Sturt Studios
Sturt was founded in 1941 by Winifred West (1881–1971) when she retired as the Head of Frensham, an independent secondary school for girls which she had established in 1913.
Sturt Gallery & Studios has been driving the studio crafts movement for over 80 years, and is recognised as being one of the most important models of its kind in Australia.
A History of Sturt Studios
From 70 Years at Sturt (1941-2011)
A short history by Grace Cochrane
Interested in the value of relationships between individuals and communities, the links between hand and mind and 'the development of individual talents and personalities', Miss West's intent was to provide further education in crafts.
Largely financed by Miss West herself, and through time and resources provided by friends, Sturt started with one building where, at weekends, six girls learned spinning and weaving, while two boys did woodwork nearby and adults came during the week. By 1949, 150 children were enrolled. Named after her mother, Fanny West (née Sturt), Sturt was located in the grounds and gardens of Miss West's cottage, built in 1947.
For the duration of the war, the garden at Sturt was largely given over to the growing of vegetables, serving a dual purpose, helping with the food supply and supplying onion skins for dyeing. By 1947 the market garden look had vanished. Lawns and young trees were flourishing and Miss West was hard at work planning for the future. As each building was completed, new gardens were planted.
Formal workshops were set up for Wood (1947); Weaving (1951); Pottery (1954); Jewellery and Metalwork (1965); Screenprinting (1973); and the Sturt School for Wood (1985). Winifred West Schools Ltd was formed in 1955, by then including the Gib Gate primary school as well as Frensham and Sturt. Until 1958, all buildings were designed by architect John Moore. Don Gazzard designed the accommodation building, Ainsworth, in 1963, as well as its furniture which was made in the Wood workshop, and later an extension to the Weaving room.
“… I do not know what it will turn into. That will depend upon the people who come and on changing conditions. I can foresee many possible developments. It might become a training school for teachers of arts and crafts. It might become an industrial concern. It might become a colony of artists and craftsmen, potters and printers… or of course, it may just go phut!”
Winifred West, 1941
Sturt Studios
Jewellery & Metalwork
Jewellery has been taught at Sturt for many years and continues to be a valued part of its program, now also offered to Frensham students as an extra-curricular activity. Sturt Metal (now Sturt Jewellery/Metalwork) was established in 1969 and led by Ray Norman until 1985. During this time, Norman trained a number of jewellers and silversmiths—including Greg Healey, Nicholas Deeprose, Alice Whish, and Diana Boynes—and developed production ranges to support the workshop.
It was later discovered that Jack Southerden, working in the Wood workshop, was also a skilled lapidary. He was engaged to cut stones for use in jewellery and, in 1977, contributed to the touring exhibition Stone Cutting & Setting for the Crafts Board. Southerden supported several initiatives to expand training opportunities in jewellery, including working with Indigenous artist Neville Poulson from Yuendumu, who spent around eight weeks at Sturt in the early 1970s. Southerden later travelled to Yuendumu to collaborate further with local artists.
Screen-printing
For some years from 1973, a screen-printing workshop was run by Richard and Dilys Brecknock. The annual conference of the Australian Forum for Textile Arts, established at Sturt in 1974 by Erika Semler and Solvig Baas-Becking, was held there for about 14 years from 1991, organised by Janet De Boer. From the early 1970s, a number of international and Australian textile artists visited, and from 1998 the regular program of artists-in-residence included many working in a range of fibre and textile processes.
Design & Fabrication
The Design and Fabrication Studios, formerly a weaving studio, was refurbished into a contemporary learning space in 2015 to form a creative hub for Frensham Schools, where expert teachers lead courses in digital design and fabrication, supported by the latest technologies.
The studios are separated into three distinctive areas, with one dedicated workshop for fabrication equipped with 3D printers, laser-cutters and a CNC router.
The Design & Fabrication Studios have also made a big impact for the Sturt School for Wood students with the opportunity to extend their technical repertoire and innovation in fabricating. The design and quality of work produced is apparent at every graduating exhibition at the end of each year.
Ceramics
Sturt Pottery was among the first studio potteries in New South Wales to produce stoneware from local materials. In 1952 Miss West persuaded Ivan McMeekin to return from England where he had been working with potter, Michael Cardew. McMeekin spent 1953 in Sydney planning the pottery and its equipment and started work at Sturt in 1954. As well as constructing the buildings and equipment, McMeekin also researched local clays and glazes, producing 24 test bodies and four glazes by the end of the year. A significant development was that of a porcelain clay from the Nattai River area. In 1954 McMeekin built a small, round, down-draft woodfiring kiln modelled on a kiln designed by Michael Cardew, and at one point the Wood workshop made potters’ wheels to McMeekin's design. Jewellery Making & Metalwork
McMeekin's first student-assistant was Gwyn John (later Hanssen Pigott) and when she left in 1957, her place was taken by Les Blakebrough in the Pottery, and by Col Levy, who took over her teaching commitments. Blakebrough followed McMeekin as workshop manager from 1959 and was appointed Director of Sturt from 1964 to 1972. Seventeen apprentices were trained in pottery during these years. Blakebrough initiated a number of visits by international potters such as John Chappell and Fred Olsen, which resulted in Blakebrough spending a year in Japan in 1963. The first Japanese visitor was Takeichi Kawai who worked at Sturt in 1964, while Shigeo Shiga, who was at Sturt in 1966-67, returned to live in Australia. In 1964, following his experience in Kyoto, and under the guidance of Kawai, Blakebrough oversaw construction of a three-chamber climbing kiln, believed to be the first to be built in Australia.
Subsequent workshop managers were Tony Burgess (1973-74), John Edye (1974-78), Paul Wynn (1978-80), Ian McKay (1982-86), Don Court (1986-88), Campbell Hegan (1988-98) and Libby Pickard (1999-2000) and many others worked or trained with them. They made pots, taught and ran workshops, and some built new kilns and equipment. Paul Davis was manager from 2001 until 2009, and focused on building respect for what he saw as the legacy of the founding ideas of the Pottery. He invited significant Australian and international potters who would best demonstrate the use of the Sturt kilns, and helped organise events such as the ceramic conference in 2003 which celebrated 50 years of the Pottery, and the National Woodfire Conference which took place at Sturt in 2008.
Weaving
Weaving has been part of Sturt’s creative tradition since 1941. Early spinning and weaving classes were led by Frensham Art teacher Ruth Ainsworth in the original building, using a loom and spinning wheels she had brought back from England in 1936. Dorothy Cohoe joined the program in 1942.
The Weaving workshop was formally established in 1951 by Erika Gretschel (later Semler), a professionally trained weaver who arrived in Australia as a refugee from Germany. She was the first professional staff member employed at Sturt and collaborated with Sydney designer Marion Hall Best on upholstery and curtain fabrics.
A succession of highly trained weavers from Germany continued to contribute to the program: Ursula Walde (1954), Jutta Schley (later Feddersen, 1957), Ulrike Lewis (1958), and Elisabeth Nagel (1959). Alongside regular classes, Nagel began producing major commissions, including tapestries and floor rugs for the Hong Kong Hilton Hotel, and upholstery fabric for the National Library of Australia in 1967.
In 1971, through a connection between Nagel and Winifred Hilliard of Ernabella Arts and Crafts, three Pitjantjatjara women—Yipati Kuyata, Nyukana Baker, and Yayimpi—joined the workshop for five months. Elisabeth Nagel remained a central figure at Sturt until her retirement in 2009, marking 50 years of involvement in the weaving program.
