. Heating is the issue here, in Queensland it was cooling, and we are now entering into our first Tasmanian winter-not as bitter as in the UK, but cold nonetheless.

The greening of the pod

Now the plasters are finished, the painting is-more or less complete. Unexpectedly the pod turned green! Finding a colour took much deliberation and changes of mind until one sunny morning in the beginning of July, Pat and I realised the colour would be apple green. On the wall under the window, was a record of the layers of paint built up over time, and the green we chose corresponded to one of those colours. The colour then is both from a contemporary palette and the heritage of the church. For us perhas, it also signifies apples and politics. Here, Greer helps us out with the painting before the builders return.

One more layer of the church's history was unexpectedly revealed on the 15th july when we installed a new wood stove. As the installers penetrated the roof to take the flue, it was clear that the baltic pine ceiling was a later addition to the original roof which was also painted apple green. We are keeping a piece of the wide pine boards( 9 inches) covered in the pale green paint that had been concealed by the warm orange glow of baltic pine boards which we had presumed to be the original roof lining. Were these later boards added at time the church hall was built around 1900? Is this pale green the colour first brushed on around 1860 or is that just another, later addition? The Church continues to surprise us.

Some notes about what we are planning to do

We envisage that our annual program will be a combination of professional practice and community cultural development which is in keeping with our backgrounds. We want the church to be used regularly, thereby enabling it to be conserved and we want to continue our practices in our retirement. We will not be profit making but hope to generate enough income from some of the activities to maintain use of the church by ourselves and other artists throughout the year.

Projects we are planning so far include a bursury program for visual art post graduate students with the selected artist undertaking a residency in the church studio, a social history project to collect and present the stories of people who were married in the church, a floating paper kiln project - paper kilns are constructed and floated on the Huon River - small pots are fired in them. We also plan to run occassional short workshops, give talks and present exhibitions. Some projects may culminate in an exhibition or installation. We are open to taking small regional touring exhibitions and to other types of residencies e.g. writing.

We expect to run our first bursury residency program later this year.

New sign

Opened to the public!

We opened the Church Studio to the public for the first time as part of Focus of the Franklin festival and Charles's birthday on April 5th and 6th. We showed a collection of photographs first exhibited at the Queensland Centre for Photography by Charles Zuber. Pat Zuber exhibited some prints that were produced in Brisbane also in 2006-7.

So whilst the space was clearly unfinished it was important for us to open up the church for the visitors to Franklin that weekend. Though now, it is back in the hands of the builders after the Huon council approved the construction works to date -on the 22nd April. So far, we are pleased with the progress towards the conversion of an 1862 heritage listed building into a working space for the 21st century. Bring in the plasterer!

The Pod is growing

The framework for The Pod and The Platform is up! The mezzanine has a floor and its great to stand up there close the roof - it seems higher than we expected. Tassie oak from Musketts in Hounville, and as we specified, not from Gunns. This company is hated by all the small mills in Tasmania as Gunns takes all the timber it can to feed the woodchip market. The small businessmen, tradesmen and carpenters that I meet might not agree with greens in every respect, but they have even less time for Gunns and their bullying tactics which leaves them with no regular supply of timbers for house building and fencing.

We are opening the church up on the 5th and 6th of April as part of a local event called Focus on Franklin. Pat will hang some prints and I will show some photographs so we can show visitors what we are intending to do with the church. But for now, its time for the electrician and plumber to do their stuff in the pod.

Watching paint dry

We were privileged to have a visit from Geof Tasker, the director of Murobond, who came down to see the church and then, back in Sydney, mixed a custom made traditional lime wash that would match the existing wall colour. We were somewhat alarmed on opening to see it was bright orange, and thicker than custard.

Surely this can't be our tin? When it dried however it was after all the right colour - except where there was still rising damp, as indicated by the orange patches. As it dried, I finally understood that watching paint dry can be exciting and not such an old joke after all !

South Bank completed!

Work completed on the south side of the Church shows several features: The enlarged subfloor ventilation, the new drainage system-including a cup drain, and the raised soil level with turf. All of the above works are to prevent water from reaching the base of the walls, anything that does that will minimise the effects of rising damp.

All the works so far undertaken by Keven McMullen are intended to combine practical measures to conserve the Church with aesthetically appropriate improvements to the use of space surrounding the buildings. Problem solving issues of heritage, sustainment( to borrow Tony Fry's word) aesthetics, and costs are always part of the day to day work, and make a complete change from teaching art theory.

The next task is use the limewash I ordered on the interior walls of the church. This will prove to be interesting as using the traditional limewash requires a particular set of skills. I hope the clour match will be close enough that I can blend the colour into the existing limewashed walls.

Time now to leave the blog and wet the walls in preparation for the paint mixed for me by the specialist paint company Murabond.

Alterations to the church - plans and 3D images

Here is a couple of images of the plans for the church. Jenny Wilson, on her visit here, referred to it as the "Pod". This new structure was designed by Giles Newstead to allow the Church to be used as a studio for artists in residence without impinging on the structure of the heritage listed building. Visiting artists/educators can have a bathroom, toilet, washup facilties -and a bedroom.

In the brief, we asked Giles for a contrapuntal response to the 1862 church, described in the heritage listing as " Victorian Romanesque". The reponse is a design that is edgy, geometric and functional. It is a distinctly modern design that adresses concerns for the conservation of energy and the continued conservation of the original building.

The Heritage council approved the plans without reservation, and they recognise that with modern facilities that do not change the integrity of the architectural forms, the building may live again to take on appropriate secular duties in the village of Franklin, Tasmania.

Franklin Jetty on the Huon River

Getting paint off the windows

Rosie helps out with brushing back the interior walls of the church and scraping paint off the windows to reveal more of the original,1862 leadlights. We are planning to brush back the walls to reveal brickwork, distemper and paint layers. Windows are to be cleaned and conserved in their current condition but protected from further deterioration by double glazing which will also help to insulate the church.

Rosie is a traveller from Scotland who has been spending time campaigning against old growth forest logging in the Florentine Valley. Rosie, and Nathan, heard we were offering casual work through the Huon Environment Centre, and the environmental centre is close to Franklin, and does an important job as focal point for the activists in Tasmania. They attempt to conserve the Trees whilst we try to conserve the beautiful church for generations to come.

Keeping the walls dry

Work begins with the builder: The Church must breathe again, and Keven, the builder, says the church has lost its musty smell. The question is, is this because I left the manholes (in the floor) open for six months so the airflow improved, or is it because it has been unseasonally dry here in Franklin? This begs the next question: Is this because of global warming or just a dry winter and spring?

Last thing, on this first day of Keven's work on the building, he tells me there is a pool of water just sitting there under the floor of the Church between the piers. I must crawl under and see for myself soon.....what to be done?? Move the Church across the road I suggested helpfully.....

Regardless, the floors are better ventilated now than they have ever been, and as I blog, we are also building better drainage on the southern wall to keep water flowing away from the walls of the Church. Out Damp Spot! get thee gone saturation!

Dr.Z.

In the beginning

This is the first posting on a blog set up to document and discuss the process whereby we (Pat and Charles Zuber) will convert a heritage listed church in Tasmania into a studio gallery and accommodation.



Charles recently retired from Queensland College of Art but is maintaing contact as Adjunct Senior Lecturer. Pat has a long background in community cultural development, cultural planning and public art project management. Our visual arts practices are photography, painting and printmaking.



We are not sure exactly how the church studio will be used and welcome comments from other people. Our ideas so far include artists in residence, master workshops, projects and hiring out of the studio and accommodation. In particular we want the focus to be on art and environment.



Plans have been approved by the Heritage Council for a stand alone contemporary 'pod' to be constructed in the church comprising bathroom, separate toilet, mezzanine bedroom or drawing room, wash up area, kitchenette, wood stove and a platform to enable views to the Huon River across the road. The remaining area will be used for the studio doubling up as gallery or installation space. Photos of the process whereby the design was developed will be posted on this blog site. A website will also be developed for this initiative.



The studio is in the township of Franklin on the Huon River in the Huon Valley and is 35 minutes drive south from Hobart. The region is close the the South West Wilderness area and the Hartz Mountain National Park. The area includes many orchards - apples, cherries, apricots etc. The mightly Huon River opens out inthe D'Entreaucasteaux Channel running south into the Antartic Ocean. Huonville is home to the Huon Valley Environment Centre - a small but important hub for green actions especially in relation to the continued logging of native forest.

Political views are very polarised and dynamic. Plenty of fodder for art and environment projects.

We would welcome your ideas and comments and look forward to discussing this venture with others as it unfolds.

Pat and Charles